Colima is more dangerous than CDMX, but neither are on the OP’s itinerary. So let’s return to topic
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Since you did Oaxaca recently, I’d go for 
- I think there would be plenty to do between the couple of cities to keep busy and weather would probably be great in September.
But what does your family say? Do they want to sort of recreate that Oaxaca trip but different spot in same country? Want something totally different??
My memories of QC and Montreal are totally a European vibe.
I believe the OP was planning their trip during the summer. @abasket
That being the case, I think the trip to Montreal and Quebec City would be my preference over Mexico (where I personally would be happier vacationing in the winter!).
And agree….QC and Montreal both have a great vibe…and feel European to me too.
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Oh pardon me, I swear I remembered September! But my sentiment does not change! Early or late in the summer, you’ll likely have lovely weather to get out and about!
@busdriver11 Guatemala was a recent add, so I haven’t delved into the weather, but the part of Mexico I’m considering has elevation and highs of 80 in July. Otherwise I would have included Mérida, but it is very hot/humid, so got shelved for another time. I’ll check again in Europe. I could find cheap flights to get there, but nothing cheap to come home.
@jym626 We will be flying to Montreal, as we’re coming from the West coast.
@Lindagaf It’s funny that you say that Montreal “doesn’t give you a real sense of being in a different culture”. That is actually my son’s statement; he’d rather go south than north. And I did a trip to Guatemala ~20 years ago and I agree, Tikal is breathtaking. That itinerary is the least fleshed out, but I started getting tired of fleshing out three full itinerarires, so queried here. Re: Mexico, you would recommend Merida/Yucatan in July? It sounds really hot and humid. Mexico City feels overwhelming to me–like NYC on steroids. I want to feel like there’s some nature I could visit somehow, and perhaps I’m giving CDMX a bad rap, but it didn’t feel like that was an option there.
@abasket I had the family rank the options. Two said Canada, one said Guatemala first. I probably would have put Mexico first, hence the post. But the joy and bane of my family is that no one had super strong feelings about it, and we all did like how far our money went in Mexico; it made it easier to go out for more meals, etc, etc.
Thank you to all who have chimed in! It sounds like the vote here is Montreal/QC. I’ll have one more conversation with the family and, assuming all are in agreement, I’ll table the other two for another time.
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As someone who lives in the upper Midwest, I’d vote for Canada in September every time. After the kids go back to school, the weather should be perfect and the crowds hopefully less.
September is my very favorite month.
You couldn’t pay me to go to Mexico in prime hurricane season. Even if there is no hurricane in the area, it will be the hottest and most humid part of the year.
But then, I’m not much of a beach person so I’m thinking my opinion isn’t really worth anything 
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Do you have the same feeling about Canada and Mexico in July? Because we’re going in July. 
Last year we went to the BVI at the end of June. It was so hot and everything was outside except your bedroom had air conditioning. I was miserable and felt that there was no where to escape the heat. The up side was that I don’t think it was that busy.
I wouldn’t do it voluntarily again. It was not my favorite.
Canada on the other hand, warm days, cool nights. July is high season for tourists.
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LOL. To me, NYC is the most “city on steroids” place I’ve ever been and is nothing like Mexico City. I’ve lived a hour north of NYC for 20 years. Hong Kong would be next.
I mentioned CDMX because for your itinerary, you most likely would fly there. The old town part of CDMX has Aztec ruins, a beautiful cathedral, a cobbled plaza, charming colonial style buildings, open air art installations, etc… There are distinct areas of Mexico City that are quite spread out. The Museo Soumaya can’t be more different from the Templo Mayor. Anyway, your itinerary is outside of CDMX so I won’t go into it more. If interested, I posted this back in 22. https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/mexico-city-great-for-a-shorter-break
The region you want to go to is a known tourist route that seems delightful. I find that Mexicans are friendly and helpful. The food is great.
Guatemala was lovely. It has more of an *indigenous” feel because I don’t think it’s quite as well set up for tourists as Mexico is. Antigua is very special. Lake Atitlan was beautiful and feels very authentic and not touristy, but maybe it is these days. I recall a lot of hassle from people hawking stuff to tourists, but it would not put me off going. I went there a long time ago. Having been to Tikal and blown away by it (far more impressive than the amazing sites of Teotihuacan, Chichen Itzen, Tulum, Coba, and various Belizean ruins), it still stands out as a spectacular site. We didn’t spend time in Guatemala City.
Many years ago we went to Yucatán, Belize, and Guatemala in July. It was fine, and I don’t recall being bothered by the heat. It was a long time ago though. Not that it’s hotter now, but perhaps I would be less tolerant of it. Certainly, the weather will be better in Montreal in the summer. Sometimes, when you are going somewhere and you know it’s going to be very hot or very cold, it’s fine because you are mentally prepared for it. We just went to Iceland. Crazy cold, but amazing.
I do like Montreal. We had a car, which we parked while we were there. I am sure you could do some nice countryside between Montreal and QC. I like more adventurous places though, and to me Montreal, while lovely, isn’t adventurous. It feels like a place to visit if you can’t get to Europe. No offense to anyone. I will go to Montreal again. I haven’t been to QC but have heard good things about it.
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S was there (Guatemala) in late July, it was the rainy season so there were afternoon thunderstorms most days. But it wasn’t too oppressively hot (especially with a lake to swim in).
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Yep. Maybe not so relevant in the context of the possible destinations for the OP, but between that, the cenotes, and the sea, it didn’t seem too hot.
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