Mexico

Most cheap holidays to Mexico will commence in the capital where you're unlikely to find a more definitive reference point than the Temple Mayor (Great Temple), which, according to Aztec belief, marks the centre of the universe. It's just one of over 1400 historical buildings congregating around the teeming Zócalo, one of the world's largest squares, in the district of Centro Histórico. But, this is Mexico City, and everything it does, it does in immense proportions.

Built on top of the destroyed Aztec city of Tenochtitlan and sprawling ever outwards, 22 million people call it home. The volume of shopping, dining and nightlife it packs in is incredible, with a level of energy - and unfortunately, pollution - to match. Like it or despise it, you won't forget it in a hurry.

Travellers enjoying cheap holidays to Mexico will soon realise that the country itself is larger than life, its bulk tapering crookedly from the stringently patrolled southern border posts of the US until it meets with Belize and Guatemala in Central America. A dual spine of twin mountain ranges, separated by plains and valleys, ripples down most of its length, petering out before the jungles of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Coastline and beaches there are aplenty, lapped by the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to the east. For the traveller, this territory presents major and myriad attractions likely to exceed the expectation of many embarking on cheap holidays to Mexico.

Fabulous Mayan ruins in Palenque and Chichén Itzá, and the huge ancient city of Teotihuacán, are just the beginning. Charming colonial towns and cities such as Oaxaca and San Cristóbal de las Casas dot the interior, brimming with cafés, markets, architecture and a welcoming atmosphere.

While good time beach resorts like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco are well known stops on cheap holidays to Mexico, there are also plenty of quieter coastal villages that offer a more relaxed pace. On the Southern Pacific coast, Puerto Escondido, Melaque and the BahÍa de Navidad, to name a few, offer excellent beaches and bays, great seafood and surf, mixed in with the laidback 'mañana,mañana' way of life.

Cheap holidays to Mexico certainly offer something exotic and the wildlife of the Yucatán includes toucans, ocelots, anteaters and jaguars, while a ride on the Chihuahua-Pacífic Railway is famed for its spectacular views of the Sierra Tarahumara... although if you haven't got a head for dizzying heights, don't look down.