Mexico.
So you're heading to Mexico? Let's get it right — 180 days visa-free.
READ MEXICO CITY (CDMX) FREE6 regions, deep
CDMX food playbook
Day of the Dead
Pacific surf circuit
5 itineraries
The safety briefing
Mexico City (CDMX), on us.
Tap any pin to open it in Google Maps on your phone. This is one section of 6 in the guide.
The CDMX tacos al pastor pilgrimage. Northern Narvarte — by day it's a tyre repair shop, by night the trompo spins out the city's best al pastor (marinated pork carved off a vertical spit, fresh pineapple, salsa verde, lime). A$1.50 per taco. Open from 8pm — go at 9pm to skip the local-queue rush.
Tip: Order three al pastor + one suadero + one watermelon agua fresca. Pay cash. Walk back to Roma — 25 min, walkable.
Tiny corner shop on Calle Bolívar. Open 24 hours. Suadero + tripa + cabeza tacos at A$1 each. Late-night CDMX rite of passage.
Tip: Open 24/7 — the 2am taco after Centro Histórico bars is the move. Order suadero (the most accessible cut for first-timers).
Two more famous CDMX al pastor spots. El Huequito (since 1959, multiple locations) claims to have invented the dish. El Tizoncito (Condesa, since 1966) also claims invention. Both excellent — pick whichever's closer.
Pujol (chef Enrique Olvera, 2 Michelin stars) and Quintonil (Jorge Vallejo, 2 Michelin) are the CDMX fine-dining institutions. Pujol's mole madre (1,200+ days aged) is the dish. Tasting menus A$200-A$280/head. Both in Polanco.
Tip: Book Pujol 3-4 months ahead via pujol.com.mx; Quintonil 2-3 months. Lunch service is slightly cheaper + easier to book. Treat it as an experience, not just a meal.
Lunch-only Roma seafood institution. The pescado a la talla (red fish split, half-mojo verde, half-mojo rojo) is the order. A$50/head with wine. Power-lunch crowd of CDMX media + politicians.
Tip: Book online 1-2 weeks ahead via opentable. Lunch only — no dinner service. Show up at 1:30pm for the full atmosphere.
Two CDMX market essentials. Mercado Roma is the modern food hall (Roma Norte — small producers, craft beer, mezcal bars). Mercado de San Juan is the historic gourmet market (Centro — exotic ingredients, crocodile, ostrich, scorpion tasting for the brave).
One of the world's best anthropology museums. Aztec sun stone, Maya artifacts, ancient Mexican civilizations across 23 halls. Plan 4+ hours. 90 MXN entry (~A$7).
Tip: Tuesday-Sunday, closed Mondays. Free for under-13s + over-60s. Combine with Chapultepec Castle next door for a full day.
Frida's blue house turned museum — her studio, paintings, dresses, the bed where she died. Books out weeks ahead. 270 MXN entry (~A$20). Combine with Diego Rivera's Anahuacalli Museum nearby.
Tip: Reserve online via museofridakahlo.org.mx — walk-ups don't exist anymore. Go at opening (10am) for fewer crowds.
Futuristic floating-stacks library, 5 floors of suspended bookshelves around a central void. The cleanest, quietest, weirdest space in CDMX. Free entry.
Tip: Open Mon-Sun 8:30am-7:30pm. The whale skeleton sculpture inside is the icon. Skip the Sunday rush.
The historic core. Zócalo is the giant central plaza (one of the world's biggest). Templo Mayor is the partially-excavated Aztec pyramid that sat under the Spanish colonial city. Metropolitan Cathedral is built directly on top of Aztec ruins. All within 100m of each other.
Tip: Free Sunday morning at Templo Mayor. The cathedral is free always. Best photographed from the roof terrace of the Holiday Inn opposite the Zócalo (Cardenal Restaurant on the 8th floor).
Friday + Sunday night masked wrestling. The masks, the body slams, the trash-talking, the cheap beer, the 16,000 locals losing their minds. A$15-A$40 a ticket. The single best CDMX night out.
Tip: Book through ticketmaster.com.mx 2-3 days ahead. Cheap seats (general) are fine — the atmosphere is the same. Bring small bills for the beer + lucha masks vendors.
OPEN IN GOOGLE MAPSMassive pre-Aztec pyramid complex 1hr north of CDMX. Climb the Pyramid of the Sun (still climbable, though restricted in 2024-2026 — check) + Pyramid of the Moon. Hot-air balloon over the pyramids at sunrise (A$200) is the bucket-list experience.
Tip: Take the bus from CDMX Terminal Norte (A$5 each way, 1hr). Avoid Sundays (free entry for locals = crowded). Bring water + sunscreen + a hat — zero shade.
The rest of Mexico.
This chapter, the pre-departure checklist, the budget tool and the Mexico chat, sent to your inbox.
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The guide gets you planned. The chats answer the rest, usually in minutes.
What buyers told us.
Got the Mexico guide before our honeymoon. Skipped Cancun on their recommendation, went Oaxaca → Yucatán → Chiapas instead. Best trip we've ever done. Cried twice.
We were going to do Cancun for five days. Read this and changed the entire trip: CDMX, Oaxaca, then the Tulum cenote loop. Best decision we made, and we'd never have known about any of it otherwise.
We don't speak Spanish, weren't sure we'd cope. The 'first 24 hours' phrases section + the language pack got us through. Confidence is the real value here.
Useful overall, but I expected more from the food section. The restaurant picks were great, I just wanted deeper coverage of the regional food differences. Got my money's worth, though honestly I'd have pegged it as a $10 product, not $15.
Bought the Italy guide. Then the Vault. Then Pro. That's how good these are. I'm pre-ordering every guide before they exist. The community alone is worth it.
$15 is nothing, I spend more than that on a single brunch. It saved me hours of planning and made the actual trip better. Honestly I'd have paid $50 for any of these guides.
Every hostel, restaurant, viewpoint, transport hub and hike start in this guide — pinned in a Google Maps list. Save it once, your whole trip travels with you offline.
Mistakes the guide saves you from.
Airport taxi mafia (CDMX 300 MXN vs Uber 100 MXN)
First arrival, every time
Cancun Hotel Zone for a week instead of better alternatives
Most first-timers
Tulum beach hotel zone (A$300/night) instead of Tulum Pueblo (A$80)
Anyone booking based on Instagram
Carrying drugs across a retén (jail + bribe + deportation)
Don't
Booking Oaxaca DOD accommodation 1 month out (3x prices)
Anyone who didn't read ahead
Using non-Citibanamex ATMs (60 MXN extra fee × 10 withdrawals)
Most travellers
Swimming Zicatela without ocean experience
Rip currents kill swimmers yearly
Tap water + ice in rural roadside stops
Most travellers, at least once
Photographing inside Chamula Church
Anyone who hasn't read the rules
Common questions.
Why pay A$14.99 when there's free info on Reddit?
Is Mexico safe?
What if I don't end up going to Mexico?
Do I get future updates?
Will my Aussie debit card work?
I'm planning Mexico + Colombia + Peru. All-Access Pass?
Can I really do Mexico in 10 days?
Should I avoid Cancun + Tulum?
Your trip, planned.
Where to go. Where to stay. What to eat. How to get around. What to skip. Every answer in one place — researched by Aussies who've actually been.