During my family’s week long stay in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, we decided to take a day trip to get away from the resort and do something different. Well, ok. That’s not entirely true. I made the decision to get away from the resort and do something different and dragged my family with me. Despite the early wake up call, they agreed to my plan to visit Talpa and Mascota, two towns in the mountains of Mexico.
By the time our day trip was over, everyone was in agreement. This was the best day of our entire week in Mexico. As we sat at dinner that night, we could not stop talking about how amazing the trip was. To this day, my dad and I still talk about how much fun we had on this day trip.
An Early Start
Our day started very early. We were up by 6:00 so we could get to the tour office at 7:00. I’m still not sure how I convinced certain family members (aka, my younger brother) that getting up this early was a good idea. Somehow, though, everyone agreed. We got to the tour office, had a light breakfast of fruit and crackers, and waited for our guide and driver.
As we waited, more and more tourists showed up. Everyone, regardless of which tour they are taking, meets here before departure. It seemed as if everyone else was here for snorkeling, zip lining, or some other kind of adventure activity. There’s nothing wrong with any of those activities, but we definitely felt like we were the odd ones out.
While we waited for the van to be ready, we met our guide. Fito gave us an overview of everything we would be doing that day. His enthusiasm was contagious and you could tell he was just so excited to be doing this tour. After Fito finished recapping of everything we would be doing that day, a man came up to us and asked “Can I join your tour? It sounds more fun than my tour.” This is a great reminder that doing your research ahead of time can really pay off. Additionally, sometimes you really have to work to find great tours. Despite using a large tour company, this particular tour was not easy to find.
Departure from Puerto Vallarta
Our two main stops for the day were the towns of Mascota and Talpa de Allende, which are located a two hour drive away from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico’s mountains. Both of these towns are considered “Pueblos Magicos”, or Magical Towns, which is a designation given to towns that have and maintain their original architecture, culture, and traditions. The designation can also be given to towns that have an important historical significance. As of August 2023, there are 177 Pueblos Magicos in Mexico, including Talpa de Allende and Mascota.
If you don’t like long days in the car, this might not be the trip for you. For us, the long drives weren’t a concern, especially once we got going. We departed the tour office, with our driver, Alonso, and our guide, Fito, narrating the entire drive.
A Quick Snack Stop
The first stop was a quick break about an hour into the drive. There was a small bakery with pastries for sale and an incredible view of the surrounding mountains. It was such a different view than what we had been seeing for the past few days at our beach resort. Our stop was quick, just long enough to get a pastry and a few photos. Eventually, a bus tour, heading off toward San Sebastian stopped here for their break. At that point, it got crowded and the place lost a lot of its charm. Despite that, we all loved this quick stop.
Our next stop was supposed to be a local high school, but Fito had us make another stop first. There was another bakery just up the road that he was convinced has the best bread. When we drove past it on the way to the school, their sign said they were out of bread for the day.
However, Fito was on a mission and was determined that we needed to try this bread. Alonso stopped the van and Fito ran in to ask “if they were really out of bread”. My entire family thought this was ridiculous. Imagine our surprise when he came back to the van and announced that the sign was a lie. If we stopped back in twenty minutes, they would have some more bread for us.
Touring a Local High School
While we waited for the bread, we drove up and toured a local high school, but since we were here between Christmas and New Year’s, there was no one here. Still, it was interesting to walk around and think about how different this was to what we experienced back home. Fito told us that there are two tracks for students: agriculture and computers. So instead of analyzing Shakespeare, trigonometry, and history classes all day, these kids would get more of a hands on approach to learning and get to start building experience for their futures. As someone who has worked as a programmer for the last several years, I think this is fantastic.
On the back from the high school, we stopped at the bakery again. They had bread for us! Despite Fito claiming that it was the best bread (and the fact that the bread was still warm), he wouldn’t let us eat it. Instead, he made us wait until we made one more stop.
He insisted that we needed some local cheese, which was produced by the school we had just toured. Talk about shopping local! With both bread and cheese in hand, we were finally allowed to sample it. I don’t know what it was, but this was some of the best bread and cheese we ever had. The cheese was phenomenal and the bread was still warm. We devoured everything!
Mascota, Mexico
Now it was time for our real first stop: the town of Mascota. This is a small town in the mountains and the biggest sight here is the ruins of a church that was never finished. While under construction, a fire ripped through the building, burning down everything except the walls, which still stand today. Grass and flowers are growing making it a very serene place.
We spent a little more time wandering the streets of Mascota, taking in the charm of this small town in Mexico. We also sampled a few more treats: jicama, cucumbers and sugar cane. All of these were covered in lime, sea salt, and chili power. My favorite was the sugar cane although the jicama was also pretty good. Completely full after bread, cheese, and more snacks in town, we hopped back in the van to our next stop.
Since this was a private tour, we were able to be more flexible with our itinerary. It was very easy to stop and pull over for a quick photo stop. I’m so glad we did because these views were absolutely incredible.
Talpa de Allende, Mexico
On the way to Talpa de Allende, Fito explained more about the history of where we were and Talpa de Allende’s big treat. It’s a candy called guava roll, which is made of guava (obviously) and other fruits and then covered in sugar. You can smell it as you walk through the streets. We made sure to try some and while most of us thought it was just ok, one of us thought it was so good that they bought a whole roll to take home.
Here we had some free time to explore the Our Lady of Talpa Church, which is a holy pilgrimage site in Mexico. We also had plenty of time to wander the town and the market.
Throughout the entire day, it amazed me that how few Americans we saw. There were plenty of other tourists, but most were Mexicans on vacation with their own families. It was so wonderful to see this part of Mexico!
More Scenic Views
Since we were in a small, private group, Alonso and Fito gave us an option for our drive back. We could either drive back the way we came or we could take the back roads for more, even better mountain views. For us it was a no brainer and we all voted to take the back roads. We left Talpa de Allende, and for over an hour we sat in the van watching the scenery and admiring a side of Mexico none of us had ever seen before.
We made one last stop on the way back. It was just quick enough for a bathroom stop and for us all to try Raicilla, an alcohol that’s even stronger that tequila. I was definitely not a fan! From there, it was one more hour in the van until we were back in Puerto Vallarta.
So Was It Worth It?
Absolutely! I’ve been to Mexico several times, always staying at resorts in different touristy areas. This is the first time I really felt like I saw Mexico (even if it was just for a few hours). Getting to leave behind the American tourist crowds and explore two charming mountain towns was an amazing way to spend the day. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. The long drives through the mountains of Mexico were totally worth it to visit Talpa de Allende and Mascota.
Plus, we knew we made the right decision by taking this tour. Our guide Fito thanked us profusely at the end of the day for taking time out of our vacation to see the “real Mexico”. At our hotel, the waiters would all ask (to be polite) how our day was. When we mentioned where we went, everyone lit up and would ask more questions. “How was it? Did you try the guava rolls? Did you try raicilla?” We also did a snorkeling tour on this trip and that got nowhere near the same amount of enthusiasm as talking about Mascota and Talpa. I think that’s completely understandable.
That all said, there is a lot of driving this day. We spent almost six hours in a van driving from Puerto Vallarta to Mascota, Mascota to Talpa de Allende, and Talpa de Allende to Puerto Vallarta. If you do this tour, you need to be prepared for the long drive. Given the incredible views and how entertaining our guide was, it definitely didn’t feel that long.
I loved this trip so much, I filled up 24 pages of my travel journal describing this day in detail!
While my family loved this tour, there is important caveat. You do not get a lot of time in each town. If you want to really explore each town and eat at local restaurants and really do some shopping, you won’t get that on this tour. For me, seeing the gorgeous scenery of Mexico and having a brief wander through both Talpa de Allende and Mascota was enough. But maybe that’s just because it made me want to come back and really explore this area of Mexico. Regardless, if you want time to shop, eat, and really get to know the towns, a tour like this is not a good option for you.
Other Important Notes About This Tour
We were traveling as a group of five, so it made more sense for us to book a private tour instead of a big bus tour. If you have the means, I think the private tour is even better because you get more personalized attention and they can tweak your itinerary on the fly. Had we been in a big group, we would have skipped several things. We’d wouldn’t have had the bread and cheese or the short road side stops for photos. Plus we wouldn’t have taken the scenic back roads to Puerto Vallarta.
Oh, and did I mention they provided cold bottled water and beer in the van for us???
We took this tour in December 2018 with Vallarta Adventures.
Continue Your Adventure
Costa Rica: Check out this 9 day itinerary, featuring the highlights of Costa Rica. Explore beaches, volcanoes, and cloud forests.
Spain: While there’s a lot to see in Spain, if you liked this venture into smaller, historic towns, consider a visit to Toledo or Segovia.
As a fellow traveler on this particular trip, I am so thankful I got to see these beautiful towns. Had Kristen not done the research ahead of time, we would have stuck to the usual tourist activities. Thanks, kiddo, for showing us a part of Mexico we hadn’t experienced before.