I just got back from the most incredible vacation in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. San Miguel has been on my travel list for quite some time and I am so glad I was able to visit! The city itself is very beautiful and rich in culture and history. I decided to make the trip down there for my 34th birthday with my cousin, Pam. Our trip mainly focused on eating and drinking and I cannot complain! I wanted to put together this travel guide and share where we stayed, what we did, where we ate and all the details on our trip! If you’re considering it, I highly recommend it. Let me tell you why San Miguel de Allende should be on your travel list.
WHERE WE STAYED
San Miguel de Allende is pretty walkable and the main attraction is the square in the city center. We wanted to stay somewhere very central since we would be walking for the majority of the trip. We looked into hotels (there are so many to choose from!) but ended up getting an airbnb. There were so many wonderful airbnb options, it was overwhelming! The airbnbs were so charming and decorated to perfection. This is the place we rented which was amazing and super affordable. The location was amazing and it was super clean, the only downside was no AC. Our airbnb was a one bedroom with a king bed, a patio, 1 and a half bathrooms, full size kitchen and living room! If you stay Monday-Friday, there is also a maid that comes to clean it, which was super nice. The same owner also has this amazing two bedroom airbnb that comes with a pool and other amazing amenities. If we were going with a slightly bigger group, we were eyeing this amazing house!
We also researched hotels and I received recommendations from friends. Below are the ones I would recommend.
TRANSPORTATION
The downside of traveling to San Miguel is that there are no direct flights there. You have to fly into Leon or Queretaro and then take a car ride over to the city. In our case, we flew into Queretaro and then hired a driver to take us to San Miguel, which was 1 hour and 15 mins away. I honestly had a hard time finding a transportation company so I ended up asking our airbnb host for a recommendation. He was super helpful and gave me a contact to a driver he normally uses. The cost of transportation for us was $80 USD each way. As far as getting around during our trip, we walked for the most part but used taxis at night. They have uber there but they normally take a while to get to you, in our experience. I recommend bringing pesos and just using a regular taxi!
WHAT TO DO
Like I mentioned, we normally ate and drank but we did do a few other things. I will share a list of things we did and other things that were recommended to us but we didn’t get to.
-Spa at the Rosewood Hotel- highly recommend! We did the traditional 90 minute massage and it was the best ever and super relaxing.
-The Square at San Miguel- Where we hung out most of our trip. So many restaurants, shops, live music and more!
-Wineries- I heard there is a great wine region there and super close, wish we would’ve planned in advance to visit, maybe next time!
-Aguas Termales- Hot springs! The pictures look incredible, will add it to our list for next time.
-Mercado Artesanal- If you have time, stop by the market! You can see all the incredible handmade items and find amazing souvenirs. They also have authentic mexican food and it doesn’t get better!
-The Cathedral- Iconic! The church is stunning and you MUST stop by to see it. We were lucky to see the Palm Sunday celebration and saw a wedding taking place another day.
WHERE TO EAT/DRINK
Like I said, this is what we did the whole trip. The food scene in San Miguel is incredible! I would’ve liked to stay longer to try all the restaurants on my list. We tried to eat three meals a day so we could try different places. I also had so many recommendations and could not get to all! I do recommend to make reservations ahead of time if you can. While we didn’t run into any issues, I just like having reservations to guarantee our visit. I’ll share the list of places we went to, there’s obviously so many more but I’ll stick to our visit.
Bovine– We loved everything we ordered here. We tried a little bit of everything. They have the iconic drink with the picture of San Miguel (a work of art) and it tasted amazing!
Luna Rooftop– Best view of San Miguel, I recommend going at sunset. Drinks and food are incredible. I was obsessed with the aguachile and the tacos de res.
Quince– Also an incredible view of San Miguel. It gets super crowded so definitely make a reservation. They have two kitchens one is mexican food and the other is sushi.
Bulla– Amazing Spanish food, super authentic and high quality.
Atrio– One of our favorites! You can go there for lunch or dinner and it’s also a rooftop. Great drink selection too! We had the solomillo and other amazing dishes.
Nomada– This was our first stop and we were blown away! The aguachile and the sopes were my favorites!
Zibu– Inside the Live Aqua hotel, we had to take a taxi to get here. I highly recommend the octopus and the bone marrow tacos.
Fatima– Another rooftop, we came here for drinks before dinner. The kitchen is Mediterranean but we didn’t try anything.
If you have any questions, leave a comment below or send me a dm on instagram. I hope this guide was helpful for your future travels!
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