The Best Weekend Trips From Mexico City

Mexico City is fun, fabulous and fascinating, but every once in a while we all need a break from the city. Whether you are on vacation or a permanent resident, it helps to occasionally escape the hustle and bustle of the capital. Here are a few of our favorite picks for heading out for a weekend of fun.

Tepoztlan, Morelos

If you want mayhem and fun, a weekend in Tepoztlan is a great choice as the city’s downtown streets flood with tourists sipping micheladas and hiking to the top of the local pyramid, dedicated to the god of pulque. There are several good international restaurants here, a delicious coffeeshop and a decent selection of bars and pubs. You can escape it all if you’d prefer, but Tepoz (as it is lovingly called) is famous for its health and wellness options, with many nice boutique hotels, spas, yoga centers and retreats taking place year-round.

Guanajuato, Guanajuato

A former silver mining town, Guanajuato was built into a mountain side and atop a series of tunnels that have now been transformed into a labyrinth of streets. Its beauty, color and food make it an amazing weekend trip even though at 4.5 hours by car, it’s a fair distance from Mexico City. The streets are filled with university students, troubadours and street vendors. They have a market whose building was designed by Eiffel, a museum of real mummies and street called “kissing alley,” what more could you want in a place to visit?

Zacatlan de las Manzanas

If a small town break is what you want Zacatlan de las Manzanas is a tiny town with quiet streets and weekend getaway peace. Be sure you sample some of their famous local cider and sweets, see the watch musuem and take a trip out to El Valle de Piedras Encimadas, a national park with crazy natural rock formations where you can hike and camp. There are several places just out of town where you can camp or stay in a cabin and watch the fog roll into the valley.

Queretaro, Guanajuato

Queretaro is a growing business center in central Mexico and we’ve been hearing for years about a speed train that will soon take us between the two cities. Until then, the drive is only about three hours and it’s a pretty straight shot. Once there you could take in a bullfight at one of the city’s iconic rings, pop into a local eatery in their colonial downtown or go shopping – the city has some excellent shopping malls to choose from. There are lots of city museums to explore, the local park Cerro de las Campanas to wander and city’s aqueduct to admire.