TAXCO TRAVEL GUIDE

Places to Stay in Taxco - Click here for price key

For budget lodgings, try Departamentos Casa Grande ($--$$, Calle Ojeda #10, tels. 762/622-5227 or 762/622-5415). Not pristine, but far from unbearable, with a kitchenette with microwave and refrigerator in most of the small apartments. It’s located off a small side street uphill from Plaza Borda, off Calle del Nogal and 2da Calle de Raul Kaufman. Rent by the day, week, or month.

We were very pleased with the room and grounds of Hotel Posada Javier ($$, Calle Estacadas 32, tels. 762/622-3177, www.hotelposadasanjaviertaxco.com), and would have enjoyed a longer stay. Included in the room price, our Continental breakfast came with an excellent view of the city from the rooftop café. There’s a smallish swimming pool and Wi-Fi from some of the rooms and shared balconies.

A warren of rooms on various floors, Hotel Real de Minas de Taxco ($$, Plazuela de los Gallos #2, tel. 762/627-4442, offers clean and pleasant (if dark) rooms, some with a view of the cathedral.

Places to Eat in Taxco - Click here for price key

Within the William Spratling Museum, Caffecito ($$--$$$, Delicias #23, tel. 762/627-6177), is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9AM to 3PM and serves coffee, snacks, and Italian dishes.

We didn’t try the food at Aladinos ($$--$$$, Av. Benito Juárez #7, Altos, tel. 762/627-6170), across from the Municipal Palace. But the place is recommended for its live music (often rock or jazz), presented most nights, and serves soups, spaghetti, meat dishes and burgers, and salads as well as Mexican snacks.

For a quick snack try the super yummy pastries and savory pies at Pastelería Angelical ($, Calle Matanzas near City Hall). They sell delicious individual Mexican cakes, pies, cheesecake, and cookies at reasonable prices.

Things to Do & See in Taxco

Museo William Spratling (Porfirio Delgado #1, tel. 762/627-6177, closed Monday) has displays (some labeled in Spanish only, others in English also) of Spratling’s jewelry designs as well as pre-Hispanic pieces that the Mexicophile collected over the years. There’s a café (see above) as well.

Museo de Arte Virreinal (Juan Ruiz de Alarcón #12, tel. 762/622-5501, closed Monday) has religious art and artifacts and changing exhibits in a beautifully restored 17th-century building.

Among the most extensive cave systems in Mexico that can be visited by tourists, Las Cavernas de Cacahuamilpa (Pilcaya, tel. 721/104-0155, http://cacahuamilpa.conanp.gob.mx) is located at the intersection of Hwys 166 and 55, near the border of Mexico state. It’s about 45 minutes outside Taxco. In addition to exploring the caves (a two-km walk along an illuminated path), visitors can rappel and visit a subterranean river, one of several sinkholes, and a swimming pool. There are picnic areas, cabins, and camping. On weekends, buses make the round trip from Mexico City’s La Taxqueña bus station; minibuses leave from Taxco’s Estrella Blanca bus station several times a day. Or catch any bus marked Ixtapan de la Sal, ask the driver to set you down at the closest stop, and walk about half a kilometer to the caves.

Shopping in Taxco

Taxco = silver shopping. Wander around on your own and find the shops that you like the best. (Sorry I can’t be more help; read about my Fear of Shopping on the Taxco destination page.)

Taxco’s municipal market, which dives down a side street on the right-hand side of the parish church, sells bags, flowers, fruits, veggies, hot food, and the usual bric-a-brac. It’s an unusually narrow and steep warren of shops well worth visiting.

On Saturdays there’s a massive wholesale and retail silver market at the south side of town near Avenida de los Plateros and the Estrella Blanca bus station.

How to Get There & Away

By Bus

Although it’s in Guerrero state and often visited as a side trip from Acapulco (4 to 5 hours away), Taxco is actually closer to Mexico City, only 3 hours away. Catch a bus from Mexico City’s southern bus station, La Tasqueña.

In Taxco, Estrella de Oro (tels. 762/485-8705 or 762/622-0648) buses leave from the southwest bus station at Avenida de los Plateros near the PEMEX station en route to Taxco el Viejo and Acapulco. Estrella Blanca buses (tel. 762/622-0131) leave from a different station at Avenida de los Plateros near Avenida Montes de Oca en route to Mexico City.

For more info on buses, go to www.mexicoguru.com/buses-in-mexico.php.

By Car

From the center of Mexico City the drive to Taxco is approximately 190 km (120 miles); first follow directions to Cuernavaca and then continue along the toll road to Acapulco. From Acapulco, take toll Highway 95. It’s approximately 237 km (148 miles).

For more info on driving to Taxco, go to www.mexicoguru.com/mexico-driving-distance.php

More Info

The main Tourism Office is at Avenida de los Plateros #1, tel. 762/622-2274. This is on the highway at the northern entrance to town, just before Avenida Juárez, which snakes up into the town proper. There’s a tourism kiosk on Plaza Borda where you can pick up a map and get answers to your questions.