San Miguel de Allende Itinerary

Wow, it feels like it’s been way too long, but if you guys haven’t read my last post, 5 Day Tulum Itinerary/Engagement, I just recently got engaged so I’ve been really busy enjoying the engagement and taking all the instagram pics of my ring. *Shameless* Lucky for you guys, I came across this little gem of a city while hunting for a wedding venue and decided to show you guys just how wonderful this quaint little town is and why it’s worth a visit.

Back story: Why San Miguel de Allende?

Well, when I was in middle school, I first visited Guanajuato on a road trip with family. We went to a beautiful wedding right in Guanajuato City and I just remember thinking, “Wow, I want to get married here too, when I’m older!” I fell in love with the city so much so, that years later, I decided to revisit that idea while looking at destination weddings.

Why is San Miguel de Allende so special? Well, for starters, its a UNESCO World Heritage site so it’s very up-kept and clean, with this little charm throughout the city. Imagine, cobble stone roads and colorful buildings. San Miguel is that real life magical place you read about in a fairy tale.

So, how does one get to this magical town of San Miguel?

Option 1: Fly into Leon, Guanajuato (BJX) airport and then get a taxi into San Miguel, which is about 1.15 hour ride. Taxi could range from $80-100. Unfortunately, Uber isn’t utilized in this part of Mexico.

Option 2: Fly into Queretaro (QRO) airport, which is about 45 minutes away from San Miguel.

Option 3: Fly into Mexico City (MEX), spend a few days, make a reservation at Pujol (months in advance), and then take a bus ride to San Miguel out of the Terminal Norte, which is about a 3 hour ride and only $20 USD. You can either buy tickets in person or online here. I have to say, these were some of the most comfortable buses I’ve ever rode in.

 Where to stay?

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with where you stay in San Miguel, just make sure it’s in the city and has decent reviews. We stayed at Hacienda el Santuario and it was highly recommended to us by a friend of mine. It was such a beautiful hotel filled with lots of culture and hospitality. Free breakfast was also included, let me rephrase that, free homemade Mexican breakfast was served.

How to get around?

If you stay in the city, everything is walking distance, just make sure you bring comfortable walking shoes as the streets are filled with cobble stones. If you do decide to ride a taxi, they range from $3-6 USD. Unfortunately, Uber doesn’t exist here, yet.

Where to eat?

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know this is about to be my favorite topic. I have an entire highlight dedicated to San Miguel de Allende that you can check out and see all the delicious restaurants we ate at. If you don’t have time to look, I’ll just go ahead and list them here. I’ll start with my most favorite:

Tostevere. This place left such an everlasting impression on me, that we decided we’d have our rehearsal dinner here. Although, it’s very cozy, the staff do a wonderful job at taking good care of you. We had the maracuya margaritas with mezcal tequila, which was one of the reasons I fell in love with this place. The soft shell crab taco (pictured just below) is also a must! Pretty big portion, enough for two people to share. We also ordered the grilled octopus tostada, which was also a hit! Then came the steelhead smoked trout focaccia. This was yummy, but a little too filling. And of course, if you know my fiance, he is very health conscious so we also ordered the grilled zucchini. Overall, you can’t go wrong with anything you order from here. If you can, try to stop by for an early dinner or call to make a reservation. $$-$$$

Los Milagros .This place had the BEST molcajete that I had ever had in my entire life! For those of you who don’t know, a molcajete is a stone bowl where an assortment of meats and vegetables are cooked in and then topped with a delicious cheese and drenched in a tomato based salsa. It’s basically something you need to google right now and find the nearest place that makes it. Ours happened to have shrimp and fish, instead of red meat, but there’s many options to choose from. My fiance and I shared and octopus appetizer that was swimming in the most delicious garlic-tomato broth. This is probably one of the most authentic Mexican food places in all of San Miguel so be sure to check it out. $-$$

La Mezcaleria. We found this little gem while we were trying to Yelp a good mezcal bar. It’s mine and my fiances alcohol of choice. Their plates are more of a tapas size, meaning they are small. We shared the tuna tartare and the most mouthwatering artichoke that was baked in a lemon-garlic sauce on the side. Believe me, this artichoke was enough to leave us content. Their mezcal margaritas (pictured below) were delicious as well. $$-$$$

La Parada. So this place looks like it belongs in LA because the interior decor was very chic and had a hip vibe. Come here if you’re in the mood for some good peruvian seafood. We ended up sharing the, “Ceviche La Parada,” which consisted of fish with mango, corn and something called, “leche de Tigre de Mango.” The drinks here are peruvian based, so they serve mostly, “pisco.” It was on the sweeter side and not what our mezcal-mouths were used to. Side note: the owner of this restaurant also owns my wedding venue, so be sure to tell him I said hello! $$-$$$

Things To Do:

Guanjuato City

If you’re like me, you like venturing out, even if it means exploring a new city for the day. Our hotel recommended this amazing tour agency, San Miguel Magico, that took us to the city for Guanajuato for the day. We had a personal driver, Miguel, who picked us up around 11am and gave us a personal tour of Guanajuato City. He spoke both English and Spanish and was extremely knowledgeable. We saw everything from the Pipila statue, to the most picturesque view of the colorful city, learned about the Don Quijote museum and my favorite thing, el Callejon del Beso. I don’t want to ruin too much about the callejon, but legend has it that whoever kisses underneath it, will have good luck. The driver then took us back to our hotel in San Miguel de Allende and the whole tour ended up only costing us $20usd/hr. We got back to our hotel around 6pm so the total for both of us was only $140usd. Also, if anyone is ever in need of airport transportation, this tour agency also provides that. I’ll note down their information here: +52 1 415153 4084 or you can find them in Facebook @tripSanMiguelMagico

Explore San Miguel de Allende

Be sure to get lost in this magical city, (with Google Maps on hand) and check out the beautiful Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, walk around Juarez Park, do some shopping at Mercado de Artesenias and when you get tired from all the exploring, be sure to grab a churro from San Augustin. They offer an infinite amount of  decadent liquid toppings that you can fill your churro with!

That’s all I have to say for now folks. I’ll be sure to update you all on my wedding adventure, or feel free to follow along on @StewTravels.

Xx,

Stu