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Prices and rules verified October 2026 · US$1 = MX$18.40Mexico City timeContact
BLUE PASSPORTTravel · MexicoMexico
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Bienvenidos · Welcome

Mexico,planned for Americans.

Beaches, Maya cities, Mexico City and the colonial highlands, explained in miles, dollars and plain English, with the State Department advisory for every state. More than 40 in-depth guides, checked in October 2026.

First trip to Mexico Is it safe? Cancún Mexico City Maya ruins Build my trip

CARIBE MEXICANOTULUM

Photos: Maya ruins above the Caribbean at Tulum: Bruce Tuten, CC BY 2.0 · Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Guanajuato at sunset: Oescalona, CC BY 4.0 · El Arco, Cabo San Lucas: Comisión Mexicana de Filmaciones, CC BY-SA 2.0

Before you book

Nine things every American should know

The planning guide →
Flying? Bring the passport bookA passport card works only when you cross by land or sea. Every air traveler, children included, needs a passport book.Entry rules
Your tourist permit is digitalAt every international airport, immigration issues a digital permit and stamps your passport with the days you get. Check the number before you leave the booth.How the permit works
Read the advisory by stateThe State Department rates each state separately. Quintana Roo and Yucatán, home to Cancún and Mérida, sit at Levels 2 and 1.Safety, state by state
Pay in pesos, not dollarsWhen a card machine or ATM offers to charge you in dollars, say no. Dollar prices and conversions almost always cost more.Money and cards
Tip like you would at home, almostTen to fifteen percent in restaurants, a few dollars a day for resort staff, small change for gas attendants and baggers.Tipping, explained
Skip the tap waterDrink bottled or purified water. Ice in restaurants and hotels is normally made from purified water.Health and water
US car insurance doesn't countMexican liability insurance is required by law, and online rental quotes often leave it out. Expect it at the counter.Driving in Mexico
Hurricane and seaweed seasonsHurricane season runs from May or June to November, and sargassum seaweed can blanket Caribbean beaches in summer. Check before you book.When to go
Your phone may just workMany US plans include Mexico at no extra charge. Check yours before buying an eSIM, and set up WhatsApp, which everyone uses.Phones and apps

Ready-made routes

Pick a ticket, then make it yours

Each route opens in the trip builder, where you can change the length, season and interests.

7DAYS

Cancún and Tulum

DAYS 1–3 Cancún beaches, and a ferry to Isla Mujeres
DAYS 4–7 Tulum ruins, cenotes and the beach road

Open in trip builder → 10DAYS

The Yucatán loop

DAYS 1–3 Mérida and Uxmal
DAYS 4–5 Walled Campeche
DAYS 6–7 Valladolid and Chichén Itzá
DAYS 8–10 Tulum

Open in trip builder → 8DAYS

Mexico City and Oaxaca

DAYS 1–4 Mexico City and Teotihuacán
DAYS 5–8 Oaxaca, Monte Albán and the mezcal villages

Open in trip builder → 9DAYS

The colonial heartland

DAYS 1–4 Mexico City
DAYS 5–6 Puebla and Cholula
DAYS 7–9 San Miguel de Allende

Open in trip builder →

Where to go

Find your Mexico

Compare every destination →
QUINTANA ROOCANCÚNCancúnHotel Zone vs downtown vs Costa Mujeres, airport transport, beaches, fees, day trips and safety. QUINTANA ROOTULUMTulumRuins, beaches, cenotes and costs in Tulum, with the 2026 fee changes and transport. YUCATÁN · CAMPECHE · QUINTANA ROOPENÍNSULA DE YUCATÁNYucatánMérida, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, cenotes, Campeche, Calakmul, Bacalar, the Tren Maya and suggested routes. CDMXCIUDAD DE MÉXICOMexico CityNeighborhoods, hotels, airports, transit, safety and first-timer itineraries for Mexico City. OAXACAOAXACA Y LOS VALLES CENTRALESOaxacaOaxaca City, Monte Albán, craft and mezcal villages, Día de Muertos, Guelaguetza, and practical planning. GUANAJUATO · QUERÉTAROEL BAJÍOSan MiguelSan Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Querétaro: colonial towns, art, wine and how to visit. JALISCO · NAYARITPUERTO VALLARTA Y RIVIERA NAYARITPuerto VallartaOld Town, the LGBTQ+ scene, boat-only beaches, Sayulita and Punta Mita, whales and getting around. BAJA CALIFORNIA SURLOS CABOS Y LA PAZLos CabosCabo's towns, swimmable vs deadly beaches, whales, airport transfers, Todos Santos and La Paz.

The list

20 experiences worth the trip

From the famous to the ones Americans tend to miss. Each links to the guide with timing, tickets and costs.

  1. The Temple of Kukulcán, or El Castillo, a stepped pyramid at Chichén Itzá01Be at Chichén Itzá's gate at 8 a.m., before the tour buses arriveYucatán · MX$697 (about $38)
  2. Clear water in the Dos Ojos cenote on the Yucatán Peninsula02Swim in a cenote, one of the Yucatán's clear freshwater sinkholesTulum & Riviera Maya · skip the sunscreen
  3. A scale model of the Zapotec city of Monte Albán at the National Museum of Anthropology03Spend a morning in the 22 halls of the National Museum of AnthropologyMexico City · closed Mondays
  4. A plate of tacos al pastor04Eat tacos al pastor shaved straight off the trompoMexico City · best after dark
  5. Painted trajinera boats on a canal in Xochimilco05Float down Xochimilco's canals on a painted trajineraMexico City · liveliest on weekends
  6. The west side of the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán06Walk the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramid of the Sun at TeotihuacánDay trip from Mexico City · go early
  7. Oaxacan mole negro served at the 2014 Guelaguetza food fair07Taste mole negro in Oaxaca, Mexico's food and craft capitalOaxaca City
  8. The west side platform of the Monte Albán pyramid complex above Oaxaca City08Look out over the valleys from the hilltop Zapotec city of Monte AlbánOaxaca · 20–30 minutes from the city
  9. A Día de Muertos ofrenda at the Casa de Cultura Jesús Reyes Heroles in Coyoacán09See the marigold altars and candlelit cemeteries of Día de MuertosNationwide · October 31 to November 2
  10. The Gothic-style spires of the Parroquia church in San Miguel de Allende10Watch the pink spires of San Miguel's Parroquia glow at duskSan Miguel de Allende
  11. The narrow Callejón del Beso alley in Guanajuato11Get lost in Guanajuato's painted alleys and road tunnelsGuanajuato
  12. Blue agave fields at the foot of the Volcán de Tequila12Walk the blue agave fields and taste at a distillery in TequilaJalisco · day trip from Guadalajara
  13. El Arco and the bay at Cabo San Lucas13Take a glass-bottom water taxi out to El Arco at Land's EndCabo San Lucas
  14. The Los Arcos rock islands in Banderas Bay off Puerto Vallarta14Watch humpback whales breach in the Bay of BanderasPuerto Vallarta · December to March
  15. A whale shark in the water off Isla Mujeres15Swim alongside whale sharks off Isla Mujeres or HolboxMexican Caribbean · about June to mid-September
  16. El Divisadero, the El Chepe stop on the rim of the Copper Canyon16Ride El Chepe through canyons as deep as the Grand CanyonCopper Canyon · Chihuahua
  17. The blue water of Laguna de Bacalar in Quintana Roo17Swim and paddle in Bacalar's lagoon, striped in shades of blueSouthern Quintana Roo
  18. The Temple of the Inscriptions at the Palenque archaeological zone18See Palenque's temples rise out of the rainforestChiapas · go at opening time
  19. Monarch butterflies at the El Rosario sanctuary in Ocampo, Michoacán19Stand in a forest where monarch butterflies weigh down the branchesCentral highlands · late December to February
  20. Grapevines in the Valle de Guadalupe wine country of Baja California20Taste Mexican wine in the Valle de GuadalupeBaja California · under two hours from San Diego

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: 01 Kirt Edblom, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 02 Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 03 Miguel Angel Omaña Rojas, CC0 · 04 William Neuheisel, CC BY 2.0 · 05 Wotancito, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 06 Cvmontuy, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 07 Cristina Zapata Pérez, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 08 nsaum75, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 09 Ines Suarez R., CC BY-SA 4.0 · 10 Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 11 Radeksz, Public domain · 12 Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 13 Shane Smith, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 14 daryl_mitchell, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 15 Bernard DUPONT, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 16 Cocojorgemedina, Public domain · 17 Gildardo Sánchez, CC BY 2.0 · 18 Dbannasch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 19 PetrohsW, CC BY-SA 4.0 · 20 Gabriel Flores Romero, CC BY 2.0

Free tools

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