6 Best Ways to Tour Teotihuacan from Mexico City

The Teotihuacan Pyramids are one of Mexico’s most famous landmarks, and for good reason. It’s a massive UNESCO-designated ancient archeological site known for its enormous pre-Columbian structures and gruesome sacrifices.

After visiting the site a couple of times, we thought it was worth putting together a helpful guide based on our visits to Teotihuacan and four years living in Mexico.

Here, we share our short list and recommendations for best ways to tour Teotihuacan from Mexico City, including a mix of guided tours and how to do this thing on your own.

We tried to include tips and information we’re pretty sure you won’t find in most other guides on the subject.

So, without further ado, let’s jump in!

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Pyramid of the Sun tour Teotihuacan from Mexico City

The Best Ways to Tour Teotihuacan from Mexico City

From two-hour private luxury and sunset cruises to full day experiences for a range of budgets, Lori and I have included a range of options for every type of travel style and budget.

Full-Day Guided Tour

Our Top Choice!

We think that this Teotihuacán full-day guided tour from Mexico City is your best bet if you’re looking for the easiest way to do a tour of the pyramids from CDMX.

Booking this top-rated tour online means you don’t have to haggle or even speak Spanish.

They pick you up at the point you choose in Mexico City, drive you to the archeological park, and a knowledgeable English-speaking guide leads you around the site. Afterwards, a local lunch is included before taking you back to the city.

This tour even offers optional bikes included in the price (we highly recommend taking them up on that as this is a big park!).

Hot Air Baloon Tour

Birdseye View Experience

hot air balloons over Teotihuacan tour pyramids — Ana Karla Parra / Unsplash

A lot of travelers we’ve talked to say that the best way to see the pyramids is not on the ground but from overhead in a hot air balloon.

And this top-rated hot air balloon flight over Teotihuacan by Volare is our first choice from Mexico City.

Flights range from 30-50 minutes and take in all the pyramids of Teotihuacan (dependent on weather). And an average 5/5 stars from over 2,000 customers is icing on the cake!

Also, be sure to check out this full-day Teotihuacan hot air balloon flight with options to add a guided tour of the pyramids and visit to the Shrine of Guadalupe.

Private Tour

Tour at Your Own Pace

We really enjoyed our own private tour of Teotihuacan and strongly recommend going this route for those considering a more customized experience that goes at your pace.

If you’re basing yourself in CDMX and don’t want to go through the hassle of getting yourself to Teotihuacan on your own, then tracking down a guide (like we did), we think you should check out this top-rated Teotihuacan guided private tour from Mexico City.

Bike Tour

Bike the Area & Explore the Pyramids on Foot

Next time we tour Teotihuacan, we’d like to see it on a bike tour, and this guided Teotihuacán bike tour experience would be our first choice.

We’ve been to a lot of archeological parks over the years, and this one more than any other lends itself to biking—owing to its massive size and flat and well-maintained paths.

The tour we’ve linked to is unique as it also takes you through the surrounded village and includes visits to local artesan workshops.

All-in-One Tour

Most Immersive Option

No doubt, the pyramids are the main attraction in Teotihuacan. But there’s a lot more worth seeing than just the UNESCO archeological site.

This top-rated full-day all-in-one Teotihuacan tour includes visits to the pyramids, Guadalupe Shrine, Tlatelolco, and even tequila tasting!

If you’ve got the time, we think this tour is hard to beat for value and number of attractions.

Do it Yourself!

Get There on Your Own Steam

Finally, if you’re keen to put together the whole thing together on your own (with or without hiring a guide at the front gate), there’s a few things you’ll probably want to know before setting off.

Here is our guide to putting together a DIY tour of Teotihuacan, including essential information, our own trip report, and getting their on your own.

How to Tour Teotihuacan Pyramids on Your Own (DIY)

Essential Info for Visiting

Good to Know

First, there are a few things we think you might want to know about doing this on your own from Mexico City.

For one, you’re probably going to want to be pretty comfortable with your conversational Spanish skills. It’s certainly possible to DIY this without Spanish, but it won’t be easy.
Two, you’re looking at either spending a good portion of your day on public transit, or a fairly expensive taxi/Uber ride between central CDMX and the pyramids.
This is a very popular attraction in Mexico and during much of the year it can also be quite hot. We recommend visiting as midweek if possible and as early in the day as possible. So… if you’re planning on taking public transport, you may want to consider staying in Teotihuacan Town (San Juan Teotihuacán) at least one night beforehand.
The Teotihuacan archeological park requires a lot of walking (or biking) because the sights are spread out over about 1.5 miles. You’ll want to factor this in when planning your trip to and from the park.
Also keep in mind that the elevation of the pyramids is just over 7,500 feet above sea level. If you plan to see Teotihuacan as part of a visit to Mexico City and you’re not already aclimated to the high elevation, we recommend not making it your first stop. Spending a few days in and around Mexico City (elev. 7,350 ft.) before tackling a full day tour will likely pay off.

Keep reading to the end of this article for our tips on getting to Teotihuacan from CDMX via public transport.

Opening Hours

Official hours of the archeological site are from 8am to 5:00pm daily (the last tickets are sold at 4:30pm), though hours can change without notice for holidays and special events.

Midweek in September, we arrived at the park around 9:30am and crowds were still pretty minimal. However, by noon, it was a madhouse. So…we recommend getting there as early as you can.

Admission Fees

Entrance to the archeological site currently costs MX$95 per person. Children 12 and under are free.

Our Teotihuacan Pyramids Experience

Our most recent visit to the pyramids was in early September while we were staying in the Pueblo Magico of San Juan Teotihuacán (Teotihuacan Town), a mere 45-minute walk from the site.

September being rainy season, we’d been in town for a few days watching the forecast when a nice weather window opened up.

We took an Uber from central Teotihuacan, planning to walk back afterwards if we still had the energy.

The archeological park is a sprawling site measuring around 1.5 miles long by 3/4 mile wide, so we wanted to arrive fresh in anticipation of a lot of walking.

We don’t usually spring for a guide, but thought we’d give it a go this time around (an English-speaking one at that!), and were pretty happy with our decision, though the guides aren’t cheap.

We were told that if we wanted to hire a guide, the best thing to do is enter through Gate 1, which also happens to be the closest gate to town.

The other advantage of starting at Gate 1 is that you see the smaller, lesser-known structures first, saving the most impressive pyramids for the grand finale.

Fresh out of the gate, the first structure we come upon is the Templo de Quetzalcóatl, also known as the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. This is one of the earliest surviving structures, dating back about 2,000 years.

There is a smaller structure that you have to ascend first (above) to see the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, below.

From the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, we got our first clear view of the Temple of the Sun, and the Temple of the Moon beyond.

The city of Teotihuacan dates back to 100 BCE and flourished until its decline began around 800 CE.

The Temple of the Sun was built about 200 years after the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, when the center of the city was moved to what is now known as the Avenue of the Dead.

From here, it’s a long stroll to the Temple of the Sun (about a mile total). Fortunately, it’s rainy season, which means cooler temperatures than what Teotihuacan often gets. But no rain this morning!

The East Plaza houses an interesting collection of municipal buildings. But we were eager to head on to the Big Enchilada.

Independence Day is just around the corner. In addition to touring one of the world’s top archeological sites today, we were also treated to a number of practice runs for a big air show in a few days. Helicopters, vintage aircraft, and Mexico’s version of the Blue Angels.

The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest structure in the park and the second largest pyramid in the Western Hemisphere after the Great Pyramid of Cholula.

Not so long ago, you could climb to the top of the pyramid (Lori got to do this when she visited several years ago). But that all changed during Covid. It’s not clear if or when they’ll open it back up. For now, we can only admire it from below.

Avenida de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead). These days, it’s a popular place for hawkers to set up. It’s also the busiest part of the park.

The Avenue of the Dead culminates in a grand plaza watched over by the Pyramid of the Moon.

The walls of the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl were restored to show off its vivid painted murals and stone carvings.

When we had seen all that we could see in the archeological site, we moved on to the Museum, which is larger and more impressive than we were expecting.

The scale model and view of the Pyramid of the Sun were a highlight.

A full day of walking and exploring made us hungry. Fortunately, there are several options near the museum—the most famous being the aptly named La Gruta.

La Gruta’s got a long history and popularity all its own. We can’t think of too many other places we’ve dined in a massive underground grotto.

Prices are a bit high as you might expect, but we were able to find some reasonably-priced snacks, which were excellent.

It would be a superb place to celebrate an anniversary or something along those lines…if you happen to be in the area.

After refueling, we decided we were going to attempt the three-mile return trip to town on foot. Crazy after a long morning of walking? Perhaps. But that meant we got to go back through the park, which was a bit of a bonus.

It was a long walk back, but not too bad. In all, we covered just under nine miles walking today.

Getting to Teotihuacan from CMDX

If you’re planning a visit from Mexico City, we think by far the easiest way to get here is on one of the tours we’ve listed earlier in this guide.

The next easiest route from central CDMX is either by self-driving or taking a taxi or Uber. Keep in mind if you plan to do the taxi/Uber route, you may struggle to snag a return ride all the way back to central CDMX, so you may want to take a taxi and negotiate a roundtrip with waiting before you set off.

If you really want to tour Teotihuacan independly and on the cheap, it is possible to get there and back taking public transportion:

Your first step will be getting yourself to the Northern Bus Terminal (Terminal del Norte), which is here. It’s right on the Metro Yellow Line (Autobuses del Norte stop), which makes it relatively straightforward if you’re taking the subway train.

Inside the bus station, look for the windows that say “Pyramides” above them (near Puerta 8). You’ll be able to purchase a bus ticket all the way to Gate 2 of the archeological site (stay on through San Juan Teotihuacán).

There are lots of departures leaving Terminal del Norte and Teotihuacan multiple times an hour throughout the day.

Now, there’s also the option of using the Turibus and CapitalBus services from the Zocalo in Mexico City, so that might be more convenient. We suggest checking their respective websites for up-to-the-minute information.