Short answer: On the ground in Mexico, plan on roughly $55–90 (about MXN 1,000–1,600) per person per day on a hostel-and-street-food budget, $140–250 (about MXN 2,500–4,500) in a comfortable hotel shared by two with restaurant meals and a tour or site most days, and from about $500 (MXN 9,000) for beach resorts, boutique hotels and private guides. A week therefore costs about $385–630, $980–1,750 or from about $3,500 per person, before flights. For a reality check, foreign tourists who flew in spent an average of $1,223 each during their trip in July 2026, according to Mexico’s statistics office, INEGI.
Mexico is two countries when it comes to cost. In Mexico City, Oaxaca, Mérida or Guanajuato, a plate of tacos costs a couple of dollars, the Metro costs pocket change and a world-class museum about $11. On the Caribbean coast and in Los Cabos, resort hotels, beach clubs and tours are priced close to US levels. This guide breaks down both with figures from official sources, so you can build a realistic budget for your own trip to Mexico. The currency is the Mexican peso (MXN), written with the same “$” sign as the dollar, and the Bank of Mexico’s FIX rate was about MXN 18.2 to the US dollar in early October 2026; peso figures here are rounded at that rate. Our Money exchange tool has today’s rate.
Mexico daily costs at a glance
These example days are built from the prices further down this page: one person, one day in a popular place such as Mexico City, Oaxaca or Playa del Carmen. They leave out flights to Mexico and souvenirs. Expect the top of each range, or more, in Cancún, Tulum and Los Cabos.
| Per person, per day | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed | Hostel dorm bed or simple guesthouse: $20–40 | Half of a comfortable double at $120–250: $60–125 | Half of a boutique hotel or beach resort room: from about $300 |
| Food | Street food, markets and a comida corrida lunch: $15–25 | Breakfast, lunch and half of a MXN 900 ($50) dinner for two, plus drinks: $35–55 | Restaurant and fine dining with drinks: about $120 |
| Transport | Metro and city buses, or a share of a first-class bus: $3–10 | Uber or taxis, or a longer bus or train ride: $10–30 | Private driver or transfers: about $60 |
| Sights | Free museums and churches, or one INAH site (MXN 210): $0–15 | One or two sites, a museum or a group tour: $20–50 | Private guide or a boat or diving trip: from about $60 |
| Total | About $55–90 (MXN 1,000–1,600) | About $140–250 (MXN 2,500–4,500) | From about $500 (MXN 9,000) |
Site and museum fees are official 2026 prices; meal and taxi figures are typical October 2026 Mexico City prices from the crowd-sourced Numbeo index; room, transport and tour figures are our typical ranges, the same ones used in our Mexico guides. Treat them as typical ranges, not quotes.
What visitors actually spend in Mexico
INEGI’s International Travelers Survey counts every visitor and what they spend. In July 2026, foreign tourists who arrived by air spent an average of $1,223.20 each during their trip, up 2.5% from $1,193.60 a year earlier. Seven in ten of the tourists who traveled beyond the border zone came from the United States. INEGI does not publish the length of stay in its monthly bulletin, so the figure is per trip rather than per day; for a one-week vacation it lines up with the bottom half of our mid-range budget.
On our Travel costs by country scale, which compares hotel, restaurant and transport prices with the United States (US = 100), Mexico scores 69. In plain words, a typical room, meal or ride costs about 30% less than at home for American visitors. That national average hides a wide gap: Mexico City and the colonial cities feel much cheaper than the index, and Cancún, Tulum and Los Cabos often feel close to US prices. On the same scale, Guatemala scores 35, Belize 59 and the Dominican Republic 55.
Accommodation costs
Mexico has every kind of bed, from rooftop hostels to haciendas and all-inclusive resorts. As typical ranges:
- Hostel dorm bed: about $15–30, a little more in Tulum and Playa del Carmen.
- Simple guesthouse or budget hotel double: about $35–70, easiest to find in Oaxaca, Mérida, Guanajuato and Puebla.
- Comfortable or boutique double: about $120–250, including in Mexico City’s Roma and Condesa and in San Miguel de Allende.
- Beach resorts and all-inclusives: from several hundred dollars a night in Cancún, Tulum and Los Cabos.
Hotel bills add a state lodging tax on top of the 16% IVA, and resort quotes are sometimes shown before tax, so check the total. Rates are highest at Christmas and New Year, Holy Week and US spring break on the coast, and lowest from September to mid-November outside Day of the Dead.
Food and drink costs
Eating well is cheap in Mexico. Street tacos, market stalls (fondas) and the set lunch called comida corrida, usually soup, a main and a drink, are the best value. Numbeo’s October 2026 figures for Mexico City show a meal at an inexpensive restaurant at about MXN 200 ($11) and a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant, without drinks, at about MXN 900 ($50). A half-liter of local draft beer costs about MXN 60 ($3.30) and a cappuccino about MXN 68 ($3.75). Expect to pay more in the Hotel Zone of Cancún, Tulum’s beach road and Los Cabos.
Menu prices normally include the 16% IVA. Drink bottled or filtered water, which hotels and restaurants usually provide; a small bottle costs about MXN 23 ($1.30) in shops.
Getting around: buses, trains, the Metro and flights
- City transport: Mexico City’s Metro costs about MXN 5 (about 30 US cents) a ride and the Metrobús about MXN 6, both paid with the rechargeable Integrated Mobility Card. Uber and DiDi work in most cities and are cheap for short trips.
- Long-distance buses: first-class lines such as ADO, ETN and Primera Plus are comfortable and good value. As examples, ADO fares from Cancún airport are usually around MXN 170 to the Hotel Zone, MXN 270 to Playa del Carmen and MXN 475 to Tulum, and from Mexico City airport around MXN 462 to Puebla.
- Trains: the Tren Maya loops around the Yucatán Peninsula, linking Cancún airport, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Bacalar, Mérida and Palenque; fares vary with demand, so check its official booking site. The Tren Felipe Ángeles to Mexico City’s AIFA airport costs MXN 45.
- Ferries: Ultramar charges MXN 290 one way from Puerto Juárez in Cancún to Isla Mujeres.
- Domestic flights: Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva cover the long distances, with low fares if you book early; low-cost fares often exclude checked bags and large carry-ons, so compare total prices.
- Car hire: useful in the Yucatán and Baja, but mandatory Mexican liability insurance is added to the headline rate, and US and Canadian car insurance is not valid in Mexico.
Sightseeing fees and free things to do
Mexico’s archaeological sites and national museums are run by INAH, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, and its prices are low. Natural protected areas sell a CONANP wristband. As of October 2026, prices for foreign visitors are:
| Site | Foreign adult | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Teotihuacan, near Mexico City | MXN 210 (about $11.50) | Daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; pyramids closed to climbers |
| National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City | MXN 210 | Tuesday to Sunday |
| Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City | MXN 320 (about $17.50) | Online tickets only; includes the Anahuacalli Museum |
| Monte Albán, Oaxaca | MXN 210 | Daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| Chichén Itzá, Yucatán | MXN 697 (about $38) | INAH MXN 105 plus a Yucatán state fee of MXN 592 |
| Tulum archaeological zone | MXN 265 (about $14.50) | Includes Jaguar Park and Tulum National Park |
| Cobá, Quintana Roo | MXN 210 | Near Tulum |
| El Rey, Cancún Hotel Zone | MXN 145 (about $8) | Daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| CONANP protected areas (Islas Marietas, Cabo Pulmo, Cancún’s Nichupté lagoon) | MXN 125 per day | Usually sold with boat tours |
Plenty costs nothing: Mexico’s beaches are public, the Zócalo and historic centers of Mexico City, Oaxaca, Mérida and Guanajuato are open-air museums, the Metropolitan Cathedral and many other churches are free to enter, and Sunday in Chapultepec Park is a festival of families and street food. Cenotes, beach clubs, whale-watching and snorkeling trips are run privately and are where coastal budgets climb.
Taxes and visitor fees
- IVA: 16%, normally included in shop and menu prices.
- Lodging tax: set by each state and added to hotel bills: 3.5% in Mexico City (5% through platforms such as Airbnb), 5% in Quintana Roo (6% through platforms), 5% in Jalisco, 4.5% in Yucatán and 4% in Guanajuato.
- Municipal environmental fees: some beach towns add a per-night fee; in Cancún it is MXN 85.40 per room per night.
- DNR (non-resident fee): MXN 983 (about $54) in 2026, according to the immigration institute’s fee table, and almost always already included in international air fares.
- VISITAX: every foreign visitor to Quintana Roo, the state of Cancún, the Riviera Maya, Tulum, Isla Mujeres and Cozumel, pays MXN 293 (about $16) per person, including children, on the official site visitax.gob.mx before leaving the state.
- Cruise passengers: the peso equivalent of $10 per passenger from August 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, collected by the cruise line.
Tipping in Mexico
Tipping is part of everyday life. In sit-down restaurants, leave 10–15% in cash or add it on the card machine, unless the bill already says servicio incluido. Tour guides usually get 10–15% of the tour price, plus something for the driver; hotel porters and housekeeping about MXN 20–50 ($1–3) a bag or a night. Taxi drivers do not expect a tip. Our tip calculator does the sums for you.
Money-saving tips for Mexico
- Mix city and coast. A few days in Mexico City, Oaxaca or Mérida bring down the average cost of a beach trip. Our Mexico itinerary has routes for one and two weeks.
- Eat the comida corrida at lunch, and follow the locals to market stalls and taco stands.
- Take first-class buses for trips under five or six hours, and book domestic flights early with bags included in the price you compare.
- Pay in pesos. Prices in dollars usually use a poor rate, and when a card machine offers to charge you in your home currency, choose pesos.
- Avoid the peak weeks of Christmas, Holy Week and spring break on the coast; see our best time to visit Mexico guide.
- Pay VISITAX only on the official site, visitax.gob.mx; look-alike sites add a fee.
For help choosing where to go, see our list of the top places to visit in Mexico.
Plan your trip: our free trip planner can build a day-by-day plan for Mexico from our guides, including Mexico City, Oaxaca, Mérida and the Riviera Maya. Then use the Money exchange tool to turn pesos into your own currency, and the Destination weather tool to pick your dates.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need for a week in Mexico?
Using the example days above, seven days on the ground cost roughly $385–630 (about MXN 7,000–11,500) per person on a tight budget, $980–1,750 (about MXN 17,800–31,900) mid-range, and from about $3,500 (about MXN 64,000) in comfort, before flights. Foreign tourists who flew in spent $1,223 per trip on average in July 2026.
Is Mexico expensive?
It depends where you go. On our cost scale, Mexico scores 69 against 100 for the United States, so travel costs about 30% less on average. Mexico City and the colonial cities are much cheaper than that; Cancún, Tulum and Los Cabos can cost close to US prices.
Do I need cash in Mexico?
Yes, some. Cards, including contactless, work in hotels, chain restaurants and most shops in cities and resorts, but markets, street food, small eateries, colectivos and tips run on pesos. Use ATMs inside banks or shopping centers, and carry small bills.
Do I have to pay a tourist tax in Mexico?
The federal non-resident fee (DNR), MXN 983 in 2026, is almost always included in your air fare. In Quintana Roo, home of Cancún and Tulum, you also pay VISITAX, MXN 293 per person, online. Hotels add a state lodging tax of about 3.5–5% to the bill.
What is the cheapest month to visit Mexico?
September and October, in the rainy and hurricane season, bring the lowest hotel rates on the coasts, and late August to mid-November is quiet in most cities outside Day of the Dead. Late April and May, after Holy Week, are good-value dry months in central Mexico.
How much does it cost to visit Chichén Itzá?
As of October 2026, foreign visitors pay MXN 697 (about $38) in total: MXN 105 to INAH and MXN 592 to the state of Yucatán. The site opens daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Most other INAH sites, including Teotihuacan and Monte Albán, cost MXN 210.