Mexico itinerary, day by day

From Mexico City out to the Riviera Maya, by way of Oaxaca and Tulum: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 10 or 14 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: November to April

Tulum · Photo Martha Gonzalez / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Mexico in 7 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · flight + road

1Mexico City

Days 1-3

Built on top of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that fell in 1521. The Zócalo covers it, the excavated Templo Mayor sits at one corner, and the Anthropology Museum holds what came out of the ground.

🎟️ Worth booking

Teotihuacan and its pyramids, guidedFull day · from €55
A city of a hundred thousand people, abandoned around 550 AD, whose builders have never been identified. An hour from the capital.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The old centre and Frida KahloHalf day · from €35
The Zócalo and the Rivera murals, then the blue house in Coyoacán where Kahlo was born and where she died.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Zócalo and its cathedral · Coyoacán · Chapultepec park · The Ciudadela craft market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Mundo Joven Catedral (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Zócalo Central (€110 a night) · Luxury: Las Alcobas (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Mochomos ↗ ★ 4.9 · 11864 reviews · €€€
BAJEL ↗ ★ 4.8 · 276 reviews
El Cardenal ↗ ★ 4.6 · 20098 reviews · €€
Santo Habanero ↗ ★ 4.6 · 3092 reviews
La Capital ↗ ★ 4.6 · 2867 reviews · €€€

Photo Jimmy Elizarraras / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Road · 2h · via Cancún

2Tulum

Days 4-7

A walled Maya town on a cliff over the Caribbean, still occupied when the Spanish arrived. Turquoise water below, and flooded limestone caves inland.

🎟️ Worth booking

Maya ruins and a cenoteHalf day · from €35
The clifftop site in the morning, then a swim in fresh water inside a collapsed limestone cave.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Snorkelling with turtles at AkumalHalf day · from €40
Green turtles graze the sea grass in a shallow bay. Numbers in the water are capped now, so go at opening.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The ruins of Tulum · The turquoise beaches · The cenotes · Kaan Luum lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Mayan Monkey Tulum (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Ahau Tulum (€200 a night) · Luxury: Azulik (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Jungle Jax Tulum ↗ ★ 5 · 729 reviews
Tantra | Best beach club in Tulum ↗ ★ 4.9 · 5779 reviews
El Cayuco Tulum ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1391 reviews · €€
Panza Tulum ↗ ★ 4.9 · 952 reviews
Onyx Tulum Restaurant Bar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 4174 reviews

Photo Martha Gonzalez / Pexels

Mexico in 10 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · flight + road

1Mexico City

Days 1-3

Built on top of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that fell in 1521. The Zócalo covers it, the excavated Templo Mayor sits at one corner, and the Anthropology Museum holds what came out of the ground.

🎟️ Worth booking

Teotihuacan and its pyramids, guidedFull day · from €55
A city of a hundred thousand people, abandoned around 550 AD, whose builders have never been identified. An hour from the capital.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The old centre and Frida KahloHalf day · from €35
The Zócalo and the Rivera murals, then the blue house in Coyoacán where Kahlo was born and where she died.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Zócalo and its cathedral · Coyoacán · Chapultepec park · The Ciudadela craft market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Mundo Joven Catedral (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Zócalo Central (€110 a night) · Luxury: Las Alcobas (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jimmy Elizarraras / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h · 460 km

2Oaxaca

Days 4-5

The cultural and eating capital of the country, where mole and mezcal are made. A colonial grid on the valley floor, with the Zapotec terraces of Monte Albán on the hill above.

🎟️ Worth booking

Monte Albán and the markets, guidedHalf day · from €40
A Zapotec capital levelled onto a mountain top around 500 BC, then the village markets that still trade in the valley below.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Mezcal and cooking workshopHalf day · from €45
How agave becomes mezcal, from the roasting pit onward, and a kitchen session with the moles of the valley.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Zócalo and Santo Domingo church · Hierve el Agua and its stone waterfalls · Benito Juárez market · The Tule tree

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Angel Hostel (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Casa de Sierra Azul (€80 a night) · Luxury: Quinta Real Oaxaca (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Adamá ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1512 reviews · €€
AMORD3 | Bar emocional ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1399 reviews
Ocote cocina ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1129 reviews · €€
Humar ↗ ★ 4.7 · 1097 reviews
Chichilo ↗ ★ 4.7 · 870 reviews

Photo Jhovani Morales / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Road · 2h · via Cancún

3Tulum

Days 6-8

A walled Maya town on a cliff over the Caribbean, still occupied when the Spanish arrived. Turquoise water below, and flooded limestone caves inland.

🎟️ Worth booking

Maya ruins and a cenoteHalf day · from €35
The clifftop site in the morning, then a swim in fresh water inside a collapsed limestone cave.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Snorkelling with turtles at AkumalHalf day · from €40
Green turtles graze the sea grass in a shallow bay. Numbers in the water are capped now, so go at opening.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The ruins of Tulum · The turquoise beaches · The cenotes · Kaan Luum lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Mayan Monkey Tulum (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Ahau Tulum (€200 a night) · Luxury: Azulik (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Martha Gonzalez / Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h · 65 km

4Riviera Maya · Playa del Carmen

Days 9-10

The Caribbean edge of the Yucatán: beaches at Playa del Carmen, sinkholes in the forest, and the second longest barrier reef in the world offshore. Chichén Itzá is a day trip.

🎟️ Worth booking

Chichén Itzá, guidedFull day · from €55
The pyramid of Kukulcán, built so that at the equinox a shadow shaped like a serpent runs down its north stair. Arrive early, before the heat and the coaches.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Diving at CozumelFull day · from €60
Drift dives along the Palancar reefs, with the current doing the work and visibility measured in tens of metres.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Playa del Carmen beach · Fifth Avenue, the pedestrian strip · The cenotes nearby · The nature park

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Tres Mundos Hostel (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Be Playa Hotel (€120 a night) · Luxury: Rosewood Mayakoba (€700 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Nicoletta Playa Del Carmen ↗ ★ 4.8 · 5705 reviews
El chuleton (taqueria al carbon) ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3641 reviews · €
Kascabal ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1876 reviews
Osteria de Roma ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1664 reviews · €€
Piaggia Restaurante Playa del Carmen ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1376 reviews

Photo Alejandra Ortiz Zamora / Pexels

Mexico in 14 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · flight + road

1Mexico City

Days 1-3

Built on top of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that fell in 1521. The Zócalo covers it, the excavated Templo Mayor sits at one corner, and the Anthropology Museum holds what came out of the ground.

🎟️ Worth booking

Teotihuacan and its pyramids, guidedFull day · from €55
A city of a hundred thousand people, abandoned around 550 AD, whose builders have never been identified. An hour from the capital.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The old centre and Frida KahloHalf day · from €35
The Zócalo and the Rivera murals, then the blue house in Coyoacán where Kahlo was born and where she died.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Zócalo and its cathedral · Coyoacán · Chapultepec park · The Ciudadela craft market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Mundo Joven Catedral (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Zócalo Central (€110 a night) · Luxury: Las Alcobas (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jimmy Elizarraras / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 1h · 460 km

2Oaxaca

Days 4-6

The cultural and eating capital of the country, where mole and mezcal are made. A colonial grid on the valley floor, with the Zapotec terraces of Monte Albán on the hill above.

🎟️ Worth booking

Monte Albán and the markets, guidedHalf day · from €40
A Zapotec capital levelled onto a mountain top around 500 BC, then the village markets that still trade in the valley below.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Mezcal and cooking workshopHalf day · from €45
How agave becomes mezcal, from the roasting pit onward, and a kitchen session with the moles of the valley.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Zócalo and Santo Domingo church · Hierve el Agua and its stone waterfalls · Benito Juárez market · The Tule tree

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Casa Angel Hostel (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Casa de Sierra Azul (€80 a night) · Luxury: Quinta Real Oaxaca (€300 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jhovani Morales / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Road · 2h · via Cancún

3Tulum

Days 7-10

A walled Maya town on a cliff over the Caribbean, still occupied when the Spanish arrived. Turquoise water below, and flooded limestone caves inland.

🎟️ Worth booking

Maya ruins and a cenoteHalf day · from €35
The clifftop site in the morning, then a swim in fresh water inside a collapsed limestone cave.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Snorkelling with turtles at AkumalHalf day · from €40
Green turtles graze the sea grass in a shallow bay. Numbers in the water are capped now, so go at opening.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The ruins of Tulum · The turquoise beaches · The cenotes · Kaan Luum lagoon

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Mayan Monkey Tulum (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Ahau Tulum (€200 a night) · Luxury: Azulik (€600 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Martha Gonzalez / Pexels

🚗 Car · 1h · 65 km

4Riviera Maya · Playa del Carmen

Days 11-14

The Caribbean edge of the Yucatán: beaches at Playa del Carmen, sinkholes in the forest, and the second longest barrier reef in the world offshore. Chichén Itzá is a day trip.

🎟️ Worth booking

Chichén Itzá, guidedFull day · from €55
The pyramid of Kukulcán, built so that at the equinox a shadow shaped like a serpent runs down its north stair. Arrive early, before the heat and the coaches.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Diving at CozumelFull day · from €60
Drift dives along the Palancar reefs, with the current doing the work and visibility measured in tens of metres.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Playa del Carmen beach · Fifth Avenue, the pedestrian strip · The cenotes nearby · The nature park

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Tres Mundos Hostel (€18 a night) · Mid-range: Be Playa Hotel (€120 a night) · Luxury: Rosewood Mayakoba (€700 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Alejandra Ortiz Zamora / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Tacos al pastor: pork marinated and carved off a vertical spit, with pineapple and coriander.
Mole: a sauce of chillies and chocolate, built from twenty ingredients or more.
Guacamole and antojitos: avocado, quesadillas and the wide Oaxacan tlayuda.
Tamales: corn dough with a filling, steamed inside a leaf.
Mezcal and tequila: sipped slowly, not thrown back.

⚠️ What to avoid

Drink bottled water only, ice included once you leave the hotels.
Check which areas are advised against before you go, and use Uber or a registered taxi.
Keep valuables out of sight and carry little cash.
Haggle in the markets, but not down to nothing: the weaving took days.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Mexico guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Mexico, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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