1

First, I'd encourage you to think hard and long about renting a car to drive around and from Mexico City. Even my Mexican friends don't do that. Besides, you are going to specific destinations and a bus will probably get you there as quickly as a car.

Mexico City has an excellent metro system connecting far ranging parts of the city and you can easily get to Teotihuacan on a day tour. Puebla is easily reached by bus from Mexico City. Tepoztlan can be done as a day trip out of Cuernavaca which is easily reached by bus from Mexico City (daily busses between the cities).

In fact, Mexico has one of the most comprehensive, safe, and affordable bus networks in the world. You can get from anywhere to anywhere on them.

As for the itinerary:

I don't think you've planned enough time for travel betwen destinations (especially to and from Oaxaca). With only ten days I'd be tempted to do the trip to Puebla, then stay in Mexico City and do day trips out of there (Taxco, Teotihuacan, Queretero). There's plenty to keep you busy in Mexico City and I'd save Oaxaca for another time when you have more time to devote to it.

2

Either do as Bob said and base yourself in Mexico City with daytrips (or overnight trips) to nearby places of interest (and inlcude Tlaxcala on your list), or split your time between Mexico City and Oaxaca only.

3

I am not planning to drive in Mexico City. We will pick up the car at the airport and directly drive to Teotihuacan.

And if we go to Oaxaca from there - why not stop in Puebla for 1 or two nights? With a car (with GPS) it's more convenient to go to the sites (like Cholula or Mitla or Monte Alban).

I travelled a lot through Asia and know how it it to travel on buses: You have to wait for their schedule, have to find taxis from the bus station to the hotel, have to wait for them ... it's just more convenient to ride your own car.

4

Mexico is not Asia. In Mexico it is extremely easy to travel by bus; first class buses are on-time I'd say 95% of the time. Even rickety local buses are rarely more than a few minutes late.

5

If you are picking the car up at the airport and driving directly from there to Teotihuacan then you will be driving in Mexico City. I would, like others have suggested, use buses and, within the cities limits, taxis, it's a lot easier in Mexico.
Your itinerary has too much on it for ten days. It's possible to do it but you will miss too much.

6

"I am not planning to drive in Mexico City. We will pick up the car at the airport and directly drive to Teotihuacan".

Mexico's City's airport is in the City. Substantial driving is required to exit, in any direction, the congested urban area from the airport. Perhaps that would be OK for your, provided you anticipate it occurring and allow lots of time to negotiate your entries and exists from the City. Rush hour traffic in and around Mexico City can wreak havoc on schedules of both drivers and bus passengers.

Consider reducing the number of destinations that you plan to visit. Why not concentrate your time in just two or three locations, including of course MC? Is your purpose to maximize time spent in vehicles buses, taxis, and/or driving a car, or to enjoyably experience part of Mexico? Mclarjh's advise presented above in #2 is sound.

7

The car hire will be more expensive than you think. Insurance will probably triple the original cost then they add 10% to pick up at the airport location plus 16% tax. If you have a quote in dollars you will lose a further 10-15% on the exchange rate.

8

"With a car (with GPS) it's more convenient to go to the sites (like Cholula or Mitla or Monte Alban)."

I've very conveniently visited each of those places by bus. Of the three, I especially like Monte Alban. Mitla, in contrast, did not impress me.

Archeological sites appear to be high priorities for you. So why not pick one area, in addition to MC, and visit multiple archeological sites there? Good options, practical for the time that you'll have, include:

(1) The zone directly south of MC, including Tepotzlan and Xochicalco. Taxco could perhaps also be included. Allow at least two or three days full days for this side trip, which would also take you to (or at least through) Cuernavaca. OR

(2) The Puebla/Tlaxcala area directly east of MC, including those cites and two archeological sites: Caxcaxla/Xochitecatl and Cholula. Allow at least three days for this, Add one more day if by chance you've rented a car for the purpose of detouring to "off the beaten track" Cantona's ruins. OR

(3) Devote five full days to a Tlaxcala-Caxcaxla/Xochiteca-Cuetzalan journey. Cuetzalan is an attractive Indigenous mountain town located five miles/ eight kilometers from an interesting classic era 'Totonac' ruin, Yohualichan.

Spend your remaining days in MC, including a day at Teotihuacan and separately an extensive visit to MC's National Anthropology Museum.

(4) Oaxaca. After traveling so far, spend at least four nights there. That valley offers much to see.

Wherever you go, keep your schedule flexible and relaxed enough that you'll have fun!

9

You don't need two nights in Puebla, in fact, It'a nice scenic bus ride there just to spend a day and return to MC that evening.

Try to hit Taxco for the Sunday silver market--about 2,000 stalls set up around town.

Bus service id on time and is very comfortable. No reason to rent a car--also renting a car meants you must stay at an expensive hotel with parking.

10

Sorry - I don't get it.

I am looking for advice how much time to spend in towns (e.g. in Mexico City) and you are trying to tell me why not to rent a car.

I also appreciate this, but I don't understand it:
The Lonely Planet guide tells that driving a car in Mexico is easy.
The traffic and congestion in a big city also affects buses - so I don't see why driving once out of town is so much worse than having that twice a day in day trips (the bus would need to go out in the morning and in in the evening, wouldn't it?).
I don't care about cost of hotels and car (BTW - I have an all inclusive offer with Sixt of 22 USD per day including GPS) but I do believe that's it's a good idea to stay overnight in cities like Puebla or Taxco or Oaxaca and experience the town in the evening, have dinner.....
I have driven in Cairo, New York, Bangkok, all over Jordan,.... if it's so much worse in Mexico why is the LP guide telling that it's no problem in Mexico?
I also do believe that I am more flexible with a car: When I am done with sth and I want to leave, I can leave and don't have to wait for the next bus. If I drive through a town and it looks interesting I can stop and get out.

My interest is a mixture: see people, experience towns and visit important sites

Missing Oaxaca seems to be a real loss - and if it's right that it's just a 3.5 hrs car ride on the toll road (which is said to be good) - and you can break the ride for a visit of s.th in between (like the the valley of Tehuacan - which is a short detour by car - if LP is correct) than it could be worth it.

11

If you have an infinite amount of money then renting a car is absolutely fine. I just rented at Mexico City airport for a quoted rate of 9 USD a day and ended up paying around 60 USD a day (basic car, no GPS) so please don't believe the rate that you are quoted.

Getting out of Mexico City is problematical because of poor signage, continually changing road systems and heavy traffic but once you are past that then driving is easy. I would drop Taxco as it's out of the way and add a day to Oaxaca for traveling around the area.

12

Thanks - that's helpful
Why did you end up paying that much? I have a written quote, including insurance, taxes, GPS - from Sixt Germany (Sixt is a German company and I rent a lot of cars with them, so I could fight them here afterwards if they cheated me)
I do hope that the GPS helps me to get out of town - at least a bit ;-)

13

Any advice on how long to stay in Mexico City? Of course one can spend weeks in a big city, but if it's just noise and air pollution the Museum and a stroll around downtown might be enough?

14

Our preference for staying in Mexico City is from 3 to 5 days. We've already visited the Big Sights, back over the years, so now, just walking around interesting neighborhoods is what interests us. These days, those colonias are Roma, Condesa and Centro Histórico. Some day, we'll have to go visit Polanco on foot.

The neighborhoods are endless sources of interesting architecture, shops, people watching, and, not to be missed, restaurants, mercados and street food. We have also been to Colonias Santa María La Ribera and Tabacalera, which hold some interest. Coyoacán is charming. San Ángel is too, but we haven't been there in years, and then only on a hurried visit.

We were just realizing that we hadn't been to MC since July, 2012, when we returned from a visit to the U.S. We need to go again before long. I need to restock my Asian cooking ingredients!