Mexico State (Estado de México) is the country's most populous state, a horseshoe-shaped territory wrapped around Mexico City that ranges from the dense urban sprawl of the Toluca and Mexico City metropolitan zones to pine forests, volcanoes, colonial silver and monastery towns, and monarch butterfly wintering grounds. It holds more of the Teotihuacan archaeological site than Mexico City does, along with the lakeside town of Valle de Bravo, the ceramics town of Metepec, and the state capital, Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico's highest state capital.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Teotihuacan Archaeological Zone
Teotihuacan is one of the largest pre-Hispanic cities in the Americas, its Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon rising along the Avenue of the Dead about 48 km northeast of Mexico City in Mexico State. The site is reached by a roughly 1 to 1.5 hour drive along the Autopista México-Pirámides or a direct bus from Mexico City's Terminal de Autobuses del Norte, and is open daily from 8:00am to 5:00pm with entry around MXN 210 (about USD 12) per person. A visit typically covers the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, the Ciudadela with the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, and the site museum.
Highlights: Pyramid of the Sun, the third-largest pyramid in the world by base area · Pyramid of the Moon and its adjoining plaza at the north end of the Avenue of the Dead · Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Quetzalcóatl) within the Ciudadela complex · Site museum with artifacts and a scale model of the ancient city · Wide valley views from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun
Tepotzotlán and the Museo Nacional del Virreinato
Tepotzotlán is a Pueblo Mágico about 40-45 km north of Mexico City, built around the former Jesuit College of San Francisco Javier, whose Churrigueresque church and cloisters now house the Museo Nacional del Virreinato, one of Mexico's largest collections of colonial-era art. A day trip typically covers the museum's rooms and gilded church interior, the town's central plaza, and the surrounding market streets, and the town is well known for its December pastorela theatrical performances re-enacting the nativity story.
Highlights: Museo Nacional del Virreinato, one of Mexico's largest colonial-art collections · Church of San Francisco Javier with elaborate Churrigueresque gilded altarpieces · Plaza Virreinal and surrounding artisan and market streets · December pastorela nativity performances in the former college courtyards
Valle de Bravo and Lake Avándaro
Valle de Bravo is a whitewashed colonial lakeside town about 75 km southwest of Toluca, built around the artificial Lake Avándaro reservoir that draws sailors, paragliders, and weekenders from Mexico City. A day trip typically combines a walk through the cobblestone center and market, a boat ride or lakeside meal at the Avándaro marina, and a stop at the nearby Velo de Novia waterfall, with paragliding launches on the surrounding hillsides adding a dramatic overhead view of the lake for more adventurous visitors.
Highlights: Lake Avándaro reservoir with sailing, kayaking, and waterskiing · Whitewashed colonial center around the Parroquia de San Francisco de Asís · Velo de Novia waterfall hike, about 5 km from the town center · Paragliding launches on the surrounding hillsides with tandem flights over the lake
Malinalco Archaeological Zone
Malinalco is a Pueblo Mágico about 65 km south of Toluca, its Aztec archaeological zone carved directly into the bedrock of a hill called Cerro de los Ídolos above the town. The site's rock-cut Templo Monolítico, believed to have served as a temple for Aztec eagle and jaguar warriors, sits at the top of a steep stone staircase of more than 400 steps, reached after a climb of 30-45 minutes. A day trip pairs the archaeological zone with a walk through the town's colonial center and the 16th-century Augustinian monastery, plus a stop at its well-regarded market for local produce and crafts.
Highlights: Templo Monolítico rock-cut temple believed used by Aztec eagle and jaguar warriors · Climb of more than 400 stone steps up Cerro de los Ídolos with valley views · 16th-century Augustinian Convento del Divino Salvador with preserved frescoes · Malinalco's regional market known for produce, textiles, and pottery
Nevado de Toluca National Park
Nevado de Toluca, also known by its Nahuatl name Xinantécatl, is Mexico's fourth-highest peak, its wide summit caldera holding two crater lakes - Laguna del Sol and Laguna de la Luna - at about 4,200 meters elevation, roughly 22-45 km southwest of Toluca. A day trip drives up the mountain road to a parking area near the crater rim, then walks down into the caldera to reach the lakeshores, a moderate hike at high altitude that rewards visitors with striking turquoise-green water framed by the crater walls. The park's alpine forest lower down also offers shorter walking trails and picnic areas for a less strenuous visit.
Highlights: Laguna del Sol and Laguna de la Luna, two crater lakes at about 4,200 meters elevation · Wide 1.5-km summit caldera of Mexico's fourth-highest peak · Views extending toward the Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl volcanoes on clear days · Alpine pine and fir forest trails lower down the mountain for a less strenuous visit
Ixtapan de la Sal
Ixtapan de la Sal is a spa town about 70 km south of Toluca built around natural thermal mineral springs, its two main facilities - the Parque Acuático Ixtapan water park and the more traditional Balneario Municipal - drawing day-trippers for slides, wave pools, and warm mineral soaking respectively. The Parque Acuático combines a wave pool, water slides, and a lazy river with an adjoining amusement-park zone, open daily from about 9am to 5:30pm, while the Balneario Municipal offers a simpler, more local thermal-bathing experience near the town center.
Highlights: Parque Acuático Ixtapan water park with a wave pool, slides, and lazy river · Balneario Municipal traditional thermal mineral-spring bathing · Adjoining amusement-park zone at the water park · Warm mineral water year-round, comfortable even in winter
Metepec
Metepec, a Pueblo Mágico about 9 km southeast of Toluca, is renowned across Mexico for its Árbol de la Vida (Tree of Life) ceramic sculptures, elaborate clay pieces produced by generations of local artisan families and sold in workshops throughout the town. A day trip typically combines a walk through the colonial center around the Parroquia de San Juan Bautista and the Ex-Convento Franciscano with visits to several ceramic workshops, and the town is especially lively around the Day of the Dead season in late October and early November.
Highlights: Árbol de la Vida (Tree of Life) ceramic workshops, Mexico's best-known center for the craft · Parroquia de San Juan Bautista and the Ex-Convento Franciscano in the colonial center · Museo Universitario Leopoldo Flores contemporary art museum · Especially lively Day of the Dead season with themed ceramic displays in late October-early November
Acolman Ex-Convento de San Agustín
The Ex-Convento de San Agustín Acolman is a fortress-like 16th-century Augustinian monastery about 20 minutes south of Teotihuacan, its plateresque stone facade and preserved cloister murals among the best examples of early colonial religious architecture in Mexico State. A short stop of about an hour covers the church interior, the cloister, and the small site museum, making it an easy add-on for visitors already heading to or from the Teotihuacan pyramids along the same highway.
Highlights: Fortress-like 16th-century Augustinian monastery with plateresque stone facade · Preserved grisaille cloister murals from the early colonial period · Small site museum on the monastery's Augustinian history · December posada market known regionally for piñatas
Calixtlahuaca Archaeological Zone
Calixtlahuaca is a compact archaeological zone about 8 km northwest of downtown Toluca, its terraced hillside holding the remains of a pre-Hispanic Matlatzinca and later Aztec settlement, including a distinctive circular temple dedicated to the wind god Ehécatl. The site sees far fewer visitors than Teotihuacan or Malinalco, making for an uncrowded hour-long visit, and its elevated position offers wide views over the Toluca Valley.
Highlights: Circular Temple of Ehécatl, the Aztec wind god, a distinctive round-temple design · Terraced hillside settlement with Matlatzinca and later Aztec construction phases · Wide views over the Toluca Valley and toward Nevado de Toluca on clear days · Uncrowded compared with Teotihuacan or Malinalco
Teotenango Archaeological Zone
Teotenango is a fortified hilltop archaeological zone about 22 km south of Toluca, its stone plazas and ballcourts built by the Matlatzinca people atop a defensible mesa overlooking the Toluca Valley. The site includes a small on-site museum covering the region's pre-Hispanic history, and its elevated, walled position offers some of the widest valley views of any archaeological site near Toluca.
Highlights: Fortified hilltop mesa settlement built by the Matlatzinca people · Two ballcourts and interconnected stone ceremonial plazas · Small on-site museum covering Matlatzinca and Aztec-period artifacts · Wide valley views from the elevated, naturally defensible site
Santuario Piedra Herrada Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary
Piedra Herrada is a monarch butterfly overwintering sanctuary in the municipality of Temascaltepec, part of the UNESCO-designated Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve and reached by a roughly 45-minute drive from Valle de Bravo or about 2 hours from Toluca. Visitors hike or ride horseback up a forested trail of about 3.3 miles round trip to reach the fir groves where millions of monarchs cluster on tree branches from mid-November through March, forming one of the most accessible monarch colonies near central Mexico City and Toluca.
Highlights: Millions of overwintering monarch butterflies clustered in oyamel fir groves, mid-November through March · Roughly 3.3-mile round-trip forest trail with horseback riding available for the uphill climb · Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve · One of the most accessible monarch sanctuaries from Toluca, Valle de Bravo, or Mexico City
Lagunas de Zempoala National Park
Lagunas de Zempoala is a high-altitude national park straddling the Mexico State-Morelos border, about 60-65 km southeast of Toluca, protecting a cluster of small natural lagoons set in dense pine and fir forest at around 2,800-3,000 meters elevation. Visitors rent canoes or rowboats on the main lagoon, walk forest trails connecting the smaller lakes, and pass small chapel ruins scattered through the park, making it a cool, forested change of pace from the drier lower-elevation day trips closer to Toluca.
Highlights: Canoe and rowboat rental on the forest-ringed Laguna Zempoala · Walking trails connecting several smaller lagoons through pine and fir forest · Small colonial-era chapel ruins scattered through the park · High-altitude pine forest that stays cool year-round
Trips by distance
How far you can go in a day.
Getting there
Transport options for day trips.
- Tours
- Organized day tours from Mexico City to Teotihuacan run from about MXN 600-1,400 (USD 35-82) per person including round-trip transport and sometimes a guide; tours from Toluca or Mexico City to Valle de Bravo or the Nevado de Toluca crater run from about MXN 900-1,800 (USD 53-106) per person
- Private
- Private driver hire for a full day runs from about MXN 1,800-3,000 (USD 106-176); useful for combining Malinalco with a stop in Tenancingo, or for reaching the Nevado de Toluca crater and Piedra Herrada sanctuary without relying on infrequent local transport
- Public
- First-class buses (Caminante, Zina, Flecha Roja, Autovías) connect Toluca's Terminal Tollocan with Valle de Bravo and Ixtapan de la Sal; second-class buses from Mexico City's Terminal de Autobuses del Norte serve Teotihuacan and Acolman directly
- Rental
- Car rental from about MXN 650-700/day (USD 38-41/day); the most flexible way to combine Metepec, Calixtlahuaca, and Teotenango in a single day around Toluca, or to reach the Nevado de Toluca crater road and Piedra Herrada sanctuary on an independent schedule
Day trip tips
Make the most of your excursions.
Base decisions on direction rather than distance alone - Mexico State's day trips fan out from Toluca and Mexico City in several directions (north toward Teotihuacan and Tepotzotlán, west toward Valle de Bravo, south toward Malinalco and Ixtapan de la Sal), and combining destinations from different directions in one day is impractical
Use the Tren Interurbano México-Toluca between Observatorio and Zinacantepec for the fastest Mexico City-Toluca connection now that the full line is running as of February 2026
A rental car offers the most flexibility for the southern day trips (Malinalco, Teotenango, Ixtapan de la Sal) and for reaching the Nevado de Toluca crater or Piedra Herrada sanctuary, none of which have direct public transport to the final destination
First-class buses (Caminante, Zina, Flecha Roja) reliably connect Toluca's Terminal Tollocan with Valle de Bravo and Ixtapan de la Sal; Teotihuacan and Acolman are better reached from Mexico City's Terminal de Autobuses del Norte than from Toluca
Bring cash for smaller towns - card acceptance drops off quickly outside Toluca and Metepec's central shopping areas
Visit Piedra Herrada or another monarch sanctuary only from mid-November through March, when the overwintering colonies are actually present
Dress in layers for any high-altitude day trip (Nevado de Toluca, Piedra Herrada, Lagunas de Zempoala) - temperatures can swing from warm midday sun to near-freezing mornings and evenings