Long weekend itinerary in Guadalajara, Mexico!

Guadalajara is a perfect short weekend trip. I didn’t find too much reading material or step by step day planners so I thought I would document our trip and thoughts about all the activities we did.

D and I wanted to spend a short weekend somewhere and it just so happens that SJC has direct flights to Guadalajara. Only 3 hours away, it makes for a perfect Friday, Saturday, Sunday trip andddd it’s international! Passport is required.

Here’s our itinerary and favorite things to do.

Day 1 Evening (Friday)

  • First night arrival to the airport (SJC -> GDL)
  • Get cash at the airport from the ATM. The exchange rate is way better than the currency desks there. We also discovered we could use USD at most places but it was convenient to have some cash.
  • Uber from the Airport -> Hotel Demetria
  • Hotel we chose to stay in: Hotel Demetria. It was such a cool hotel. The lobby and hotel is so well decorated, it feels like you’re walking through a modern museum. There’s free breakfast daily, and it was an awesome choice and just 5-10 minutes walk from the lively streets (Avenue Chapultepec). NOT SPONSORED :]
  • The hotel suggested La Tomate to eat at. It’s a local favorite and a big restaurant 10 minutes away on Av. Chapultepec. It’s like Mexican style gyro meat, with tortillas and different salsas to make your own tacos. We had beers and our own tacos! It was unique and pretty soon outside, there was a line to get in!
  • Afterwards, we walked up and down Av Chapultepec. There were small tent vendors all lined up in the middle of the street, and many bars and lively beer places all along the street. We picked a few to try tequila and mixed drinks (Bebotero and Banana’s Cafe), and ate at 3-4 different taco stands along the way! I wanted to try them all!
  • At the end of the street, is a really popular taco stand called Tacos Don Luis. People line up for this, and they churn out tacos fast. My favorite was probably one that was less busy, and they served lengua [beef tongue] everywhere (my favorite, and the most expensive of the meats in Mexico).

I didn’t know what to expect on the first day with travel warnings on Mexico and people telling us to be safe. The people we met on the first night were all so friendly, and open in sharing places we should go to and try. We were at a bar, and these 2 guys went out of their way to come talk to us in English, giving out tips of cool bars, and welcoming us to their country. It was so heartwarming and that’s something I love about traveling. By meeting the people and having a better understanding of what we’re afraid of, we learn that we’re all pretty similar and we don’t need a wall to hide behind.

Day 2 (Saturday)

  • After a delicious breakfast, and our server teaching us how to peel and eat cactus fruit, we took an Uber to Centro Historico. The historical part of the city. I’m pretty glad we didn’t stay in this area because it seemed like a very touristy area with buildings under construction and tourists everywhere. It was nice wandering down the streets as we walked all the way to Instituto Cultural Cabanas.
  • Instituto Cultural Cabanas, also known as Hospicio Cabanas is a World Heritage site and has a really beautiful famous ceiling mural called Man of Fire. It was beautiful to see along with many of the exhibits featuring local artists and artistic styles. Tickets are $7 per person.
  • After, we went to the markets where they have food courts to have the famous TORTAS AHOGADAS! pork sandwiches with tomato sauce poured over it! Head over to Plaza Tapatia for FOOD GALORE!
  • There’s so many food stalls there and we settled on one that was big and with Goat head displayed proudly in their racks. El Palenque, Birrieria & Tortas Ahogadas is the name of the stall. There, we had tripe stew, tortas ahogadas, and of course, moreeee tacos!

Side Note: It seems like Mexico is the place to buy jewelry and silver. A lot of security guards outside of the jewelry stores are armed with machine guns. I took a picture of one before he could say no. That said, we felt really safe in Guadalajara. 

  • After we walked back to Centro Historico, we didn’t have much else to look at so we took an Uber to Tlaquepaque  (Visitor Center as reference, 30 Minutes). I read blogs where they separated these in 2 days, but I felt like all of this can be done in 1 day. DO NOT MISS TLAQUEPAQUE on your trip! It was one of the highlights of our trip!
  • We loved walking down the colorful street and wandering into random shops, and stumbled onto a craft fair at the Museo Regional de la Ceramica.
  • Walking around San Pedro Tlaquepaque was so much fun, trying all the food carts around the square, getting delicious freshly squeezed citrus, squirt, and tequila mixed in a clay pot to drink (also makes for a great souvenir). We tried homemade ice cream, elote from different places, fruits, everything was good! The square is so lively and everyone was so nice. We were the only asian people there for sure, and everyone was so helpful and tried to help us order and speak Spanish when the vendor didn’t speak English, and tried to teach us how to eat things certain ways 🙂
  • We got back to the hotel and rested a bit before our reservation at Hueso! I read so many blogs that mentioned this restaurant, I emailed them for a reservation. Luckily, they were also on Av. Chapultepec and was a 10 minute walk away! Also note, people eat late here, so 9pm-10pm reservations are normal.
  • While at the hotel, we made a reservation for a private tour to Tequila the next day. It was so easy and so much cheaper than TripAdvisor (where you’d be with 6-8 other people in a van).
  • Hueso – Iconic temple of bones restaurant operated by Chef Cadena, designed by his own brother. Communal tables, fantastic service, good food, great wine, way lower prices than the US. I highly recommend going! Drank beer after at the Kolsch bar next to the hotel (obviously, I need my beer). There was a family sitting next to me with their little boy at the counter too. HOW COOL IS THAT? bringing your kids to a pub at 1am at night.

Day 2 was packed but never felt rushed. I was still amazed at how friendly everyone was to us. A girl and her family also came up to us because she’s obsessed with BTS and asked to take a photo with us (hoping we were both Korean.) We kept seeing her and she was so shy and giggly when she saw us haha. Everyone is so fashionable here and seem so happy, out socializing with friends and strangers. Sometimes, I think that’s missing in my own city.

Day 3 (Sunday)

  • Our driver came to pick us up in the morning after breakfast. It was an hour drive to Tequila. We passed Lake Chapala and Ajijic. I really want to go there next time to see Ajijic, a large ex-pat community by the lake. Maybe it’s an option to retire to later on 🙂
  • First stop was Tequila Tres Mujeres. We got a guide, and tried different tequilas, and learned about the process of how Tequila is made. Great tour, with a cellar of tequila rooms and a chapel made with barrel seats!
  • Next, we went to the Tequila town square (with a colorful TEQUILA sign like all of the other areas, TLAQUEPAQUE as well). Got some delicious pork rinds with lime, salt and hot sauce in a bag, and one of our guide’s favorite drinks – fermented rice and citrus juice called Tejuino Y Pachecadas. The stand was started by the father and now run by the son, and seemed pretty well known in the area. It tasted like it went bad to me. Although i made effort to try to finish it, I just couldn’t. It seemed really popular with the locals though and worth a try! Add beer in there (that’s an option).
  • Walked around to Jose Cuervo’s beautiful estate, walked around the side streets, and into some food courts. Our guide thought it was weird we wanted to go on the side streets to see how real locals lived and not just the shiny colorful streets the square showed. Oh well, she followed along and explained things to us. We saw a tortilla maker on the machine packing up tortillas to sell, many cool windows/doors to photograph and run down little shops. Although some areas were shabby, it was never dirty and unkept.
  • On our way home, our guide took us to a famous Cantaritos for a drink and small bites. I do love those drinks! It was called Cantaritos El Curadero. 2 mariachi bands and people who danced, and people who paid to sing made the place very lively! Everyone loved to sing!
    • Drinks were strong, and you can buy a HUGE jug to share or individual cups of citrus juice, different kinds of tequila, and sprite or squirt mixed in.
    • Loved people watching here. A couple near our table ordered a huge jug of Cantaritos and even went and bought D a cup so they could share some of theirs. Another guy asked to take a photo with D, probably because they’ve never seen such a big Asian dude.
  •  After we got back to the hotel after a full day, we looked for a seafood place to eat at. So lucky we found La Panga del Impostor. The patio is so cute and everything was so tasty and colorful. Octopus! YUM! This was one of the highlights of our trip and ended our trip on a great note.
  • Oh yeah, i did get late night tacos Uber Eats to the hotel because, i just needed to have tacos one last time before leaving Mexico 😀

That was our trip! we left early Monday morning and went back to work!

Overall, such a cool short weekend trip. I’m excited to explore more of Mexico next time. Guadalajara is definitely a drinking town and better for couples rather than families. I’m grateful for all of the friendly faces we met during our short visit there. Hope this itinerary helped plan your trip to Guadalajara!