7 Days: CDMX and Its Best Day Trips
Seven days is the 6-day plan plus one honest buffer day. All four real CDMX day trips fit by day 6: Teotihuacan, Puebla and Cholula, Tepoztlan and Cuernavaca, and an overnight in Taxco, so the 7th day isn’t a fifth invented trip, it’s recovery, and this itinerary treats it that way instead of padding it with forced sightseeing. Don’t need the buffer, the 6-day version covers the same four trips without it.
Book these before you go
- Teotihuacan sunrise balloon, sells out 2-4 weeks out: balloon flights on GetYourGuide
- Puebla and Cholula in one loop without timing two buses yourself: day tours on Viator
- Roma or Condesa hotel for your CDMX nights: check rates on Booking.com
- A Taxco hotel for the overnight, book ahead around silver-fair and Holy Week dates: check rates on Booking.com
Day 1: Land, settle in, adjust to the altitude
Buy your official Sitio taxi ticket in Arrivals, or use the airport’s marked Uber/Didi pickup zone. Roma Norte or Condesa keep you within reach of Central del Norte, TAPO, and Taxqueña. At 2,240m, keep the first evening light, hydrate, and skip a demanding first night out. Mexico’s federal tourism office posts current advisories worth a quick check before you fly.
Day 2: Teotihuacan, early and on foot
Terminal Central del Norte (Metro Linea 5 to Autobuses del Norte), Sala 8, buses run every 15-30 minutes from around 6am, roughly 55-60 MXN one-way, about an hour each way. Entry is 210 MXN for foreign visitors; arrive by the 8am opening for the Pyramid of the Sun before the 10am tour buses. INAH’s official listing has current hours and closures. Skipped the balloon in favor of this simpler morning? Save it for Day 7 instead.
Day 3: Puebla and Cholula, the trip that earns a full day
TAPO terminal, Estrella Roja or ADO, every 10-30 minutes, roughly 2h10 direct, fares 198-280 MXN one-way; booking 30+ hours ahead saves 20%. Puebla’s UNESCO historic center is the birthplace of mole poblano; Cholula, 13km further, holds the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the world’s largest by volume.
Day 4: Tepoztlan and Cuernavaca, a hike then eternal spring
Terminal Taxqueña, Pullman de Morelos, Tepoztlan about 82km and 1-1.5 hours, fares 140-200 MXN; Cuernavaca about 85km, similar drive time, fares around 155 MXN. Climb El Tepozteco before 10am, then continue to Cuernavaca’s Palacio de Cortes. visitmexico.com lists current hours for both towns.
Day 5: Down to Taxco, no rush this time
Terminal Taxqueña again, Estrella de Oro, a genuine 2.5-3 hours on Highway 95D’s mountain switchbacks, fares around 230 MXN one-way. Leave mid-morning, check into your Taxco hotel, then spend the afternoon and evening in the hillside streets and silver workshops around the Santa Prisca church.
Day 6: Taxco at its own pace, then back to CDMX
Spend the morning shopping the silver workshops properly, then catch an afternoon bus back to Taxqueña. INAH’s archaeological zones list is useful background reading on the region’s deeper history. You’ll land back in Roma or Condesa in time for a full dinner.
Day 7: The flex day, spend it however the week actually went
This day exists for whatever the previous six didn’t leave room for, not a fifth manufactured day trip. Missed the Teotihuacan balloon on Day 2, this is the morning to fly it instead, hotel pickup runs around 4am and you’ll still be back before lunch. Otherwise, sleep in, pack properly, and use a slow morning in Roma or Condesa to eat somewhere you didn’t have time for earlier in the week.
Is a 7th day worth adding, or is 6 days enough?
Six days already covers all four day trips this itinerary is built around, so the honest answer is that a 7th day is worth it only if you want genuine slack, not more sightseeing. Five straight travel days plus a Taxco overnight is a real pace; a buffer day is what keeps it from feeling like a schedule instead of a trip.
Should the flex day go before Taxco instead of after?
Only if your Day 5-6 Taxco overnight is running early Day 7 flights or a tight connection. Otherwise, keep it last: a rest day between two travel-heavy stretches, Puebla on Day 3 and Taxco on Days 5-6, does less for recovery than one placed at the true end of the trip.
Your four day trips, side by side
| Day trip | Distance from CDMX | Bus time | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teotihuacan (Day 2) | ~50km NE | ~1h each way | 210 MXN entry + ~55-60 MXN bus |
| Puebla and Cholula (Day 3) | ~130km SE | ~2h10 each way | 198-280 MXN bus |
| Tepoztlan and Cuernavaca (Day 4) | ~82-85km S | ~1-1.5h each way | 140-200 MXN bus |
| Taxco (Days 5-6, overnight) | ~170-180km SW | ~2.5-3h each way | ~230 MXN bus |
Leave Day 7 mostly unplanned on purpose. The itinerary that survives contact with actual bus schedules is the one with a real buffer built in, not the one that pretends every day will run on time.