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The Signature Collection

  • EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES SIGNATURE STAYS
  • HAND PICKED TRAVEL EXPERTS

Signature Mexico Among Ruins & Ritual

Overview

From the cultural highlights to pristine shores, experience a Mexico shaped by people, place, and personal connection

Mexico’s soul flows through the disciplined craft of Oaxacan artisans, the emotional clarity of Frida Kahlo’s work, and the enduring architecture of ancient civilisations. Led by your handpicked Signature Guide, journey from Mexico City’s creative and intellectual centre to the calm shores of Bahías de Huatulco via the craft and cuisine of Oaxaca. Shaped by rare access, expert guidance, and personal encounters, this is Mexico understood rather than observed.

Venture to the very heart of each destination on our Signature Collection, where every journey is shaped by our unrivalled local connections and insider expertise. Step beyond the ordinary with private invitations, rare encounters, and experiences few will ever share. So when someone says, “I’ve been there,” you’ll simply smile, knowing you’ve experienced it differently.

Signature Day: Experience our distinctive Signature Day, choosing between optional activities such as Zapotec trails, master artisans, or mezcal lineages

Signature Stay: Unwind in colonial elegance at Quinta Real in Oaxaca, part of this trip’s refined accommodation portfolio

Signature Guide: Let your handpicked Signature Guide lead you to the country’s soul — sharing their home, heritage, and heart

Key Information

Signature Exclusive Inclusions

  • Elegant, hand-picked hotels and a Signature Stay in colonial elegance at Quinta Real in Oaxaca
  • All breakfasts, six lunches, and four dinners, featuring restaurants that capture the authentic cuisine of Mexico
  • Named Signature Guide with outstanding knowledge and guest satisfaction
  • Complimentary transfers on arrival and departure, plus comfortable transport throughout (private vehicle)
  • Gratuities for local support staff so every detail of your journey feels effortless

Positive Impact

  • We donate to our Foundation and rewild 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller. Find out more about how our adventures support nature and people to thrive.

Don't Forget To

  • Request a single room if required, purchase travel insurance and arrange any visas and vaccinations.

Signature Experiences

Itinerary

  • First Destination: Mexico City
  • Next Destination: Bahías de Huatulco
  • Accommodation:Histórico Central
  • Meals included:Dinner
  • Accommodation:Histórico Central
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch
  • Accommodation:Casona de los Sapos
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Accommodation:Quinta Real
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch
  • Accommodation:Quinta Real
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch
  • Accommodation:Quinta Real
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner
  • Accommodation:Casa Bocana
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch
  • Accommodation:Casa Bocana
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • Meals included:Breakfast
  • First Destination: Mexico City
  • Next Destination: Bahías de Huatulco

Welcome to Mexico City, a pulsating capital shaped by ancient empires, colonial ambition, and modern creative energy. Complimentary arrival transfers are included, allowing a seamless introduction.

Those arriving early may join a guided visit to the Museo Vivo del Muralismo, where Mexican icon Diego Rivera’s monumental frescoes unfold across neocolonial courtyards, capturing revolution, ritual and everyday life at a defining moment in Mexican history (available to prebook on request).

As evening falls, gather for a welcome dinner at Café de Tacuba, a beloved Mexico City institution housed in a beautifully preserved early 20th-century building near the Zócalo. Enjoy a menu inspired by traditional Mexican home cooking, offering a warm introduction to the flavours and hospitality that define the country.

  • Accommodation:Histórico Central
  • Meals included:Dinner
Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

Begin the day on the Xochimilco canals, boarding a traditional trajinera boat to glide through the ecological reserve. Visit a working chinampa (floating farm) to learn how this ancient Aztec agricultural system still sustains the city from a chinampero farmer, with time to participate and understand conservation efforts. Lunch is served aboard the trajinera, celebrating classic local cuisine.

Continue south to the artistic district of Coyoacán, where cobbled streets and leafy plazas reveal a slower rhythm to the capital.

Signature Experience: Here, we gain a private insight into the life of Frida Kahlo, visiting her family’s home, Casa Roja, which has recently been transformed into the Museo Casa Kahlo. Our exploration is elevated by a family member, friend, or specialist, who provides unique insight into the work, personal items, and artistic origins of Mexico’s iconic artist.

Later, we plunge into the colour and drama of Lucha Libre – Mexican wrestling – at Arena México, ending the day in true Mexican style.

  • Accommodation:Histórico Central
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch
Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

For an unforgettable start, take to the skies by hot-air balloon at dawn, drifting above Teotihuacán as first light reaches the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon (available on request).

The whole group then explores Teotihuacán together, one of the greatest ancient cities of the Americas. Walk the Avenue of the Dead, tracing the scale, ceremony and enduring mysteries of this ancient metropolis.

Continue to Puebla, stopping for a relaxed tortería lunch, before visiting a talavera workshop, where artisans demonstrate techniques refined over centuries.

This evening, gather in Puebla’s historic centre for dinner, with the city’s celebrated mole (mole Poblano) at the heart of the menu.

  • Accommodation:Casona de los Sapos
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

Signature Experience: Begin in Puebla’s historic centre, taking in the cathedral and Plaza de la Constitución before a local historian joins you at the Biblioteca Palafoxiana. Founded in 1646, the oldest public library in the Americas reveals centuries of scholarship through its remarkable collection.

Continue south to Zapotitlán Salinas for a lunch shaped by ingredients from the surrounding cactus forests, followed by a guided walk through the Jardín Botánico among soaring columnar cacti.

Arrive in Oaxaca this afternoon and settle into your Signature Stay, Quinta Real, a restored 16th-century convent centred on peaceful courtyards and arcaded cloisters.

  • Accommodation:Quinta Real
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch

Signature Experience: Rise early to visit Monte Albán, beating the crowds to explore the great ruins with an archaeologist specialising in Zapotec culture. From its elevated plateau, discover temples, tombs, and plazas that once governed the valleys below, gaining a special insight into the once-great city.

Later, travel to San Antonio Arrazola, home of the alebrije makers, where we enjoy a special insight into the vivid carved figures that reflect imagination rooted in folk tradition.

Lunch is shared locally before returning to Oaxaca for a guided visit to the Museo Cultural de Oaxaca, housed within a former Dominican monastery and home to exceptional Mixtec goldwork. This evening, relax and explore the many dining options Oaxaca has to offer or ask your Signature Guide for their top recommendations.

  • Accommodation:Quinta Real
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch
Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

Today is your Signature Day, where you can select an authentic, curated experience to connect deeply with Mexican culture. You could:

  • Hike ancient Zapotec trails between the communities of Benito Juárez and La Nevería, crossing the fields of the Zapotecs with views over the Sierra Madre peaks, while learning how these villages sustain their land and traditions (8am-4pm)
  • Travel to weaving and pottery villages with a director from the Museo Estatal de Artes Popular, observing natural dyeing, black clay ceramics, and the evolution of regional craft from workshop to museum (8am-4pm)
  • Follow Oaxaca’s evolving traditions, from the spare Dominican lines of Cuilapam’s 16th-century convent to a family mezcal palenque in Santa Catarina Minas, concluding with a guided mezcal tasting (8.30am-2pm)

Regather this evening for dinner at Casa Oaxaca, where Chef Alejandro Ruiz’s refined Oaxacan cooking is served with rooftop views of Santo Domingo, mezcal in hand, and regional flavours at their most expressive.

  • Accommodation:Quinta Real
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner
Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

Signature Experience: Begin the day in Oaxaca’s markets alongside Gladis, a Zapotec chef, selecting seasonal ingredients before returning to her home kitchen. Cook together with her family, learning the foundations of Oaxacan cuisine while tasting local bites and beverages. Lunch is shared as part of the experience.

This afternoon, travel south toward the Pacific coast, descending from highland valleys to warmer shores. En route, we pause at Playa Escobilla to join a local NGO for a turtle hatchling-observation experience, supporting local conservation efforts before arriving this evening at Bahías de Huatulco on the south coast, where calm Pacific waters, coastal light, and natural beauty define refined seaside living.

  • Accommodation:Casa Bocana
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch
Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

Signature Experience: Embark on an unforgettable boat tour through the stunning Bahías de Huatulco, following rugged coastlines, where the hills are covered in tropical dry forest. In Bahía Cacaluta, clear waters invite you to swim and snorkel among angelfish, parrotfish, and butterflyfish darting around coral. Continue to Bahía Maguey, wherewe dine at a beachside restaurant, enjoying fresh ceviche, accompanied by hand-pressed tortillas. After, simply unwind on the sandy beach with a refreshing agua de coco or a margarita in hand before heading back to the hotel for a relaxed afternoon at leisure.

This evening, we gather for a farewell dinner at Casa Bocana, an oceanfront restaurant known for its thoughtful, ingredient-led Mexican cooking. Meet the chef behind the kitchen and enjoy a refined menu shaped by the Pacific, seasonal produce, and Oaxaca’s coastal flavours.

  • Accommodation:Casa Bocana
  • Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

Bid farewell to Mexico today, taking your complimentary departure transfer to the airport. If time allows, linger a little longer—perhaps with a final coffee, or one last glance at the landscapes that shaped your journey.

Alternatively, open a new chapter of discovery by speaking to your Signature Collection travel expert about extending your stay.

  • Meals included:Breakfast

Dates & Prices

Accommodation

Experience the best of Mexican hospitality

Every aspect of the Signature Collection is meticulously planned to take you deeper into the destination. That means your accommodation is a refined showcase of local hospitality, whether you’re staying in a pioneering luxury hotel or enjoying privileged access to a characterful stay designed to fully immerse you in the local culture.

Below are the accommodations we use on this adventure:

Mexico City: Histórico Central (nights 1-2)

Histórico Central

Begin the journey with a stay at this elegantly restored colonial property. It’s just a short walk from the Zócalo, the capital’s central square, providing easy access to many of the city’s major landmarks. When you’re not out exploring, take advantage of the complimentary snacks, drinks and light meals at the in-house Café Central – available 24/7.

Puebla: Casona de los Sapos (night 3)

Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

In Puebla’s historic centre, stay within a restored colonial mansion overlooking the Plazuela de los Sapos, long associated with artisans and antique traders. Facilities include a rooftop terrace and pool, spa, and refined dining spaces, all framed by period architecture. Its location allows evenings to unfold naturally, stepping from tiled corridors into streets where Puebla’s culinary and craft traditions continue long after daylight fades.

Oaxaca: Quinta Real (nights 4-6)

Quinta Real

Our Signature Stay occupies the restored 16th-century Convent of Santa Catalina de Siena in Oaxaca’s historic centre. Follow stone corridors into peaceful cloisters and courtyards, cool off in the outdoor swimming pool, or make use of the hotel gym. El Refectorio restaurant showcases Oaxacan flavours, while Las Bugambilias bar specialises in mezcal and cocktails and Las Novicias adds live music in the evenings.

Pacific Coast: Casa Bocana (nights 7-8)

Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

Your journey concludes at a design-led coastal hideaway near La Bocana Beach. Casa Bocana centres on open spaces, ocean air, and a strong culinary identity, with an outdoor pool, terraces, and restaurant that highlights coastal ingredients. This final stay invites reflection, whether unwinding between swims or gathering for a farewell dinner that brings the journey’s culinary narrative full circle.

  • Enhance your stay: Personalise your experience with curated room upgrades and additional nights tailored to your travel plans.

Essential Information

We have graded this trip Activity Level 2 (Easy & Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page.

Driving times: The longest travel time takes place on Day 4, a journey of approximately four hours. All other journeys are shorter, generally ranging between 1hr and 3hr 30min.

Signature Day: Select from a curated menu of optional experiences to create a day that is personal to you, or choose to slow the pace and enjoy the facilities of your accommodation. Simply prebook your chosen experience at least 60 days before departure through your Signature Collection travel expert. Additionally, an optional tour can be prebooked if you arrive early on Day 1.

To help you decide on your Signature Day, here are the essential details:

Hike Benito Juárez and La Nevería: Good fitness levels and experience hiking on natural trails recommended

  • Altitude: 6,550ft-10,500ft (2,000m-3,200m)
  • Distance: 5mi (8km)

Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual

As with all adventures in the Signature Collection, we take care of your arrival and departure transfers, allowing you to fully relax and immerse yourself in the local culture.

  • Arrival airport: Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)
    • Your adventure begins with a welcome reception at 6pm on Day 1 at our first accommodation.
  • Departure airport: Bahías de Huatulco International Airport (HUX)
    • Your adventure concludes after breakfast on the final day – transfers are available to Bahías de Huatulco International Airport (HUX).
    • Transfers can also be arranged to Puerto Escondido International Airport (PMX) with a supplement fee

Complimentary arrival and departure transfers are included between the airport and the tour’s designated start and end hotels on the first and last day of your tour. If you book additional pre-tour or post-tour nights at the designated start or end hotel through Exodus, your complimentary transfer will also be valid for those arrival and departure dates.

Additional charges may apply for transfers on different dates or to and from alternative hotels within the same city. To ensure arrangements can be made, complimentary transfers must be requested through your Signature Collection Travel Expert at least two weeks before your tour departure date.

Mexico

Visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

If you are travelling via the USA and are eligible to transit under the Visa Waiver Program, you are required to register in advance for an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). There is a US$21 charge, which is only payable online. Please see our website www.exodus.co.uk/usvisa for further information.

Please note, not all nationalities have the same eligibility for travel to or transit via the USA, and you may not be covered by the visa waiver program. Regulations stipulate that any person who has travelled to Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen since March 2011, or have dual nationalities of these countries, may no longer qualify. In addition, if you have travelled to Cuba since 12 January 2021 you will not be eligible for the visa waiver program and should instead apply for a visa.

If you are in doubt of your eligibility, please check the visa requirements with your local US embassy.

Mexican cuisine is defined by history, ritual, and regional pride. Across this journey, food is shared with cooks, families, and specialists who preserve its meaning. From market-led Oaxacan cooking and ancestral traditions to refined coastal seafood, each meal reveals why Mexican cuisine is among the world’s most beloved and enduring. Where meals are not included, your Signature Guide will be on hand with considered recommendations, whether you choose to dine together or enjoy the evening at your own pace.

This journey spans Mexico’s temperate highlands and warmer Pacific coast. Elevated cities enjoy warm days and cooler evenings, while Huatulco offers sea-breezed warmth year-round. The drier months, from November to April, suit cultural exploration and coastal time; greener summer months bring short showers and softer light.

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

We also weave Signature Legacy moments into your itinerary, so the positive impact of your trip lasts long after your stay. These are moments to remember which help people and nature thrive, ensuring you build a harmonious, positive connection with the places you visit.

On this journey, you can:

  • Support marine conservation with a guided turtle hatchling-observation experience, joining a local NGO who are safeguarding nesting sites and fragile coastal ecosystems.
  • Sustain ancestral agriculture by working a living chinampa alongside a local farmer, learning how this pre-Hispanic system nourishes biodiversity, filters water naturally, and sustains Mexico City’s food future.
  • Preserve culinary heritage by cooking with a Zapotec family, sourcing ingredients at market, preparing regional dishes together, and supporting the transmission of knowledge across generations.

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Signature Mexico | Among Ruins & Ritual