Bernal and the Pena (best pairing)
About 30 to 45 minutes by car. The obvious and best pairing. Bernal is another Pueblo Magico sitting beneath the Pena de Bernal, one of the largest freestanding monoliths in the world. You can hike partway up to the chapel and viewpoint (about an hour round trip on the walkable section; the summit is for roped climbers only), wander a compact, genuinely pretty center, and eat gorditas and local cheese. Combined with Tequisquiapan’s wine, it makes a strong one-day loop. Verdict: genuinely worth it, do this one.
The Ruta del Queso y el Vino (Ezequiel Montes)
Roughly 20 to 40 minutes by car. Not one destination but a spread of vineyards and cheese farms around Ezequiel Montes: Freixenet’s sparkling-wine caves, Vinicola La Redonda, De Cote, Puerta del Lobo, and cheese houses like VAI / Neole. Book a couple of tastings, ideally with a driver or a tour so nobody has to stay sober. This is the single best use of a day here and the real reason the region draws people. Verdict: worth it, and arguably the main event. More on the wine route.
Queretaro city
About an hour by car or bus. A handsome colonial capital with a UNESCO-listed historic center, the great stone aqueduct, good restaurants and real depth of things to see. If Tequisquiapan feels too quiet, Queretaro city is where the substance is: easily a full day, and honestly better as your base than as a day trip from the pueblo. Verdict: worth it, maybe flip it and stay here instead.
San Juan del Rio
About 20 to 30 minutes by car. A larger, workaday town, useful as a transport hub (it is where the ETN and Primera Plus first-class buses stop) and for practical shopping and its own gem and opal trade, more than for sightseeing. It has a modest colonial center and the Portal del Diezmo if you have an hour to kill between buses, but nobody comes here for a day out. Verdict: fine if you are passing through, not a trip in itself. For logistics see getting there and around.
Sierra Gorda (only if you have real time)
Roughly 3 to 4 hours by car each way from this corner of the state, so not a true day trip from Tequisquiapan; it is an overnight or multi-day undertaking. The Sierra Gorda biosphere holds the Franciscan mission churches, cloud forest and waterfalls, and it is spectacular, but the winding mountain roads make it a different, longer trip. Verdict: worth it on its own terms, but do not try to daytrip it from here.
Travel times are approximate and depend on traffic and your exact starting point.