When John Ayliffe and family asked me to help them plan a trip to Playa Viva y Casa Viva recently I recommended that they add 3 days in Patzcuaro, inland in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, to their trip. They started with 1 night in Casa Viva, then a 3 hour drive to Patzcuaro, 3 nights in a local residence that we arranged for them and then 3 nights warming up on the beaches of Playa Viva.  I prepared a google doc with recommendations on where to stay and these are their recommendations back to us below. Enjoy and check out the google doc for recommendations on Patzcuaro (feel free to give us your feedback and input so we can share with our guests traveling to the area):

The document that David at Playa Viva provided was full of great hints and recommendations of what to do and where to go in and around Patzcuaro. We spent 3 days soaking up the atmosphere of this heritage town and loved our morning (and evening) strolls through the town. Breakfast and coffee at La Surtidora was a firm favourite as was the market – bustling, with a great choice of hot food, fresh produce and local goods. The food at Lupita’s (near the Basilica) was also really good. The bakery on Romero (2 minutes from the main square just past the hospital) tempted us on more than occasion as our nostrils were filled with that heavenly just-baked smell. Also recommend visiting the Casa de los 11 Patios – really beautiful (http://www.patzcuaro.com/atractivos/5_once_patios.html).

Going out of town, we only managed to visit Tzintzuntzan (the potter is well worth a visit), Santa Clara del Cobre (the copper work is FANTASTIC – our favourite – visit the museum on the main street) and the quaint Bavarian restaurant near Erongaricuaro where the kids fished for trout and carp – a welcome break for them from the artisans.