Mexico is so much more than just beaches and Mayan ruins. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed our time in the Yucatan peninsula. But we loved Central Mexico and felt more like we were in Mexico compared to the Mayan coast. So read this Backpacking guide to Central Mexico, get inspired, and get off the Gringo-trail! At least a little bit. 😉
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Currency – The local currency is Mexican Pesos, check XE.com for current exchange rates. In tourist hotspots USD and EUR are often accepted as well, but normally for a slightly lower exchange rate than at the exchange offices.
Transport – We mostly traveled with Primera Plus as they were generally the cheapest of the first-class busses. Book your tickets online for a discount. There are plenty of other companies around as well, so ask around at the terminal, or check reservamos for a comparison of first-class companies.
ATMs – Free ATMs don’t exist in this part of the world, but prices vary greatly. I found the cheapest one to be Coppel with a fee of 15-20 pesos. Other cheap options are Banamex, Santander, and Banorte with fees between 30-40 pesos. Do note that this may depend on your bank.
Food: Mexicans love spicy, without some good chili peppers, food has no flavor according to them. You will find tacos everywhere and they are the cheapest eat around. A standard meal includes meat/fish, rice, beans and of course tortillas and a spicy sauce. Typical local drinks served are Agua de Jamaica (a cold tea from hibiscus flower) and Horchata (ricemilk).
Mexico City
Mexico City is HUGE we’re generally not a big fan of large cities, but we enjoyed a couple of days here. If you’re a city person, plan a few more days here as there is obviously lots to discover here. We stayed in the center, but Roma, La Condesa, and Coyoacán are popular areas to stay as well. Getting around is easy. The metro system with 12 lines will get you just about anywhere you need to go. A ticket is 5 pesos and as long as you don’t leave the station, you can freely transfer between lines.
As always, I recommend a free walking tour on your first day here. Our tour with Estacion Mexico was really good, so I highly recommend checking out their tour. Then spend some time wandering around the city, checking out their recommendations and/or go back to the places you’ve past to spend some more time there. Just a heads up if you want to visit the Bellas Artes Museum, due to Covid all rooms were closed to the public. Only the murals were open for exhibition.
The Pyramids of Teotihuacan
Next, the pyramids of Teotihuacan are not to be missed of course. It’s easy to get to by public transport. Just make your way to the North terminal (Terminal del Norte) and take a bus from there. The ticket booth is close to gate 8 (puerta 8) and clearly marked.
Bosque de chapultepec
Another great (half) day out is the huge park Chapultepec, which is bigger than Central Park! We especially loved the 1st section, where you’ll find the castle, a couple of lakes and LOTS of squirrels! But section 3 was nice as well, with a bigger and prettier lake. So pack a picnic lunch and your camera and get exploring.
The park is easy to get to, just hop on the pink metro line (line 1) and get off at ‘Chapultepec’. This will get you right up to section 1.
Arriving in Mexico city:
By plane: Mexico’s international airport has a metrostation located right next to it. Just ask at the airport and you’ll be pointed in the right direction or look for the metro station called ‘…’. at Google maps.
By bus: Being Mexico’s capital city, it’s easy to get here from just about anywhere. All bus terminals (Norte, Sur, and Poniente) have metro stations close by, so no need for expensive taxis. Awesome!
Puebla
We really enjoyed Puebla! We didn’t do a free walking tour here, as our lovely host of La Creme de la Creme hostel took us on a tour of the center and to Cholula afterwards. I can highly recommend this hostel, the owner Fide is really nice, the kitchen is well equipped and there is a lounge with tv and table football. A perfect setup to socialize! The location is great as well, right next to Los Fuertes park. Los Fuertes means the strong ones and commemorates the battle between the Mexicans and the French from 5 May 1862. The park is a nice place to go for a stroll and if you’re lucky you’ll get some nice views of Popocatépetl from here as well. There are plenty of things to do around Puebla as well, so make sure to plan a couple of days here. Cholula and the Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl national park are just two examples of the many places to visit around here.
Cholula
Cholula is a nice day trip from Puebla. It’s technically a separate town but has now grown together with Puebla. You can easily get here by bus (10 pesos) or take the touristic train (free). Cholula is where the famous church on top of the ‘hill’ is located. The hill is actually an overgrown pyramid, from which you can see the base. If you’re lucky, you’ll get some great views over Popocatépetl as well from here (we weren’t).
If you like craft beer, make sure to make a stop at Cerveceria Cholula (the Cholula Brewery). They’ve got a lovely garden in the back, perfect to sit down and relax while enjoying your beer.
Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park
This national park is home to the two neighboring volcanos Iztaccíhuatl and Popcatépetl. Popocatépetl is active and so cannot be summited. Iztaccíhuatl isn’t active and can be summited with the appropriate gear. The top is covered in snow and ice, so can only be summited if you go with a tour or have the appropriate gear and experience yourself. If you don’t have this and don’t want to go on a tour, you can still hike in the park, you just won’t be able to get all the way to the top of Iztaccítuatl.
In order to visit this national park, you’ll either need your own transport, a tour, or camping gear and an extra day.
By public transport, you can get to the town of Santiago Xalitzintla. From here you’ll need to either walk or hitchhike. There is supposed to be a bus that goes to the town of Amecameca, on the other side of the national park, passing the park entrance. We were told all kinds of things about the schedule however, from once an hour to once a day, so we decided to walk/hitchhike and actually never saw it pass. So my advice is not to count on this bus and if you happen to cross it on your way up, take it as your lucky day! As the road passing the national park leads to other towns as well, there is some traffic, but not a lot. So hitchhiking might require some patience and a bit of luck. If you need to walk everything, it’s about 17 km to the park entrance, which is why you need at least a second day to visit the park itself.
Getting from México City to Puebla – you can take a bus from the south terminal. Busses go regularly, cost 286 pesos and take about 2 hours.
Ciudad Valles
Ciudad Valles is the gate-away to La Huasteca, known for it’s crystal blue waters and waterfalls. Do note that even though the water is like that most of the year, during the rain season (or after a lot of rain in general) the water turns brown because of the sand and soil that’s going around. So avoid rain season (roughly June till October) if you can. There are plenty of tour agencies that can take you to visit some of the many waterfalls around, or you can visit some on your own as well. Below an example of a selfguided daytrip.
El Salto, Meca and Micos
El Salto, el Meca and Micos are easily visits on your own. To visit El Salto (after heavy rain only) and El Meca take a bus to El Naranjo (115 one-way, 184 return) from the Ecocentral and either take a taxi (80-120 to El Salto) or hitchhike. Micos is on route to El Naranjo, so just ask the bus driver to drop you off there.
Las Pozas - the Surrealistic garden of Edward James
Rainy season or no, the Surrealistic garden of Edward James is worth a visit. The rainy season might even be better, as everything is super green!
The garden is visited on a guided tour of about 1.5 hours where the guide explains you the ideas behind the statues and a bit about the life of Edward James.
Book time slots at least one day before on their page for a discounted price and, if you’re Spanish is not that great, to make sure there is an English tour available at your preferred time slot. They don’t offer English tours at every hour. Note that the fee for the mandatory guide isn’t included and you’ll need to pay another 25 pesos on site.
To get to las Pozas, take a bus from the terminal in Ciudad Valles (171 pesos, 2 hours). If you have your ticket already, you can ask to be dropped off at the road leading up to the gardens. If not, get off in town and buy your ticket at the stand on the main square.
Puebla to Ciudad Valles – There is no direct transport between Puebla and Ciudad Valles. First, take a bus to Pachuca, in the late afternoon/early evening which takes about 2 hours. From here take the night bus at 10.30 pm for 535 pesos.
Ixmiquilpan/Grutas de Tolantongo
Chilling in a crystal blue river in a canyon and not freeze your ass of because the water is so cold? Yes please! Las Grutas de Tolantongo (the Tolantongo caves) is not your usual waterpark. They are build around hot springs and the river running through this park might look like your average pretty blue freezing cold river in the mountains, but it’s not! The water is actually nice and warm. And so is the water in the pools and the caves. Especially in the cave called ‘The tunnel’ you’ll notice it, it’s like a steambath.
Las Grutas de Tolantongo is a popular weekend destination with locals, but tourists don’t seem to have discovered this place yet, making it an awesome off-the-beaten-path destination.
The closest town is Ixmiquilpan, from where you can take the shuttle bus to Tolantongo, but you can stay in the park as well. They’ve got hotels and campgrounds. If you have your own camping equipment, you can even stay for free! Just note that the entry fee is per day, so if staying in the park overnight, you’ll need to pay the entry fee of 150 pesos twice. But the park is nice enough to stay for 2 days, so no need to worry about that!
If you prefer to stay in Ixmiquilpan, you can take the first bus there and the last bus back. This will give you a decent amount of time here as well. If you’re staying in Ixmiquilpan and looking for something else to do, you can hike up Cerro Santa Cruz for views of the town, or visit another waterpark. Tolantongo is by far the nicest though, so I’d just spend my time there.
Pro tip: Avoid weekends. We went a Thursday and came back a Saturday and it was like a whole other world. During the week there were people of course, but the place felt very spacious and you could easily find a waterhole to relax in. During the weekend, if felt like every grassy bit of the park had a tent on it and every waterhole a whole heap of people.
Ciudad valles to Ixmiquilpan – There are two busses a day. The trip takes 7 hours and a ticket costs 345 pesos. The best option is the bus at 8 am with Futura/TF. Otherwise you arrive in the middle of the night.
Mexico City – Ixmiquilpan
San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende is known for its pretty colonial center and the star of the city is definitely the Parroquia. You’ll find a big American influence here as many Americans choose San Miguel de Allende to retire. If you love art, plan an extra day or two here to visit some of the many galleries. If not, a night or 2 are enough to go for a stroll through the center and you can visit the botanical garden as well.
The city is very pretty and if you haven’t seen that much colonial architecture yet, or you just can’t get enough of it, you should definitely put San Miguel de Allende on your list. If you’ve been to every colonial city on your way already though, and have grown tired of them, maybe give it a miss.
Do note that San Miguel is a little pricier than other destinations, in central Mexico, as the international influence has driven prices up a bit. If you’ve just come from the Riviera Maya, you might not be so surprised about prices.
Ixmiquilpan to San Miguel de Allende – This is a bit of an unusual route and there is no direct transport. First, you need to take a bus to Querétaro for 180 pesos. Busses leave every hour and start early in the morning. The trip takes about 3 hours, so it’s best to leave in the morning or early afternoon to make sure you will have a connection in Querétaro.
Querétaro to San Miguel de Allende – Take a bus from Fletcha amarilla for 82 pesos. They also have various busses during the day and the trip takes 1-1.5 hour.
Mexico City to San Miguel de Allende – There are plenty of direct busses and the trip takes about 4 hours and costs around 500 pesos.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara is Mexico’s second biggest city. The historical center is very pretty and there are lots of things to see and do around Guadalajara as well. Of course you should start with a free walking tour and visit some of the musea and markets. The town of Tequila and Mexico’s biggest lake, Lake Chapala, are easy day trips and you can visit the canyon in the north of the city in half a day. In order not to make this post too long, check out this 5-day itinerary for Guadalajara.
San Miguel de Allende to Guadelajara – Direct busses take about 5h. A ticket with Primera Plus costs 630-700. Buy online for a cheaper price.
ETN sometimes has good discounts, but Primera tends to be a bit cheaper.
Sayulita
Sayulita is a surf and party town on the coast of Jalisco. Many people love it, we weren’t too impressed. Even tough we generally prefer towns, we actually preferred Puerto Vallarta over Sayulita. They’re only about an hour away from each other by bus, so you can pick one to stay at and visit the other one on a day trip. I’d say, if you’re into surfing, pick Sayulita. If you want to have a base to explore several other beaches, pick Puerto Vallarta.
Guadalajara to Sayulita – Busses to Puerto Vallarta are about 600 pesos and leave from the new terminal. Ask if they can drop you off at the intersection to Sayulita from where you can walk/taxi/hitchhike or wait on the bus from Puerto Vallarta. If not, continue on to Puerto Vallarta from where you can take a bus.
BlaBlaCar is cheaper, but make sure to organize everything in time, because many don’t respond. Also, forget about prices in the app. In the end they will charge more because BlaBlaCar supposedly doesn’t let them increase their prices.
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a city on the coast, and a popular hide-out for Canadians and Americans during the winter. You’ll probably hear more English here than Spanish.
Puerto Vallarta is most famous for the Islas Marietas (Marietas Islands) but everyone we spoke to recommended us NOT to take the tour. It’s a very expensive trip (around about 100 USD, due to the entrance fee to the hidden beach of 50 USD), for very little value. 15-20 minutes on a crowded beach, which as it turns out, isn’t even natural.
So, we decided to explore the beaches on the south coast instead. You can either contract a private/shared tour or go on your own. Some beaches you can reach walking from the city, others by bus and others only by boat. Colomitos beach is the last beach you can visit by bus+walking. To visit the other beaches you need to either contract a tour or use a water taxi. We especially loved Colomitos and Quimixto.
Sayulita to Puerta Vallarta – Busses leave regularly from the terminal and take about 1-1.5 hour. The ride is about 50 pesos.
Guadalajara to Puerta Vallarta – Busses are about 600 pesos and leave from the new terminal.
BlaBlaCar is cheaper, but make sure to organize everything in time, because many don’t respond. Also, forget about prices in the app. In the end they will charge about 400 pesos regardless of what it says in the app, because BlaBlaCar supposedly doesn’t let them increase their prices.
Uruapan
Michoacán is generally recommended as the best state to experience the traditional day of the death celebrations in Mexico. I can highly recommend this area if you’re gonna be around for the day of the death. The island of Janitzio is the most famous and most iconic place to experience this cultural day. The island can be reached from the town of Pátzcuaro. Accommodation prices soar and they get booked out far in advance. Opt for accommodation in Uruapan or Morelia instead. Much cheaper, doesn’t book out so far in advance and you can take a bus to and from Pátzcuaro without problems.
We weren’t able to visit the island itself due to Corona restrictions. The island was closed for tourism on the 1st and 2nd of November. So we went to the town of Tzintzuntzan, which was an incredible experience as well.
If you’re not going to be around for day of the dead, and are looking for a stop before making your way back to Mexico City, do consider Uruapan as the ruins at the bottom of the volcano el Parícutin are pretty cool! Michoacán is also a state with lots of native cultures. Think Chiapas and Oaxaca, but without the tourists.
Puerta Vallarta to Uruapan – Unfortunately there is no direct transport for this route. You’ll first need to make your way to Guadalajara by bus (about 600 pesos) or blablacar (about 400 pesos). From here you can take a bus to Uruapan for about 470 pesos, leaving from the new terminal.
Guadalajara to Uruapan – Take a direct bus from the new terminal. The trip takes about 4-4.5 hours and costs about 470 pesos.
This was the Ultimate Backpacking guide to Central Mexico
Mexico might be known for the beautiful Caribbean coast, but I hope this Ultimate Backpacking Guide to Central Mexico has shown you there is a lot more to explore. I promise you will love it.
