A travel guide to Mexico.

What the guide covers

The guide starts with the Mexican Caribbean, the entry point for many visitors: Cancún, Isla Mujeres and Holbox, the Riviera Maya with Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, Tulum and Cobá, and Bacalar. On the Maya Peninsula are Chichén Itzá and Valladolid, Mérida and Uxmal, Campeche and Calakmul.

In the center, Mexico City and Teotihuacan, Puebla and Cholula, Cuernavaca and Tepoztlán, and the colonial cities of the Bajío: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Zacatecas, as well as the Huasteca Potosina. In the south, Oaxaca, Huatulco and Puerto Escondido, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Palenque, Veracruz, Acapulco and Taxco. In the west and north, Guadalajara and Tequila, Morelia and the monarch butterfly, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, the Copper Canyon, Monterrey, Los Cabos, La Paz and the Valle de Guadalupe.

Each destination brings together the cities of the region, what to do in each one, attractions with their own pages, when to go and how to get there.

States and groups

Mexico is a federation of 31 states and Mexico City, which has the same status as a state. The guide organizes cities by these states. The state that shares the country’s name is shown as Estado de México so it is not confused with the country or the capital.

To make travel easier, states are grouped by the regions travelers pass through: the Mexican Caribbean, Yucatán and Campeche, Mexico City and its surroundings, the Bajío, the West, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco, Veracruz, Guerrero, the Northwest, the Northeast and Baja California.

How to travel around Mexico

Mexico is large, and distances between regions often require domestic flights, almost always from Mexico City or Cancún. Within each region, long‑distance buses are comfortable and frequent, and on the Yucatán Peninsula the Tren Maya connects Cancún, Mérida, Campeche and Palenque.

The country has four time zones, from UTC−5 to UTC−8, and is in the Northern Hemisphere. The country’s central region is high in elevation, and Mexico City sits at 2,240 meters, with cold nights in winter.

Why there are no prices

Outside Brazil, the guide does not show prices for tours or entrance fees because they change frequently. When there is an entrance fee or charge, the text notes it, and the amount should be checked before you go.

How the content is made

The information for each place is researched from official sources, such as Mexico’s tourism bodies and state tourism offices, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, parks, UNESCO and the attractions themselves, and is checked before going live.

The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it. Photos sent by travelers appear separately, as travelers' photos.

If you find any information that differs, write to us: fixing it is quicker than it seems.

All of Cidade Turismo

The guide started in Brazil and now also covers other countries, always with the same organization: routes, destinations and cities.

About Cidade Turismo: who we are, how the content is made and the guide's numbers →