There is no greater waste than going to Mexico but limiting yourself to Cancún. Don’t get me wrong, the area with the most famous beaches in the country is really beautiful, with that shade of Caribbean blue that few places know how to do. But Mexico is much more than that. It also has pre-Columbian ruins for Indiana Jones to complain about, fantastic food, colonial cities, beautiful landscapes and one of the largest metropolises on the planet. In this text, I will talk about a 15-day itinerary in Mexico, which is what I did. Let’s go?
See too:
How much does it cost to travel to Mexico?
Mexico is much more than Cancún
Mexican food: typical dishes of the country
Travel Insurance for Mexico
Don’t forget Travel Insurance for Mexico! Although it is not mandatory, the insurance guarantees you health coverage in the event of lost luggage, trip cancellation and it is also possible to take out coverage for Covid-19. Click here to search for the best insurance option for you, guaranteeing up to 25% discount or click on one of the options below.
Cheap tickets to Mexico
Are you looking for cheap tickets to Mexico? So take a look at these options:
15 day itinerary in Mexico
In reality, I spent 16 days and 15 nights in Mexico, counting the days of arrival and departure from the country. There was time to do a lot of things. As flights generally arrive in the capital, that’s where we started the trip. From there we went to Puebla, Cholula, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya and finally to Chichen Itzá, as shown in the map below.
Four days in Mexico City
This is the minimum time to get to know Mexico City, although I think the ideal would be a week. This is one of the largest and most interesting metropolises in the world – and that’s if we don’t talk about the attractions around DF.
The Zócalo alone – the historic center – takes a full day of travel, with its museums, parks, squares and streets. Reserve another day for the Anthropology Museum, which is a must-see, and for the Chapultepec Forest and Castle, very important points in Mexican history. Teotihuacán, pre-Columbian ruins that are 55 km from the capital, are usually combined with the Basilica of Guadalupe region, with both tours taking up another day of your itinerary. The fourth day can be spent in the Coyoacán neighborhood, where Frida Kahlo grew up and lived. There is the famous Casa Azul, a museum that keeps the memory of the artist, as well as squares and a market. Add a lot of time and space in your pocket for different restaurants. And don’t forget to watch a lucha libre.
See too:
Four days of tourism in Mexico City
Zócalo: itinerary in the historic center of Mexico City
Visit to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City
Teotihuacán, Mexico: visit and history of the ruins
Mexican Wrestling: sport and spectacle in Mexico City
Where to stay in Mexico City: hotel and neighborhood tips
As Mexico City is the country’s gateway to and from the country, it is normal for travelers to divide their visit into two parts, spending a few days there at the beginning and at the end of the trip. From there, head to Puebla, a colonial city 130 km from the DF.
Want to know where to stay in Mexico City, check out some of our recommendations that we’ve already tested:
Budget: Mexico City Hostel (2 stars, rating 8.5 – $)
Cost/Benefit: Hotel Ritz Ciudad de México (4 stars, rating 8.5 – $$)
Comfort/Luxury: Downtown Hotel (5 stars, rating 8.9 – $$$$)
Mexico City
Puebla and Cholula
Get from Mexico City to Puebla by bus, with ADO. Tickets cost around 180 pesos each way and the trip takes around two and a half hours. Despite the short distance, Puebla is not a destination for day trips – it’s best to sleep there at least one night, to be able to see everything at your leisure.
Puebla
The gastronomic capital of Mexico, Puebla has 2,619 secular buildings, including more than 20 churches and temples, 60 public buildings, including the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, which was the first in the Americas, and hundreds of mansions. Museums, markets and good restaurants complete the list of attractions, but the best thing to do there is to walk aimlessly through the city streets.
See too:
• Puebla, colonial mansions and the best of Mexican food
• The Great Pyramid of Cholula and the magical village
∑ Where to stay in Puebla and Cholula, Mexico: hotel tips
Don’t forget to also visit Cholula, a neighboring city, a busy city connected by a tourist train to Puebla. It is there that the largest monument built by man is located, a pyramid measuring 66 meters high and 450 meters long, but which can go unnoticed, as it is covered in vegetation and has a Catholic church at its top. Furthermore, Cholula has streets full of colorful houses, more churches, a great view of volcanoes and nightlife for no one to complain about.
I spent one night and two days in this region, based in Puebla. Those who have more time can stay an extra night.
Wondering where to stay in Puebla? Accommodation in Puebla is cheaper than in Mexico City. There are good options for colonial mansions in the city center:
• Hotel Gala – 4 stars ($$)
• Casa Rosa Gran Hotel Boutique – 4 stars ($$$)
• Casareyna Boutique Hotel – 5 stars ($$$$)
Sanctuary, which is at the top of the Cholula pyramid (Photo: Cristobal Garciaferro, Shutterstock)
San Cristóbal de las Casas
You can go by bus, but the journey is long – it’s around 800 km and almost 12 hours on the road. Alternatively, those going by land add another stop to the itinerary, Oaxaca, a city halfway between Puebla and San Cris, and which is also full of attractions. This was our original itinerary, which was changed because we calculated that time would be short. So, we returned to Mexico City, spent another day there and the following night we took a Viva Aerobus flight to Tuxtla, which is 60 km from San Cristóbal de las Casas.
San Cristóbal de las Casas
With just 180,000 inhabitants, the tourist part of San Cris is small and can be covered in a day or two. And almost everyone who passes through San Cris also takes the opportunity to take some day trips. The most traditional is the Cañion del Sumidero, which is an hour from the city. There, walls of up to a thousand meters frame the Grijalva River. Other tours in the surrounding area involve the El Chiflón Waterfalls or a visit to the ruins of Palenque. But in this case the round trip is difficult, as there are more than 400 km of road, round trip.
It is also worth visiting San Juan de Chamula, a community where religious ceremonies take place that are a mix of ancient Mayan culture and that of the Spanish conquerors. Visiting a Zapatista camp, a revolutionary movement that marked the 90s, taking San Cristóbal and thus attracting worldwide attention, is another possible program.
I spent two nights and three days there. If you want to take a day trip back to Palenque and visit the Canyon, then the ideal is to stay an extra day.
See too:
San Cristóbal de las Casas, good food and nature in southern Mexico
Where to stay in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico
Cancun and Riviera Maya
Take a flight from Tuxtla (mine was with Volaris) to Cancún. You may not even be staying in the most famous resort in Mexico, but this will be your gateway to the Yucatán Peninsula, a beautiful region with attractions that go well beyond the beach and drink in hand combo.
I spent six days in this area. The stay was divided, with half spent on the beach and the other half on tours, many of which also involved the sea. For the first three days the base was Playa del Carmen, which we thought would be a better destination for our travel style than Cancún. Afterwards, we headed to Akumal, a beach that is 1.5 hours from Cancún and which is home to dozens of turtles.
Do you want ideas on where to stay in Cancún and the region? Take a look at the options below:
• Hotel Akumal Natura Glamping (3 stars, nota 8.7 – $$)
• Unic Design Hotel (4 stars, rating 8.2 – $$)
• Hotel Casa Maya (note 8.2 – $$)
• Viva Wyndham Azteca All Inclusive (4 stars, rating 8.5 – $$$)
• Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun (5 stars, rating 9.1 – $$$$)
Cumulative
It was from Akumal that we also discovered Tulum, another city with beautiful beaches and Mayan ruins by the sea; the cenotes, geological formations typical of Mexico; and Cobá and Chichén Itzá, two sets of pre-Columbian ruins.
See too:
Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya: how to plan your trip
How to rent a car in Cancun and Playa del Carmen
Valladolid and Chichen Itza
One of the most beautiful pre-Columbian ruins in Mexico, to the point of being chosen as one of the Wonders of the Modern World. This is Chichén itzá, which is 200 km from Cancún. Although several agencies offer day trip tours, which also include a quick visit to cenotes, it is best to take your time. To do this, the ideal is to rent a car and spend a night near the ruins, also taking the opportunity to visit Valladolid and Cobá along the way.
See too: Chichén Itzá, the most beautiful Mayan pyramid in Mexico
Chichen Itza
Do you have more time?
If you have more time, an alternative is to head from Chichén Itzá to Mérida, which is 120 km (and 1h30) away. And from Mérida to another very famous set of ruins, Uxmal, it’s just a short hop: just another hour and 80 km. There are flights from Mérida to Mexico City, with the four main Mexican airlines (Volaris, Viva Aerobus, InterJet and Aeroméxico). The flight lasts 2 hours and I found tickets for as little as R$250, which makes it easier to get back without the need to go through Cancún.
Read too: History and tradition on a visit to Oaxaca
In San Cristóbal de las Casas, with more time it would be possible to include Palenque not as a day trip, but as an overnight option. Oaxaca, the city between San Cris and Puebla, could also be included in the itinerary. And it’s always worth leaving more time for Mexico City. There is no shortage of things to do and the day trip options are varied.
