Mexico Travel Planning Tips
Explore This Travel Guide to Mexico
Mexico is one of the most popular tourist destinations, especially for those living in North America. This travel guide contains all of our Mexico travel planning tips you need to help you plan your vacation to Mexico.
Interactive Map
Find top vacation destinations in Mexico are and browse connected blog posts.
Travel Basics
Essential information and Mexico travel tips including currency, transportation, climate & safety.
Recommendations
Accommodation ideas as well as our own personal tips and recommendations regarding top activities to do in Mexico!
Tools & Resources
Download sample itineraries for Mexico and access booking tools for flights, hotels, and pre-purchase tickets for popular activities.
Top Mexico Travel Destinations & Planning Tips
Popular destinations for travelers to Mexico include the Yucatan peninsula or Maya Riviera which borders the Gulf of Mexico and is home to towns such as Cancun, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and even Cozumel (a popular cruise ship port). While visitors to the west coast typically travel to resort towns like Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta.
These popular tourist destinations in Mexico are well-traveled and quite safe.
Visitors to Mexico can experience world-class resorts, gorgeous beaches, and activities — such as scuba diving, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, caving, etc. But there are also charming villages, vibrant culture, colonial towns, ancient ruins, and delicious food!
Definitely check out our interactive map and sample itineraries for Mexico as well on this page. This combined with reading our blog posts for tips from our own experiences in Mexico will help you to plan an awesome trip!
Yucatan, Mexico Travel Tips
While we have visited the west coast of Mexico before, our top recommended destination for visitors to Mexico is actually the Yucatan. This is because of affordable flights, safety, and sheer abundance of things to do in the area. And then there’s also the incredible white sand beaches, blue water…and famous Mayan ruins. In fact, the Yucatan is one of our favorite travel destinations!
What’s Your Ideal Mexico Vacation?
If you are looking to plop yourself at a beach resort and relax, then you will have no problem finding some amazing hotels anywhere along the coast between Cancun and Tulum. You could also do an all-inclusive resort if you want to keep things easy. However if you are active travelers like us and want to get out there and see more of the area outside the resort, then our top Yucatan, Mexico travel planning tip is to rent a car in Cancun so you have the freedom to drive around and explore!
Renting a Car & Driving in the Yucatan
We even did a road trip around the Yucatan a few years back and it was really one of our most memorable trips to Mexico. Beginning in Cancun, we drove to visit the famous Chichen Itza and stayed onsite at one of the most memorable hotels we’ve stayed. We also swam in some magical cenotes before heading to the coast and exploring an underwater cave system! The coastal community in Paa Mul is also where we went scuba diving for the first time (and we even saved a baby turtle that just hatched!).
Downloadable Itineraries & Planning Templates
Mexico & Yucatan Blog Posts
Tips for Driving in Mexico
While it’s true that some parts of Mexico should be avoided, other areas are about as safe as driving elsewhere in the world. We recently traveled to the Yucatan, a relatively safe area to visit. Renting a car in this area was a must for us because we...
Geocaching & Venezuelan Food – Things to Do in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
When we planned our trip to Mexico, we never thought that we would find ourselves enjoying authentic Venezuelan food while in Playa del Carmen. But that's the kind of unexpected travel adventure that Geocaching can give you. While taking a road trip around...
Mayapan Tequila Distillery – Valladolid, Mexico
There's nothing like 3 tequila shots at 11 am to wake a person up! But it's even better when it's fresh artisan tequila and accompanied with a personalized tour of an agave farm and the tequila distillery. Being interested in local beer and spirits when we...
Beyond the Postcard – Stumbling Upon the Best Lunch in Cancun, Mexico
The best part about traveling are the unexpected moments. Those “gems” that you stumble across that no one told you about, probably because they don’t know about them either. They provide a truly unique experience that can't be deliberately replicated, they just...
Beyond the Postcard: Discovering More Than a Geocache in Aukmal, Mexico
For this installment of our "Beyond the Postcard" series, we wanted to share a memorable experience that we had in Mexico; where seeking a particular Geocache provided us with a reminder of the kindness and charity of humanity. As Liz and I were making our way up and...
Stay at Chichen Itza Mexico – the Amazing Mayaland Resort
It was nearly dusk, and after a day of driving our rental car from Cancun and exploring colonial towns and the countryside on our way to Chichen Itza Mexico, we were tired & anxious to arrive at our hotel. Finally, we started seeing the signs for the famous...
See One of the Most Famous Pyramids in Mexico – El Castillo Chichen Itza
Does this ancient & famous pyramid look familiar? It's one of the most famous pyramids in Mexico. For those who travel to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, this iconic structure tops many sight-seeing lists. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Chichen...
2 Minute Vacation: The Famous Tulum Ruins in Mexico
Have you ever dreamed of visiting these famous Mayan ruins perched on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea? If you are planning a trip to Mexico, and specifically the Yucatan area, many of you will want to check out these iconic ruins by the sea! Enjoy the...
Adventure Driving in Mexico – the Yucatan Peninsula
“Is it safe?” That’s what all of our friends and family asked us when we told them that we were planning a trip to Mexico that included driving in Mexico around the Yucatan Peninsula for our 1 year anniversary. With so many people questioning us, even Josh...
My First Scuba Diving Experience with Scuba Mex – Paa Mul, Mexico
During our recent trip to Mexico, I was most looking forward to my first scuba diving experience. We had rented a car and were driving all around the Yucatan, but I knew checking scuba diving off my bucket list was something I really wanted to do on this trip....