6 month road trip in Mexico 🇲🇽

The UNESCO World heritage site Chichen Itza!

Early november 2021 we packed our VW jetta and headed south for 6 months. Besides escaping the winter in Colorado, we were excited to explore Mexico on an epic road trip and to experience the culture, practice our spanish and have fun! Mexico did not disappoint!!

A brief summary of the first 4 months of our trip in Mexico can be read HERE and some more articles from our trip HERE.

Below are some stats and fun facts of our 6 month trip south:

172 days in Mexico
12,293 kms/ 7639 miles on Mexican roads
15 Pueblos Mágicos (towns that have symbolic significance and are historic, charming and cultural towns!)
We drove through 17 Mexican states (out of 32)
An insane amount of topes (these are the Mexican speed bumps. From the ‘home made’ piles of dirt to the insanely high concrete, ship ropes, cut up pieces of tire, bricks!)
14 craft breweries (and many margaritas 😉)
20 Airbnb’s & 2 hotels
A ridiculous amount of tacos 🌮
13 boat rides/ferries (Kaio & Jason did some more to go scuba diving!)
Went on 3 islands
684 miles of running! This includes all 3 kids starting to run. Kaio completing his first 10k and Josefine her first 5k.
We saw over 1500 old school Volkswagen beetles. Our kids had fun counting these iconic cars that still are very common here. We found out that the state of Chiapas had the last VW bug plant worldwide!

This is the route we did:

San Carlos ➡️ Mazatlan ➡️ Sayulita ➡️ Nuevo Vallarta ➡️ Tequilla ➡️ San Miguel de Allende ➡️ Oaxaca de Juarez ➡️ Puerto Escondido ➡️ Huatulco ➡️ San Cristobal de las Casa ➡️ Palenque ➡️ Merida ➡️ Valladolid ➡️ Holbox ➡️ Puerto Morelos ➡️ Chemuyil ➡️ Bacalar ➡️ Villahermosa ➡️ Cholula ➡️ San Luis Potosi ➡️ Monclova

And here is the map (we use Travellerspoint for our maps):

Although we loved the uniqueness and diversity of all places we saw, our favorites were:

Guanajuato: we stayed a week in the nearby San Miguel de Allende, and went for a day trip. Although we did like SMA, we think it’s a bit over rated and has become too touristy. Guanajuato seemed more authentic, offering an amazing local market, hills with amazing views and some of the best tacos we’ve had!!
Oaxaca city: we really enjoyed our month long stay. You can read more of our experience HERE.
San Cristobal: although we only spent a week here we loved the laid back vibe and small town feeling and with plenty of nature and activities around. We did a fun tamale cooking class here and highly recommend it!
Chemuyil: this cute little town is a hidden gem between the famous playa del Carmen and Tulum. We found THIS amazing Airbnb in the jungle. It was a short drive to the beach and amenities of the more busy city centers. But we loved being isolated in the jungle. We saw tarantulas, amazing birds, lizards and snakes and loved the tranquility and silence. The little town of Chemuyil has all the basic amenities: some small markets to buy essentials, a bakery, a tortillaria, some restaurants and an amazing juice bar! (and very view tourists). It also has several beautiful cenotes, some paid and other very rustic and secluded!

Bacalar: After spending a month in Chemuyil it was time to slowly start heading north to cross the border back into the US. Our first stop was Lake Bacalar, also known as the Lagoon of seven colors due to its every changing colors of the water. At times briliant turquoise and others grey (and everything in between!). Depending on the sun light, water level and algae present. In the 3 days we were there we saw many variations of the color of the lake. The town is small but offers many cute restaurants and cafes!
Cholula: As we continued back north on our way to the border, we were trying to find interesting place to stop, Puebla was an option. However, after further research, it was recommended to stay in a suburb town of Puebla: Cholula. (As the famous hot sauce, although we didn’t see any of it here…) We really loved the smaller town vibe of this place. A bustling local market and a quick (free) train ride into Puebla. There are many hiking options and an archeological site (ancient mesoamerican site, which includes a pyramid and tunnels). On clear days you can see the famous volcanos of Popocatepeti and Iztaccihuatl (which are optional day trips)

Mexico is an amazing countries and has it all. From gorgeous tropical deserted beaches to the all inclusive hotels….from beautiful town centers to the historic pyramids of the Maians. And don’t get us started on the delicious Mexican food!! We can’t recommend this country enough, it has so much to offer!