Where to Travel in Mexico 2025 Guide: Road Trippers

The upwind is whipping done my unfastened window, the skyline stretches for miles into the acold distance, my favourite tune is blasting done the car stereo and there’s nary 1 connected the roadworthy but for our trusty reddish Volkswagen Beetle. 

Road trips are my favourite mode to question — there’s an undeniable magic to the unfastened roadworthy that ever gives maine a escaped and untethered feeling, punctuated with unscripted moments and spontaneous detours successful between.

Mexico — with its soaring mountains, sun-drenched coastlines, immense deserts and lush jungles — is tailor-made for roadworthy trips. In the past 4 years of living successful Mexico, I’ve been fortunate capable to crisscross galore of its states down the wheel, from the twisting roads of the Sierra Madre to the jungle paths of the Yucatán Peninsula and the godforsaken highways successful Baja California. Each travel has not lone shown maine Mexico’s quality but besides fixed maine a deeper knowing of its unthinkable diversity.

With that, I bring you different installment of Where to Travel successful Mexico 2025, a bid that uncovers premier locations crossed Mexico tailored for circumstantial question styles, whether you’re a integer nomad, household traveler oregon formation lover. For a question writer who loves the consciousness of find astir each bend, putting unneurotic this installment has been plentifulness of fun. I’ve mapped retired 5 exceptional routes that committedness stunning scenery and breathtaking adventures. So buckle up — it’s clip to deed the road!

Yucatan Peninsula: For first-time visitors

From my ain acquisition surviving on the Caribbean seashore for 2 years, I tin safely accidental this is, hands down, the champion way for those who are caller to Mexico. The all-encompassing loop way is simply a item reel of the champion sights successful the Yucatan Peninsula, from past ruins and assemblage towns to the earthy sinkholes called cenotes and sugary-sand beaches with calm, spearmint water. Driving Highway 307, which runs parallel to the Caribbean, is straightforward, but the existent joyousness comes from the detours.

Spend a fewer days kicking backmost connected the beaches of Cancún, past caput westbound to the humanities municipality of Valladolid. Explore Chichén Itzá, Mexico’s best-preserved archaeological site, earlier cooling disconnected successful the cerulean freshwaters of Cenote Saamal and Cenote Suytun. Continue westbound to the charismatic yellowish municipality of Izamal and yet you’ll scope the food haven of Mérida, wherever I’ve had immoderate of my champion meals successful Mexico. Drive backmost to the seashore to aquatics oregon kayak successful the crystal-clear waters of Laguna Bacalar. Then it’s clip to caput northbound to Tulum, wherever you tin interval on the past canals of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve oregon hop implicit to Cozumel land to dive the Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s 2nd largest.

Tip: Set speech 2 to 3 weeks for this roadworthy travel — the cardinal is to instrumentality things dilatory and not unreserved it. The national road has rather a fewer subject checkpoints; stay calm and enactment successful your car.

Baja California: For the outdoorsy type

Snaking into the Sea of Cortez similar a serpent, Baja California is simply a peninsula blessed with immoderate of Mexico’s wildest and astir rugged landscapes. Here, the cacti-studded godforsaken meets the ocean, and craggy mountains framework wide, sweeping beaches. For me, portion of what makes driving Baja California truthful unthinkable is the astonishing prime of the roads, which are immoderate of the smoothest and safest I’ve driven successful Mexico.

The Transpeninsular Highway, besides called Highway 1, zigzags its mode done the full peninsula, connecting the picturesque vineyards and ngo towns successful the northbound with the coastal towns and wildlife-rich marine reserves of the south. The expansive traverse — starting from Tijuana each the mode to Los Cabos successful the confederate extremity — is simply a rite of passage, peculiarly for Americans who unrecorded close crossed the border. 

Start your epic travel with wine-tasting successful Valle de Guadalupe, don’t hide to drawback immoderate shots successful Cataviña Desert earlier stopping for food tacos successful Ensenada. Continue to the historical towns of San Ignacio and Loreto, earlier making a detour to Magdalena Bay to brushwood immoderate grey whales. Then, spell swimming with whale sharks oregon snorkeling with oversea lions disconnected La Paz. Just earlier reaching Los Cabos, halt astatine the boho municipality of Todos Santos, wherever you tin rotation its creation galleries and besides merchandise babe turtles. 

Tip: To implicit the full journey, you’ll request astatine slightest 3 weeks. But if you can’t plaything it, simply absorption connected the bluish godforsaken conception — Tijuana to Guerrero Negro — oregon conscionable the confederate agelong from Loreto to Los Cabos if you’re much of a formation person. 

Oaxaca: For brave souls

If there’s 1 roadworthy travel successful Mexico that I find myself daydreaming about, it’s the spectacular travel from the foodie paradise of Oaxaca metropolis down to the state’s untamed Pacific coastline. Separated from the metropolis by the rugged Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, the Oaxaca seashore is dramatic, mostly undeveloped and studded with aureate strands, surf towns and sportfishing villages.

A caller 104 km superhighway present connects the metropolis with the coast, reducing the thrust to conscionable 2.5 hours each way. But if, similar me, you bask the escapade that comes with epic upland roads, instrumentality the agelong detour connected the curvy Highway 175 that climbs into the mountains. Featuring endless twists and turns, It’s not for the faint of heart, but you’ll consciousness the aerial alteration and ticker the landscapes displacement from agave fields to colossal mountains covered successful conifer forests.

Leaving the buzz of Oaxaca metropolis behind, marque a halt successful Miahuatlán, wherever you tin illustration mezcal successful small, family-run palenques, oregon mezcal distilleries. Then commencement the ascent into the mountains and halt for the nighttime successful 1 of the woody A-frame cabins that dot San José del Pacífico, a upland municipality renowned for its magic mushrooms. From there, the way snakes down to the coast, wherever you tin research the scenic bays of Huatulco by boat, ticker sunsets astatine the nudist formation successful Zipolite, sojourn the Mexican Turtle Center successful Mazunte oregon situation yourself to immoderate big-wave surfing successful Puerto Escondido.

Tip: This epic roadworthy travel requires 10 days to 2 weeks. Be definite to acceptable speech astatine slightest 5 days successful the civilization colossus of Oaxaca city. Look retired for the ubiquitous potholes and unmarked velocity bumps! 

Central highlands: For civilization vultures

For those seeking to instrumentality a heavy dive into Mexican culture, this roadworthy travel volition unpeel Mexico’s layered past and indigenous heritage. The loop way takes you from Mexico City done the cardinal highlands and into the bosom of Michoacán, a portion steeped successful Purépecha culture. 

It’s designed for travelers who are funny astir past civilizations and who delight successful discovering artisan traditions and ancestral cuisine. I highly urge timing your roadworthy travel to coincide with Día de Muertos, wherever locals grant their deceased loved ones with overnight cemetery vigils and the towns are blanketed successful cempasuchil (marigold), candles and incense.

Leave Mexico City down and marque your archetypal halt astatine Querétaro to respect its impeccably preserved historical halfway and the majestic arches of its aqueduct. From there, get mislaid successful charming San Miguel de Allende — 1 of the highlights of Mexico for galore and the crushed we chose to unrecorded present —  popping into creation galleries, artisan boutiques and rooftop terraces cleanable for watching the sunset. 

Then traipse the steep streets and subterranean tunnels of Guanajuato earlier looping southbound to Michoacán and its authorities capital, Morelia, a assemblage masterpiece successful its ain right. End your travel with a bang astatine Lake Pátzcuaro, wandering the assemblage enclave of Pátzcuaro, taking a vessel to the island of Janitzio and exploring the archaeological tract of Tzintzuntzan, the past superior of the Purépecha Empire.

Tip: Plan astatine slightest 3 weeks for the full roadworthy trip, oregon chopped it successful fractional by ending the travel successful Guanajuato. Roads successful this portion are not the best, truthful ever opt for toll roads.

Pacific coast: For cosmopolitan travelers

Serving up a cocktail of experiences, this roadworthy travel is simply a fantastic lucifer for travelers who emotion variety. Driving this route, we felt similar we’d crossed borders and lived a scope of experiences connected 1 azygous journey. You’ll get to soak successful the vibrant metropolis life, illustration everything from hearty birria to fresh-off-the-boat aguachile and artisanal tequila, footwear backmost astatine the sun-kissed beaches and get mislaid successful historical towns with plentifulness of stories to tell.

The thrust starts successful Mexico’s 2nd largest city, Guadalajara, the birthplace of mariachi music, charrería traditions and a plethora of classical Mexican dishes. Take Highway 15 to Tequila, a tiny municipality with a large spot successful Mexican culture, and instrumentality a circuit of the distilleries and agave plantations. Driving further west, you’ll scope the duo formation towns of San Pancho and Sayulita, with breathtaking outdoor activities similar turtle releases and surfing. On your mode to Puerto Vallarta, halt astatine the charismatic Punta Mita peninsula for immoderate of the champion seafood successful occidental Mexico. 

Be definite to marque a detour to the Marietas Islands, wherever you tin aquatics to a hidden formation nestled wrong a crater-like formation. Further northbound on the coast, marque a pitstop astatine the islet of Mexcaltitlán, a sportfishing colony said to beryllium the ancestral homeland of the Mexicas (Aztecs). The way ends successful Mazatlán, the pearl of Sinaloa, wherever you tin walk days wandering its beautifully restored historical quarter.

Tip: Plan to walk astatine slightest 10 days connected this drive. Check the existent information concern successful Sinaloa earlier traveling to the state.

What’s close for each benignant of traveler?

We’ve enactment unneurotic a array summarizing which destination would suit travelers based connected their acquisition successful Mexico.

Beginner travelers are those with constricted planetary experience; possibly this is their archetypal travel to Mexico. Ideal for first-timers who similar margaritas with grooming wheels. These travelers instrumentality to well-trodden paths, mastering “¿Dónde está el baño?” portion clutching a phrasebook. They thrive successful destinations wherever guacamole arrives with optional spice and the edifice unit talk Google Translate.

Intermediate travelers are those with immoderate planetary acquisition who tin grip mean connection barriers and taste differences. Ready to commercialized resorts for real-deal experiences, these travelers navigate cobblestone streets without face-planting. They’ve graduated to ordering “tres tacos al pastor” without pointing and tin haggle for a sombrero successful Oaxaca’s markets… but inactive overpay by 20%.

Advanced travelers are those with extended acquisition navigating analyzable destinations independently. These wanderers dainty Mexico similar a choose-your-own-adventure caller written successful Spanglish. They’ve adopted a thoroughfare canine named Churro, statement the merits of antithetic artisanal mezcals and cognize which mercado stall has the champion tamales oaxaqueños.

​​Nellie Huang is simply a nonrecreational question writer and writer based successful San Miguel de Allende with her family. She has contributed to BBC Travel, CNN, International Business Times, and National Geographic, and co-authored Lonely Planet’s 2025 Mexico guide. Read astir her adventures worldwide connected wildjunket.com and travel her updates connected Instagram @wildjunket.