Mexico Itineraries

The first-timer’s week for culture and food: four days in the capital, three in Oaxaca, linked by a one-hour flight or a scenic six-and-a-half-hour bus ride. It works all year, though June to September brings afternoon rain.

Pace: steady. The only long day is Day 4, so take the morning flight on Day 5 if you prefer and fold Oaxaca’s market into the afternoon. Book the Frida Kahlo Museum and any cooking class before you fly, since both sell out a week or more ahead. On Day 6, tours combine the sights in a fixed order; a private driver for the day costs more but lets you reach Hierve el Agua before the tour buses.

Cost: about 15,000-26,000 MXN ($830-1,450) per person including the internal flight. Rooms run 1,500-3,000 MXN in both cities; food, Metro rides, museum entry and the valley tour add 900-1,600 MXN a day.

Yucatán alternative: swap Oaxaca for the Yucatán by flying Mexico City to Mérida (2 hours) on Day 5, spending Day 6 at Uxmal and Day 7 at Chichén Itzá and a cenote, then onward to Cancún airport by Tren Maya or ADO.

A loop from Cancún airport through colonial cities, Maya ruins, cenotes and the Caribbean, best from November to April. It works by Tren Maya and ADO, but a hire car for Days 3 to 7 makes the cenotes and smaller ruins far easier.

Pace: moderate, with one long day (Day 7). If you are short of energy, cut Campeche and go straight from Mérida to Tulum. Mérida is a good base for slower travellers, and it has the best food in the peninsula. On the Caribbean side, May to September brings sargassum to Tulum’s beaches; swap Day 9’s beach for Isla Mujeres or Holbox, which face north.

Cost: about 19,000-32,000 MXN ($1,050-1,800) per person with a shared hire car for five days. Chichén Itzá’s combined federal and state entry is the priciest ticket at roughly 650-700 MXN; most other ruins cost 100-250 MXN and cenotes 100-400 MXN.

The grand tour, moving east from the capital to the Caribbean. It needs one overnight bus, one long jungle day and one flight or train, and it is best from November to April.

Pace: fast in the second week. If you have 16 days, add a night in Mérida and a second beach day. The San Cristóbal to Palenque road through Ocosingo is short but has a history of roadblocks and robberies, and the Agua Azul waterfalls have been closed intermittently by local disputes, so ask in San Cristóbal which route the buses and shuttles are using and follow current advice. The safe alternative is to fly from Tuxtla Gutiérrez (an hour from San Cristóbal) to Mérida or Cancún via Mexico City and drop Palenque.

Cost: about 30,000-50,000 MXN ($1,650-2,800) per person, with buses for most legs. Each flight you add costs 1,500-3,000 MXN.

A themed route for January to March, when grey whales calve in the Pacific lagoons and the Sea of Cortez is calm and clear. Fly into La Paz and out of Los Cabos (San José del Cabo airport), and hire a car.

Pace: relaxed, with early starts only on whale days. For the most famous whale encounters, go farther north to Laguna San Ignacio or Ojo de Liebre near Guerrero Negro; they are long drives from La Paz and best done as a separate trip with fly-in camps. Cost: about 22,000-38,000 MXN ($1,200-2,100) per person including car hire and tours.

Pacific alternative: In the same season, fly to Oaxaca and take the short flight or the winding road to Puerto Escondido for surf at Zicatela, then work east to the small beaches of Mazunte and Zipolite and on to Huatulco’s bays for a week of beaches and turtle beaches before flying back to Mexico City.

• First-timers: The 7-day Mexico City and Oaxaca route, or the 10-day Yucatán loop if you want beaches, both stay in the safest and best-connected parts of the country. Avoid trying to add Chiapas in a single week.
• Families: The Yucatán is the easiest region with children: short drives, cenotes, Xcaret-style parks and calm beaches on Isla Mujeres and in Puerto Morelos. Hire a car and cut the number of hotel changes to three.
• Slow travel: Spend a week each in Oaxaca and Mérida, with day trips instead of moves, or base yourself in San Miguel de Allende and visit Guanajuato and Querétaro. Our digital nomads in Mexico page covers longer stays.
• Rainy season (June to October): The Yucatán and Oaxaca routes still work, with sightseeing in the mornings. Build in a free day on the Caribbean or Pacific coast in August to October in case of storms, and favour north-facing Caribbean beaches for the sargassum months.
• Day of the Dead: Start the 7-day route on 29 October to be in Oaxaca or Pátzcuaro for 31 October to 2 November, and book three to six months ahead.

Book ADO tickets a few days ahead normally and two weeks ahead for Semana Santa, the Christmas holidays and long weekends, when buses sell out. The ADO website and app accept foreign cards and issue mobile tickets; bring your passport, since names are checked on boarding at some terminals. Tren Maya tickets are sold on the official site trenmaya.gob.mx and at stations; services are limited to a handful of departures a day on most sections, several stations (Mérida-Teya, Valladolid, Chichén Itzá) are outside the towns, and timetables are revised often, so confirm the current routes and times on the official site before you build a day around a train. Some routes, such as Cancún airport to Mérida, take about as long as ADO but are more comfortable.

For domestic flights, Volaris and VivaAerobus are cheapest when booked a month or more ahead, but their fares exclude checked bags. Leave at least three hours between a domestic arrival and an international departure. On the Yucatán and Baja routes, rental cars are cheapest booked in advance with the insurance included in the quote, since desk prices for the compulsory liability cover can triple the cost.