What to Do in Your First 48 Hours

The anxious question is usually some version of “how do I not get ripped off the second I land?” The honest answer: you mostly won’t, if you get four small things right in the first two days. Money, a phone number, your ride from the airport, and a pocket of small cash for tips. Handle those and the rest of the trip gets easy. Everything below assumes you’re landing at a big gateway like Mexico City (AICM, Terminal 1 or 2), Cancún, or Guadalajara, but it works the same in Mérida, Oaxaca, or Puerto Vallarta.

At the airport: money first

Skip the currency exchange desks in the arrivals hall. Those bright kiosks with names like Global Exchange give you a rate that quietly costs you real money, and the “0% commission” sign is doing a lot of lying. Walk past them.

Find a bank ATM instead. Look for the machines actually attached to a bank brand: BBVA, Santander, Banorte, or HSBC. Avoid the standalone off-brand machines that advertise in English and promise “no fees” (Euronet is the one you’ll see most in tourist zones) because they hide the cost in a bad exchange rate and often a withdrawal fee of roughly 100 to 150 pesos per pull, approximate.

Two rules at the machine that save you the most:

When it asks whether to charge you in pesos or your home currency, always choose pesos. If you pick dollars or euros, the machine’s own conversion rate applies (this is “dynamic currency conversion”) and it’s worse every time. Let your own bank do the conversion.
Pull out a chunk at once. Withdrawal fees are usually per transaction, so taking out enough for several days beats four separate small withdrawals. Somewhere around 3,000 to 5,000 pesos is a comfortable first pull for most trips, approximate.

At AICM Terminal 1, the bank ATMs sit near the arrivals exits and along the corridor toward the Metro; in Cancún you’ll pass a row of them after immigration, mixed in with the exchange desks, so read the logos.

Get a SIM or eSIM

Data changes everything: maps, ride apps, translating a menu, checking whether the restaurant you’re walking to is actually open. Don’t rely on airport or hotel Wi-Fi to carry you around.

Telcel has the widest coverage in the country by a distance, especially once you leave the big cities for places like the Yucatán back roads or the Oaxaca coast. AT&T Mexico and Movistar are fine in cities and cheaper sometimes, but if you’re heading anywhere rural, Telcel is the friend-who-lives-here pick.

Two ways to do it:

Prepaid SIM: buy a Telcel “amigo” SIM. The easiest place is an Oxxo convenience store, which you’ll find on nearly every corner within a day. A SIM plus a data package (a paquete “Sin Límite”) runs roughly 200 to 300 pesos for a couple of weeks of data, approximate. Bring your passport just in case.
eSIM: if your phone supports it, you can buy and install a Mexico eSIM before you even board, so you land already connected. Slightly more expensive per gig than a local SIM, but you skip the store entirely.

Your first ride from the airport

This is where first-timers overpay, and it’s almost always avoidable. Do not follow anyone who approaches you inside offering a taxi. The guy who makes eye contact, grabs your bag, and names a price in the parking garage is the single most common way visitors lose 300 to 500 pesos on a ride that should cost less, approximate.

Instead, pick one of two clean options:

The official fixed-price taxi booth. At major airports you buy a ticket (“boleto”) from an authorized counter inside the terminal before you exit. The price is set by zone, printed on the ticket, and there’s no meter and no negotiation. In Mexico City look for the yellow Sitio 300 or Nueva Imagen counters inside; in Cancún the authorized desks are just past customs. Hand the ticket to the driver at the curb, tip a few pesos for bags, done.
A ride app. Uber and DiDi both work in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mérida, Puerto Vallarta, and most large cities, and they show the full price before you confirm. Cancún airport is the notable exception where app pickups have been restricted and messy for years, so there the fixed-price booth or a pre-booked shuttle is the safer call.

Whichever you choose, know the rough number before you get in. A ride from AICM into the Roma or Condesa neighborhoods is on the order of 200 to 350 pesos, approximate; Cancún airport to the Hotel Zone is much more, closer to 500 to 900 pesos, approximate, because it’s a long, monopolized run.

The small-cash habit that makes everything smoother

What a friend who lives here would tell you: keep small bills and coins on you from day one. Mexico runs on tips (“propinas”) and small cash payments, and the ATM’s crisp 500-peso notes are useless for most of them.

You’ll be tipping constantly, and it’s genuinely expected, not optional:

The kid bagging your groceries at the supermarket works for tips only, so 5 to 10 pesos, approximate.
The gas station attendant who pumps for you (nobody pumps their own here), 5 to 10 pesos, approximate.
The “franelero” watching parked cars on the street, a few coins.
Restaurant service, generally 10 to 15 percent, approximate, and check whether “propina” is already added before you double up.

Breaking a 500 into usable change is a daily quest, so whenever a taxi, a restaurant, or an Oxxo gives you the chance to receive smaller bills, take them. Ask “¿tiene cambio?” and hoard your 20s, 50s, and coins.

Settle in slow

Don’t schedule anything demanding for day one. The mistake is landing at noon and booking a 7 a.m. tour the next morning; you’ll be wrecked.

Eat close to where you’re staying the first night. Somewhere busy and local beats a big splashy reservation across town while you’re still finding your feet.
Drink bottled or filtered water until you know the situation where you are. Most hotels and rentals provide a garrafón (big jug) or filtered water; tap water isn’t reliably safe to drink even where locals cook with it. Skip ice only if you’re somewhere clearly informal; established restaurants use purified ice.
Respect the altitude if you’ve landed high. Mexico City sits at roughly 2,240 meters, and Puebla, Toluca, and San Cristóbal de las Casas are higher still. Go easy on the mezcal the first night, drink extra water, and don’t be surprised if stairs leave you winded.

The 48-hour checklist

Pesos from a bank ATM (BBVA, Santander, Banorte), charged in pesos, not your home currency
A working Telcel SIM or a Mexico eSIM for data everywhere
A fixed-price official taxi ticket, or Uber/DiDi where they operate (booth only at Cancún)
A pocket of 20s, 50s, and coins for the constant small tips
A slow first day: eat local and close, filtered water, easy on the altitude

Get those five right and you’ve handled the only part of the trip where being new actually costs you. After that, you’re just traveling.