.Maximizing a 6hrs layover in Mexico City

What started as a cheap flight from Rio to Toronto, turned into an opportunity to explore one of the most important cultural and financial centres in North America! I know, it sounds a little strange to fly 10 hrs in the opposite direction to save money but I had always wanted to go to Mexico City and it was over $1000 flight savings so I geared up to share our adventure maximizing a 6hrs layover in Mexico City! Already set to book? Here is the tour I booked through Viator!

6:45am – Customs:

Arriving in Mexico City bright and early, we were actually the last passengers to get off our plane. I make mention of this because it most likely played a part in how long we waited to pass through customs, which was an hour. So it’s safe to say that is probably a worst case scenario when planning your schedule.

7:45 – Checked Luggage:

After customs we had to pick up our checked luggage which was already waiting for us off the conveyer belt being the last passengers. We then had to put it through the security scanners before loading it onto the “transfer conveyor belt”

 

8:30am – Carry-on Luggage storage lockers:

Unfortunately my travel companion had been under the weather so we didn’t pre-book our itinerary for our layover. After we dropped our checked bags we took about 20 mins down time to get a game plan in place and find a place to store our carry-on during our layover. As luck would have it we found a walking tour that started at 9:30 am in the city centre that would fit our timeline perfectly. We arrived at T2 and there was a place to store luggage in the lower level of T2. Here’s some pro tips about the luggage storage place we used:

  • Open 24hrs/365 days per year
  • Located between gates 3 & 4
  • Phone: (55) 4313 0259
  • Cash only (there’s a currency exchange right across the hall)
  • Luggage storage is for a maximum of 24hrs
  • 150 pesos per locker (we had two so we paid 300/$24 CDN/$18 USD)
  • Maximum 2 bags per locker

T1 also has locker storage in halls A and E2. Phone: (55) 5802 8467

8:35am – Uber:

Our Uber arrived and we were en route for our 35 minutes ride to the Heart of Mexico!

9:05am – 9:30am – Exploring the heart of Mexico:

There was a Christmas festival taking place Constitution Square so our driver couldn’t drop us off at our exact meeting place; the Metropolitan Cathedral, which worked out great because we got to take in some more sights walking to it from the drop off spot. Christmas is a magical time of year in Mexico city and everything was festively decorated. Book the tour we did through Viator here! We saw:

  • Constitution Square
  • The Presidents Office and Residence
  • The 3rd largest flag in Mexico weighing in at 240 kilos
  • Souvenirs stands
  • Christmas trees and decorations everywhere!

9:30am – Walking tour meeting point:

We met our guide near the picture stand outside of the cathedral. Other participants were a little slow to arrive and then some had to use the restroom so we started the tour a little bit late. We decided we’d stay with the tour until 11 and then branch off to do the Post Office oursleves before returning to the airport. We decided to allow ourselves 2 hrs to get back to the airport, through security and back on our next flight which meant we had to be in our Uber at 11:30am.

9:30am-11:30am – Walking tour:

We chose the Mexico City Historic Downtown Walking Tour. We learned all about the city’s 700 years of history and the origins of Mexico City, the Aztecs, the archeological sites and more! I love booking guided tours because you learn so much about where you are. Thanks to our guide we had a much better understanding of Mexico City, their practices, beliefs etc! Fun Fact! Did you know that all of the archeological sites have free access because the government believes they are for all to share?! I loved this! The sights and sites we saw during our tour included:

  • Zocalo Square aka Constitution Square and the 3rd largest square in the world
  • Tabuca Street aka the oldest street in America
  • The Aztec Ruins
  • The building home to the newly found wall of 484 skulls
  • Other buildings of significance on Tabuca St.
  • Bronze art benches
  • The Red Church
  • The Metropolitan Cathedral
  • Souvenir Stands

11:00am – electric bike taxi:

Shortly before 11am, while inside the cathedral, we excused ourselves from the group to make our way to see the post office independently. Officially our tour could last up to 3 hrs and we didn’t have time to complete the whole tour with our guide. Our guide told us it was about a 10 minutes walk so to be conservative with our time we decide to hire an electric bike driver to take us there. It was a great experience and actually quite a ways away so it was the perfect decision for our limited time frame. This cost us 150 pesos (approx $12 CDN/$9 USD for 2 people but I am pretty sure we overpaid!

11:10am – Post Office Building:

From the outside where we were dropped, the post office didn’t look as spectacular as I was expecting but inside, with it’s highly eclectic architectural style, it more than made up for it. It was hard not to be impressed by it’s opulance with an abundance of polished brass everywhere and even places painted with 24 carat gold. Ornaments and floors made of marble, plaster of paris and white cantera stone are throughout and the materials and designs were a combination of European and Mexican influence.

 

             11:30 – Uber and views of the National Art Museum & El Caballito:

El Caballito is a statue of CharkesIV of Spain, the King before Mexico became independant. He sits out front of the National Art Museum which is just down the street from the Post Office . We were able to see it from a distance as we waited for our Uber. Then it was back to the airport.

Conclusion:

Our decision to leave for the airport at 11:30am for our 1:30pm flight was the PERFECT timing! T1 turned out to be a fair distance from T2, especially to our gate. We took a train a between terminals and then walked quite a distance. We also stopped at MacDonalds to sample their local pie flavour which turned out to be cheese. Ultimately, we arrived at our gate with about 15 mins to spare before boarding. It ended up being a short but sweet visit with just over 2 hrs of exploration time and I thoroughly enjoyed our time maximizing a 6hrs layover in Mexico City. Click here to book the same tour as us through Viator!

Do you love Time Hack Travel like maximizing a 6hrs layover in Mexico City? Check out this blog about how I maximized a 6hrs layover in Doha! https://jenzjourneys.com/experience-the-magic-of-doha-epic-6-hr-layover-as-a-solo-female-traveller/