Discover Mexico: Self-Launched from Mexico City to Cancún

Fly into Benito Juárez International Airport and make your way to your hostel or budget hotel in the Roma Norte or Condesa neighbourhood — both well-connected and full of great street food. Take the Metro from the airport (Line 5, ~£0.30) or an authorised airport taxi (~£8). Spend the evening exploring your barrio, grabbing tacos al pastor from a street stall and getting your bearings.

🚌Metro Line 5 from airport to city centre (~£0.30) or authorised airport taxi (~£8)

🛏El Patio 77 Eco-Hostel or Casa Comtesse (Roma Norte) — approx £18–25/night

• →Arrive and check in
• →Explore Roma Norte or Condesa neighbourhood on foot
• →Street food dinner — tacos al pastor

Start at Chapultepec Park: the Museo Nacional de Historia inside Chapultepec Castle (entry ~£3) offers sweeping city views and murals. Then walk to the world-class National Museum of Anthropology (entry ~£4) — budget at least two hours. In the afternoon, take the Metro to Coyoacán (Line 3 to Viveros) and wander its cobbled streets. Visit Casa Azul, the Frida Kahlo Museum (book online in advance, ~£10). End with dinner at one of the neighbourhood restaurants around Jardín Centenario.

🚌Metro Line 1 to Chapultepec, then Line 3 to Viveros for Coyoacán (~£0.30 per journey)

🛏El Patio 77 Eco-Hostel or Casa Comtesse (Roma Norte) — approx £18–25/night

• →Museo Nacional de Historia at Chapultepec Castle (~£3)
• →National Museum of Anthropology (~£4)
• →Coyoacán neighbourhood walk
• →Casa Azul – Frida Kahlo Museum (pre-book online, ~£10)
• →Dinner in Coyoacán

Walk the Zócalo — the vast main square — and see the Metropolitan Cathedral and Templo Mayor ruins (entry ~£4). Head to Mercado de San Juan for food tastings and Mercado de la Ciudadela for crafts and souvenirs. In the afternoon, take the Metro and light rail south to Xochimilco (Line 2 to Tasqueña, then tren ligero) and hire a shared trajinera canal boat (~£5–8 per person). Enjoy floating gardens and colourful boats — a truly unique experience.

🚌Metro Line 2 to Tasqueña + tren ligero to Xochimilco (~£0.60 total)

🛏El Patio 77 Eco-Hostel or Casa Comtesse (Roma Norte) — approx £18–25/night

• →Zócalo and Metropolitan Cathedral (free)
• →Templo Mayor ruins (~£4)
• →Mercado de San Juan food tasting
• →Mercado de la Ciudadela crafts market
• →Trajinera canal boat ride at Xochimilco (~£5–8)

Catch an early bus from Terminal Norte to Teotihuacán (~£2 each way, 1hr). Explore the Avenue of the Dead and climb the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon (entry ~£4). Hire a local guide at the entrance (~£10–15 shared) for context. Afterwards, return to Terminal Norte and take an ADO bus direct to Puebla (~£6, 2hrs). Arrive in the afternoon for a self-guided walk around the historic centre — don't miss the ornate Palafoxiana Library inside the university (entry ~£1) and the tiled building facades.

🚌ADO bus from Terminal Norte to Teotihuacán (~£2), ADO bus Teotihuacán/Mexico City to Puebla (~£6–8)

🛏Hotel Colonial Puebla or Hostal Casona del Arte — approx £15–22/night

• →ADO bus Mexico City → Teotihuacán (~£2)
• →Teotihuacán Pyramids of Sun & Moon (entry ~£4)
• →Optional local guide at site (~£10–15 shared)
• →ADO bus to Puebla (~£6)
• →Self-guided walk of Puebla historic centre
• →Palafoxiana Library (~£1)

Take an early ADO bus from Puebla towards Oaxaca, asking to stop near Zapotitlán de las Salinas for the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and botanical garden (entry ~£2). The surreal cactus-filled landscape is unlike anywhere else in Mexico. Catch a local colectivo onward, or re-board an ADO bus, continuing the ~4hr journey to Oaxaca City. Check into your hotel near the Zócalo and enjoy the evening ambience of one of Mexico's most charming colonial cities.

🚌ADO bus Puebla → Oaxaca with stop en route (~£12–15 total for the day)

🛏Hostal Casa del Sótano or Azul Cielo Hostel, Oaxaca — approx £14–20/night

• →ADO bus Puebla to Zapotitlán area (~£5)
• →Zapotitlán Botanical Garden / biosphere reserve (~£2)
• →ADO bus onward to Oaxaca (~£8)
• →Evening stroll around Oaxaca Zócalo

Take a shared colectivo or organised minibus from near the Oaxaca market to Monte Albán (~£2 return, included with most guesthouses). The ancient Zapotec capital crowns a flattened hilltop with sweeping valley views — entry ~£4. Return to Oaxaca and explore the Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca in the stunning Ex-Convento de Santo Domingo (free). Wander the surrounding neighbourhood and the craft markets on Macedonio Alcalá street.

🚌Shared colectivo/minibus to Monte Albán (~£2 return, departs from near Mercado de Abastos)

🛏Hostal Casa del Sótano or Azul Cielo Hostel, Oaxaca — approx £14–20/night

• →Shared minibus to Monte Albán (~£2 return)
• →Monte Albán archaeological site (entry ~£4)
• →Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca – Santo Domingo (free)
• →Macedonio Alcalá craft shopping street

Book a hands-on cooking class through GetYourGuide or directly with local operators like 'Seasons of My Heart' or 'Zapotec Cook' (~£40–55 per person). You'll visit a market, learn to make mole negro and tamales, then eat what you cook. In the afternoon, take a colectivo to San Antonio Arrazola (~£1.50) to visit artisan workshops producing the famous brightly painted alebrije figures — you can often buy direct from the carvers at lower prices than city shops.

🚌Colectivo to San Antonio Arrazola (~£1.50 each way)

🛏Hostal Casa del Sótano or Azul Cielo Hostel, Oaxaca — approx £14–20/night

• →Oaxacan cooking class (book via GetYourGuide or direct, ~£40–55)
• →Colectivo to San Antonio Arrazola (~£1.50)
• →Alebrije workshop visit and shopping

Hire a shared colectivo or take a day tour from Oaxaca covering: El Tule (the massive 2,000-year-old cypress tree, entry ~£0.50), the geometric stone mosaics of Mitla ruins (~£3), and a mezcal distillery in Santiago Matatlán (~free or small charge for tasting). Many hostels can arrange this as a shared day trip (~£15–20 per person total). Afterwards, continue by colectivo or second-class bus to Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast (~£5).

🚌Shared colectivos or day tour from Oaxaca (~£15–20); bus onward to Salina Cruz (~£5)

🛏Hotel Misión San José Salina Cruz or similar — approx £18–25/night

• →El Tule giant cypress tree (~£0.50)
• →Mitla ruins (~£3)
• →Mezcal distillery visit and tasting in Santiago Matatlán
• →Afternoon at Pacific coast beach
• →Second-class bus to Salina Cruz (~£5)

Take a bus towards Tuxtla Gutiérrez, alighting at Chiapa de Corzo (~4hrs, ~£8). From the embarcadero, join a shared boat tour through the spectacular Sumidero Canyon — sheer walls rising 1,000m above the Grijalva River, with crocodiles and birds along the banks (~£6 per person). Boats run regularly with other tourists. Afterwards, take a colectivo or bus (~1.5hrs, ~£3) up into the highlands to San Cristóbal de las Casas — one of Mexico's most atmospheric colonial cities.

🚌Bus from Salina Cruz area to Chiapa de Corzo (~£8), colectivo to San Cristóbal (~£3)

🛏Hotel Diego Mazariegos or Posada del Abuelito — approx £15–22/night

• →Bus to Chiapa de Corzo (~£8)
• →Shared boat tour through Sumidero Canyon (~£6)
• →Colectivo to San Cristóbal de las Casas (~£3)
• →Evening walk around San Cristóbal's colourful streets

Spend the morning exploring San Cristóbal's colourful markets (Mercado Municipal and Mercado de Artesanías) and the pedestrianised Real de Guadalupe street. In the afternoon, book a shared colectivo tour to San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán (~£5–8 per person, easy to arrange from town). In Chamula, visit the remarkable church where incense smoke, pine needles and Coca-Cola bottles feature in syncretic Maya-Catholic rituals. In Zinacantán, visit a family textile workshop.

🚌Shared colectivo to Chamula and Zinacantán (~£5–8 return, departs from near the market)

🛏Hotel Diego Mazariegos or Posada del Abuelito — approx £15–22/night

• →Mercado Municipal and Mercado de Artesanías
• →Real de Guadalupe street
• →Shared colectivo tour to San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán (~£5–8)
• →Chamula church (note: no photography inside)
• →Zinacantán weaving family visit

Catch an early ADO bus from San Cristóbal to Villahermosa (~5hrs, ~£12). Arrive mid-afternoon. If you have energy, take a colectivo or taxi (~1hr each way, share costs with other travellers) to the Roberto Barrios Waterfalls in the Chiapas jungle — a stunning series of tiered cascades with emerald pools, perfect for swimming (entry ~£2). Return to Villahermosa for the night.

🚌ADO bus to Villahermosa (~£12); shared taxi to Roberto Barrios (~£8–12 shared)

🛏Hotel La Aldea del Halach Huinic or Hotel Miraflores — approx £18–25/night

• →ADO bus San Cristóbal → Villahermosa (~£12, ~5hrs)
• →Optional: Roberto Barrios Waterfalls (~1hr drive each way, entry ~£2)
• →Swimming at waterfall pools

Take an early ADO bus to Palenque (~1.5hrs, ~£5). The jungle ruins are one of the finest Maya sites in Mexico — hire a local guide at the entrance (~£10–12 shared) to unlock the detail of the stone carvings and royal tombs (site entry ~£5). After exploring, take an ADO bus from Palenque to Campeche (~5–6hrs, ~£12). Arrive in the walled colonial city and do a short evening orientation walk along the fortified malecón.

🚌ADO bus Villahermosa → Palenque (~£5), ADO bus Palenque → Campeche (~£12)

🛏Hotel Castelmar or Hotel Lopez, Campeche — approx £18–25/night

• →ADO bus to Palenque (~£5, ~1.5hrs)
• →Palenque Maya ruins (entry ~£5)
• →Local guide at Palenque (~£10–12 shared)
• →ADO bus Palenque → Campeche (~£12)
• →Evening walk along Campeche city walls

Take an early colectivo or second-class bus from Campeche towards Mérida, asking to stop at Uxmal (~2.5hrs, ~£5). Uxmal is one of the best-preserved Maya sites in the Yucatán — the Pyramid of the Magician and the Nunnery Quadrangle are extraordinary (entry ~£12). Grab lunch in nearby Muna village at a family restaurant serving cochinita pibil (~£5–7). Then take a colectivo or bus the remaining ~1.5hrs to Mérida (~£3). Arrive in the afternoon and join a free evening walking tour of the colonial centre.

🚌Second-class bus to Uxmal (~£5), colectivo Muna to Mérida (~£3)

🛏Hotel Caribe or Nomadas Hostel, Mérida — approx £14–22/night

• →Bus/colectivo Campeche → Uxmal (~£5)
• →Uxmal archaeological site (entry ~£12)
• →Cochinita pibil lunch in Muna village (~£5–7)
• →Colectivo Muna → Mérida (~£3)
• →Evening walking tour of Mérida historic centre (free)

Take a second-class bus from Mérida to Izamal (~1.5hrs, ~£3) — the 'Yellow City' is a magical Pueblo Mágico with a huge Franciscan monastery built on top of a Maya pyramid (monastery free, pyramid ruins ~£1). Then catch a colectivo to Yokdzonot (~45min, ~£2) to swim in this community-run cenote with spectacular mangrove-draped walls (entry ~£5). Finally, take a colectivo or ADO bus the short distance to your hotel near Chichén Itzá (~30min, ~£2), ready for an early start tomorrow.

🚌Second-class bus to Izamal (~£3), colectivos to cenote and Chichén Itzá (~£4 total)

🛏Hotel Puerta Chichén or Pirámide Inn near Chichén Itzá — approx £18–28/night

• →Second-class bus Mérida → Izamal (~£3)
• →Izamal Franciscan monastery and Maya pyramid ruins
• →Colectivo to Yokdzonot cenote (~£2)
• →Yokdzonot cenote swim (entry ~£5)
• →Colectivo to Chichén Itzá area (~£2)

Arrive at Chichén Itzá when the gates open (8am) to beat the day-tripper crowds — the site is far more atmospheric in the early morning light. Explore the iconic El Castillo pyramid, the Great Ball Court and the Sacred Cenote with a self-guided visit (entry ~£16). The site gets very busy by 10am, so make the most of your early start. By mid-morning, head to the road and flag down an ADO bus towards Cancún (~2.5hrs, ~£8). Arrive in Cancún in time for your onward flight, or extend your trip with a few days on the Caribbean coast.

🚌ADO bus Chichén Itzá → Cancún (~£8)

• →Chichén Itzá at opening time (entry ~£16)
• →El Castillo pyramid, Great Ball Court, Sacred Cenote
• →ADO bus Chichén Itzá → Cancún (~£8, ~2.5hrs)
• →Arrive Cancún — trip ends