Introducing Mexico
Marvelling at a 1300-year-old Maya palace at Palenque as parrots screech and howler monkeys growl in the sweaty emerald jungle around you. This is Mexico. Sliding from a palm-fringed sandy beach into the warm, turquoise waves of the Pacific at Puerto Vallarta. This, too, is Mexico. Dining on salmon enchiladas and chrysanthemum salad at a Mexico City fusion restaurant, dancing through the night at a high-energy Guadalajara nightclub, kayaking at dawn past a colony of Baja California sea lions – all these are unique Mexican experiences. Every visitor goes home with their own unforgettable images. Such a large country, straddling temperate and tropical zones, reaching 5km into the sky and stretching 10,000km along its coasts, with a city of 19 million people at its center and countless tiny pueblos everywhere, can hardly fail to provide a huge variety of options for human adventure.
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Mexico is what you make of it. Its multi-billion-dollar tourism industry is adept at satisfying those who like their travel easy. But adventure is what you’ll undoubtedly have if you take a just a few steps off the pre-packaged path. Activity-based tourism, community tourism and genuine ecotourism – the type that actually helps conserve local environments – are developing fast in rural areas. The opportunities for getting out to Mexico’s spectacular wild places and interacting with local communities are greater than ever – from world-class canyoneering near Monterrey or cooking lessons in the Veracruz countryside to hiking the Oaxaca cloud forests and snorkeling the coral reefs of the Yucatán.
Planning your first trip to Mexico? Be ready for more crowds, noise, bustle and poverty than you're accustomed to, especially if it's your first trip outside the developed world. But don't worry – most Mexicans will be only too happy to help you feel at home in their country. Invest a little time before your trip in learning even just a few phrases of Spanish – every word you know will make your trip that little bit easier and more enjoyable.
Ready to go?
These tours & activities make it easy:
- Explore the highlights of Mexico and Guatemala in 16 days
- Experience the unique Day of the Dead celebrations in Oaxaca
- Discover the highlights of Mexico's cuisine on an 8-day trip from Mexico City
- Visit the famous whale sanctuary at Magdalena Bay
Last updated: Feb 1, 2013
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Mexico
Things to do
- All things to do (4,090)
- Activities (629)
- Entertainment (649)
- Restaurants (1,317)
- Shopping (342)
- Sights (1,113)
- Tours (40)
Make it happen
Our Top Picks For Mexico
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1 Mexico City
Highland megalopolis, ancient Aztec capital, kaleidoscopic canvas of riveting museums, culinary adventures and masked wrestlers...what more could you ask for from Mexico's action-packed capital?
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2 Oaxaca
Feast your eyes and your stomach on the incomparable artistic and culinary delights of colonial Oaxaca city
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3 Palenque
Ancient Maya temples rise majestically from a thick steamy jungle. Absolutely awe-inspiring.
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4 Teotihuacán
Explore a pair of mysterious and majestic pyramids, remnants of a mighty civilisation
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5 Puerto Escondido
Super-relaxed coastal town for all tastes: surf, beaches, fishing, wildlife, nightlife
Fast Facts about Mexico
- Famous for
tequila, the Aztecs, Salma Hayek, Gael García Bernal, Octavio Paz, Day of the Dead, drug wars, chilies, telenovelas, lucha libre, Corona beer
- Area
1.9 million sq km
- Lucha libre legends
El Santo (the most legendary of all), Místico, Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras, Tinieblas, El Medico Asesino, El Satánico
- Population
112,336,000
- Number of languages spoken
50
- Highest mountain
Pico de Orizaba
- First Mexican in space
Rodolfo Neri Vela