Victor and I spent four wonderful weeks on a trip through Mexico in March 2023. We felt completely safe everywhere we went, and absolutely loved the incredibly colorful artwork we saw everywhere, the fascinating ruins, the fantastic museums, and of course, the delicious and affordable food and the friendly, helpful people. To make it easy for you to plan your trip through Mexico, I’ve designed these itineraries:
- One itinerary if you only have 1 week: Mexico City
- Another itinerary if you have 2 weeks: Mexico City and Oaxaca
- The major highlights of Mexico, if you have 3 or more weeks: Mexico City, Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas, Palenque, Campeche, and the Yucatán
I do speak Spanish, and I think transportation and activities were much easier to arrange because of that. If possible, I would highly recommend taking some Spanish classes beforehand, or choosing a favorite city/town after reading this article to spend a week or two in and take classes there. Classes are affordable and everywhere, and you’ll get so much more out of your trip with a bit of Spanish- and feel more comfortable that you’re definitely getting on/getting off at the right spots!
If you’re not comfortable in Spanish, the free Google translate app is amazing. Even if you know a fair amount, definitely download Google translate to your phone, and download both English and Spanish beforehand. Nowadays, you can use Google translate so easily:
- You can hold your phone up in the Google translate app, put on camera, and just point your phone at anything you don’t understand and it will translate it for you (signs, menus, programs, even handwritten notes)
- You can click “conversation” or “transcribe” to listen to someone else speaking in Spanish, and either have it try to translate directly (conversation) or let them speak, read what it says in English, and then speak back. It works quite well! We did this in Vietnam and Thailand!
- You can also take a screenshot of any website or app you aren’t sure of, and add it to camera. I’d recommend doing this for the important ADO bus app to make sure you’re buying the right bus tickets! (More about buses below)
I’d highly recommend a trip through Mexico for everyone who loves Mexican food, archeology, art, history, and understanding our neighbor’s culture (if you’re American). Mexico has so much to offer, and deserves much more than a stay at a beach resort. If you’re looking for an all-inclusive vacation in an American bubble, this isn’t the article for you. While those can be wonderful trips, this article is about how to learn about Mexico, not the beach!
My parents, who are in their 70s, joined us for Mexico City, Orizaba, and Oaxaca, so you’ll see some photos with them too- it was special to have them on our trip too! They also felt completely safe and comfortable the entire time, so Mexico is a wonderful destination for all ages!
How to plan your trip through Mexico:
When to do your trip through Mexico
November- April is the dry season. You’ll want to avoid the rainy season, which is generally about June- October in the area you’ll be. The summer also brings the hottest weather, which is not fun for touring completely unshaded archeological sites. If your best time to go is winter vacation, it will be lovely weather, though of course it will also be more expensive and you should book farther ahead. The other busy time is around Easter (Semana Santa) and spring break. There will be a LOT of American college students in the Yucatan around spring break, so unless you want higher prices and lots of parties, avoid going there at that time.
So I’d most recommend January- March, if you can, to avoid the holiday crowds and have mild, dry weather.
Is it safe to do a trip through Mexico?
Yes! Really! The U.S. State Department maintains a very detailed, state by state, city-specific travel advisory for Mexico. In this article, just as our own trip through Mexico in March 2023, we took the path in blue below. Most of Europe is yellow, level 2 (“exercise increased caution”), and only a very few countries are level 1, like Scandinavia…and the Yucatan and Campeche (“exercise normal precautions”). Here is a screenshot of the State Department’s map of Mexico, with our trip in blue below. It really is no more dangerous than traveling around the U.S. or Europe!
How to get from A to B on your trip through Mexico
The ADO bus app! This app is free, easy to navigate, and has all the most reliable, safe, clean, on time bus schedules. It is in Spanish. To double check/understand, please take a screenshot or copy/paste into Google Translate (you can put a screenshot into Google Translate so it can translate the whole screen for you as needed). You’ll want to register and make an account for yourself on the app.
There are different classes of buses, but generally all the seats on a bus are the same class. We couldn’t always take the most expensive class, and even the cheaper ones were still safe, clean, on time, and comfortable. Of course, if they offer more expensive tickets and you can afford it, they will be nicer- some have fully reclinable seats with individual screens.
If it doesn’t have individual screens, then there will probably be a movie/music playing on communal screens- in which case, I would suggest choosing a seat on the map away from any screens as they can be quite loud/annoying! Your own headphones might be very useful. You can click on “ver detalle” to see what amenities your bus will have.
It’s possible that when you’re traveling, some sections on the Tren Maya might be helpful. It wasn’t yet open when we traveled (March 2023), but the buses worked very well for us, including overnight buses. If you’re a light sleeper, it is difficult to sleep on any bus, as the roads are not smooth, but the bus did everything it could to help us sleep. If the train is running and you can take it overnight instead of a bus, I’m sure that will be more comfortable. For safety and cleanliness, the buses were good!
However, the comfortable ADO buses don’t generally go to any of the archeological sites you’ll want to see. For that, we used taxis. We asked our Airbnb hosts for recommendations on how to get to the sites, and sometimes there was an easy bus, but most often, they had a friend who would drive us for a reasonable price. Sometimes, they were also knowledgeable guides we learned a lot from. It was never a problem finding a budget-friendly taxi to take us to the nearby archeological site…and of course, there was also always a group tour there if we wanted to do that instead.
You can also fly between different spots, like Mexico City and Oaxaca, which is a good option if you’re short on time, don’t like long bus rides, and can afford it. We didn’t rent a car in Mexico, and we don’t think it’s necessary, as the ADO buses are so reliable and safe.
Mexico City
Why go: If you like food, history, archeology, culture, and learning about new places, you’ll love Mexico City. With world-class museums and archeological sites, top restaurants, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, excellent public transportation, affordable taxis and all sorts of safe accommodation, everyone who likes traveling can enjoy a trip here. Your trip through Mexico should definitely start and/or end here. I’d recommend at least 3 days, or a full week or longer if you have time. It would be a great home base if you want to spend a month in one spot and take Spanish classes or just experience life in Mexico.
This is my one week itinerary for Mexico City that puts everything below into one clickable PDF!
Things to do:
- Archeological museum: Incredible museum with some of the best artifacts from all over Mexico. Much better with a guide, and we had a fantastic one, Rodrigo! We organized our tour through Journeys Beyond the Surface.
- Walking tour of the city: Also better with a guide like Rodrigo!
- Food tour- we did it with Rodrigo by luck, as we had booked it through this organization that he also works for, Mexico Underground, which was wonderful.
- Folklore ballet performance at the gorgeous Palacio de Bellas Artes- schedule is here, but you can buy tickets in person just a day ahead of time, and you should explore the building before the performance anyway as it has important enormous murals outside the concert hall.
- Frida Kahlo museum to learn about this fascinating artist’s life. Buy tickets at least a few weeks in advance through the website…but it doesn’t take American Express or Chase cards, and can be finicky. Try another day if it doesn’t work the first time and be patient!
- Take a decorated boat ride through Xochimilco to see the canals that show what Mexico City used to look like and enjoy a local family fun atmosphere.
- Walk around a local arts and crafts market, like this one on Saturdays.
- Explore the major archeological site of Teotihuacán, ideally with a guide from Journeys Beyond the Surface.
- Eat fantastic food…far too many places to list, but here are a few excellent options we loved:
- Pujol– allegedly one of the top 10 restaurants in the world, book as soon as you know your dates, tasting menu only and very expensive, but a beautiful, special experience
- Contramar– definitely make a reservation, as this place is very popular! Delicious seafood and the best eggplant tostadas I’ve ever had
- Expedio de Maíz sin nombre– this was one of my favorite food experience ever. It’s tiny, they don’t take reservations (so get there close to when they open- we didn’t eat breakfast and went straight here in the morning and had no problem), and they have no menu. If you have allergies you can tell them. Otherwise, they just bring out food for your party to share, and keep on bringing new dishes until you say you’re too full. Everything was fantastic and so much variety.
- Temporal– yet another delicious, trendy restaurant in a beautiful, leafy pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.
Where to stay: I’d recommend the lovely neighborhoods of Roma and La Condesa. You’ll be a short walk away from many of the best restaurants, and it is perfectly safe to walk to and from dinner in the evenings. I’d look for an airbnb in those areas. We stayed at this one with four people, and it was very comfortable and well located. You can also check out my article on how to find good accommodations here. If you look at my google maps of restaurants, I’d search for an airbnb near most of them, as those were all in beautiful, leafy, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.
Oaxaca
Why go: Much smaller than Mexico City, but with equally fantastic food, archeological sites, and arts and crafts, Oaxaca is another major must-see stop in Mexico. I’d spend at least two days here even on the shortest trip, and it’s a great place to spend a week or a month if you’d like a home base while taking Spanish classes (or cooking lessons!). It’s also safe and pedestrian-friendly. If you have two weeks for your trip through Mexico, I’d focus just on Mexico City and Oaxaca. Here’s my itinerary if that’s the time you have!
What to do:
- Walk around! Oaxaca is beautiful, with lots of gorgeous inner courtyards, grand colonial houses, colorful murals, and public artwork everywhere. If it’s a weekend, you’ll probably run into a wedding procession, and any day you might see a religious festival! The local markets are full of chiles, crickets, moles, and other specialties, and chocolate is everywhere!
- Oaxaca Archeological Museum– fantastic museum with many of the best finds from Mount Albán, so a great compliment to that visit. Check the hours, as it was closed on weekends when we were there so we rushed in on Friday afternoon!
- Go to Mount Albán, an incredible archeological site a short drive away. A good tour guide will bring it to life. We found one through Journeys Beyond the Surface.
- Oaxaca Botanical Gardens– lovely and educational botanical gardens with a required and informational guided tour…but only 1x a day in English, at 11am when we went, check before going.
- Explore the small villages near Oaxaca to see how traditional handicrafts are still being made today. We went with our group of 4 in a private tour with Journeys Beyond the Surface, but you could also join a group trip if you’re a smaller group or traveling on your own. Either way, learning about how beautiful handicrafts are made today in these colorful villages is a wonderful experience!
- Eat fantastic food! Moles are from Oaxaca, and they have so many of these deep, rich sauces with distinct flavors. Here are just a few restaurants we loved:
- Los Danzantes– get the mole sampler for a fantastic example of different moles!
- El Destilado– rooftop bar for delicious a la carte, fancier set menu below we didn’t try, but the kitchen was wonderful
- Casa Oaxaca– another beautiful rooftop with classy Oaxacan traditional dishes
- Boulenc– delicious bakery and restaurant, good for breakfast, lunch or dinner
Orizaba (if going overland from Mexico City to Oaxaca)
Why go: Honestly, this stop only makes sense if you’re taking the (excellent, clean, safe, on time) buses from Mexico City to Oaxaca. You can also just fly, if you’re short on time and it’s affordable. For us, it broke up an otherwise very long bus from from Mexico City to Oaxaca, and gave us a rest before the next major big city and highlight. It has a pretty little town center and a gondola ride to a viewpoint.
What to do: We stayed at a beautiful old colonial house here, walked to nice meals, walked around the city center, along the river, and took the gondola up to the viewpoint. That’s really it. Relax before the next big adventure!
San Cristobal de las Casas
Why go: San Cristobal de las Casas is an adorable, pedestrian-friendly town that’s a quiet refuge after Mexico City and even smaller than Oaxaca. It’s cool year-round, at altitude, with temperatures in the 50s (around 15 degrees Celsius) year round, which can also be a welcome relief. Full of artwork, it’s yet another excellent place for Spanish classes if you want a smaller, quieter home base.
What to do:
- Free walking tour: We’ve been on many of these, but this guide was one of our best ever. We were exhausted after the overnight bus from Oaxaca, but she kept us awake and entertained, learning a lot and getting an excellent overview of the sites we’d like to come back to on our own.
- Stay at Posada del Abuelito: Again, we’ve stayed at a lot of places around the world, but this was unusually pleasant for a few reasons. First, we arrived here after our overnight bus, cold, tired, and hungry, and they let us have breakfast there immediately without any negotiation or extra payment. Secondly, while our room wasn’t ready, we could put our stuff somewhere safe, and use the showers, towels, and bathrooms to freshen up. Lastly, they were very informed about all the latest events and helped us organize what we were interested in immediately. Very competent, helpful, and friendly!
- Eat at Restaurante Belil for traditional local food
- If interested, take Spanish classes or art classes locally
- Walk around and enjoy all the murals, the local markets, and the pedestrian-only streets!
- Arrange your trip to Palenque via Toniná, Agua Azul, and Misol-Ha at a tour agency around town (see below)
Palenque
Why go: Palenque is an enormous Mayan complex, one of the best preserved and most important in the world, with a fantastic museum on site. It’s not easy to get to, so it’s also quiet and peaceful to explore.
What to do: You can take another overnight ADO bus directly from San Cristobal de las Casas to Palenque. However, I’d suggest instead traveling during the day and arranging to stop at these sights, if locals say it’s safe. When we were there, it was safe to travel directly to Toniná, but the buses weren’t running yet. Hopefully they will be by the time you arrive. If not, travel agencies all over San Cristobal de las Casas should be running group and private tours that will include the stops below.
- Toniná: A major Mayan stronghold and occupied by the Mayans and the Aztecs until the Spanish invasion, it is an incredible archeological site to visit…and when we were there, we were the only people there besides a couple of guards. Wonderful experience!
- Agua Azul: Brilliantly turquoise waters in cascading pools, a lovely short hike with beautiful falls you can walk along and enjoy.
- Misol-Ha: One waterfall you can walk behind. Not enough on its own to go out of your way for, but since it’s a long drive anyway, a good opportunity to stretch your legs.
Once you arrive in Palenque, don’t be discouraged…the modern town of Palenque is not pretty but the archeological site will be! Have a good night’s sleep and be ready for a full day the next day. Modern Palenque is a modern, congested, polluted city, but we stayed at a tranquil oasis, Casa Hadassa la Cañada, and it’s easy and affordable to take a taxi straight from your hotel to the site.
Palenque has an excellent museum, but it closes earlier than the site itself, so check the hours before planning your day! It’s a huge site, so it definitely warrants a very full day. Afterwards, eat traditional Mayan food at Bajlum, near the site, for a memorable and appropriate meal! Otherwise, eat groceries or whatever is convenient or recommended by your lodging.
Campeche
Why go: A beautifully preserved walled city, Campeche is yet another adorable, safe, pedestrian-friendly town to wander around. It’s also nearby yet another incredible archeological site, Edzna.
Things to do:
- Walk on the thick walls, built by the Spanish to protect the wealth taken from Mexico that would leave the port of Campeche to Spain.
- Explore the many of the colonial mansions that are now museums and hotels, including some excellent museums like the Museum of Mayan Architecture and the Campeche Archeological Museum.
- Do the walking tour I’ve made that puts together the walls, the museums, our favorite restaurant, and of course a chocolate place, Chocol-Ha, as a snack to start out!
- Eat delicious local food, like at La María (we ate there twice it was so good!), and have a drink in lovely car-free streets with loads of outdoor seating and public art. Try the fish or shrimp tacos at Santo Taquito y Otros Milagritos.
- Stay in a grand colonial style hotel or an airbnb in a beautiful house, like this one we stayed at.
- Check out the free evening light show every night at 8pm- colorful fun show for all ages!
- Ask the tourist information office for any other events in town. When we were there, several performances were happening each evening, like a ghost tour and battle reenactments.
- For sure do a day trip to the Mayan site Edzna. We arranged an excellent guide and driver through our airbnb, so I suggest contacting your host to see whether they have someone they’d recommend (ours is unfortunately no longer guiding).
Mérida
Why go: The capital of the Yucatán, Mérida is a real Mexican city, unlike the touristy centers of Cancún and Tulum. With many cultural performances in the evenings, the Tourist Information Office will have helpful information on walking tours and other daily activities available in English. But the main reason to go is access to more wonderful archeological sites like Uxmal (convenient to go on your way from Campeche to Mérida) and Chichen Itza– and go to one of many cenotes all over the peninsula.
What to do:
- Uxmal: Yet another beautiful and fascinating archeological site, with very few people. You can take a bus from Campeche to Uxmal, and then from Uxmal to Mérida, or hire a taxi with help from your airbnb/hotel in Campeche to take you there. A written guidebook or tour guide can bring the stones to life.
- Chichen Itza: This was by far the most crowded archeological site we went to in Mexico, which can be a bit overwhelming. It did get quieter in the later afternoon, as most tour groups came in the morning, but definitely go in knowing there will be crowds. It isn’t better than the many other archeological sites I’ve recommended, so if you don’t want tons of tourists, you could just remember all the other ones you’ve been to. If you do go, listen to the guides’ descriptions of the ball court and the sacrificial cenote!
- Cenotes: All over the Yucatan peninsula, there are cenotes- natural freshwater pools in caves underground. For the Mayans, these places are holy as portals to the underground world of the dead. People, including children, were sacrificed here, and so many are archeological sites. Others are pools that are open to swim/snorkel/scuba dive in, and can be a family-friendly way to cool off in sweltering temperatures above ground. Seeing the crystal-clear water and going for a swim is a fun local experience. I’d recommend any that are convenient to your plans. We went to Cenote San Ignacio because it was on our way between Campeche, Uzmal, and Mérida, but there are many popular options near Mérida. There are also several included as part of a day trip from Mérida to Chichen Itza, so that can be a fun and convenient way to experience one as well.
Logistically, you have a few options in the Yucatán:
- Stay in Mérida for a few days. Explore Mérida on a walking tour, get gelato, check out the Mayan museum, and go to an evening cultural performance. There’s a different dance/music performance every evening, as it’s the capital of the Yucatán and they care about preserving their vibrant culture!
- Go to Uxmal, if you didn’t go on your way here
- Do a day trip to Chichen Itza, including a cenote if you haven’t seen one
- OR, go to Chichen Itza on your way to Chetumal, if you want to spend some time in Belize snorkeling in Caye Caulker or go to Tikal in Guatemala (tourist buses available for both from Chetumal)
- OR, go to Chichen Itza on your way to Cancún or Tulum, if you want a few days of beach resort life or you are flying out of Cancún or Tulum airport. There is another archeological site at Tulum, and several more minor sites around the Yucatan, as well as many cenotes and beaches.
- When we were there (March 2023), the roads were too bad and dangerous to get to Calakmul, another impressive archeological site, but at some point in the future, there will allegedly be the Mayan Train to go there. It’s also in a rainforest (obviously the train construction will degrade the biodiversity of the rainforest). If it’s open, that would be wonderful to see. It’s not open yet (May 2024).
Last tips for your trip through Mexico
- Hopefully by now, you can make a list of places you want to go in Mexico. Not sure how to put it all together in one itinerary? Buy my one week, two weeks, or three weeks itineraries here!
- With your list of places to visit, download the ADO bus app to figure out how to get from A to B. It is only in Spanish, so use the app Google Translate to translate anything you’re unsure of (screenshots can be added directly to Google Translate). For places you can’t get to with the ADO buses, you’ll be able to either take local shuttles (ADO buses are for major intercity routes, not for small local trips), or ask your airbnb or hotel host to help arrange a taxi for you. Taxis were easy and affordable. In some places, Uber works as well.
- Arrange an excellent tour guide for major archeological sites. For Mexico City and Oaxaca, we found ours through this company. Other towns, we asked our hosts. If you’re traveling alone or with two people, it might be most affordable to do a group tour of a site, or buy a guidebook if you prefer reading about the sites on your own. You can also learn about the Mayans and Aztecs through many books, movies, and podcasts, like this podcast. Listening to the podcast while on the bus rides through Mexico gives great background knowledge!
- Normally, we use guidebooks, Wikipedia, books and podcasts to learn about the sites we’re visiting. But in Mexico City, the archeological museum really came alive with our tour guide, as it was overwhelming and impersonal otherwise. With a guide, we saw all the highlights and really learned much more. That’s why I recommend it there.
- For the archeological sites, a guidebook/Wikipedia will work well…but you do need to get there/back anyway, so if it’s the same price to go with someone who can also teach you about the site, do that!
- Buy your flight into Mexico City and out of Cancun or Tulum- unless you’re going to extend your trip through Belize and Guatemala!
- Book your accommodation in your places, once you’ve used my Google maps to figure out how long it takes to get from one place to another. If you do the overnight bus from Oaxaca to San Cristobal de las Casas, remember you don’t need a place to sleep that night.
- Most places didn’t have breakfast. Buy oatmeal, long-lasting milk, yogurt, muesli, or other easy breakfast foods to save time/money in the mornings. Buy bread, peanut butter and jam to pack a lunch for the archeological sites. Bring water (buy bottled or bring a water filter). Buy nuts/dried fruit for when you’re at an exciting site or long drive and don’t want to stop for food.
- Bring Pepto Bismol. Studies have shown that taking 1 or 2 Peptos after each meal drastically reduces the likelihood of traveler’s diarrhea, also known as Montezuma’s revenge. It’s also available at every pharmacy in Mexico…which, disturbingly, were about once every block or two! Pharmacies also have oral rehydration salts and any other medicine you might need. Trying to eat only freshly cooked hot food helps (perhaps avoid the salsas that have been sitting on your table for hours), and of course avoid the tap water. We did all get sick at one point, but of our month in Mexico, that lasted less than 24 hours…and we ate so many incredible meals during that month! It was worth it!
- Everywhere we went all month, we felt completely safe. The buses, the pedestrian-friendly streets, the colorful artwork everywhere, fantastic food, and incredible archeology and history everywhere…this is a wonderful country to explore. Have an unforgettable trip!
