Mexico: Roots of Fire

October 1-11

From $8,317

October 1-11, 2026

✔️ Guaranteed departure

Mexico City | Puebla | Oaxaca | The Valleys

Group size: 8 Maximum

Physical Rating: 1 - Easy

$8,317 USD Double Occupancy

Not suitable for dietary requirements

$9,726 USD Single occupancy

YOUR HOST

Yimnah Rosas

Chef, preserver, entrepeneur

Check Availability

What makes food in Mexico? Claiming trend or fad would have you thrown out of any respectable kitchen. Recipes are rarely recalled using the written word; they’re muscle memory, instinct, and the dab of a spoon on the wrist. Learn by watching, tasting, standing close enough to get elbowed away, and being told you’re getting it wrong.

Markets start early, and smell of hot corn, chilies hitting metal, and coffee boiling somewhere behind a tarp. You’ll spend time with cooks who learned from parents and grandparents, who measure nothing, trust their senses completely, and can tell you exactly why one chile belongs in a dish and another doesn’t.

This itinerary allows you the space to learn like their ancestors did.

Some of what you’ll eat carries deep ancestral gravitas. A lot of it is driven by instinct and heat, and a willingness to push ingredients to the limits of their flavor. You’ll leave with smoke on your clothes, heat in your nose, and an understanding of why people here care so ferociously about what lands on their plate.

Book Now
FULL ITINERARY
 

Mornings start in neighbourhood markets and street kitchens, moving stall to stall the way locals eat. Tacos, tamales, soups and time with friends set the tone.

Mexico City

The road climbs into thinner air and slower kitchens, where layered sauces are pounded by hand and Puebla’s classics surface through shared experience and phenomenal views.

Paso de Cortés & Puebla

Markets, workshops and wood-fired kitchens shape the days, with corn running through almost everything. Mezcal and ultra regional dishes are experienced exactly where they emerged.

Oaxaca

Hands-on sessions with tortilla work and traditional chocolate sit inside small working kitchens.

The Valleys

Back North

Produce-led cooking frames the daytime before the city shifts gear after dark. A final run of colour, noise and late tables closes the trip.

full itinerary

Yimnah Rosas

YOUR HOST:

Yimnah is one of Mexico's most trusted food insiders. She certainly knows all the right places to eat at. But, considering Mexico’s food traditions go back thousands of years, she doesn't just show you where to eat – she translates the history behind what it is today.

Yimnah has spent years building the kind of culinary relationships that open kitchen doors others can't. That's exactly why she is our number one choice for Salt Caravan's first Mexican food tour.

She grew up in Mexico City, learning to cook at her grandmother's side from the age of six. She later studied gastronomy formally, worked as an executive chef in Morelos, and built a business designing home-cooked menus for 800 people a day. Five years in, she sold that business and moved into local food tours full-time as a licensed guide in 2018.

What makes traveling with Yimnah different? She can explain how indigenous traditions, colonial history, regional ingredients, and new and old cooking techniques shaped what's on your plate. And why food in Mexico is tied so closely to identity, community, and daily life.

She's also a bit of a myth buster. If you've got preconceptions about Mexican food, expect to have them challenged – in the nicest possible way.

When you're traveling with Yimnah, her background shows up everywhere – in how she reads a menu, the questions she asks the vendors, and the way she explains why something tastes the way it does.

If there is something special you need to try in Mexico, you're in great hands!

WHAT'S INCLUDED

  • All accommodation for tour nights

  • All breakfasts, six lunches, four dinners

  • Expertise and services of our experienced English-speaking hosts: at least one per trip

  • Additional guides and experts from the region

  • Salt Caravan gifts related to the themes, activities and narratives of each trip

  • All transfers between itinerary destinations

  • All scheduled activities, including workshops and tastings

  • Drinks within included tasting activities, pairings, or hosted meals

WHAT'S NOT

  • International airfare to and from the journey

  • Visas or entry documentation required for travel

  • Personal travel insurance

  • Arrival and departure transfers to and from the airport

  • Any meals not specified as “included” in the itinerary

  • Drinks beyond what’s covered in tastings, pairings, or hosted meals

  • Personal spending, including laundry, room service, bar tabs, etc.

  • Tip kitty (See FAQs for more information)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Prior to the payment of your full balance, the final price may change if there is significant variation in the respective exchange rates. Our trip pricing is determined by what the exchange rates are at the time of publishing the trip.

    A deposit is required to hold your spot.

    There is a cooling-off period of 2 weeks. (Applicable to all bookings made at least 120 days before trip departure.)

    We have implemented a ‘lifetime deposit’ guarantee. Deposits are not refundable, but they are transferable at any time, right up until the first day of the trip.

    The final balance of the trip is required 120 days in advance of the departure date. Our suppliers require upfront payment well in advance to guarantee availability.

    Please refer to the full terms and conditions for further information.

  • This Trip has a Physical Rating of: 1 - Easy

    Participating in this tour means you are capable of the following:

    • Able to regularly walk for an afternoon (2-4 hours at a time) at a reasonable pace, unassisted.

    • Have the mobility and balance to walk over hilly and uneven ground (e.g. cobblestones, cracked pavements).

    • Have the energy levels to regularly enjoy busy days on your feet.

    • Can handle own luggage; up and down stairs, on and off any mode of transport, and lift into/out of luggage racks.

    • Could negotiate a shower over bath in hotels, if needed.

    • Can handle own luggage, up and down stairs, and on/off transport luggage racks.

    • Could use a squat toilet, if necessary. Or willing to train on strength to do so.

    • Does not have mobility issues (e.g. knee/hip problems).

    • Does not use walking aids.

    Not quite sure - or have some questions first? Chat with one of our Salt Caravan Booking Managers to discuss a trip before booking if you have questions about trip suitability.

  • This will depend on the passport you travel with:

    • Check entry requirements for your nationality well in advance.

    • Confirm if a visa is needed for your trip: Check your official government travel site, or contact your nearest embassy.

    • Remember to also consider countries you traveling - to and transiting through.

    • A handy place to start is AnyVisa

  • Most of our trips have a tip kitty because many cultures have diverse rules when it comes to tips. We’ve found it to be the easiest way to combat over-tipping, under-tipping or having the tip fall into the wrong hands. Our goal is for guests to relax and know that the complexities of tipping are taken care of, on their behalf.

    You will be notified about the tipping amount and how it’s distributed, by 120 days pre-trip.

  • This trip begins and ends in Mexico City. We recommend flying into Mexico City International Airport (Benito Juárez). The same airport is the most convenient option for your departure.

  • Try to arrive before midday on the start day, although earlier would be recommended. If possible, come one day early to settle in.

  • Opportunities to do laundry during your trip may be unpredictable. However, your guide will be able to assist with this during your trip.

  • Your guide will be with you throughout your trip, and is your first point of call for any help you might need.

    In the unlikely event of a health or security related incident during a trip, we’ve engaged a local partner to assist. From our experience, there is not one framework that fits all, and every incident is unique and requires a different approach. With all trips, your guides are your day-to-day support. While behind the scenes, there is an active line of communication – between your guide, the on-ground support team, and Australian Ops.

    Read our Trip Help Process for more detail.

  • People who join our trips tend to be well travelled, curious, and comfortable with a bit of looseness in the plan if the food or the moment leads us somewhere better. They care more about what’s real than what’s polished, and they’re happy trading Michelin stars for access, stories, and meals with a point of view. That is, not all white tablecloths and perfectly composed plates; it might mean a plastic stool, a smoky kitchen, a cook who knows their regulars by name, and a dish that carries a bit of history.

    We also expect guests to follow our Participation Guidelines; they keep everyone happy, safe, and having fun throughout their adventure.