If you're visiting Mexico City, then planning a visit to the City of Gods, the iconic Teotihuacan pyramids is a must. But how do you go about it? The easiest answer is to book a day tour.
The pyramids are a few hours drive from the city and most tours will include the transport, entrance fee to the archeological site, as well as stopping at other important monuments.
We booked the tour to the pyramids through Viator. They cost about £35 each, click here to see the tour details. We got un the bus at 7 am in a central meeting place and got back to Mexico City around 5 pm.
Personally, I recommend doing the tour as the prices are very fair considering it’s a whole day activity and it includes transport, a tour guide, seeing many key historical and cultural sites, not just the pyramids. We were able to learn so much about Mexico - oh and tequila! This was our itinerary:
- Tlatelolco & the Plaza de las Tres Culturas
- Tequila tasting
- Teotihuacan (Pyramids)
- Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Keep reading to check out the breakdown of the day. For more info about our grand Mexican adventure, click here.
1st stop: Tlatelolco & the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Square of the Three Cultures)
Our first stop was visiting the Tlatelolco & the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. The square and monuments mark the many historical events that took place there and stand in recognition of the three periods of Mexican history reflected by buildings in the plaza: pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial, and independent nation.
2nd stop: Tequila tasting
After a few hours’ drive away from Mexico City we arrived at our second stop, out in the desert. The drive made us realise how big the city is, with endless ant-heap-like hills. I was also surprised to see neighbourhoods that had surreal-looking cable cars as a means of going up and down the hills, as the traffic down on the ground is so bad.
The tequila tasting was interesting, we learnt about the process of making tequila and mezcal. However, I’m not sure how sensible it was to take shots at 11 am in the midday heat. It got us into a hazy and dream-like state, but maybe that’s what we needed to be ready for the City of Gods.
3rd stop: Teotihuacan Pyramids, City of Gods
Disclaimer, you are not allowed to walk up the pyramids anymore, due to COVID regulations. But after the tequila shots, it was a relief to not have to battle up hundreds of stairs.
The whole archaeological site is extremely impressive. It’s hard to imagine how much more impressive it must have been in its full glory when most of the pyramids were red and decorated intricately.
Did you know Teotihuacan was one of the largest cities in the ancient world, with over 150,000 inhabitants at its peak? Wow, it's mind blowing when you think about it.
But there’s a lot of mystery around the civilisation. The origin and language of the Teotihuacanos are yet unknown. And then one of the greatest mysteries is that no one knows where the huge population that lived here eventually ended up. It is as if they vanished without a trace.
After a few hours, and many photos, later, we headed back to the bus. It was so special to visit such a historical site, the capital of a civilisation, an empire. But we also learnt it was a place of hardship, death, and suffering. I recommend visiting - and taking a hat and water, there is hardly any shade or shops around.
Stop 5: Lunch
Unsurprisingly, the tour company took us to a tourist trap restaurant for lunch where Aztec-impersonating dancers, with fake Gucci bags, jumped around the tables. All a bit weird and unnecessary. The food was expensive but nothing special. And the service? Not great. The cold beer and the tres leches cake kept me smiling though.
Funny story, when the bill came, very bitterly we tipped the restaurant a fake bill, it had come into our possession by a sneaky taxi driver the day before. Before you judge us, let me clarify the bill was worth about $5 and we felt this would even out the over-priced lunch. They accepted the money and waved us goodbye. Nervously we walked away, it seemed like we were in the clear though.
After about 10 minutes we climbed back onto the tour bus, ready to continue our tour. When the bus driver started up the bus again, our waiter appeared in front of him. The doors opened and up the stairs, he came, scouting for us, the criminals. He waved the fake bill in the air, looking straight at us, “it’s fake, it’s fake! Not real!”. We were busted!
Immediately we acted confused and innocent in front of the tour group - of 30 people. We apologised for "not realising" the bill was fake and paid him with real Mexican pesos. What a relief it was when the bus finally drove off. We sat red-faced until our next stop, however, it would be the ideal place to repent for our sins...
Stop 6: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our last stop of the day was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the largest religious building in Mexico. But in fact, it is not only one church but many churches, buildings and a beautiful park, all in the same complex.
The older, more classical churches are very beautiful even though they have been distorted by time, bombings and earthquakes. They contrast with the monstrous modern church built recently, a more soviet looking concrete building, which our tour guide expressed proudly they built to fit 100,000 devotees.
My favourite spot was the kiosk, El Quiosquito. Having a cold drink in the surreal courtyard full of flowers and plants was lovely. But, by that point my feet were tired and the day felt like it was ready to come to a close.
Last but not least, we spotted a market opposite the church entrance and after a quick dash across the highway we entered it. It was full of colourful rosaries, religious ornaments, flowers to give the church, candles, and many many baby Jesus statues wrapped up in plastic. Bizarre, eccentric, flashy and worth a visit!
The contrast between Mexico’s ancient civilizations, beliefs and traditions, with Catholicism made me realise how diverse and complex Mexican culture is.
Travel information ✈️
3-week Itinerary
We travelled around Mexico for nearly 3 weeks. We divided the trip into 4 parts, with 4 nights in each location, to explore the different sides of the country:
- Mexico City (Central Zone)
- Puerto Escondido (Pacific coast)
- Chiapas - San Cristobal de las Casas (Central South)
- Tulum (Caribbean coast)
How to get to Mexico - International flights
We booked our flights to Mexico from Europe in February 2022 to fly on the 2nd of June 2022, so we didn’t book too far in advance.
I flew with British Airways, directly from Heathrow to Mexico City, and on the way back I flew directly from Cancun to Heathrow. The flights were about 10 hours each way, and in total were around £900.
My partner Danny flew directly from Amsterdam to Mexico City. On the way, he had a layover in Mexico City from Cancun, and then he flew back to Amsterdam from Mexico City. His flights were around £800 in total.
Transport inside Mexico
Taxis: Uber is in Mexico City and it's a cheaper and safe way to travel.
Flights: Internal flights are cheap and a good way to travel around Mexico as the country is very big. We used Skyscanner to find the flights and then booked them on the airlines' websites, such as Volaris or Aerobus.
Accommodation in Mexico City
We booked all our hotels through Booking.com, using our phones and taking advantage of the lower "mobile prices" - it's a great traveller's tip to try out!
In Mexico City, we stayed at the hotel Ayenda Anzures House. The hotel's an impressive-looking large colonial-style house in the neighbourhood of Anzures, close to trendy neighbourhoods like Roma and Polanco as well as close to the centre and the main park, Bosque de Chapultepec.
We had a large room and a bathroom with a giant bathtub and our balcony, which was my favourite feature. The hotel felt very safe with 24/7 reception.
The receptionist told us the house had belonged to a past Mexican president, it felt like we were staying in an important place in history. However, we found the shower leaked and there were a few small details which showed the true age of the building. But overall it was a comfortable, cute, and convenient stay.
Total price for 4 nights for 2 people: MXN 6,992.90. Approx £303.
Address: Shakespeare 142, Mexico City, 11590, Mexico. Phone: +52 5576568654
Keep reading
- Our 3-week Mexican adventure - Itinerary & details
- Mexico City - Exploring the city & pyramids in 3 days
- 3 musts when visiting Puerto Escondido - Oaxaca, Mexico
- Why you should explore Chiapas from San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico
- 7 alternative (budget) ideas to enjoy Tulum, Mexico
- Mexico & Food
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