The perfect two-week Mexico itinerary

Mexico is truly a little piece of heaven on earth.

Well, not really little, considering it is about 6 times bigger than Germany ?

The numerous historical sites, natural wonders, and picturesque beaches are guaranteed to make anyone fall in love with this diverse and unique country.

Mexico is also extremely affordable, which makes it a favorite destination for backpackers and anyone traveling on a budget.

Mexico is currently open for tourists flying in from anywhere in the world, even though the COVID-19 crisis is still a big issue in the country. As long as you follow all the necessary precautions and government guidelines, both while you are in Mexico and when you return home, your trip should be an entirely positive experience that will help support the local economy. Oh, and remember, now is not the time to skip on travel insurance!

Mexico allows visa-free entry to nationals of 69 countries, which makes it even easier to book a flight to this paradise for so many people. The only thing every traveler entering Mexico needs to do is fill out an online immigration form.

The most pricey part about a trip to Mexico will probably be getting there. If you want to find out how you can find the cheapest flight tickets, check out our handy guide that helped me find a return ticket for less than 350 euros (which I think is pretty cheap considering the popular dates we chose, and minimum travel times).

You are about to see the detailed day-to-day itinerary for my upcoming 14-night trip to Mexico with my mom. There are so many cool things to do and places to visit that we could easily stay in Mexico for three months and still be experiencing new things every day. Unfortunately, we won't have that much time, but I am going to let you know how we're planning to get the most out of our relatively short stay.

I will share with you exactly what we will do each day, where we will stay, and where we will eat - as well as other useful information and links.

So, let's get started! ?

Landing in MEX in the evening. Taking the metro to the city center, grabbing a bite at one of the delicious street food stands (they are on every corner!), heading to the Hotel Casa Blanca.

As previously mentioned, Mexico is a super affordable country, so even though we normally choose the cheapest accommodation on our travels, we chose to treat ourselves with a little fancier overnight stays this time (still for a good price!).

To balance out our budget, we chose a combination of stays in Airbnbs (for the local experience) and hotels (for ultimate comfort). Centrally located hotel Casa Blanca will be the perfect place to return to after a long day of traveling, plus, it has a pool - always a nice bonus when visiting warm, but non-coastal cities.

After a good night's rest, and a good breakfast, it is time to start exploring the historic center of the capital. To get from our hotel to the main square, we just need to walk straight for about 25 minutes. How easy is that; we won't have to take public transportation or a taxi.

On our walk, we will pass close to many interesting points, such as the National Museum of the Revolution (right next to our hotel!), the Popular Art Museum, the urban park Alameda Central, the Palace of Fine Arts, Chinatown, the House of Tiles, the Latin-American Tower, the National Museum of Art, and many more.

I guess the 25-minute walk will easily take us a few hours because we will have to stop many times to admire the sights. Even though we are not the biggest art and history fans, we might check out a museum or two, as many offer free entrance. What I know for sure is that we are going to go to the observation deck on the 44th floor of the Latin-American Tower to get the best views of the city.

When we finally reach the biggest square in Latin America, Zócalo, we will visit the National Palace, home to the president's office, and some of the most famous murals of Diego Rivera. It is completely free to access. We will also observe the incredible Metropolitan Cathedral and head east to the Templo Mayor, the Aztec archaeological site on top of which Mexico City was built.

After thoroughly researching the eateries that locals recommend, we decided we will try the traditional pozole soup, some enchiladas, and quesadillas at the famous La Casa de Toño. And churros for dessert at the Churrería El Moro.

For the rest of the day, we will continue wandering the markets around the city center and head to the hotel in the late afternoon. We will then just relax, maybe even take a swim in the pool ?.

Day 3 is a big day because we will visit the Teotihuacan ruins!

We decided we will take a guided tour this day because this archaeological site is just too significant. We want to make sure we learn as much as possible about it, with a certified local guide.

You can check the link below to see what exactly we will do during this full-day tour. We think it will be well worth paying 30 euros for it. Plus, we will be picked up and dropped off at our hotel - how convenient is that!

We should be back in time for dinner, so after quickly freshening up at the hotel, we will head to the next eatery on our approved-by-locals list - Comedor Lucerna. This hidden gem is a food court with rustic decor and a colorful umbrella sky. Supposedly, the atmosphere is fantastic, and it is located in the historical neighborhood of Juárez - a short 10-minute walk from our hotel.

On day 4, we are going to head west and start exploring that area.

We are going to take the bus to Morelia, an incredible Unesco World Heritage site and the capital of the state of Michoacán. Known as the "most Spanish town in Mexico", Morelia's architecture is beautiful and perfectly preserved. There are more than 200 historic buildings in the center, so we are going to take a stroll around to soak in all its charm. We're gonna pass the Morelia aqueduct, the Tarascas fountain, the Morelia cathedral, and many more.

Candy-making is a big part of the city's tradition, and Morelia is famous for its local sweets. We are going to taste them for ourselves at the Mercado de Dulces and get a stash to take back home.

We're gonna end our short tour by trying out the Morelian gazpacho, corundas, and uchepos at Restaurante el Tragadero.

In the late afternoon, we're going to head to Guadalajara, the second-largest city in Mexico. We are going to grab a bite to eat and spend the night at the charming Hotel Isabel.

Guadalajara is the capital of the state of Jalisco, known as the tequila and mariachi state. It would be a shame to miss it during our stay in Mexico.

We are going to start our day with a free walking tour of the city, where we will see the most important spots and get local's inputs for what to visit for the rest of the day, where to hear mariachis, and where to taste the famous tortas ahogadas.

In the afternoon, we are going to catch our bus to Puerto Vallarta because it is about time we catch some sun on the beach! We will spend the following two nights at a cozy Airbnb we found.

For this day, we have planned one of the highlights of the whole trip. We are going to admire the humpback whales! They start visiting Mexico's Pacific coast in December, and it is one of the reasons why we planned our trip for that time of the year. Seeing such magnificent creatures in the wild, and learning about them from an expert, will be a memory we will cherish forever.

After the whale watching tour, we have absolutely nothing planned except working on our tan, catching a sunset on the beach, and having a cocktail in one of the bars.

Puerto Vallarta is a beach resort town, so apart from relaxing, there is not much to do here. That's why we will enjoy another almost full day of doing nothing but chilling on the beach, enjoying some good food and music.

However, there is no time to waste, Mexico is huge, and we only have 8 more days! That's why already in the evening, we will head to the Puerto Vallarta International Airport and take a flight to the Yucatán Peninsula.

Now, the real adventure will begin.

We arrived late yesterday, and drove directly to our hotel for the following days, and after a nice - and long - sleep, we are ready to enjoy the second half of our trip. 

Playa del Carmen is a bustling beach town, and you can find big resorts, small boutique hotels or homestays here. We will be staying at a small boutique hotel - but with a rooftop pool! So today we will chill by our rooftop pool, and go enjoy the beach. Playa del Carmen is a good place to do some souvenir shopping as well, so remember to by some tequila cake for your family or friends at home. 

Today is going to be a busy day - but so much fun! Akumal is known as the best spot to see some turtles, and the name actually means “place of turtle”. We will have to wake up early in order to get to Akumal early, as the best chance for spotting a turtle is the early morning. 

We will grab a taxi or a local bus - it's only a 30 min drive. There is no need to bring our own gear, as we can rent snorkel gear at the dive-shops in Akumal. 

The beach in Akumal is pretty, so we will spend couple of hours there, and enjoy our lunch while looking out at the water. 

After lunch, we will head to Tulum. The beach in Tulum is quite nice as well, but the real reason we are going to Tulum is for the ruins! These ruins are known to have the best view in Mexico - and we'll see why today. After visiting the ruins, we will go to some of the cenotes nearby, and experience these amazing sinkholes. 

Rise and shine! This day is an early one as well, as we want to beat the crowds and get to Cenote Ik Kil before it gets too full of people. This cenote is one of the most famous ones in the Yucatan area, so it's well worth it getting up early to have it all to yourself. Remember to bring your bathing suits, as we will spend an hour relaxing in the cold water. 

After Cenote Ik Kil it's time to visit one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World” - Chichen Itza! It is also enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it's a great place to explore the ancient ruins and the culture of the Mayan people. 

It's time for some late lunch, so we'll make a stop in Valladolid and eat at a local restaurant. Afterward, we will wander the streets of Valladolid, and explore this small, authentic town.

Yesterday was a long day, so today we will sleep in, enjoy our bed, and the rooftop pool. We will go to the restaurant nearby for a late breakfast, and try out their tasty smoothies.

We will do some last-minute shopping, and take a last stroll down the main street. When we feel like we've enjoyed enough of Playa del Carmen, it's time to pack our bags and head to Isla Mujeres. 

We will take the bus from Playa Del Carmen to Cancun, explore the vibrant city for an hour or two, and find a good place to eat lunch. Afterward we will head to the ferry, and take the next one to Isla Mujeres. It's only a 15 min boat ride to the Island, and they run all the time (almost). 

We will use the evening to settle in at our new hotel for the following days. A drink at North Beach while watching the sunset is a good way to relax, and we will do just that after unpacking our stuff. 

This island is the island of women - if you translate its name. And it has one of the best beaches in all of Mexico. We will spend the morning enjoying the sun at the beach, walking the small streets of the northern area. And in the afternoon we will rent a golf buggy. Golf buggies are the most common way to get around on this island, and you'll see them a lot. They are cheap to rent for the day, and fun to ride! 

With our new ride, we will have a good opportunity to explore all of the amazing things Isla Mujeres has to offer. The island is small, and it doesn't take a long time to drive all the way around. 

On our way back from sightseeing the island, we will stop by Oscar's Grill for dinner. This place serves the best Italian food in Isla Mujeres - and it's cheap, as it's located a bit further away from the North Beach. 

Last day on Isla Mujeres! We will spend this day enjoying the Mexi-Caribbean culture of the island, the small cozy street and its art, and of course the beautiful beach. 

We will also head out for a snorkeling trip! The sea between Isla Mujeres and Cancun is famous for MUSA, the underwater museum of art. It's a pretty cool snorkeling experience where you can see both exotic species of fish, and cool sculptures. 

In the afternoon, we will catch a late ferry back to Cancun and then head to the airport. We are going back to Mexico City, where we are going to spend our very last days in Mexico! 

Now that we're back in the capital, we will spend the day doing another exciting activity - volcano hiking! We will climb the volcanic mountain Iztaccíhuatl, and enjoy breathtaking views of the active volcano and Mexico's 2nd highest peak - Popocatepetl. The good thing about this tour is that we will be able to choose how long we want to hike for since it is a very challenging climb. If we get too tired, we will be able to stop and just wait for the group to come back. You can check the link below to see exactly what the tour consists of.

In the evening, we're going to have our goodbye dinner at the restaurant with a view - El Balcon del Zocalo. A perfect end to a perfect day!

On our last day in Mexico, we will rent an EcoBici and try to explore the few things that we didn't have time to explore yet, the Torre Mayor, the Angel of Independence, the Chapultepec Park and the Chapultepec Castel, the Soumaya Museum… Maybe we visit Xochimilco, too, if we have time left.

In the late evening, we are going to say goodbye to beautiful Mexico, and head to the airport. On the way back home, we will scroll through our phone's gallery and reflect on our two-week experience that will for sure stay in our memories for the rest of our lives.

Even though we will not have as much time in this diverse country as we would like, this itinerary is a foolproof way to get the most of it. We will always have a chance to come back in the future and explore the areas not included in this itinerary.

Hope you will book your tickets to Mexico, too! ???