How to Plan Your Mezcal Tastings in Oaxaca

If you are planning a trip to Oaxaca, odds are good you have mezcal tasting on your mind.

The good news is that you won't go wanting for more mezcal in Oaxaca. The stores, tasting rooms, and cocktail bars are plentiful beyond even what we expected. The bad news is that mezcal, particularly good mezcal, is expensive and may come at quite the sticker shock.

So in this one, we thought we'd break down ways you can taste mezcal in Oaxaca, share why it is so expensive, and help encourage you to plan a trip out to a palenque to see how agave is grown and mezcal is produced!

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Tips and Advice for Driving to Vail in Winter

When it comes to driving in the United States, the vast majority of the time we simply don't think about it because getting around is incredibly easy. Rent a car, pick it up, and go without hesitation.

On the surface, driving to Vail in the winter seems a lot like that. If you fly into Denver, you pick up a car, drive west on I-70 for an indeterminate period of time (for reasons we'll talk about later), get off the highway, and you are, quite literally, there. You are driving in the mountains, but it is on a multi-lane highway the entire way.

But throw in potentially hazardous snow conditions, the limited (and expensive) parking in Vail proper, the laws for driving in the mountains during the winter, and, of course, opportunistic rental car companies hoping you're not the wiser, and there is a lot to consider when driving to Vail in the winter indeed.

So, let's break down some of the important things to know for what should otherwise be an easy drive!

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Where to Stay in Vail – In the Villages or Not?

If you are planning a Vail ski trip and are looking for accommodations, your first reaction is likely going to be a huge sticker shock at the price of hotels.

During the ski season, Vail is astronomical

But there are ways to get around this when planning where to stay in Vail, and it all stems from around whether you want to stay in the resort villages or are willing to make a little extra effort to stay in the further stretches of town.

So let's break down why you may want to stay inside the villages in Vail (particularly Vail Village and Lionshead Villages right by the slopes), why you may want to stay outside of these (such as in Sandstone or nearby), and touch on why transportation options are important to keep in mind!

Note: I received a media Epic Pass through an outside partnership that allowed this trip to happen. 100% of all costs associated with traveling to Vail outside of this were my own.

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Sandstone Creek Club Review – A Great Stay in Vail

I have to admit, our trip to ski in Vail fell into our laps rather unexpectedly.

Part of this was because I was working with a local resort in the Vail brand (for another website of ours) that allowed me to utilize an Epic Pass for a season. Then we found out that our home contractor had a timeshare in Vail during the winter that they were looking to sublet for a discount.

Although I am a novice skier at best and had never skied out west prior to this trip, I took them up on the opportunity of a lifetime and booked a week at Sandstone Creek Club just across I-70 from the resort villages.

It turned out to be quite a good experience- so much so that if we had to do it all over again (discount or not), we would certainly look at Sandstone Creek Club as a potential option when visiting for winter.

So let's share a bit more why we liked this property so much!

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