Guadalajara Excursions

One of the benefits of studying abroad is the ability to venture outside your host city and explore the surrounding area. Excursions are offered for all semester, trimester, year, and summer programs. You will receive a calendar of the specific CEA excursions offered for your program during orientation. To give you an idea of the possibilities, we have collected typical experiences from some of the tours and trips we have offered to our students in the past.

Guanajuato

The city of Guanajuato is an old mining city that owes its foundation to the rich silver mines that were first discovered by the Spaniards in 1548. In 1741, the city was given the title of "The Most Noble and Loyal City of Santa Fe y Real de Minas Guanajuato;" it subsequently became 16th century Mexico's richest city. The mining splendor of this period is reflected in the city's magnificent religious and civil architecture. A city tour will introduce students to Guanajuato's downtown area - the city's underground road system is of particular interest. Students will even venture inside a mine shaft where they will listen to sad stories of the old miners that worked and died there. A visit to the mummy museum follows, where human remains are housed behind a glass case. Students can see how these corpses became desiccated over the years and even catch a glimpse of the clothes they wore at the time of burial. This museum also houses the smallest mummy in the world. Guanajuato has many other treasures to be discovered, such as the monument to el Pipila and the "kissing alley." The French-style Hidalgo Market offers a wide variety of popular handicrafts, and students can spend the evening dancing to Latin rhythms. A Sunday trip to San Miguel de Allende, a small town full of art galleries, coffee shops, and plazas, invites students to sit on a bench and watch people pass by while they enjoy a nice nieve de Garrafa.

Lake Chapala

Students have the option of boating on Lake Chapala or going horseback riding on the lake's sandy shores. Either way, the group will meet up in the afternoon for a relaxing dip in the area's delicious natural hot springs.

Michoacán

Michoacán, known for being nestled between tree-covered mountains and having beautiful beaches, is just off the beaten path enough that it is as close to the real Mexico as there possibly is. The culture there is rich and students will want to be sure to purchase some of their excellent handicrafts.

Puerto Vallarta

This city is a magical combination of the traditional and the modern. Puerto Vallarta offers everything from open markets where Huichol Indians show and sell their unique workmanship to hundreds of activities, including bungee jumping, internet cafes, horseback riding-- both on the beach and in the mountains or the jungle-- the best clubs and bars, whale watching (Spring Only) and more art galleries than one can imagine! Puerto Vallarta is situated on the same longitude as the Hawaiian Islands, so there are many similarities between the climates of the two destinations. During the journey to Puerto Vallarta, students can be comfortable as they watch movies on the bus and admire the scenery, especially while driving through the beautiful Sierra Madre. After checking in at the hotel, students will enjoy a walk around the Malecon (beach front). Saturday is open to many activities, from lounging around the pool area or the beach, parasailing or jet skiing, and participating in the different activities that the hotel has to offer. As the sun sets students set out to learn why Puerto Vallarta night life is so famous.

Tlaquepaque and Tonalá

The character of Tlaquepaque and Tonalá becomes evident in the work of the many talented artisans who sell their ceramics, pottery, and assorted wares there. Even better, haggling over prices will be fun and excellent conversational Spanish practice. In El Parián, a square in Tlaquepaque, students can listen to the upbeat sounds of the strolling Mariachis in the evening after a day of hunting for great bargains.

Zacatecas

This picturesque and unspoiled mining town's palaces of pale pink stonework, Baroque-style facades, towers and paved streets will stun students. Overhead cable cars will transport them to the highest point in the city, the Bufa, for the most amazing view of the area.

Tequila

Due to its rich traditions and beautiful surroundings, Tequila has been granted the title of Magical Town. One is able to see thousands of acres of the blue-green, spiny Maguey cactus from which Tequila is distilled for miles around the city of Tequila. This is the agave plant, which requires approximately eight years to reach the level of maturity necessary to produce tequila. CEA’s first stop is the agave fields, where the process of cultivation and harvesting is explained by professional agave farmers. Students will also visit Tequila Cuervo, a big name in tequila production and one of the twenty-four distilleries located in Tequila, Jalisco. A guided tour of the Hacienda provides a step-by-step introduction to the process of tequila production, from cooking the plant to the fermentation of the golden liquid. At the end of the visit, students are invited to enjoy a typical Mexican lunch with live traditional music and margarita and tequila samples. The extra time at the end of the excursion can be spent strolling around Tequila Town.

Guachimontones

Guachimontones is a recently discovered archaeological complex that existed in Jalisco more than 2,000 years ago. The name Guachimontones comes from the Nahuatl word Huaxe (gourd) and the Spanish word monton (pile); thus it could be translated as a pile of gourds. The main characteristic that distinguishes it from the rest of the cultures of Mesoamerica is its unusual architectural style, defined by ceremonial centers in the form of concentric circles that today we call Guachimontones. The largest pre-Hispanic ruin in the state of Jalisco is located on the highest part of the hill next to the town Teuchitlan. It flourished around the year 300 B.C. and experienced its heyday from 200 to 400 B.C. during the Classic Period. The precinct has ten circular buildings, two ball courts, rectangular plazas, residential units and cultivated terraces. The visit begins in the House of Culture in Teuchitlan, where archaeologists will explain the process of excavation, the work taking place in the ruins, and some highlights of the culture that inhabited there, such as the ball game, the clay handicraft, and religion. After this brief explanation, students will head up to Guachimontones, which is located in the top of a mountain but cannot be seen from the town. Local experts will explain each complex; at the end, they will teach students how to fill themselves with the positive energy of this site.