Mexico contains two price levels that barely overlap. The Riviera Maya, Los Cabos and parts of central Mexico City price in dollars for foreign visitors. The colonial highlands price in pesos for Mexicans. Travelling in the second is roughly half the cost of the first.
Where the value is
| City | Private room | Comida corrida |
|---|---|---|
| Oaxaca | MXN 500–900 | MXN 70–120 |
| Puebla | MXN 450–800 | MXN 60–110 |
| Guanajuato | MXN 500–900 | MXN 70–120 |
| San Cristóbal | MXN 400–750 | MXN 60–100 |
| Mérida | MXN 550–950 | MXN 70–120 |
| Mexico City (Roma/Condesa) | MXN 1,200–2,200 | MXN 120–200 |
| Tulum | MXN 1,800–4,000 | MXN 250–450 |
Oaxaca is the strongest single recommendation: the best food in Mexico by common consent, markets, mezcal, Monte Albán above the city, and prices set by local wages.
San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas is cheaper again, in the highlands, with indigenous markets and a cool climate.
Guanajuato — a former silver city in a ravine, with tunnels under the streets and a university population keeping prices down. Neighbouring San Miguel de Allende is beautiful and now priced for its foreign community.
The comida corrida
The single most useful thing to know about eating in Mexico.
A fixed-price set lunch — soup, a main with rice, a drink — for 60–120 pesos at ordinary restaurants, usually served from around 2pm. It is what workers eat.
Combined with street tacos at 15–40 pesos each and market breakfasts, food in Mexico costs very little if you eat where Mexicans do. The gap to a restaurant in Roma Norte or Tulum is a factor of three or four for food that is frequently worse.
Buses
Mexico has no meaningful passenger rail network and an excellent bus network, which is the reverse of Europe.
| Route | Time | First-class fare |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico City → Oaxaca | 6.5h | MXN 600–900 |
| Mexico City → Puebla | 2h | MXN 250–350 |
| Oaxaca → San Cristóbal | 11h overnight | MXN 700–1,000 |
| Mérida → Cancún | 4h | MXN 500–700 |
ADO dominates the south and east, ETN and Primera Plus the centre and west. First class means reclining seats, air conditioning, a toilet and reserved seating — comparable to a good European train.
Overnight legs save a night's accommodation. Bring a fleece; the air conditioning is set aggressively.
A route that stays cheap
Mexico City → Puebla → Oaxaca → San Cristóbal → Palenque → Campeche → Mérida → Valladolid → Cancún.
Roughly three weeks, moving consistently east without doubling back, ending at an international airport. Every stop except the last is in the cheap tier.
What costs more than expected
Imported goods and electronics, which carry substantial markups.
Domestic flights, unless booked well ahead — though on the very long legs they beat a 13-hour bus.
Anything in the Riviera Maya, where prices are set for a different market entirely.
The exchange rate note
The peso strengthened considerably against the dollar in the years to 2024, so dollar figures in older articles overstate how far your money goes. Peso prices remain low; the conversion is less favourable than it was.
Check the current rate before budgeting from anything written more than a year ago.