Our one month Mexico road trip had many challenges & many rewards. Here are the highs and the lows of our 4,000km journey and some tips to help make your road trip a little easier.
By: Paul Healy | Last Updated: | Comments & Questions
Mexico is a thoroughly rewarding destination for a road trip.
With scenery from arid highlands to lush jungles; pristine beaches to grassy plains dotted with Aztec ruins, there’s a lot to love about this colourful country.
It does, however, come with a few challenges. We are not generally hesitant about trying more adventurous road trip trips. We’ve driven long desolate stretches of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, and crossed rivers in the remote Iceland highlands.
But Mexico was the most stressful road trip we’ve undertaken.
Here are our impressions from our trip – the highs and the lows, the challenges and the rewards. Most importantly, after a month on the road (and not just on the smooth-as-silk roads of Yucatán), we’ve compiled all our tips to help make your Mexico self-drive adventure a little easier.
If you’re ready for a Mexico road trip, read our guide to driving in Mexico.
DRIVING IN MEXICO
Our 1-month Mexico Road Trip
3 DAYS
Exploring the history and food scene in Mexico City
4 DAYS
Navigating speed bumps through artsy Puebla and Oaxaca
5 DAYS
Relaxing on the golden beaches on the Pacific Coast
3 DAYS
Separatists encounters around San Cristóbal
3 DAYS
Discovering the jungle-shrouded ruins of Palenque and Yaxchilán
9 DAYS
Finding our favourite beaches on the Caribbean Sea
3 DAYS
Revelling in the cenotes and ruins around Chichén Itzá
OUR MEXICO ROAD TRIP ROUTE
We started our one month Mexico road trip in Mexico City, then ventured south through the states of Puebla and Oaxaca and onto the beaches of the Pacific Coast. After the beaches, we headed back inland through the state of Chiapas on our way to the tourist-friendly sites of Palenque and Yaxchilán.
Next up, we explored the beaches on the Caribbean, did a bit of island hopping then explored the cenotes and waterfalls around Chichén Itzá. All in all, it was a month of colour, contrasts and car-related stresses and joys.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF OUR MEXICO ROAD TRIP
We had magical moments on our Mexico road trip. Strolling jungle-shrouded ancient ruins, lazing on beautiful palm-fringed beaches, swimming in atmospheric cenotes, meeting friendly locals, understanding their history and trying delicious regional food.
With 62 different indigenous peoples, Mexico is a bustling, artistic mess of different cultures, cuisines and experiences. And as we moved from state to state, it was often like entering a totally different country. Different regional dishes, different dialects, different loyalties and very different levels of infrastructure.
This diversity is what makes Mexico a joy, but also challenging and stressful.
Challenging because the road quality in some states can be dreadful requiring concentration and focus. Stressful because sometimes safety is not guaranteed, particularly in less politically stable states like Chiapas.
Many tourists, visiting only Yucatán, have a narrow image of Mexico. But Yucatán is polished Mexico, where tourists are welcome and the roads are smooth. Mexico is so much more than that.
Here are the impressions and details of our journey with our tips to help you design your own Mexico road trip.
KICKING OFF IN MEXICO CITY
We spent 3 days in underrated Mexico City before beginning our Mexico road trip. We picked up our hire car from the airport to make driving out of Mexico City a little easier. This was our first mistake.
Some hire car companies in Mexico add a surcharge to pick up from the airport which is a percentage of the total rental fee. As we were hiring a car for a month, this was an astronomical figure – one that wasn’t explained on our initial contract. Learn from our mistakes and compare prices between picking up at the airport and somewhere in central Mexico City.
That first hour in a new car in a new country is always a challenge. Indicators and windscreen wipers on different sides. Driving on the other side of the road. Getting used to different road systems and different driving techniques. But in general, the roads in Mexico City are decent and relatively easy to navigate (see Google tips at the end of this article). Although drivers don’t indicate regularly and swap lanes often, it’s not too difficult.
TEOTIHUACÁN AND PUEBLA
After leaving Mexico City, we headed for Teotihuacán (1 hr 15 min) to explore the Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun. We started early to arrive at opening time, thereby beating the crowds, the heat and finding parking space (there were lots). After three hours strolling the sights, we made the 2-hour drive to Puebla arriving in the mid-afternoon.
Our only hiccup occurred when the police forced us down the wrong way of a dual lane highway to avoid an accident. With other drivers screaming at us we spent a good hour finding another way through the back roads of Puebla.
Puebla is well worth a stop. It is a pretty town with some small good sights. The Capilla del Rosario, the Museo de la Revolución Mexicana (which still has bullet damage from the early days of the revolution) and the antiques market were all top things to do.
We spent the night at the excellent El Sueno Hotel, before taking the 4-hour drive to Oaxaca in the morning. Flying past mountains and volcanoes looming on the horizon, it’s a straightforward road on a fast highway.
FOODY, ARTY OAXACA CITY
Oaxaca City itself is a joy to visit. Regal churches tower over little squares and cobbled roads are lined with art galleries, coffee shops and craft stores. The excellent ruins of Monte Albán, the ancient capital of the Zapotecs, sits on a hill just outside the city. If you can be here for the Day of the Dead festival at the beginning of November, all the better.
We joined a walk in the Pueblos Mancomunados, the hills that surround the town. But to be honest the drive out there was tedious, the views less than impressive and the indigenous villages empty and underwhelming. So we’d suggest giving it a miss.
After three nights we headed south to Puerto Escondido and the Pacific Coast.
NAVIGATING SPEED BUMPS THROUGH OAXACA STATE
The drive from Puebla to Puerto Escondido was grim. It’s only 250km (on road 131), but it took us 6 hours and 30 minutes – an average of under 40km/h. Why so slow?
Firstly, it’s a windy mountain road zig-zagging through thick jungle. Pretty, but very slow.
Secondly, there are hundreds and hundreds of speed bumps (tope in Spanish). Every junction and almost every driveway has a speed bump that needs to be traversed very slowly. They’re not always well signed.
Thirdly, the road quality is poor with lots of potholes. Not insignificant potholes, great crevasses in the road. Serious damage would be incurred if you went too fast through them. Given that many are around steep corners, driving slowly and carefully is necessary.
Finally, Oaxaca is poor and locals pull up ropes across the road to get you to stop. Some just want you to buy their goods, but others look more menacing and attempt a bribe to let you pass. Many suggest the road up ahead is blocked, but it never was. We just drove through the rope and never had a problem but it can slow you down.
All these challenges make the drive slow, uncomfortable and a bit stressful. A new faster road is due to open in 2022, but it’s had a total of 20 years of delays so we shall see.
RESTING ON THE BEACHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST
We spent the next 5 days split between Puerto Escondido and Bahia Huatulco on the Pacific Coast. The barrel waves in Puerto Escondido make it great for surfing and there is a good variety of beaches to discover. The ocean life is varied and you can swim out from the shore in places, making it useful to rent or have your own snorkel gear. We saw whales and dolphins from the boat and snorkelled with turtles. The town itself is a touristy holiday resort of little note.
Next, we went to Tangolunda on Bahia Huatulco, lured by pictures of beautiful virgin beaches and good snorkelling. The virgin beaches are great but the whole place is a fenced off western enclave. Foreigners have bought up the property and live along the attractive hilly coastline. The result is a lack of local atmosphere which can be skipped.
MAKING OUR WAY INTO CHIAPAS
After 5 days soaking up the sun, we headed back inland, out of Oaxaca state and into Chiapas. The roads had improved and were good, straight and pretty fast. We made a pitstop at El Aguacero, a beautiful waterfall in a steep valley at the end of a slightly hairy concrete road.
After spending the night at Chiapa de Corzo (7-hour drive from Tangolunda) we took a boat trip up the Cañón del Sumidero. The 2-hour trip covers the 35 kilometres through the canyon, with walls rising 800 metres. Boats leave whenever they are full, so a bit of patience is needed.
ENCOUNTERS WITH SEPARATISTS AROUND SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS
Next, we drove into San Cristóbal de las Casas. This is the capital of Chiapas and the trading centre for many of the indigenous people that live in the surrounding villages. The town is an exciting mix of Spanish colonial architecture and indigenous crafts. Locals dressed in traditional colourful clothes wrapped up from the cold, scour markets before returning to their homes.
But underlying this scene is political uncertainty. Much of the area is controlled by Zapatistas, a separatist movement with ambitions to secede from Mexico. They have a policy of civil resistance against Mexican control and law. It gives the whole area a bit of an edge. They are not as welcoming as the indigenous locals that we met in Vietnam, Peru or Thailand. In fact, many don’t want tourists there at all. Coming here is an education but not the friendliest experience we had in Mexico.
ONWARDS – SAN CRISTÓBAL TO PALENQUE
After a couple of days exploring San Cristóbal (La Vinã de Bacco wine bar, breakfast at Frontera and our stay at Casa Vieja all standout), we headed east to Palenque. The good roads disappeared and we were back on the windy, hilly, jungle roads. Lots of speedbumps, lots of potholes. There had been flooding, and some of the surface of the road had been washed away. Road workers were trying to fix it, but progress was slow. We prepared ourselves for another long journey.
But then things took a turn for the worse. The Zapatistas had cut down a massive tree, blocking the road and giving us no choice but to backtrack. So, plan B was a drive back to San Cristóbal, then south-east to Comitán, before going north to Ocosingo, then Palenque. It was an extra 4 hours on top of the 5 hours we had planned for.
And it was not an easy 4 hours. We had to drive through the back roads of Zapatista territory. Young men roamed around carrying machetes, red Zapatista flags hung from buildings painted with separatist political slogans. It was clear Mexican law had little jurisdiction here.
ENJOYING THE JUNGLE SHROUDED RUINS OF PALENQUE AND YAXCHILÁN
The day after our extended trip from San Cristóbal, we explored the magnificent Palenque ruins and the waterfalls of Agua Azul and Misol Há (which we had planned to do the day before, but the diversion meant we didn’t have time). Both waterfalls are attractive and a great place for a relaxing swim.
The next day we went to the ancient ruins of Yaxchilán. It’s a 2-hour drive on a good fast highway (307) to the embarcadero in Frontera Corozal, where speedboats are available to whisk you upstream to the ruins. After Yaxchilán, we took a 30-minute detour for a fine refreshing swim at Las Golondrinas waterfall.
After 2 enjoyable days (stay at La Aldea del Halach Huinic Hotel), we were dreading the 7-hour 45-minute drive to Mahahual on the Caribbean Coast. But, we were pleasantly surprised. While the first hour was a little slow, pushing our way through busy towns, the rest saw us speeding along good, straight roads. The speed bumps had mainly disappeared, the potholes were few and far between, the Zapatistas had been left behind and the rope holders were having a day off.
Arriving in the Yucatán peninsula felt like a completely different country. The rest of our time in Mexico was a breeze to drive.
FINDING THE BEST BEACHES ON THE CARIBBEAN SEA
We spent much of the next two weeks exploring the beaches of the Yucatán peninsula. Here’s our round-up of what we found.
MAHAHUAL
Mahahual is an attractive small fishing village set on a lovely beach, At night, the relaxed restaurants (try Nohoch Kay) lining the front are full of locals enjoying the slow, easy pace of tranquil Mahahual. But during the day it’s a hell hole. Hundreds of tourists who appear to have just tasted alcohol for the first time, descend from massive cruise ships.
By mid-afternoon, the streets of Mahahual are packed with people throwing up in the gutter, competing music and obnoxious behaviour. At around 6 pm the cruise ships depart, and Mahahual is back to normal. Locals creep out from their hiding places to survey the damage.
TULUM
Tulum (1 hour 30 minutes up the coast, stay at Elements Tulum Boutique Hotel) is excellent. The dusty roadside town, which looks uninspiring at first, comes alive at night. Bars and restaurants tucked into back streets serve good food and live music wafts about the town.
But the real highlight is the beach, easily one of our favourites in Mexico. The beach club at Playa El Paraiso was a highlight and the ruins on the cliff are set magnificently against the white sand beach and azure blue sea.
PLAYA DEL CARMEN
Whereas Tulum is quietly relaxing, Playa del Carmen (1 hour further up the coast) is party town. Beach clubs line the front, pumping out music and serving cocktails. But unlike Mahahual, Playa del Carman can handle it with ease. The real attraction for us was the snorkelling at Cozumel. Deep Blue Cozumel took us out with divers and we had a sensational day with the sharks, eagle rays, turtles, puffer fish and moray eels.
ISLA HOLBOX
Next, we made our way to Isla Holbox, an island off the north coast of Yucatán. Ferries leave regularly from Chiquilá (1-hour 45-minute drive from Playa del Carmen) where there are plenty of places that charge a small fee to lock up and look after your car.
The beach at Isla Holbox is underwhelming, but with no cars allowed on the island, the town has a relaxed vibe with plenty of decent restaurants and quirky stores. Top-end resorts are starting to appear bringing golf buggies that help ferry tourists and their baggage around.
The whole place feels less like Mexico and more like a cute well-designed informal resort. We had a good time, but it’s not somewhere to experience local culture.
REVELLING IN THE CENOTES AND RUINS AROUND CHICHÉN ITZÁ
Finally, we spent 3 days exploring the ruins and cenotes around Valladolid. An attractive friendly small colonial town, Valladolid (stay at Aurora Colonial) is a good base to explore all the nearby sights.
Chichén Itzá, while not as atmospheric as Palenque and Yaxchilán, is in excellent condition with fascinating carvings. It’s busy with tourists but definitely worth visiting. Cobá Pyramids offer great views over the jungle and their setting makes you feel like Indiana Jones.
There are many cenotes (sinkholes that are great for swimming) in the area. Ik Kil, X’kekén and San Lorenzo Oxman were some of our favourites but the guys over at 2 Travel Dads have an excellent round-up of the best cenotes in Yucatán.
REFLECTIONS ON OUR MEXICO ROAD TRIP
Was it worth it? Just about. Either end of the trip was a joy. The first week in Mexico City, Teotihuacán, Puebla and Oaxaca were all straightforward to get to and great to visit. Similarly, the two weeks in Palenque and Yucatán were fascinating and educational.
It was the middle where the driving was hard and the sights less impressive. Would we do it again? Yes, but I would be sorely tempted to bus and let someone else take the strain. Or drop the car and fly over the middle section.
You can see that our idealised 2 week Mexico itinerary does exactly that.
TIPS FOR PLANNING A SUCCESSFUL MEXICO ROAD TRIP
After a month of highs and lows on the road in Mexico, here are some things to think about to make your journey a little bit smoother.
HIRING YOUR CAR RENTAL
1 – Read our article with all our tips on driving in Mexico.
2 – On a long road trip, don’t automatically pick up your hire car from an airport if you can avoid it. Some charge an additional fee as a percentage of your total rental cost which can push up the price significantly. Shop around.
3 – Most firms charge for a different drop off location. Expect to pay about US $1 per 2 km distance between pick-up and drop-off. For us, this was a huge fee which was not explained when we booked. If this fee looks prohibitive change your route to end near where you started.
4 – Prices online often do not match the final price you will pay for your hire car. Expect to pay at least US $30 to $40 a day. More if you want to lower the insurance excess.
ON THE ROAD
5 – Fill up with petrol before long drives, especially before the Oaxaca – Puerto Escondido drive
6 – Download maps of the area you intend to drive through in Google Maps before you set off. Your phone will track your location using GPS on your downloaded maps.
7 – Pack a towel and snorkelling gear to take advantage of the beautiful cenotes and beaches while you’re on the road.
DRIVING TIPS
8 – Don’t underestimate how slowly you need to drive over speed bumps. Many are homemade by local residents and are particularly steep.
9 – Drive slowly on windy jungle roads as potholes can and will be around any corner.
10 – Don’t even consider driving on Mexico’s roads at night (except in Yucatán). Potholes, speed bumps and drug cartels are more of a hazard.
11 – Leave early for each day trip. Journeys can take much longer than expected with roadblocks and/or road works common.
A FEWS THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
12 – Try to book hotels that have parking to make life a little easier. Although if parking isn’t possible, we could usually find a place just outside or around the corner.
13 – A car gives you flexibility, so use it to get to the big sites at opening time to avoid the crowds and beat the Mexican heat.
14 – The police are often not a source of help and comfort. Ask a local rather than the police for help if you get lost or need some basic assistance.
MORE READING FOR MEXICO TRIP
Mexico has a vibrancy and energy that hits you the minute you arrive. To help plan your trip, here are more of our guides from Mexico.
Aztec and Myan ruins in Mexico
Our tips for driving in Mexico
The best cenotes and waterfalls in Mexico
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Paul Healy
Paul is an experienced travel writer with a collection of prestigious industry awards, including the title of Blogger of the Year at both the British Guild of Travel Writers and the TravMedia Awards.
His expertise lies in crafting engaging content, focusing on city breaks, comprehensive country-wide guides, and useful travel tips.
I love this! We did the other way around and went along the golf coast first- Mexico City, Veracruz, Campeche (beautiful little pirate town), Merida, Playa del Carmen, Palenque, San Cristobal de las Casas (favourite!), Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido, Acapulco. Best trip of my life.
Sounds like a great trip too. Mexico is such a colourful country, for good and bad, it’s definitely a memorable travel experience.
Hi Antonia, can I ask where you stayed in Veracruz? I’m about to do a road trip from CDMX to Mérida with my dog and I’d like to find a smallish, pretty town somewhere along that coast that’s maybe 6 hours driving from Mexico City. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I love that your blog is absolutely clean! And the photos are stunning!
Jil | https://www.letsjiloutdoor.com/
Thanks Jil, appreciate the feedback.
What an amazing month-long journey. I would love to road trip through Mexico and had no idea that this country was home to 62 different groups of indigenous people. Also loved your note at the end about navigation and Google not updating the route if you don’t have data. That’s something I wouldn’t have thought of and is a great tip.
Laurel Christine (Laurel@byLaurelChristine.com)
Thanks, Laurel. Mexico was amazing and frustrating all at the same time. But, apart from a few minor niggles, it was a thoroughly enjoyable road trip.
Hi Paul,
I love your blog too! Very easy to navigate.
My husband and I are planning to go to Mexico in a month and we’d like to rent a car. Ideally we’d like to move from A to B each day which would mean leaving our baggage in the car. But, it is marked everywhere to never leave your things in the car. This seems strange as there are loads of websites and blogs about driving in Mexico. I lived in Barra de Navidad 20 years ago but I don’t know how things are now.
I’d love your advice or any help at all.
Úna
We have done many road trips and you can check out our blog: https://macnouelsgoeast.wordpress.com/
Hi Úna – We didn’t move every day so I’m not sure what it would be like to do that in terms of finding somewhere safe to park the car each day. We certainly left luggage in the car at times without any problems, but you probably need to pick your location. Often there are people watching car parks who charge a small fee, or in cities, you should be able to find a fairly secure car park. The only scenario you would need to be careful of is leaving the car unattended in remote locations. Good luck and enjoy your trip!
We just did basically the same road trip but added a few other stops and stretched it out to 3 months. And while I agree with a lot of your views, especially about some of the roads, overall we found most of the roads as good or better than we experience driving in rural Australia.
We did have one short run-in with a corrupt cop in Quintana Roo, but the 3 of us (me, my wife and our daughter) never had a single issue with locals, even driving through more of Chiapas than you had on your trip.
Overall, we would absolutely do it all again.
Hi Dean,
Sounds like you had an amazing trip and its great that you had not trouble with any local issues in Chiapas. You’ve given me the idea of returning and exploring a little more. Did you have any particular favourite spots?
Thanks a lot for your comment.
Mark
I highly recommend that you have another look at Chiapas Mark. We were there in July 2022 and there was pretty much no noise being made by the Zapatitas at that time. I suppose civil unrest can happen anywhere, any time but being caught in it once shouldn’t stop you from giving a place a second chance.
San Cristobal is probably my favourite town in Mexico now (overtaking San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca), but three places you didn’t mention in your article stand out for us in Chiapas.
* The El Chiflon waterfalls just outside of Comitan are as good as you will find in Mexico and compare with the best we have seen around the world.
* Halfway between Comitan and Palenque are the ruins of another Mayan city, Tonina, which in many ways is just as impressive as the more famous Palenque.
* And you mention Agua Azul waterfalls, and rightly so. At the right time of year they look unbelievable. But when we were there the blue water was brown from some heavy rain. The alternative is Cascadas Roberto Barrios which is almost the same but the water is less effected by storms. Well worth a half day trip to soak under some waterfalls.
Hi Dean, Thanks a lot for all that info. I think maybe you are right and we should head back there next year. As you say, places change over time, and there’s so much to see in that country it would be a mistake to miss it. Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated and good luck on your next trip. Mark
What an excellent article. Refreshingly clear and honest, without a lot of the overly positive hyperbole usually seen on travel blogs. Thanks for publishing this excellent advice
Thank you. We loved Mexico but driving there is not without it’s challenges.