Travel agent in Ajijic for Lake Chapala residents

Getting out of here

Guadalajara is thirty-five minutes away

GDL has direct service to the United States and Canada on American, United, Delta, Aeroméxico, Volaris and VivaAerobus. We book any of them. The difference is what you are left holding afterwards.

Flights

Home, and back again

Trips to see family in the United States and Canada, with the return built around your plans rather than around whatever was cheapest on the day you searched.

Connections

The awkward itineraries

Multi-city routes, long layovers, an onward leg from a US hub, a trip with three people leaving from two countries. The ones a search box handles badly.

The whole trip

Not only the ticket

Hotel, transfers and insurance arranged around the flight, so the parts fit together and you are not reconciling four confirmations from four companies.

On paper

Something to point at

A formal quote in PDF with the currency, the conditions and what is included. An invoice. Travel documents handed to you before you leave.

Worth knowing

Mexican low-cost airlines, in plain English

This is the single thing residents ask us about most, so here it is whether or not you ever book through us.

The headline fare is the seat

On Volaris and VivaAerobus, baggage, seat selection and changes are priced separately and added later in the flow. The cheapest fare on the results page is often not the cheapest way to travel with a suitcase.

Check-in closes early

Earlier than most travellers coming from a US carrier expect, and the counter does not make exceptions. Missing that window is the most common way people lose a flight out of Guadalajara. Confirm the cut-off for your flight and plan the drive backwards from it.

Support is a queue

Their sites and apps move between English and Spanish unevenly, and when something changes you are dealing with a form. If we made the booking, the reservation is in our system too and you have a person to write to instead.

Cheap is not always cheap

Sometimes a low-cost fare really is the right answer and we will tell you so. Sometimes a full-service ticket with a bag included costs less once everything is added up. We would rather run that comparison than sell you the wrong one.

The actual difference

Booking online is fine, right up until it is not

Nobody needs an agency for a trip where nothing goes wrong. The reason to use one is the morning it does, and you are standing in an airport a long way from home.

A cancelled flight

Someone who already has your booking reference, knows what you paid for and starts working on the alternative while you find somewhere to sit down.

A hotel that has no record of you

We hold the confirmation. It is a phone call between the agency and the hotel, in Spanish, rather than an argument you have to win at a front desk.

A change of plans

Illness, a family matter, a date that moves. We tell you plainly what can be changed, what it costs and what is simply lost, before you commit to anything.

While you are away

A contact you can write to during the trip. The accompaniment does not stop the moment you take off, which is exactly when a comparison site stops being useful.

Because you live here

Four things that matter more when Mexico is home

These come up constantly with residents and almost never with visitors, which is why you will not find them on a booking site.

Insurance

Cover that does not stop at 70

We sell travel insurance on its own, not only inside a package, and we have policies for travellers over 70 — the age at which several insurers simply stop covering, and the age at which it matters most. We go through what a policy covers and what it excludes before you buy it, rather than when you are trying to claim.

Ticketing

Your trip does not have to start in Mexico

We work through an airline consolidator, so we can issue tickets departing from almost anywhere in the world. If you are flying out of Phoenix or Toronto on the second leg, or if your family is joining you from three different cities, it can all sit in one file with one person handling it.

Out of hours

Someone on call while you are away

The office runs Monday to Friday from 9 to 5 and Saturdays from 9 to 2, but there is always someone on duty for travellers who are already out there. If something goes wrong at an hour that suits nobody, you are not waiting until the office opens.

Pets and medical travel

The trips with extra paperwork

We arrange travel with a pet, around airlines and accommodation that accept them, and we tell you early what each one asks for. We also run Medical Getaways: trips built around a procedure, with the clinic, the transfers and the recovery time inside the itinerary.

A note on pets: the legal requirements set by the airline and the destination country — health certificates, vaccinations and import permits — remain the traveller's responsibility. We will tell you what they are and how much time you need; we cannot sign them for you.

Also from here

Cruises and guided tours, arranged end to end

Two of the things residents here ask for most, and two where the logistics from central Mexico are the annoying part.

Cruises

Caribbean, Mediterranean, Alaska, Europe

Including how you get from Guadalajara to the port and back, which is usually the piece that turns a simple cruise booking into three separate problems.

Guided tours

Someone else drives

Scheduled departures across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, with a guide, where you are not responsible for the route, the parking or the language.

Groups

Travelling with friends

A closed group departure for a club, a church, a card game or a circle of neighbours who would rather go together. We handle the blocks and the individual payments.

Mexico

The country you are living in

Copper Canyon, the Maya Train, Guanajuato, Querétaro and the colonial cities. Proper multi-day circuits, arranged by an agency based in Mexico that deals with the operators directly, and looks after you in Spanish or English.

Frequently asked

What residents ask us

Is there a travel agent in Ajijic who works in English?

Yes. Lago Travel Services has a walk-in office on Carretera Oriente 58C in Ajijic and works in English as well as Spanish, including the quote, the contract, the insurance cover and the travel documents. We are open Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Can you book flights from Guadalajara to the United States and Canada?

Yes. Guadalajara airport is about thirty-five minutes from Ajijic and has direct service to a number of US and Canadian cities on American, United, Delta, Aeroméxico, Volaris and VivaAerobus. We book any of them, and we can arrange the hotel, the transfers and the insurance around the flight if you would rather have the whole trip handled in one place.

I would rather not book Volaris or VivaAerobus myself. Can you do it?

Yes, and it is one of the things residents here ask us for most. The cheapest fare on those airlines covers little more than the seat: baggage, seat selection and changes are priced separately, and check-in closes earlier than most travellers expect. We book the fare that actually fits what you are carrying, and you end up with a written confirmation rather than a screen you have to find again.

What happens if my flight is cancelled while I am travelling?

You write to us and we go to work on it. That is the practical difference between an agency and a comparison site: the booking exists in our records too, so there is someone on your side dealing with the airline while you deal with being stuck. The accompaniment does not end when you take off.

Can you arrange a cruise from here?

Yes. Cruises are one of our regular lines — the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Alaska and Europe — and that includes getting you from Guadalajara to the port and home again, which is usually the awkward part when you are sailing from somewhere else.

Are you a licensed agency, and how do I check?

Yes, and you should check, with us and with anyone else you are thinking of paying. We are listed in Mexico's National Tourism Registry under certificate number 041403096F042, and we are an active member in good standing of AMAV Occidente A.C. under the code amavgdl48. Both registers are public and can be consulted online before you hand over any money.

Do you sell travel insurance on its own, and do you cover travellers over 70?

Yes to both. We sell travel insurance separately from any trip, and we have policies for travellers over 70, which is the point at which several insurers stop covering. We go through the exclusions with you before you buy, because that is the part that matters and the part nobody reads.

Can you issue a ticket that departs from the United States or Canada?

Yes. We work through an airline consolidator, so we can issue tickets departing from almost anywhere in the world rather than only from Mexico. That covers an onward leg out of a US hub, a trip that begins while you are already abroad, and family members flying in from different countries on one file.

Is there anyone available outside office hours?

For travellers who are already on a trip, yes. The office is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and outside those hours someone is on duty for emergencies that come up mid-trip. It is an emergency line rather than a full service desk, but it means you are not stuck until Monday.

Can I travel with my dog or cat?

Yes. We arrange the trip around airlines and accommodation that accept pets and tell you early what each one requires, because the lead times are longer than people expect. The legal requirements — the health certificate, the vaccinations and any import permit for the destination country — are the traveller's responsibility, and we will tell you exactly which ones apply to your route.

The travel agency for people who live at Lakeside