Mexico is a vibrant and sunny nation that has plenty of other appealing qualities that make it worth visiting. It’s filled with fascinating history. Many ancient civilisations call current-day Mexico their home, and several of their ancient relics and structures can be seen till this day. Foodies are also in luck; have a meal on the streets or in an eatery! Most importantly, the locals are very friendly, so consider striking up a conversation with a passerby. We can go on and on about the positive traits of Mexico, but you’ll really have to see it to believe it. Read on to check out our 10 recommendations of best places to visit in Mexico.
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1. Let your inner child go wild: Museo del Juguete Antiquo in Mexico City
For people who still feel like a kid at heart or just seek a trip down memory lane, drop by the cool Museo del Juguete Antiquo Mexico! This 3-storey museum holds up to 60,000 antique toys of all shapes and sizes. And the display cases that holds all the toys are homemade from recycled materials. With it being a self-guided museum, you don’t have to worry about rushing and just take all the time you need to explore the displays. As all the toys come from all over the world, you might see a toy you’ve never seen before, or even a toy that evokes good memories.
Museo del Juguete Antiguo México
Address: Calle Dr. Olvera 15, Cuauhtémoc, Doctores, 06720 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Price: from 2.40 USD
Opening Hours: 9 am - 6 pm (Monday - Friday), 9 am - 4 pm (Saturday) and 10 am - 4 pm (Sunday)
Duration: around 1 hour required.
Website: Museo del Juguete Antiguo México
2. Feel spooked on this creepy island: Isla de las Munecas in Xochimilco
For fans of everything spooky and creepy, the Isla de las Munecas (Island of the Dolls) is the perfect place to visit. Rumour has it that Don Julian Santana, the lone inhabitant of the island saw a girl drowning in the canal many years ago. After her death, he fished a doll from a nearby canal and he was convinced it was a sign from an evil spirit, so he hung the doll up to protect himself. Over the following years until his death, he collected many dolls and continued hanging them up. It’s a little disorienting and creepy to walk around and see these hanging dolls, but it’s an exciting and hidden island to visit.
Isla de las Munecas
Address: Parque Ecológico de Xochimilco, 16036 Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico
Price for boat ride: from 16.80 USD per hour.
Time of boat ride: Depends on your captain of the boat, we recommend a day trip though.
Duration: around 4 hours to travel to the island.
3. Learn to whip up authentic Mexican dishes: cooking class in Puerto Vallarta
Mexican cuisine is extremely delicious and is always bursting with flavour, so instead of spending money on Mexican food when you’re back home, you can learn to cook some dishes for yourself. In this Puerto Vallarta Cooking Class, you’ll head to a vibrant outdoor market and shop for the freshest ingredients. You will even visit a tortilla factory and buy some dough. This is a small class with a cap on the number of students, so you’re ensured personal attention from an experienced, friendly chef. You’ll learn about the history of Mexican cuisine and actually cook a 5-course meal. At the end, you can tuck into all the delicious dishes you’ve made and enjoy some tequila.
4. Admire the gorgeous art and building: Museo Soumaya in Mexico City
Right in Mexico City lies a huge and glistening museum that’s known as Museo Soumaya. It was named after Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s late wife and it consists of two museum buildings that hold a large collection of art. The museum was created to make art accessible to all Mexicans, and to show that there isn’t a need to visit Europe to admire art. There are 30 centuries worth of art in the museum with art pieces from 19th and 20th-century Mexico, an extensive collection of works by European old masters and masters of modern art. So if you’re an art lover in Mexico, you can view paintings from Leonardo Da Vinci and Claude Monet.
Museo Soumaya
Address: Boulervard Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 303, Granada, Miguel Hidalgo, 11529 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Price: Free-of-charge
Opening Hours for Plaza Loreto: 10.30 am - 6 pm, 10.30 am - 6 pm (Saturdays). Closed on Tuesday.
Opening Hours for Plaza Carso: 10.30 am - 6 pm (Daily)
Duration: 2 hours suggested. But you can spend more or less time exploring.
Website: Museo Soumaya
5. Get an adrenaline rush as you climb: Coba in Quintana Roo
It may not be the largest or the most famous ruin in the entire world, but if you want to feel like Indiana Jones, Coba, an ancient Mayan city ruin, is a great place to visit for some quiet fun. Coba is tucked into lush, green forests and quite out of the way so most of it hasn’t been fully excavated. Who knows what other secrets lie within its midsts! Take some time to marvel at the architecture and artifacts that have survived. The most iconic ‘attraction’ in the area are the pyramids known as Ixmoja, and unlike many of the other Maya sites, you can actually climb up to the top of this pyramid. It might be difficult to climb up the pyramid, but the view from the top is completely worth the effort!
Coba
Address: Carretera Federal 307 Cancún-Chetumal, 77793 Cobá, QROO, Mexico
Price: from 4 USD
Opening Hours: 8 am - 5 pm, daily.
6. Strike a pose in front of this lake: Las Coloradas on the Yucatecan Coast
You may think that a small Mexican fishing village might not be a place worth visiting, but don’t be so quick to judge this location. As you enter Las Coloradas, you’ll feel as though you’re in paradise as the sand is white and the water is pink. Yes, you read right, pink! This site is part of the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, which you can visit to admire animals like flamingos. Las Coloradas is perfect for a short and quick visit, and you can take many beautiful photos that will make your friends, green with envy.
Las Coloradas
Address: Las Coloradas, Tizimín, Yucatán, Mexico
7. Have a quiet time: Playa del Amor on Marieta Islands
Mexico is a country with gorgeous beaches, but due to their fame, many can get quite crowded, so how about having a romantic and private rendezvous on a more secluded beach. This beach is commonly known as the Hidden Beach of Mexico and Lover’s Beach. The beach has classic features like sandy beaches and clear blue waters, but what makes it remarkable is that it is inside an open-topped cave, allowing some sunshine to enter. So, you can be sheltered naturally from Mexico’s warm sun. Not many people make the trip because it can be quite difficult, so you can have a quiet time here. A funny tidbit about Playa del Amor is that it’s located right across Divorce Island!
8. Explore a beautiful and ancient site: Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan
Many of Mexico’s ancient civilisations constructed pyramids, and most of them are well-preserved! The Pyramid of the Sun is one of the largest ones in Mesoamerica. Put on some comfortably walking shoes and light clothing, so you can climb up the large building. It might be extremely strenuous and tiring to climb up the Pyramid of the Sun, but the view from the top is completely worth it. When you’re done, you can actually explore more of the ancient city and even pop into the nearby museum to learn more about Teotihuacán.
Pyramid of the Sun
Address: 55800 San Juan Teotihuacan de Arista, State of Mexico, Mexico
Price: from 4.80 USD
Opening Hours: 9 am - 5 pm. Closed on Mondays.
9. Dive straight into this museum: Museo Subacuático de Arte in Cancún
For people who think museums might be boring, check out a more unique museum experience at Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA). MUSA is an underwater museum, that makes you dive into the waters to view the exhibits. Whether it be heading head first into the water via scuba diving, or keeping dry by taking a trip on a glass bottom boat, you are sure to have a unique experience. There are close to 500 sculptures in the museum’s collection and are all stunning. This museum has a positive impact on society too! It helped increase the tourism in the area, and is also beneficial to the habitat as the museum helps promote growth of artificial reefs. On land, there’s also another museum displaying 26 replicas of the sculptures sunk underwater for those who cannot dive into the water.
Museo Subacuático de Arte
Address: Blvd. Kukulcan Km. 15.3, Zona Hotelera, 77500 Cancún, Q.R., Mexico
Opening Hours: 9 am - 5 pm, daily.
Duration: around 1 hour required.
Website: Museo Subacuático de Arte
10. Have fun while protecting the earth: Xel-Ha Park in Quintana Roo
For parents who are planning on vacationing with kids, Xel-Ha Park is the perfect place to visit. It’s a hybrid theme park and ecotourism development area, and helps preserve the habitat around it. It’s perfectly pristine and visually amazing, and there are also nurseries on site that helped plant trees for reforestation. Everyone of any age is welcome to the park and you can do things like snorkeling and zip-lining. There’s also a special children’s play area with water slides, and areas where kids can feed fishes. To end this on a good note, Xel-Ha Park is so dedicated to protecting the environment, it doesn’t even make use of printed maps and straws as they work hard to reduce waste.
Xel-Ha Park
Address: Carretera Chetumal Puerto Juárez Km 240, locales 1 & 2, módulo B, 77780 Q.R., Mexico
Price: from 89 USD (Adults), 44.50 (Children, ages between 5 to 11 years old) (All activities included in the ticket price)
Opening Hours: Daily from 9 am till 6 pm. Some activities have different opening times.
Website: Xel-Ha Park
Marvelous Mexico!
Mexico is a beautiful country to visit with great weather and wonderful people. It also has many different attractions both new and ancient, that will appeal to people from all walks of life. So be sure to visit this vibrant nation because you’re sure to have a great time.
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