Spoiler! – We had an amazing time in Mexico with our two kids.
In this story you will read our experiences travelling with kids through Mexico, and what worked for us, b
ut also the things we would do differently next time. Travelling with kids in Mexico was wonderful and totally safe.
Both our kids were 6 years old at the time we travelled to Mexico and many of our friends and family had concerns about our safety. We really wanted to go to Mexico to experience the food, explore the ancient sites and maybe learn about more about its history. And.. we thought it couldn’t be that bad with the safety!
To be honest there was only one situation that raised our heart rate and got us nervous..
First tip! Rent a car.
We choose to rent a car to travel through Mexico. This was mainly because we wanted to visit a few sites that were wide apart. Think of Cancun, Progreso, Merida, Campeche, Palenque, Chichén Itzá, Lake Bacalar and Tulum - About 2000 km. to travel.
With a car of our own this was perfect! The trips were long at times, but it’s great to be flexible when to drive. We usually started early, with a nice lunch break in the middle to arrive not too late at our next destination. As long as the kids enjoyed themselves on the back seat (thank you Nintendo) and had enough to eat, everything was fine. Having a car is also beneficial when you want to visit specific sites. But more about that later.
One thing that we must warn you about are the potholes in the roads. Not every state has smooth tarmac. We had the ‘pleasure’ to encounter two potholes that were bigger than our car liked. We destroyed two tires in one trip… Ouch! Luckily we met a super friendly stranger at a gas station who brought us to a nearby tire shop to fix one tire and replace the second with the spare tire. All good to go.
Nevertheless, I would definitely choose renting a car above travelling by bus when you travel with kids through Mexico.
The people
The people we met in Mexico were super friendly and seem to like kids. Everybody was nice and we never had the feeling we weren’t safe or that someone tried to screw us over. Many Mexicans speak English, which is perfect for us because our Spanish isn’t that great. Only the taqueros (taco makers) in food carts didn’t all speak English, so we ate a few things unknown to us.
When we went swimming with turtles in Tulum our dive instructor was also very nice and told us not to worry about travelling with kids in Mexico. He said that travelling through Yucatan is perfectly fine. Only if you go near the border of the US and Mexico it might become less safe. But even then, if you don’t interfere with anything that has to do with illegal activities, usually everything is fine. Meeting this guy was more of a highlight then actual trying to find and swim with turtles. We won’t do that again.
The food
We love the Mexican food! It’s incredible what can be made with tortillas. Pretty much everything has some style of tortilla in it. The fantastic taco’s, quesadillas, sopa’s, burrito’s, chips. Everything has tortillas in it, and it was delicious! I believe we even tried and enjoyed tacos with brain meat (Tacos de Sesos) without knowing what it was. It was so delicious that our boys ate pretty much everything (that wasn't too spicy).
We ate the best at all the small taquerias (food carts) alongside the roads or on town squares. Waiting for the tacos to be made and seeing how they make it was time well spend for the kids. Next time we visit we will do this even more, and eat less in restaurants.
Changing the rhythm
Travelling with kids in Mexico is all fine, but for Western Europeans it does need a little change in the daily rhythm. The European schedule of planning activities at mid-day and eating at 6pm doesn’t work here.
Be early
First of all, at noon it’s incredibly hot (compared to Western Europe), which doesn’t make it enjoyable to go sight-seeing. We began these trips always at the hour the sites opened. Trying to be the first inside has a few benefits. First off, the temperature. It’s still comfortable before 11:00AM. Second, it’s usually nice and quiet without the bus-loads of tourists who do arrive at noon or in the early afternoon. This way we had a whole cenote to ourselves and experienced Chichén Itzá and Palenque in reasonable calmness.
Stay late
The evenings in Mexico start at 7:00PM. At that time suddenly all the taquerias are brought in, and quiet streets become bustling sites, and empty squares transform into mini amusement parks. This means that all the good food is available from this time, which we found out a little too late. Our rhythm was to get the boys to bed at 7:30PM so every day we were in our hotel at 7:00PM. Only in the last week and a halve did we change this, so we missed out on a lot.
Next time we will surely bring in a siesta to be able to go out in the late afternoons.
Sight Seeing in Mexico with kids.
Mexico has many places that are incredible to visit. Lots of history that can spark the imagination of kids, and impressive sites from ancient times.
We tried to mix up leisure with a few things educational. Mostly because I really love the
ancient history so I couldn’t wait to visit the temples. For kids however, the Cenotes (Ik KIl Cenote), Lake Bacalar and the Dinosaur museum in Progresso were more fun.
Chichén Itza is fun for kids if you have a guide who knows how to clap in front of the pyramid to hear the sound of a bird, or who can show all the carvings of panthers and other creatures. And Palenque is cool because there are many things to climb on.
As mentioned earlier try to be there as early as possible and bring enough food and drinks to keep the youngsters happy.
The one thing that got us nervous.
Police at the state border checkpoints
Between all states, and sometimes before entering a city you find checkpoints.
When you arrive at a checkpoint you can’t miss the large amount of police/military men with enormous guns, dogs and not so happy faces.
For our first encounter we probably drove slower than we should, ready to be halted. Because, that’s what we saw around us. Multiple minibuses and touring cars at the side of the road thoroughly searched by these men with dogs. We drove closer and closer to the gates and nearer to more men with guns. And then… nothing happened! A gunman waved and smiled, and signaled us that we could go ahead. What a bummer!
When we drove off, we had a weird mixed feeling of relief, but also a bit disappointed that we missed out on the experience of being searched with dogs and men with guns.
During our whole trip we weren’t halted once, and we tried to crack a smile with the officers at every checkpoint, and often succeeded.
So, is it safe? Travelling with kids in Mexico?
Yes, nothing to worry about as a family travelling in Mexico. All safe!
We would love to return to Mexico somewhere soon.