Ultimate Travel Guide to Mexico: Tips, Itinerary & Things to Do
Planning a trip to Mexico? Explore Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara & more with my ultimate travel guide, safety tips, and top attractions.
Mexico is one of those countries that people think they know from a resort wristband, and then you actually get out into it and realize you had no idea. I first traveled across Mexico on a two-week Contiki tour that took me from Mexico City to Merida, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, and it completely rearranged my expectations — I went in thinking beaches and came out obsessed with the food, the colonial cities and the ruins. Along the way I “swam” with whale sharks off Cancun, wandered the rainbow-colored streets of Guanajuato, and spent time in Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast. Mexico is enormous, wildly varied, and far more than the all-inclusive stereotype — this guide covers what to know before you go, how to get around, and the places worth building a trip around.
Quick Travel Guide to Mexico
Hello in Spanish: Hola "o-la". English is widely spoken in tourist destinations and many Mexican cities.
Power Voltage: 127V/60hz
Currency: Mexican Pesos. US $1 is approximately 16 Pesos [as of 2026]
ATMS: Widely available in cities and tourist areas. Stick to ATMs inside banks or shopping centers. When the machine asks whether you want to be charged in pesos or your home currency, always choose pesos; accepting the dollar conversion is dynamic currency conversion and it costs you several percent every time. Withdraw larger amounts less often, since most Mexican ATMs charge a flat fee per transaction.
Tipping: expected and a meaningful part of many wages. Restaurants: 10–15% (check whether propina is already included on the bill, which happens more often in tourist areas). Bar staff: 10%. Hotel housekeeping: 20–50 pesos per night. Bellhops and porters: 20–50 pesos per bag. Tour guides: 10–15% of the tour cost. Grocery baggers are usually working for tips alone — a few coins is standard. Gas station attendants (there's no self-service in Mexico): 10–20 pesos. Taxi drivers aren't tipped as standard, though rounding up is common.
Visas: No visa required for tourism for US, Canadian, UK, EU/Schengen, Australian, NZ and many other passports. Mexico is phasing out the paper FMM tourist card but check this yourself before traveling.
Safety ranking (Global Peace Index): 139 out of 163
Women Peace and Security Index: 147 out of 181 (0.558 out of 1)
Climate: Hugely varied — tropical on both coasts, desert in the north, and Mexico City sits at 7,350ft so it's mild year-round with genuinely cool evenings. Dry season runs November to April; rainy season May to October, usually afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain. Hurricane season is June to November on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts.
Best Time of Year to Travel: October to May for dry, cooler weather. Avoid September if you're heading to the coasts — it's peak hurricane risk.
Dress Code & Cultural Notes: More relaxed than many destinations, but keep beachwear at the beach — Mexicans in cities dress neatly and turning up to a restaurant in a swimsuit reads as disrespectful. Cover shoulders and knees at churches and cathedrals. Greetings matter: a "buenos días" before launching into a question goes a long way.
Solo Travel Tips: Very doable and increasingly popular, especially in Mexico City, Oaxaca and the Yucatán. Use Uber or DiDi rather than hailing taxis off the street, particularly in Mexico City. Check safety advisories by state rather than for "Mexico" as a whole — the difference between Yucatán and certain northern border states is enormous. Female travelers: the Mexico City Metro has women-and-children-only cars at the front during rush hour.
Getting Around Mexico: Flying is a good option if you want to avoid driving or a bus. Long-distance buses are genuinely excellent — ADO's first-class service is comfortable, safe and cheap, and often better than flying for medium distances. Budget airlines (Volaris, VivaAerobus) cover the long hauls cheaply but are brutal about baggage, so read the rules twice. Mexico City's Metro is one of the cheapest in the world. Colectivos (shared vans) are the local way to move around the Yucatán. Renting a car makes sense for the Yucatán and Baja; it does not make sense in Mexico City.
Things that surprise Travelers: The sheer size and variety — people arrive expecting beaches and find pine forests, deserts, colonial cities and 7,000ft mountain capitals. Mexico City surprises almost everyone: green, walkable, world-class food, and the altitude will leave you slightly breathless for the first day or two. And the food bears very little resemblance to Tex-Mex — regional cuisines vary as much as they do across Europe.
Mexico Travel Tips
practice general safety precautions while traveling through Mexico. Don't let the negative perspective deter you. Mexico is a beautiful country and you should be safe in tourist areas as long as you keep alert.
drink bottled water
learn a few Spanish phrases in case you need them, although English is widely spoken
beware of scams in tourist destinations
don't stay at all-inclusive resorts only. Get out and experience the real Mexico
Mexican food is not Tex-Mex. Eat your way through Mexico, eating authentic Mexican meals
you can pay for many things with US dollars in touristy areas, but try to use Pesos instead - you will be getting a better rate
Top Things to do and see in Mexico
Walking tour of Guanajuato, Mexico - explore the colorful streets and underground tunnels of this UNESCO World Heritage city in central Mexico
Things to do in Puerto Vallarta - beaches, the Malecón boardwalk, and the old town of Mexico's most walkable Pacific coast resort town
Visit Chichén Itzá - see one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and Mexico's most famous Mayan ruins in the Yucatán
Climb the pyramids at Teotihuacán - an easy day trip from Mexico City to the Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon
Explore Mexico City - the Zócalo, Coyoacán, the Frida Kahlo Museum, and some of the best street food in the world
Swim in a cenote in the Yucatán - underground freshwater sinkholes near Tulum and Valladolid that the Maya considered sacred
Visit colonial Mérida - the elegant capital of the Yucatán and the best base for exploring the peninsula
Swim with whale sharks near Cancún - a seasonal snorkeling trip (June to September) to swim alongside the world's largest fish
Eat your way through Oaxaca - mole, tlayudas and mezcal in Mexico's food capital
Take a boat through the canals of Xochimilco - colorful trajinera boats and mariachi on the last waterways of the Aztec city
Plan your trip to Mexico with these Mexico Travel Guides
