Mexico 4 Day Itinerary
Mexico City sits at 2,240 metres above sea level, making it one of the highest capital cities on Earth. The altitude catches people off-guard: what feels like mild fatigue on arrival is often early altitude adjustment. Drink water aggressively on your first day, take the first evening slowly, and the rest of the trip will be easier for it.
Visa: Citizens of the US, Canada, EU countries, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Latin America do not need a visa for stays up to 180 days. A free tourist card (FMM) may be issued on arrival or during your flight; keep it, as you need to return it on departure.
Currency: Mexican Peso (MXN). Cards are accepted in mid-range and upscale restaurants and shops, but cash is essential for street food, markets, local transport, and smaller restaurants. ATMs are widely available. Exchange money at a bank or authorised cambio rather than at airport exchange desks.
Getting from Mexico City Airport (MEX): The AICM airport is about 13 km from the city centre. Taxis from the authorised taxi booths inside the terminal (Taxi Autorizado) cost roughly $17-25 USD to downtown; buy the ticket at the booth, not from drivers approaching you. The Metrobus Line 4 connects the airport to the metro system for around $2 USD. Uber also works from the airport pickup zone at lower cost than authorised taxis.
Day 1: Mexico City
Mexico City is one of the great urban capitals of the Americas: 22 million people, extraordinary food, three millennia of layered history, and a creative energy that makes it underrated even by the standards of world-class cities.
The Zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución) is the second-largest city square in the world, framed by the National Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral, which took 250 years to build (1573 to 1813) and contains 14 chapels. Admission to the National Palace is free; the murals inside by Diego Rivera covering 1,200 square metres of wall space are among the most significant works of public art in the 20th century.
The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), a few blocks west, is worth entering for the glass-and-steel Tiffany stage curtain and murals by Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros as well as for the building itself, a hybrid Art Nouveau and Art Deco marble structure that was sinking into the lakebed clay of Mexico City for most of the 20th century. Admission is modest; check current hours as it closes for performances.
For dinner, the Roma and Condesa neighbourhoods (a 15-minute metro ride or taxi from the historic centre) concentrate the best mid-range and high-end restaurant options in the city. Pujol, the most celebrated restaurant in the country, requires reservations weeks in advance and charges accordingly ($100+ per person). For something closer to what locals actually eat regularly, the taco al pastor stands around Insurgentes are excellent at all hours, and a meal at a good taqueria costs 80-150 MXN.
Altitude tip: The metro is air-conditioned and costs 5 MXN per ride. Use it. Walking the distances between sights in thin air on Day 1 is more tiring than it looks on a map.
Day 2: Teotihuacan and Puebla
Leave your hotel by 7:30 AM for Teotihuacan. From the Terminal Norte bus station (reachable by metro), buses run frequently to San Juan Teotihuacan and take about an hour; the fare is around 70-100 MXN. Arrive at the site for the 8 AM opening to beat the heat and the midday tour-bus crowds. Admission is 80 MXN (approximately $4 USD). Children under 13 enter free; Sundays are free for Mexican nationals, making it significantly busier.
Teotihuacan was the largest city in pre-Columbian Americas, home to an estimated 100,000-200,000 people at its peak around 400 CE. Nobody knows who built it or what language they spoke. The Pyramid of the Sun (65 metres high, 247 metres wide at the base) is the third-largest pyramid in the world. The climb is steep and the steps are worn smooth; take it slowly, rest at the platforms, and bring more water than you think you need. The Avenue of the Dead connecting the major structures is 2.5 km long; add another kilometre of walking the compound and you will cover significant ground in the morning sun.
From Teotihuacan, take a bus back to Mexico City and then a first-class bus to Puebla (ADO line from TAPO terminal, about 1.5-2 hours, 150-200 MXN). Puebla’s Zócalo and Cathedral are worth an evening walk. The city is known for its Talavera tile-work on building facades, visible throughout the historic centre. Try chiles en nogada if you visit in August or September: the seasonal dish involves a green poblano chile stuffed with a spiced meat and fruit mixture, covered in walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds, representing the colours of the Mexican flag.
Stay overnight in Puebla.
Day 3: Oaxaca
The bus from Puebla to Oaxaca (ADO or OCC lines) takes about 4 hours and costs around 350-500 MXN. Book in advance online, as direct services sell out on weekends and holidays.
Oaxaca City is widely regarded as the best food destination in Mexico, which given the competition is a serious claim. The markets are the starting point: Mercado Benito Juárez and Mercado 20 de Noviembre are adjacent covered markets where you can eat tlayudas (large oval tortillas with black beans, cheese, and meat), memelas, and mole negro at shared tables for 60-150 MXN per dish. The 20 de Noviembre market has a strip of charcoal grills where vendors cook tasajo (thin-cut beef), chorizo, and cecina side by side; walk the aisle before committing to a table.
Mezcal originated in this state, and over two-thirds of all mezcal is still produced in Oaxaca. The mezcal bars (mezcalerías) in the historic centre typically serve by the small pour with orange slices and sal de gusano (worm salt); the protocol is sipping, not shooting. Good mezcal here is made from heirloom agave varieties that take 8-30 years to mature. Ask what agave variety your mezcal comes from and where it was distilled; bartenders at reputable mezcalerías will have detailed answers.
Santo Domingo de Guzmán Church and the attached cultural museum are the most impressive colonial-era complex in Oaxaca, with a gilded interior that took decades to complete and a museum holding significant Mixtec gold jewellery recovered from Monte Albán’s Tomb 7. Admission to the church is free; the museum charges around 75 MXN.
Do not drink the tap water in Oaxaca. The city faces a water management crisis and the municipal supply is not reliable for drinking. Use bottled water throughout the trip, including for brushing teeth.
Day 4: Monte Albán and Departure
Monte Albán, the ancient Zapotec capital on a levelled hilltop above Oaxaca City, opens at 8 AM. Colectivos (shared minivans) run from the corner near the Mercado Artesanal in Oaxaca to the site for around 30 MXN each way, or taxis cost about 150-200 MXN. International visitor admission is 210 MXN (as of early 2026) and includes the on-site museum. Arrive at opening for the best light and cooler temperatures; the hilltop is completely exposed and sun protection is essential.
Monte Albán was inhabited from around 500 BCE and served as the Zapotec capital for over a thousand years. The main plaza is surrounded by pyramidal platforms, ball courts, and carved stone monuments, with views over the Oaxacan valleys that explain immediately why this hilltop location was chosen. The Danzantes gallery contains carved stone slabs depicting human figures in distorted poses, long interpreted as dancers but more likely as captives; the carvings date to 500-300 BCE and are among the earliest examples of writing in Mesoamerica. Allow at least 2 hours.
If you are flying out of Oaxaca City’s small airport, the journey takes about 10-15 minutes by taxi. If returning to Mexico City, the ADO bus runs multiple services daily (4 hours, 400-600 MXN), or domestic flights on Aeromexico, Volaris, or VivaAerobus take about an hour and cost $40-80 USD booked in advance.
Final practical note: In Mexico City and Oaxaca, Uber and Didi are safer than flagging street taxis. Street taxi scams targeting tourists, while not universal, do occur; booked rideshare apps have trip records and driver identification.