Tips for your Guanajuato trip

I'd like to give you a few helpful travel tips that I wish I had known (or paid attention to) for your holiday in Guanajuato, Mexico.

1. US dollar is rarely if ever used here, make sure you do your currency exchange at your airport as there are few places that will do it here.  A personal tip:  Make sure you count the exchange in front of the teller, I cannot tell you how many times they did not do it correctly.
2. June through September is rainy season, bring an umbrella and lightweight raincoat along with a second pair of shoes.  You can use the umbrella on sunny days as well.
3. You can hail a taxi just about anywhere in el centro and a ride to your destination costs only about $3-$6 USD no matter where you go in the city.
4. I don't recommend renting a car if you are staying in the city, the underground tunnel system is frightening to say the least.
5. The Babylon app for your smart phone is a LIFESAVER, I repeat, LIFESAVER, download it, use it :)
6. Download a currency converter app to your phone to help you get used to the conversion.  
7. We used Google maps (walking) to help us find places and all in all it worked pretty well.
8. Bring the address of your hotel/apartment, etc. with you everywhere you go, the last thing you need is to jump into a taxi and forget it.
9. Guanajuato is very 'green', bring a shopping bag with you (not every place has bags), don't take long, hot showers (the tanks can't handle it here anyway), turn off your lights when you leave and please don't flush toilet paper or feminine products down the toilet (their plumbing just cannot handle it).
10. If you are a germ-a-phobe,  buy some hand sanitizer and carry with you.  I never did this and found most places quite clean but it never hurts.
11. A good pair of walking shoes is a must.  I am surviving in flip-flops but regret not bringing a lightweight pair of hiking/walking shoes.
12. Don't wear expensive or expensive looking jewelry, it could make you a target for robbery (I have never felt un-safe here fyi - just a good travel tip overall, leave the 3 carat ring at home in your safe).
13. Bring a couple of over the counter meds to help your digestive system adapt to the food and water (do not drink from the tap), such as Tums, Immodium, Kaopectate, etc.  
14. Many of the hotels do not have three prong outlets so you may want to ask prior to your stay or bring a converter with you.
15. Mega Foods is the go to grocery store in the city.  Any cab will take you there for a few USDs.  They have everything you could ever need, i.e. hairdryers, food, clothing, televisions, toiletries, etc.  We bought three weeks worth of food there for less than $150 USD.
16. If you are one of those people that cannot function without coffee in the morning first thing, I might recommend bringing some kind of survival kit such as a jar of instant or a french press.  We have found that the pots in the room are 'wonky' at best and the last thing you need is to start your day with an overflowing machine (can you tell this has happened to me?).
17. Consider getting a prepaid phone in Mexico rather than increasing your plan to include air time here.  We sucked up all of our data in less than three days here.  We are still looking into the best way to do this (sim card or pre-paid phone) and will let you know what we end up doing.
18. Treat yourself and hire a tour guide for the day, it's well worth it.

I will update as I think of more items but these little bits can help tremendously.

Best,

Cat