[gimpychimp]

On Wednesdays Charter Club tours offers a trip which takes you around the lake. We could drive around it ourselves with guests, but we don't know how much there is to see and having someone point things out and explain them is very helpful, I must say. At 850 pesos each for 5 of us, though, it seems like a lot to spend for the day and I am really wondering if it is worth it and is there all that much of interest to see. For $340 dollars I would want it to be really good. Has anyone ever taken this tour, especially recently, who could offer me any feedback on it?

[DC5]

I've never taken this tour but at that price it had better be pretty special! We've been around the lake several times (you do know that you can't drive all the around following the shore?) and I'm hard pressed to think of anything to see that would be worth that much.

[cedros]

I've taken it and it was well worth it. I saw things I would never have found and they had information about various places and things.
There was an old mansion that was being restored in La Barca but it was closed to visitors but the tour guide knew the guard so we got to go through it. They took us to THE VORTEX at Cuitzeo castle which we would never have found on our own and to a strange chapel at Tuxcueca.

[MtnMama]

The brochure says they have special rates for groups - worth asking how big the group needs to be.

[lardca]

I was interested in the same tour when we had some visitors last November. I thought the price was kind of high, too.

I checked with Sunset Tours on 16th Septembre, right down from LCS. With a minimum of 4 people they would schedule it any day you wanted. Price for 4 was 1700 pesos, total. The description was pretty much the same as Charter.

We didn't get to take the tour as our friends weren't here long enough. Has anyone gone on the Sunset Tours trip? How was it? We're having more visitors and I'd be interested in your view if you've used them for the round the lake or other tours.

[ericurmudgeon]

A friend of mine who is pretty careful with the pesos took the tour with Charter Club and said it was well worth it. A very full day and lots of interesting stops/information.

[sandykayak]

ericurmudgeon, on 08 February 2010 - 08:12 PM, said:

A friend of mine who is pretty careful with the pesos took the tour with Charter Club and said it was well worth it. A very full day and lots of interesting stops/information.

A couple of years ago, 3 of us took the 1/2 day tour to Guadalajara at $35 USD each. It was sooo well worth it. The information given was excellent, free personal time enabled us to go to the Mercado Libertad and have lunch, and they even made an unscheduled stop at the roundabout so we could look at the paintings that were for sale.

I'd like to do their Mazamitla tour. Has anyone done that one? That's on Mondays. They also have a Friday tour to some archeological site.

[jnc]

We took this Charter Club tour when we came down for a week to look Lake Chapala over, prior to movng down. Our guide was Rosie, a former teacher-turned-tour guide, who I believe still works there. It was an excellent experience for someone who has never done it. There are numerous interesting stops and Rosie was very efficient and well-informed. It is really a good survey of parts of Lake Chapala that you are unlikely to see on your own. The price was not cheap, but for an all day tour with the quality and efficiency shown by Rosie and the other Charter Club Tour staff, it was worth doing at least once.

My wife and I have done day trips to several areas of the South Lake you might be interested in visiting. Here is a link to the section of my photojournal blog about the Lake Chapala South Shore area. I don't believe these locations are on the Charter Club Tour, or any other tour, but all can be easily day-tripped. ¡Buena suerte!