Mexico City Solo Travel: Is Mexico City Safe as a Solo Female Traveller?

Solo travel anywhere can be daunting, but with Mexico’s reputation, a lot of people have asked me if Mexico solo travel is safe, in particular in Mexico City.  This huge, hectic behemoth certainly sounds scary, but solo travel in Mexico City can be an incredible experience.  I spent four months in Mexico City as a solo female traveller, so got to know the city well and fell in love with the people, food, and culture here.  I’ll give you the truth about Mexico City solo travel and answer for once and all if Mexico City is safe for solo female travellers!

Know Before You Go to Mexico City

Before travelling to Mexico City, make sure you book accommodation and popular attractions ASAP as hotels and tickets can sell out.

🛌 MY FAVOURITE HOTELS IN MEXICO CITY FOR SOLO TRAVELLERS:

$$ Casa Mannach – Excellent location in Condesa with a shared kitchen 

$$ NaNa Vida CDMX – Lovely hotel in Roma Norte with a roof terrace

$ Hostel Home: I volunteered here for 3 months and loved it!

⭐ TOP 3 MEXICO CITY ACTIVITIES TO BOOK IN ADVANCE:

1. Mexico City: Teotihuacan, Guadalupe Shrine & Tlatelolco Tour

2. Mexico City: Xochimilco, Coyoacan, Frida Kahlo & UNAM

3. Mexico City: Historic Downtown Walking Tour

Why Visit Mexico City?

Most solo travellers come to Mexico for the beach and the delicious food.  While Mexico has both of those in great abundance, one place is often skipped on Mexico itineraries.  Mexico City.

Mexico City is huge and has a reputation for being dirty, dangerous and choked with traffic.  However, I didn’t find CDMX any more dangerous than any other big city in the world, and if you skip Mexico City on your Mexico vacation you are seriously missing out. 

With a UNESCO listed historic centre, UNESCO listed cuisine, and battling with Paris to be the city with the most museums in the world, Mexico City is not to be underestimated.  If you want to learn about Mexican culture, there is no better place.

I fell in love with Mexico City, with the people, the architecture, temples, museums and the social life.  Come here and you won’t be disappointed!

When to Visit Mexico City 

I don’t think there is a bad time to come to Mexico City.  However, in general, the most popular time to visit is during the dry season, which runs from late fall to early spring. The months of November to April are considered the best time to visit Mexico City, as the weather is typically mild and dry.

During this period, you can enjoy pleasant temperatures, with daytime highs ranging from the mid-60s to mid-70s Fahrenheit (around 18-24°C). This weather is ideal for exploring the city’s attractions, parks, and outdoor activities. Keep in mind that December and January can be cooler, especially in the evenings, so you may want to pack some layers.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Day) on 1st November is one of the most fun and busiest time of the year to visit Mexico City.  I arrived in time for the ofrenda displays in memory of loved ones, and stayed throughout December and January to enjoy Christmas and New Year too.

If you prefer to avoid crowds, it’s advisable to avoid major holidays and events when the city is extremely busy. Additionally, be aware that the rainy season typically occurs from late spring to early fall, with the wettest months being June to September. While the rain can bring lush greenery, it may also lead to occasional downpours and higher humidity levels.

Getting to Mexico City

Chances are, you’ll arrive in Mexico City by air, so you will arrive at Mexico City Airport, also known as Benito Juarez International Airport.  It is the busiest airport in Latin America and, like Mexico City itself, it can be overwhelming.

Is Mexico City Airport Safe?

Despite its size, Mexico City Airport is safe, but as you would at any airport, keep a close eye on your belongings.

To get from Mexico City into town, for solo travellers I recommend taking one of the official Mexico City Airport taxi companies which operate from Terminal One and Terminal Two.  You pre-pay for your journey at the booth near the arrival gate and give the receipt to the driver so you know you won’t get scammed on price.

It is also possible to take an Uber from the airport, arrange a private or shared airport transfer, or take the metro into town. However, for a first-time female solo traveller in Mexico City, an official airport taxi was definitely the best option for me.

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Where to stay in Mexico City as a Female Solo Traveller

Each area in Mexico City has its own distinct personality and vibe.  Most visitors stay in Condesa, Roma, the Historic Centre, Polanco or Zona Rosa. 

Personally, I think the best neighbourhood to stay in Mexico City for solo female travellers is around Roma and Condesa.  This area is full of cool bars and restaurants, leafy streets and a hip crowd, and is very safe.

You could also choose a hostel or hotel close to the Zocalo in the Centro Historico to get your fill of history, although the area is a bit dodgy at night during the day you are perfectly placed to explore the city. 

Polanco is another option where there are more hotels than hostels, or the Zona Rosa which is traditionally a student area with lots of bars, although I’d say that is better if you are travelling in a group.

The kind of accommodation you choose will depend on whether you want to meet other people, want to cook your own meals or work while you are travelling.  I love hostels when I want to meet people, but prefer an apartment if I’m staying for a long time and working.  For short trips, nothing beats a hotel experience!

Apartments & Airbnbs in Mexico City

There are also plenty of options for Airbnb in Mexico City too although I usually prefer to book apartments on Booking.com as they often have better cancellation terms. 

Areas to Avoid in Mexico City

As with any large city, there are places in Mexico City which you should avoid, especially as a solo female traveller.  However, these are areas where you are not likely to go as a tourist anyway, so you are certainly not missing out.

The neighbourhoods of Tepito, Doctores, Ciudad Neza, and Iztapalapa are dangerous areas in Mexico City for locals and tourists alike, so are not safe to visit at all, and be very careful in the neighbourhood of Merced which has a huge market.

During the day, you shouldn’t have any problems in the more popular tourist areas like the Centro Historico, Coyoacan, Roma and Condesa, and Chapultepec, but at night be more wary, especially in the Centro Historico.  I have heard mixed opinions about Xochimilco, I found it fine during the day but visiting the canals and colourful boats is best to do in a group or with a tour, and avoided after dark.

If you are nervous about visiting areas like the markets and Xochimilco alone, try one of these tours:

 

Getting Around Mexico City Solo

Mexico City is enormous, and it can take a long time to get around, especially in rush hour.  If you can, try to avoid travelling anywhere at all during rush hour, as the roads are packed and the public transport full to capacity.

Uber in Mexico City

Uber is going strong in Mexico City and is one of the safest ways to get around the city as a solo female traveller, especially after dark.  Enter your destination and Uber will calculate where your nearest available driver is and give you an estimate of how much it will cost.

Ubers are usually safer than taxis as you can track the location of the driver, all payment is done via the app so you don’t have to worry about handing over any cash, and you can even share your journey with friends and family so they can see exactly where you are. 

However, during the day you might find it quicker to use the Metro as traffic can be horrendous.

Mexico City Public Transportation

Using the Metro in Mexico City

Due to notoriously bad traffic congestion in Mexico City, it is often faster and easier to take the Metro than use any other form of transport.  The metro system in Mexico City is surprisingly good.  Frequent, safe and cheap, the network of metro lines whizz you across the city for a mere 5 pesos per journey, just buy however many tickets you might need at the ticket booth, and hop on.

However, for women travelling to Mexico City alone, I highly recommend using the women-only carriages in the metro, as unfortunately, groping & sexual harassment is not uncommon in the mixed carriages – to the extent that Mexico City Transport installed ‘penis seats’ on some of their carriages to highlight the unpleasantness women have to endure in mixed carriages.

The women-only carriages will be at the front or back of the train, and are signed ‘Solo Mujeres.’  Sometimes there are still a few men on the carriages, but it is a much more comfortable way to travel than being crammed in the mixed carriages. Pickpocketing is also common on the metro, as in most major cities, so be careful with your belongings.  And try to avoid rush hour!

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Mexico City Buses

I didn’t take any buses across Mexico City itself but did take a bus to Teotihuacan and to nearby cities such as Puebla.  There are four bus stations in Mexico City, roughly at each compass point for North, South, East and West, and are all reachable by metro.  The Metro is by far the easiest way to get around Mexico City.

General Tips for Mexico City Solo Travel

Mexican people are friendly and chatty, and may well come up to you, especially if you look very different from a typical Mexican person.  I am pale and quite tall compared to petite Mexicans so often had funny looks and curious questions.  On the whole, this is completely harmless and nothing to worry about.  However, if you are visiting Mexico alone there is no harm in being cautious.

Try to avoid very quiet places, luckily in Mexico City, there are usually lots of people around to help if you do run into trouble.  Learning a few words of Spanish can help you to do day-to-day things like order food or ask someone for directions, so try to learn a little Spanish before you arrive in Mexico City.

Pickpocketing is common, especially on the metro and in crowded tourist areas like the Centro Historico and Coyoacan.  You should be fine exploring during the day, but try to plan so you will be back at your hotel or hostel before dark, otherwise, take an Uber back to where you are staying.  As with any big city, don’t flash expensive jewellery or camera equipment and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Although I hate to say it, dressing conservatively also helps to avoid unwanted attention.  Of course, I think women should be able to wear whatever we want, wherever we want, however, Mexico City is far more conservative than the beach destinations of Cancun or Tulum – it is a city, so showing a lot of skin will get you noticed, and not in a good way.

Street Food in Mexico City – is It Safe?

I have to mention street food as this was one of my favourite things about Mexico City.  Some people assume that eating street food is dangerous or that you will get food poisoning, but if you don’t even try a street food taco then frankly you haven’t lived!

The key to eating street food safely is to find where the locals eat.  If there is a queue of local people waiting at a street food stand, that is the one you should go for.  The food will be cooked quickly and won’t be standing there a long time, and so many people can’t be wrong!

A word of warning though, be careful with the hot sauce as some of them will blow your head off!!  If you still aren’t feeling confident then a street food tour could set your mind at ease, with a guide showing you around the best street food places in Mexico City.  These are some of my favourites:

• Mexico City: Authentic Downtown Food Tour
• Mexico City: Tacos & Mezcal Night Food Tour
• México City: Authentic Mexican food Colonia Roma
• Mexico City: 3–Hour Polanco Food Tour

The Best Things to Do in Mexico City for Solo Female Travellers

Explore the Historic Centre

The UNESCO-listed ‘Historic Centre’ of Mexico City is made up of the Zocalo Main Square and the surrounding area, including the magnificent Palacio de Bellas Artes. 

The Zocalo often hosts to free events, from a huge ice-skating rink at Christmas or hundreds of ‘ofrendas’ or shrines for the Day of the Dead, to concerts from top Mexican and International stars. 

Latin America’s largest Cathedral, Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral presides over one side of the square, which you can admire from inside, or take a tour up the bell tower for unique views of the city.

On another side, the Palacio Nacional Government building houses a magnificent Diego Rivera Mural (which is free to enter but you must bring ID with you) and a small museum.  

The square was the centre of the city founded by the Mexica people, whose huge temple lies beneath and just behind the Cathedral.  The Spanish destroyed the temple and used the materials to build the cathedral.  Some of the temple ruins are visible from the street, or go into the fabulous Templo Mayor Museum to see the artefacts they discovered and learn some fascinating facts about Mexico and the foundation of Mexico City.  

Another excellent way to explore the Centro Historico is on a free Mexico City walking tour with Estacion Mexico.

Marvel at the Palacio de Bellas Artes

The Palacio de Bellas Artes is a spectacular building which is as impressive from the outside as it is from the inside.  It took 30 years to construct, mainly due to the Mexican Revolution, and shows a mixture of architectural styles. 

It is a theatre and museum, and you can buy a ticket for the Folkloric Ballet online or from the ticket office, which is more traditional dance than ballet as you may know it, or take a tour of the museum to see the incredible collection of murals from Mexico’s most important painters, like Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros, as well as several temporary exhibitions. 

The best place for a photo of this stunning building is across the street from the SEARs department store; simply take the escalators to the top floor & snap a photo out of the window.  Alternatively, have a coffee and cake in the café on the 8th floor and watch as the sunset bathes the Palacio in golden light.

Eat Mexican Food!

Mexican cuisine is one of the only cuisines in the world that has been awarded Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.  Mexico City has an incredible array of excellent restaurants, offering local specialities, national dishes, and international cuisine too. 

Vegetarians are remarkably well catered for too, with plenty of options for vegetarian food in Mexico City.  The area known as Roma, and neighbouring Condesa, is exploding with top restaurants, and if you like to cook then I highly recommend taking a Mexican cooking class at Casa Jacaranda.

A visit to Mexico City is not complete without sampling the street food, which is excellent – and cheap!  Tacos al Pastor are the go-to option, with juicy pork, pineapple and whichever salsa takes your fancy. 

As well as tacos though, you’ll find tlayudas, elotes, quesadillas, sopes, juices, and more – just be brave and try everything!  If you are worried about hygiene, watch where the locals go, a busy street food stand is a good sign – the food is good, and hasn’t been sitting out in the sun too long!  

However, never trust a Mexican who tells you the salsa is not hot!  If you’re sensitive to spice, test it first by popping a dot of salsa on the back of your hand and tasting it before you smother your tacos in it.

Visit Coyoacan & the Frida Kahlo Museum

Frida Kahlo wasn’t particularly famous or revered in Mexico while she was alive – she was more commonly known as the wife of Diego Rivera, who was a well-known muralist. 

However, in recent years her popularity has grown, following the 2002 film with Salma Hayak, and Frida’s association with the feminist movement and fashion, with designers including Jean-Paul Gautier using her trademark corsets as inspiration. 

The Blue House, as the Frida Khalo museum is known, is where Frida grew up, and later, where she and her husband Diego Rivera lived until they moved into separate homes. 

The museum shows fascinating insights into her life, including her childhood and accident, her struggle with not being able to have children, and her married life with Diego. There is a small amount of her work exhibited here, as well as photographs of Frida & her family & friends, and a temporary exhibition of her clothes which were found several years after her death. 

If you’re not a Frida fan, Coyoacan is still a pretty little town to visit, and as it has not quite been swallowed up by Mexico City’s growth, Coyoacan still retains its small-town feel.  There is cool street art to find here, awesome street food, a handicraft market and a pleasant main square, with a cathedral and a fountain with two growling coyotes.

Get Serenaded at Xochimilco or Plaza Garibaldi

Due to its location an hour or two outside of the centre, Xochimilco is not the easiest place to get to, and I’d recommend joining a group tour to make transport easier and the whole experience more fun!

Part kitch and gimmick, part party and part culture, the rivers & floating islands of Xochimilco offer a glimpse into Mexico City’s past and how the Aztec (Mexica) people lived after founding their city on a lake, albeit on colourful Mexican gondoliers.  

For a peaceful boat ride, go early in the morning, or if you prefer more of a party vibe, go on the weekends or holidays when you can barely move on the river as hundreds of boats take to the water, filled with drinking & dancing Mexicans.  If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and flag down a passing boatload of Mariachis to serenade you as you drink enough michelada beers to sink your boat!

If you prefer your mariachis on dry land, head to Plaza Garibaldi where mariachi bands gather to offer tourists a song. Bizarrely they also hang out on the street, waiting for people on the way to a party to pick them up.  Similarly, for solo travellers, I’d recommend joining a group tour like this as the best time to visit is in the evening.

See the Aztec Sun Stone at the Anthropology Museum

This incredible museum is Mexico’s most popular tourist attraction and my favourite museum in Mexico City.  El Museo Nacional de Antropología is spectacular.  The huge museum covers two floors around a central courtyard, and showcases the history of Mexico’s inhabitants from the origin of the human species in Mesoamerica, the development of indigenous cultures, the Spanish conquest & beyond. 

With fascinating exhibits on all indigenous cultures in Mexico, the highlight for me was the Mexica room, including the magnificent Aztec Sun Stone, which is worth the visit alone.  If you are a history buff I would also suggest two separate visits, as trying to digest everything covered in this massive museum in one visit is a challenge!

Explore Chapultepec Forest

Chapultepec means ‘grasshopper hill’, and this huge green space in Mexico City is hard to miss. It really is a forest filled with trees, a boating lake, the Botanic Gardens, Mexico City Zoo (complete with pandas), several museums and plenty of scampering squirrels. 

You’ll find some of the best museums in the city here, including the excellent Anthropology Museum, as well as the Museum of Modern Art, the Tamayo Museum, Chapultepec Castle, and the Natural History Museum.  Dozens of stalls line the footpaths, selling sweet & savoury snacks, cuddly toys, and crappy souvenirs, and there are street performers providing entertainment for the kids. 

On Sundays, most of the museums are free for nationals (and some for foreigners too), which also means the park gets packed.  

Scream Your Heart Out at Lucha Libre Wrestling

I was prepared to hate Lucha Libre Mexican Wrestling. I expected it to be like American wrestling, with lots of pouting, posturing and not much fighting.  While there was plenty of all that, I was surprised how quickly I got into it, taking sides and yelling at the masked luchadores as they leapt around the ring.   

As much part of Mexican culture as mariachis, Lucha Libre is a spectacle of acrobatics and hammy acting skills that you just can’t help but love.  It is definitely more fun after a few beers, and I preferred the Friday night performance as it was busier, but on Tuesdays you have a better chance of snagging a good seat. 

To channel your inner Nacho Libre, buy a lucha libre mask from one of the stores outside and practice at home!

While you could visit the Lucha Libre alone, I’d highly recommend joining a group as it is much more fun.  I joined a group of fellow travellers from my hostel for one trip, and booked a group tour for another visit as I loved it so much!  This Lucha Libre tour includes a mariachi show, or this tour is just for Lucha Libre with some of the best seats in the house.

Shop till you Drop in the Markets

Ciudadela Artisan Market is without a doubt the best place to buy souvenirs in Mexico City.  This immense market is filled with traditional handicrafts, including painted skulls, beautifully beaded artwork, silver jewellery, and much more. 

San Juan Market is perfect for foodies, famous for its exotic meats, imported herbs and spices, homemade mole sauces, as well as fresh meat, fish, fruit & vegetables.  You’ll also find unusual specialities like salted chapulines (crickets), worms and even a scorpion or two! 

To get more of a local experience, La Merced is the biggest market in the city, and although it’s best not to wander with an expensive camera on show, here you’ll find a vast maze of stalls selling everything from socks to sandwich makers – including a section dedicated to potions, rituals and witchcraft called Sinaloa Market.

Take a Day Trip to Teotihuacan

An easy day trip from Mexico City, the Pyramids of Teotihuacan is a chance to get up close and personal with the 3^rd largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, which you can still climb up.   There is also a temple to the feathered snake god Quetzalcoatl, with magnificent, scary carvings of the god all along the temple.   

The temple of the moon is smaller yet better restored than its larger counterpart, and recently a new tunnel was discovered beneath the pyramid.  You can also arrange a dawn hot-air balloon ride over the pyramids, or watch out for dinner in the sky for an extra special experience.

There are public buses to Teotihuacan that you can use safely, or plenty of day tours to Teotihuacan to choose from.

Is Mexico City Safe for Solo Female Travellers?

I can’t deny that Mexico City has its problems, but in the four months I spent there I didn’t have any issues myself.  If you follow these tips and keep a close eye on your belongings you should be fine.  Don’t be afraid to visit Mexico City, it is a beautiful city with a fascinating culture and incredible cuisine!

Considering Travel Insurance For Your Trip?

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Have you visited Mexico City solo?  I’d love to see if you think Mexico City is safe for solo female travellers, please share your comments below.