Mexico had been on my travel list for a while. I imagined it as a land of palm-fringed beaches, deliciously exotic cuisine, steamy jungles, buzzing cities, and fun culture. And unsurprisingly, it has been one of the few countries that exceeded all my expectations.
Yes, in Mexico there's everything you might want for a holiday. It's truly an extraordinary country, and even though we went for 3 weeks, I feel like we barely scratched the surface of it. I'm eager to return in the future to keep exploring it - and I would even be open to potentially moving there.
After travelling around the country, what surprised me the most was its vastness and diversity, there are so many different sides to Mexico.
We leant it's a country with a complex and rich history, which nowadays has led to a fascinating mix of cultures. Such as the ancient with the modern and the native with the foreign. It's a melting pot of history, culture and people. This is seen from the religion and beliefs to the food and art, and everything in between.
Mexico also has many different types of landscapes and incredible nature. The surfer's paradise of the Pacific coast differs from the Ibiza-ish Caribbean coast.
And then there's the mountains and the wild jungle inland or the desert-like bareness outside Mexico City. Every different location we visited in Mexico was like exploring another country which made the trip very exciting.
Talking money, as a traveller I found the average prices of food, accommodation and internal travel to be affordable - especially in the less tracked tourist areas such as Puerto Escondido and Chiapas.
Itinerary 🗺
After some research, we divided the trip into 4 parts, with 4 nights in each location, to explore the different sides of the country.
For us, 4 days in each location sounded like a good amount of time to at least take in our surroundings. We also wanted to do a bit of city, beach life and jungle, so by doing this route we could see and experience the different sides of Mexico.
Part 1. Mexico City
We flew into Mexico City from Europe to explore the capital and the City of Gods, the Teotihuacan pyramids.
And we learnt it's not just at the pyramids where you can dive into Mexican history and culture. Mexico City has many interesting museums and cultural hotspots, such as the Frida Khalo museum Casa Azul and the Anthropology museum, historical monuments and even Aztec ruins.
We enjoyed seeing how the locals lived by experiencing vibrant local markets and colourful neighbourhoods, such as the neighbourhood of Coyoacán. Mexico City also has many parks and green spaces like the Bosque de Chapultepec central park, which is wonderful to walk around.
Mexico City is a foodie's paradise! With countless food markets to eat your way around and food vendors on every corner, I promise you will not go hungry. And then there's the endless range of restaurants to choose from. The flavour profile of Mexico City is exciting, delicious and infinite. You will remember this place for its tastes alone.
Yes, there's a lot to explore, it seems like the only question is, where to start? Check out how we spent our 4 nights in Mexico City, it might inspire your next trip there. Click here.
Past 2. Puerto Escondido
From Mexico City, we flew to Puerto Escondido on the Pacific coast. Our plan was simply to take it easy while exploring the beautiful beaches and nature in the region.
Despite growing popularity, Puerto Escondido is still relatively low-key. It's especially ideal for those who want more of a relaxed atmosphere. So leave your shoes at the hotel, get the bikini on and step into the beach life, kick back the Puerto Escondido way with a beer in one hand and a surfboard in the other.
Read our 5 top highlights and musts you should do when visiting Puerto Escondido. Click here.
Part 3. Chiapas & San Cristobal de las Casas
From Puerto Escondido, we flew to Chiapas and stayed in the beautiful colonial town of San Cristobal de las Casas (Central South). In all honesty, we did not know much about Chiapas before going but we were utterly surprised by how much we enjoyed our time there.
We found Chiapas to be very different to the rest of the places we visited in Mexico - more authentic in a way. Chiapas was also the cheapest area we visited in Mexico, so we gladly took advantage of lower prices by eating out for every meal and trying the local food of the region.
Other highlights included experiencing the nature and views of the Canyon del Sumidero, as well as visiting modern indigenous communities, it opened our eyes to another side of Mexico.
Keep reading to learn more about why we recommend exploring Chiapas from San Cristobal de las Casas, and our favourite activities to do in the area. Click here.
Part 4. Tulum
From Chiapas, we flew to Cancun airport and travelled down to Tulum on the Caribbean coast.
We did enjoy our time in Tulum and learnt how to have fun without having to splash a lot of cash. It's true, Tulum can be pretty pricey and confusing - it's way bigger than you might imagine and tricky to navigate.
However, there are a few hacks to having the best experience in Tulum, and enjoying the not-so-obvious parts, such as beach hopping and soaking in the colourful street art in Tulum Town, all of which don't involve breaking the bank.
I've compiled 7 alternative ideas to enjoy your time in Tulum. These ideas come from the perspective of someone who likes authenticity, nature, art, good vibes and a night out, tasty and affordable food, and getting their value for money. Click here to check them out.
Mexican Food 🍴
As we ate our way around Mexico we learnt its cuisine is rooted in ancient cultures, it's diverse and delicious. We will remember the country for its tastes alone. Mexico is indeed a foodie's paradise.
When eating local dishes, expect a lot of flavour, colours and variety. Spice will nearly always be an option, they tend to serve the hot sauces next to your food, along with other dips and toppings. This way you can calculate your spice. But, warning, just double-check if it is a dip or a hot sauce before dipping and double dipping - I certainly leant the hard (hot) way!
There's no denying it, Mexico is the land of food. But my big foodie tip is to go where the locals go. With countless authentic markets to eat your way around and street food on every corner, I promise you will never go hungry.
Keep reading to see more information about the food as well as recommendations and our top highlights, click here.
Warnings ⚠️
Safety
Prioritising safety is very important. In the daytime we didn’t feel any danger walking around, however, at nighttime to avoid feeling uneasy we tried to mostly travel by taxi.
Uber is in Mexico City and it's a cheaper and safe way to travel. But Uber is not so common in other small towns and cities.
It's good to disclose that on the entirety of our trip around Mexico, we did not encounter any dangerous situation, and we were not robbed or pickpocketed. And in general, we felt safe and comfortable.
Fake cash bills
double-check us a fake note when giving us change however, we were deceived by a taxi driver who gave. My advice would be to always double-check the bills they hand you.
Taking photos
In the more indigenous areas, like in San Cristobal de las Casas, we saw the locals did not like being featured in photos. For example, I was taking a photo of a market and had people shout at me as they thought I was taking a photo of them. It is good to be aware of this cultural point and be careful to not make them feel offended.
Montezuma's Revenge
Unfortunately, we both succumbed to Montezuma's Revenge while being in Puerto Escondido. This is the nicer colloquial term used to talk about travellers' diarrhoea or other sicknesses contracted by tourists visiting Mexico. The name humorously refers to Moctezuma II (1466-1520), the Tlatoani (ruler) of the Aztec civilization who was defeated by Hernándo Cortés the Spanish conquistador.
We can't be sure if we got it from the water or food. It could have been from anything. We purchased medicine (antibiotics) from the local pharmacy for it and my partner Danny recovered after a few days. However, my stomach remained quite unstable for the rest of the trip - to be honest, I don't think mezcal and exotic food and spices helped it though, whoops my bad.
Tulum & Seaweed
Unfortunately due to the seaweed issue, nowadays the beaches in Tulum aren't as nice as pictured on Instagram or postcards. I was quite shocked to see the smelly seaweed, known as
In front of hotels and beach bars, workers are seen to be desperately trying to clear it up with wheelbarrows. But, despite their efforts, it's a loosing battle. The Sargassum piles up with no sign of slowing down.
Travel recommendations ✔
Book it yourself
My biggest recommendation when planning a big trip is to book it yourself, nowadays you don't need to use any travel agents. It is very easy to book a holiday on the other side of the world by yourself. Also, it is cheaper and more reliable, as you are in control of your bookings.
Book your accommodation on your mobile device
Booking.com offers significantly discounted "mobile" prices, as an incentive for users to book hotels on their mobile phone instead of through a computer.
Book directly with the airlines
I recommend using a website called Sky Scanner to compare flight options, times and prices, and then when you choose the best option for you, go to the airline’s website and purchase the flight directly with the airlines.
I recommend not going through third parties as if you ever need to change your flight or if you have any issues with your flight, it will be easier to manage your booking if you have purchased the flight with the airline.
Plan your holiday in sections
I recommend planning your holiday in sections. For example, making an outline or route of a few locations can help you then dig deeper into what each location has to offer.
Further, having a mix of a rough itinerary and a few things pre-booked, paid for, and planned can help you when you are there to have a smoother trip. Saying that, I also highly recommend giving yourself time and even days with no plans or bookings. Waking up on holiday with a clear schedule ahead is also magical.
Use blogs, social media & word of mouth
We planned our itinerary thanks to blogs, YouTube videos, and family and friends’ recommendations. We wrote down a long list of places that sparked our interest and then after reviewing travel options, like internal flights, buses, and so on, we then shortened the list and made a rough plan of the main route and places we wanted to explore in Mexico.
Go where the locals go
When we arrived to Mexico we would always ask around to see where the local's would recommend going. For instance, engage with the Mexican tourists on holiday, or the staff at the restaurant, the hotel receptionist or the taxi driver. You never know, sparking conversation could lead you to you exciting places off the tourist path.
Travel information ✈️
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 is a cheaper and safe way to travel. But Uber is not so common in other small towns and cities.
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 on the airlines' website, such as Volaris or Aerobus.
Hotels
We booked all our hotels through Booking.com, using our phones and taking advantage of the lower "mobile prices" - that's a great traveller's tip to write down!
Mexico City:
We stayed at a hotel called Ayenda Anzures House. The hotel looks impressive. It's a large colonial-style house in the neighbourhood of Anzures We had a large room and a bathroom with a giant bathtub as well as our own balcony, which was my favourite feature. The hotel felt very safe with 24/7 reception
It's 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.
Total price 4 nights for 2 people: MXN 6,992.90. Approx £303.
Address: Shakespeare 142, Mexico City, 11590, Mexico. Phone: +52 5576568654
Puerto Escondido:
We stayed at the beautiful hotel Casa de Olas Boutique Hotel. It really blew our expectations. Our stay was so comfortable, fun, with a gorgeous swimming pool and outside garden area. The price was very fair and included breakfast, work out classes like yoga, and other activities. It also had a gym and a restaurant. Our room had air conditioning, wifi, a great shower and a lovely balcony.
Total price 4 nights for 2 people: MXN 5,960.26. Approx £257.
Address: Calle Michoacán, Brisas de Zicatela S/N, Puerto Escondido, 70934, Mexico. Phone: +52 954 125 9342
Chiapas - San Cristobal de las Casas:
We stayed in the hotel Casa Santa Lucia, a beautiful colonial style building. We had a lovely and large ensuite, with the biggest and most comfortable bed we had ever slept in! We felt like Aztec royalty sleeping there.
Breakfast was included in the price, and the options to choose from were vast and generous. It was hands down the best hotel breakfast we had in Mexico, and perhaps ever on our travels. The staff we also so kind and accommodating, chatting to us and always offering help and assistance.
I really do recommend the hotel, and it is bang in the centre of the old town - great and safe location!
Total price 4 nights for 2 people: MXN 6,860.52. Approx £296.
Address: Avenida Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez # 13, Barrio Santa Lucia, 29250 San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico
Tulum:
We stayed at the lovely Hotel Tulum H20 in Tulum Town. It was a 10 / 15-minute walk to the centre and to the bus station. We really enjoyed our stay there as we had a beautiful room with a great balcony and bathroom, access to the large swimming pool and daily breakfast.
Total price 4 nights for 2 people: MXN 7729.33. Approx £334.
Address: Calle Chichen Itza Mz 24 Lt001, Tulum City Centre, Tulum, 77780, Mexico Phone: +52 984 871 2611
Keep reading
- Mexico City - Exploring the city & pyramids in 3 days
- 5 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