Discover These 7 Stunning Day Trips from Mexico City

We had the absolute privilege of spending almost six months in mainland Mexico with our RV this year, and for a bit over two months of it, we were parked just outside of CDMX. So we had ample time to explore all of the options for day trips from Mexico City!

There are so many amazing things to do within a few hours of CDMX, and I’m going to share our seven favorites with you today! I’ve written a bit about why I think you should check out each place, how to get there via a tour option or the DIY route, and where I’d recommend staying if you do have the time to turn the day trip into an overnight.

For everything I’ve written about our six months in Mexico, head here or check out my Mexico instagram highlights. And if you’re new here and interested in learning more about our family and how we’ve been traveling fulltime for almost six years, start here!

One last thing before we dive into the day trips from Mexico City — if you’re thinking of taking your RV into Mexico like we did, I’ve got a list going of things I’d recommend you bring to RV Mexico!

Teotihucan

Information: Teotihuacan is a must-visit archaeological site, both for its immense cultural significance (you can see the influence of Teotihuacan on other ancient Mesoamerican cultures!) and because of its location. It’s the only famous archaeological site that’s an easy trip from the center of Mexico City, making it a must-visit for most visitors to the country. Get here as early as possible, both to avoid crowds and because there is very little shade onsite. We found the best views to be from the top of the Pyramid of the Moon, so head there first! If you can only make one of these day trips from Mexico City, this is the one.

Getting There: This tour includes a magical looking hot air balloon flight over the pyramids and breakfast! If hot air balloons aren’t your thing or aren’t in the budget, try this tour of just the site. If you’re more of the DIY type, you can simply take a Didi or Uber out to the site for about $20 USD each way.

Grutas Tolantongo

Information: Our family agreed that this was a top five Mexico experience for us. That’s saying something because we LOVED Mexico and had some truly bucket list experiences over our six months in the country. There are three main sections of this experience — the pools, the waterfall/cave, and the river. The pools are truly Insta-worthy, but the cave and waterfall were the part that really blew us away. I highly recommend coming on a weekday if you can because it does get crowded on weekends. And if you want a pools picture without the crowds, arrive exactly at or slightly before opening. Pro tip: leave everything but your towel and phone with a protective case to walk over to the cave area; they don’t allow anything else.

Getting There: This tour looks like a fantastic option and relatively affordable. If you don’t take a tour, you’ll definitely want a rental car!

Where to Stay for an Overnight: You can stay onsite at the grutas, but the hotel reviews are mixed. This place is nearby and looks amazing if you have wheels!

Monarch Butterfly Sanctuaries

Information: Seeing the monarch butterfly sanctuary was at the top of my list for reasons to visit mainland Mexico, and it did not disappoint. You can see this natural wonder from around November to March, with February being prime time. We visited two sanctuaries — El Rosario and Sierra Chincua, slightly preferring the latter. Both require a hike to the top to see the butterflies, or you can pay 200 pesos a person to ride a horse up. Make sure to choose a sunny day or the butterflies won’t be flying, and try to time your visit for mid-day for optimal viewing conditions. Bring cash because these areas require cash only and there is no easy ATM access. This would be one of the longer options for day trips from Mexico City, but a can’t-miss for nature lovers.

Getting There: This tour would be a great private option for a group of up to 3 people. This tour is a more affordable option and with more group size options, but less availability so book way in advance. This tour is the middle option between the two! This is another excursion where I would recommend a rental car if you don’t take a tour.

Where to Stay for an Overnight: If you have the time, I highly recommend turning this into an overnight trip. We stayed at Rancho Cumbre Monarca and loved it. Check out our reel about it here! Just be aware that there’s no cell service and limited wifi. If you have more time and want to combine the butterflies with a visit to Morelia, this place looks amazing to stay!

Toluca’s Cosmovitral

Information: I don’t see this on many tourists’ lists, but it’s such a unique visit! Toluca is a short trip from CDMX, making this an easy day trips from Mexico City option. The Cosmovitral is a botanical garden with the world’s largest stained glass installation! The botanical garden selection is sort of underwhelming, but the stained glass is so impressive.

Getting There: This tour combines a trip to see the Cosmovitral with excursions to local artisan villages, as well. Toluca is easy to reach by train from CDMX by riding the very scenic Interurban train. Start at the Santa Fe station in CDMX and you’ll probably want a quick Didi or Uber ride into town from the Toluca station.

Tula Archaeological Site

Information: Tula stood out to me as a cool option for day trips from Mexico City because the warriors are so unique from any of the other archaeological sites here. Plus, if you hate crowds, you definitely won’t find them here! We had this site almost to ourselves on a weekday morning. The staff outnumbered the visitors. It’s a relatively small site, so this can be a quick morning trip!

Getting There: This private tour is a bit spendy, but includes visiting both Teotihuacan and Tula in the same day! So convenient. There is a bus from the northern bus station in CDMX to Tula that takes about 2 hours and then you’ll need to take a quick Didi or Uber to the archaeological site.

Where to Stay for an Overnight: If you have the time, you could combine a trip to Tula with a visit to the pueblo magico Tepotzotlan. Stay here and check out the impressive Museum of the Viceroyalty in the church.

Puebla or Cholula

Information: Puebla and Cholula really deserve at least a long weekend for themselves, but if you only have a day, I think they’re still worth it! Puebla is a gorgeous city best known for its stunning talavera tiles. Cholula is a beautiful pueblo magico that’s known for its church built on top of the world’s largest pyramid by volume! Plus the views of the volcanoes are stunning. I shared everything we did on our long weekend to these two places. They’re saved to my Puebla highlight on instagram if you need ideas!

Getting There: This tour takes you to Puebla, Cholula, and Tonantzintla all in one (long!) day. There are plenty of buses from CDMX to Puebla, but they are probably long enough rides that you’ll want to stay overnight if public transit is the way you go.

Where to Stay for an Overnight: If staying in Puebla, this place in centro looks amazing. For Cholula, I would choose here.

Parque Nacional Iztaccíhuatl – Popocatépetl

Information: This national park is an outdoor lovers dream, and within achievable distance of Mexico City. We drove Paso de Cortes to trace the historical route Cortes took when he first visited Tenochtitlan (current day CDMX). It was well worth the extra drive time to take the scenic route. We had our dogs with us so we couldn’t hike, but there are incredibly scenic hikes of all difficulties available! Let me know if you do any hiking in this park so I can live vicariously.

Getting There: This tour takes you on a spectacular day hike in the national park. Serious hikers will enjoy summiting Izta on this tour. To DIY this park, you’ll want a rental car.

Where to Stay for an Overnight: Most overnight visitors stay in nearby Amecama. This little place right outside it looks charming! Outdoorsy types can tent camp inside of the national park.

I hope this has been helpful as you plan your Mexico City trip! As much as we loved CDMX. it’s totally worth it to make time for at least one of these day trips from Mexico City. You’ll get to see a totally different side of Mexico when you do!

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For more posts about our fulltime travel life as a family of five, try these posts: