Top 10 unusual holidays in Mexico
From atmospheric Day of the Dead celebrations to Mexico City’s sorcery-packed Sonora Market, Mexico has always had a surreal and spooky streak. This offbeat quality means that if you are in pursuit of the unusual, safe to say you’ll find it here, in a pluricultural nation where there are Indigenous identities a-plenty, jungles of jaguars and quetzals, and luscious menus of sights and side dishes.
This country is so vibrant and diverse it’s practically buzzing. So, celebrate with some more unusual ways to see it and don’t just resort to a sandy Cancun resort. Read on for 10 trips that do justice to Mexico’s multifaceted nature.
This country is so vibrant and diverse it’s practically buzzing. So, celebrate with some more unusual ways to see it and don’t just resort to a sandy Cancun resort. Read on for 10 trips that do justice to Mexico’s multifaceted nature.
1. Three cheers for churros: Mexican food holidays
In a country where the cuisine is UNESCO-listed, the best souvenir you can get is a handwritten recipe. Mexico’s Indigenous ingredients include corn, beans, chili, tomatoes, cocoa, vanilla and avocado – with ingredients like this, it’s no wonder every dish is delicious. So, say hurrah to horchata, get elated about elote, and don’t just wait for Tuesday for tacos. Our food tours in Mexico take the slow and indulgent route, via mezcalerias (mezcal distilleries), markets, and cooking classes.
Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Small group Mexico food adventure
See all our trips: Cooking and food holidays
Read more: Our guide to food in Mexico
Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Small group Mexico food adventure
See all our trips: Cooking and food holidays
Read more: Our guide to food in Mexico
2. Millions of monarch butterflies:
In the morning, whilst Mexico’s oyamel forests are still cool, everything is still as a statue. As the day heats up, the sunlight warms the thousands of resting butterflies that have coated the trees in an impossible origami of wings – and they start to flutter about. These special forests are the perfect place for monarch butterflies to spend their winters, but they are vanishing due to illegal logging. Conservation efforts are fighting back. By visiting national parks and paying entrance fees to see them, your support helps these insects in their fight – and flight.Best time to go: January to March
Our top trip: Monarch butterfly tour in Mexico
See all our trips: Unusual wildlife holidays
Read more: How to watch the Monarch butterfly migration
3. On your bike: cycle in Yucatan
Mexico is no stranger to cyclists – and Mexico City regularly closes roads to motorised traffic so that cyclists can enjoy open-streets cycling events. The Yucatan Peninsula is a classic holiday hotspot, but it’s also flat – and that means some speedy, easy cycling on dirt and tarmac roads between beaches, towns and unusual swimming spots. Cool off in cenotes along the way and be fuelled by the most glorious cycle snacks known to man – in the form of streetside Mexican food.Best time to go: November to March
Our top trip: Yucatan cycling holiday
See all our trips: Yucatan holidays
Read more: Our guide to Yucatan
4. A perfect pair: Mexico & Guatemala
Continue down from Mexico into Guatemala and your world gets distinctly more Maya – 40 percent of the population of the country have Maya heritage, and you’ll discover unique Indigenous villages, and UNESCO-listed sites like Tikal National Park on the Ruta Maya. Guatemala might be smaller than its neighbour to the north, but it’s a huge destination for cultural heritage, and a glorious gateway into central America proper.
Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Guatemala and Mexico overland tour
See all our trips: Guatemala holidays
Read more: How to see Guatemala and Mexico together
Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Guatemala and Mexico overland tour
See all our trips: Guatemala holidays
Read more: How to see Guatemala and Mexico together
5. Another perfect pair: Mexico City & Oaxaca
One is one of the largest metropolises in the world, a modern, multi-cultural centre with little remaining of its Aztec roots. The other is small and scenic, with more Indigenous influences still evident. Combine the two places – and you get a true taste of Mexico’s diversity. And, with Oaxaca renowned for its food, what a taste it is. Yes, you can fly between Mexico City and Oaxaca, but on our holidays you can also go overland and see more of the country as you head south, including the city of Puebla.Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Mexico City to Oaxaca tour
See all our trips: Mexico holidays
Read more: Our guide to Mexico City
6. Balmy boat trips in Baja
This is the life: spend the days kayaking cove to cover over waters so clear you can see the sandy bottom, then spend the nights camping on beaches in tents – or just out under the stars. The land on the Baja Peninsula might be all cactus and desert but the nutrient-rich Sea of Cortes that lies between the peninsula and the rest of Mexico is a feast of feeding grounds for megafauna – from grey whales to whale sharks, depending on when you visit. And there’s always time for swimming with sea lions.Best time to go: April
Our top trip: Baja sea kayaking holiday
See all our trips: Baja holidays
Read more: Our guide to sea kayaking in Baja
7. Experience Mexico’s megadiversity: wildlife holidays
Inside the cave of hanging snakes at Kantemo on the Yucatan Peninsula reptiles hang from the roof in total darkness, waiting to catch bats in mid-flight as they head out on their nightly hunts. It’s just one of Mexico’s weird wildlife spectacles: this is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. The Yucatan Peninsula is seriously diverse – you can swim with whale sharks, canoe with crocodiles see nesting turtles and visit sites protected for nature like Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos, and the massive Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. All this with world-class sites like Chichen Itza thrown in the mix, too.
Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Small group wildlife tour in Mexico
See all our trips: Yucatan holidays
Read more: Our guide to wildlife in Yucatan
Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Small group wildlife tour in Mexico
See all our trips: Yucatan holidays
Read more: Our guide to wildlife in Yucatan
8. From car park to coral reef: Mexico road trips
Drive just half an hour from Cancun airport and you’ll find yourself at Puerto Morelos, a coastal village that’s the gateway to Puerto Morelos Reef National Park, one of the world’s largest barrier reefs. From car to coral in just a couple of hours: that’s what a self drive trip is all about. It’s a similar story on the Baja Peninsula, where you can explore shore and sea around La Paz. You’ll park up and meet a local guide for each experience – meaning you get support where you need it, and the freedom of the open road when you don’t.Best time to go: All year round
Our top trip: Self drive Yucatan peninsula holiday
See all our trips: Yucatan holidays
Read more: Our Yucatan travel guide
9. Whale watching in Baja California
Ever seen the barnacles on a whale up close? The population of grey whales that breed in the bays of Baja California are totally unique – here in these safe and sheltered lagoons, mothers actively encourage their newborn calves to approach boats and say hello to tourists. Five months later, they migrate to the arctic, and their behaviour totally changes. These brief boat encounters are an extraordinary moment in time in a unique place, and a privilege to experience.Best time to go: January to April
Our top trip: Baja whale watching and activity holiday
See all our trips: Baja holidays
Read more: Our guide to watching grey whales
10. Lights, candles, action! Day of the Dead celebrations
Wanting to see the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations in Mexico isn’t unusual; it’s the most famous date in the country’s calendar. However, go on one of our Day of the Dead tours and you’ll get a more intimate experience in areas of the country where Indigenous traditions have a firmer hold beneath the more modern Catholic practice, and the more touristy versions seen in places like Mexico City. Head to the southernmost states like Chiapas, where, in the town of San Cristobal and the surrounding small villages, festivities continue broadly as they have done for centuries.
Best time to go: End of October
Our top trip: Mexico tour with Day of the Dead festival
See all our trips: Festival holidays
Read more: Our guide to Mexico’s Day of the Dead
Best time to go: End of October
Our top trip: Mexico tour with Day of the Dead festival
See all our trips: Festival holidays
Read more: Our guide to Mexico’s Day of the Dead
More Mexico articles
Spanning four time zones, different regions of Mexico can experience totally different weather from each other.
Read our travel guide for insight into the country's unique cocktail of culture, food and wildlife, and how to see it.
Visitors tend to head to the south of the country, but off the beaten track there's Baja, too, plus 67 national parks.
From elote to mezcal, Mexican cuisine is so unique that it has a UNESCO World Heritage status.
Find out what a grey whale watching in Baja entails, from whale camps to boat trips.
Mexico’s Day of the Dead festival has come a long way in its 3,000-year history and is full of symbolism.
Discover Mexico’s most important Mayan step pyramids and Aztec architecture.
Mexico City rose from the ashes of the Aztec Empire, and now has eight million inhabitants.
A tour of Oaxaca is always going to include toasted tortilla vendors.
Camp and hike on uninhabited islands and paddle between beaches and rocky coves.
A cocktail of Mayan culture, Mexican food, beaches, and adventures in the jungle.
As well as some health and safety tips, our travel advice when visiting is all about keeping it local, local, local.
There are sixty different indigenous groups in Mexico, all with extraordinary heritage.
