Dear Reader,
You have seen me write a lot recently about Morelos and what to do, things to see, and everything else around this region. In this post, I will break it down just a little more and tell you how much time you need in the different cities. It will tell you how much to plan on one day and always link back to other posts, so you can find all the details you need.
Mexico City - 4 days
Mexico city is probably the airport you are going to fly to; therefore, it makes sense to stay here right away and explore some of this amazing place. Unfortunately, due to planning, we only spent one day here. However, if you need some reasons to convince you to check out this city before leaving, you can find 5 great ones here.
Day 1 - Visit the Center
- Visit the historic center
- Catholic church
- Main square
- Small streets
- Walk to Palacio de Correos
- Have lunch at Sanborns close by
- Visit El Museo de Bellas Artes
- Travel back to your hotel before rush hour (at 7 pm)
Day 2 - Museum Day
- Visit the Casa Azul - Frida Kahlo museum
- Visit the old house of Diego Rivera
- Have lunch from one of the street vendors
- Visit the Leon Trotsky museum
- Enjoy a quiet evening in the neighborhood of your hotel
Day 3 - Parks
- Visit Parque Chapultepec
- walk around
- visit sights
- visit the castle if open
- Have tacos from one of the stores
- Head to Xochimilco for the afternoon
- Enjoy a nice dinner
Day 4 - Pyramids
- Head up to Teotihuacán - one hour from the Northern Bus Station
- Enjoy the day exploring the pyramids
- Grab some lunch locally or head back to the city
- Spend the afternoon exploring Polanco (the rich neighborhood)
If you need more tips, I really like these excellent guides (1 and 2), or you can check out this youtube video from Tourist to Local which has many great tips as well.
Once you feel like you have explored as much as you want, you can just take a bus to Cuernavaca. This ride takes little over one hour from the south station. You can also get a bus from any other station, but you will have to put up with the traffic of Mexico City. The ticket cost less than 200 pesos from the normal bus station, from the airport it might be a little more.
Cuernavaca - 4 days
In Cuernavaca, there are many more things to do than you probably think. Here is a breakdown per day to make sure you cover everything and are not too exhausted.
Day 1 - Visit the center
- Walk around the gorgeous small streets,
- Sit in one of the cafes and restaurants for lunch
- Visit the Robart Brady Museum and the Jardin Borda
- Around sunset take a seat on the main square and enjoy the atmosphere.
Day 2 - Visit the south part of the city
- Visit Parque Ecologico Chapultepec
- Walk around Parque Solidaridad
- Enjoy lunch in one of the local places, or come back to the center
Day 3 - Visit the north
- Brunch at one place you pick
- Visit Barranca de Amanalco
- Visit Teopanzolco - only from the outside since it is closed since the earthquake in 2017
- Taco dinner at one of the corner stores - my suggestion Hamburgesita in Buena Vista
- Mezcal tasting in one of the many Mezcalerias in town
Day 4 - Visit whatever else you feel like
- Visit el Mercado Adolfo López Mateos (food and product market)
- Check if any events going on in town
- Enjoy lunch in the center
- If you would like, you can go to Santa Maria and enjoy a view over all of Cuernavaca
As you can see this is just a list of activities. To learn and read more about each of these activities, check out my city guide of Cuernavaca here. If you are hunting for a place to eat, I have uploaded my restaurant guide of Cuernavaca, which you can find here.
The next to days will be day trips from Cuernavaca. Therefore there is no need to move location.
Las Estacas - 1 day
Las Estacas is a great day trip from Cuernavaca. Here is a breakdown of the day in terms of time and activities. If you would like to learn more about the place itself and everything it has to offer, you can check out my post on Las Estacas here.
- (Buy lunch in town in the morning)
- Take a taxi to Las Estacas - one hour
- Pay entrance - ten to fifteen minutes
- Enjoy the park - all day
- "beach" area for sunbathing
- swings to jump into the water
- swim around in the gorgeous clear water
- enjoy the current and let it take you down the river
- have lunch that your brought or buy some there
- Come back by taxi - one hour
As for transport, it is easiest to get there by taxi, since there is no direct bus to this natural park. However, you can take a bus to the closest town (Yautepec or Jujutla) and take a taxi from there. You might have to interchange once, so it is just easier to take a taxi, especially if you are three or four people.
Tequesquitengo - 1 day
Tequesquitengo is on a lake close to Cuernavaca. The locals like to refer to it as the "Sea of Morelos" since it is the closest larger pool of water within the state. Spending a day in one of the "beach clubs" they have there can be very relaxing. Here is how a daytrip from Cuernavaca would look like timewise.
- Take a bus to one of the nearby towns - little over one hour
- Take a taxi to one of the clubs - depending on which town you come from
- Enjoy your day at the club
- go swimming in the ocean
- go swimming in the pool
- lay on a sunbed
- read a book
- have some drinks
- have lunch
- Take a taxi back to one of the nearby cities - max 30 minutes
- Take the bus to Cuernavaca - little over one hour + waiting time
So there you have a gorgeous day in Tequesquitengo. If you are coming by bus, you can take ones going to Tehuixtla (which is the closest), or Xoxoculto or Zacatepec which are further away. These are local buses so you have to go to the bus station in the center.
Tepoztlán - 2 days
Tepoztlán is a small town less than an hour from Cuernavaca. It is easy to reach by public bus or even taxi if you prefer. This town offers a great chance to suck up some local culture are really experience their traditions.
Day 1 - visit the center
It would be ideal to be here on a Sunday since that day they have an open market on the main square selling fruits, vegetables, toys, as well as ready to eat dishes and drinks. Otherwise, over during the week, the center is cute.
- Walk around the market and the center in the morning
- Enjoy some of the delicious local food for lunch
- Look through some of the stores
- Have a coffee or a drink in one of the rooftop bars
- Go out for dinner at one of the local restaurants
Day 2 - walk the pilgrim way
- Get up in the morning and have some local breakfast
- Start walking up the pilgrim way - about one hour
- Spend some time at the pyramid on top
- Walk back down - one hour
- Eat some well-deserved food when you reach the bottom
- Head back to Cuernavaca
Two days are perfect to get a feel for this amazing place. If you would like to learn more about it, you can check out my post here.
As you can see, I suggest heading back that night to Cuernavaca. Since the next day, we will be moving to a different town, it is simpler if you stay overnight in Cuernavaca and start your journey from there.
Taxco - 2 days
Now this one is cheating I admit since Taxco is actually in the State of Guerrero. However, it is so close and easy to reach from Cuernavaca that it would be a shame to not visit. It is also a great stop on the way to Acapulco, so you should definitely stop and visit it. For more details, read this post about Taxco.
Day 1 - visit the old town
- Walk around the center
- Enjoy one of the local silver markets
- Have lunch at one of the cute restaurants
- Visit the church of Taxco
- Take the cable car to the top of the mountain
- Have dinner (or at least drinks) on the terrace of Hotel Montetaxco
- Take the cable car back down (runs until 10)
Day 2 - Visit the Jesus statue
- Have brunch at one of the rooftop restaurants in the center
- Take a taxi to the Jesus statue - twenty minutes
- Enjoy the view
- Take the taxi back down
- Have lunch at one of the corner stores
- If you would like, you can head to the waterfalls close by
- Continue your journey to the next destination
Taxco is easy to reach from Cuernavaca by bus and you can continue on to Acapulco the same way. If this is the end of your journey and you are headed back home, you have to change buses in Cuernavaca for their airport.
That is a full two week Morelos itinerary. Hopefully, it will be helpful for planning your trip to this part of Mexico. You can, of course, spend more or less time in each of these places, but with this time you have seen everything you absolutely need to. Also feel free to change around the order of the activities to suit your needs.
As always, feel free to leave any tips in the comments below or share them with me on social media.
Kisses,
Juli