Mexico is a vibrant country offering ancient Mayan ruins, pristine Caribbean beaches, colonial cities, world-class cuisine, and rich cultural traditions. From the bustling streets of Mexico City to the turquoise waters of the Riviera Maya, Mexico blends pre-Hispanic heritage with Spanish colonial architecture and modern cosmopolitan energy.
Top food tours
Guided experiences that show you Mexico through its food.
Eat Mexico Street Food Tour (Mexico City)
Award-winning walking tour through Mexico City markets and street food stalls led by local food experts. Visit Mercado de San Juan, try 10+ tastings including quesillo, carnitas, chiles en nogada, and artisan cheeses.
Oaxaca Market Food Walk (Oaxaca City)
Guided exploration of Oaxaca's Mercado Benito Juárez and 20 de Noviembre market tasting the seven moles, chapulines (grasshoppers), tlayudas, mezcal, and chocolate. Learn about the UNESCO-listed Oaxacan culinary tradition.
Mexico City After-Dark Tacos Tour
Navigate Mexico City's legendary late-night taco scene visiting El Vilsito petrol station tacos, Taquería El Paisa suadero, and al pastor carverias in Roma and Colonia Doctores neighborhoods. The best of CDMX nocturnal food culture.
Xochimilco Floating Food Tour
Float through the ancient Aztec canal system of Xochimilco on a colorful trajinera while sampling Mexican snacks delivered by vendor boats. Try hot elotes, tlayudas, esquites, and local antojitos from floating market vendors.
Tour formats
Different ways to experience Mexico's food scene.
Street food tours
Tacos, tamales, elotes, tortas, and antojitos at mercados and street stalls. Mexico City's Centro Histórico, Roma, and Tepito neighborhoods are the epicenter of authentic street food culture.
Market tours
Guided tours through covered markets (mercados) like Mercado de San Juan (Mexico City), Mercado Benito Juárez (Oaxaca), and La Ciudadela. Learn to navigate market sections and identify ingredients.
Restaurant tours
Multi-course contemporary Mexican restaurant experiences at celebrated chefs' restaurants — Pujol, Quintonil, and Contramar in Mexico City; Casa Oaxaca for traditional haute cuisine.
Specialty tours
Mezcal tasting tours in Oaxacan distilleries (palenques), tequila tours in Jalisco's agave fields, chocolate-making workshops in Oaxaca, and tamale-making with abuela chefs in Mexico City.
Cooking classes
Take a piece of Mexico home with you.
Seasons of My Heart (Oaxaca)
Chef Susana Trilling's celebrated culinary school in countryside hacienda outside Oaxaca. Market shopping in Etla followed by traditional Oaxacan recipes including mole negro from scratch. Legendary program running since 1995.
México en la Boca (Mexico City)
Visit Mercado de Jamaica with chef guide, select ingredients, and cook 4-5 traditional Mexican dishes in professional kitchen. Learn authentic salsa technique, masa preparation, and Mexican knife skills with professional chefs in Roma Norte.
Los Dos Cooking School (Mérida)
Acclaimed Mérida cooking school exploring Yucatecan cuisine's unique Maya-Caribbean heritage. Learn to prepare cochinita pibil in underground pit, papadzules, sopa de lima, and traditional habanero salsas. Taught in colonial courtyard kitchen.
Eat Mexico Tamale Workshop (Mexico City)
Hands-on tamale making workshop learning the art of masa preparation, various regional fillings (chicken mole, rajas con queso), and wrapping techniques with Mexican home cooks in a real domestic kitchen setting.
DIY self-guided food tour
Mexico City's greatest food adventure is self-guided through its extraordinary market and neighborhood food scene — no guide needed with this route
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Stop 1: Breakfast at Mercado de San Juan (Calle Ernesto Pugibet, Centro) — fresh fruit smoothies, queso de bola samples, and Mexican cheeses
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Stop 2: Mid-morning at El Huequito (Ayuntamiento 21, Centro) — Mexico City's oldest al pastor stand since 1959
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Stop 3: Lunch at Mercado de San Ángel (Plaza del Carmen, San Ángel) — Saturday market with excellent traditional food stalls
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Stop 4: Afternoon mezcal at La Clandestina mezcalería (Álvaro Obregón 298, Roma Norte) — 100+ artisan mezcals
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Stop 5: Late afternoon tlayuda at Oaxacan neighborhood — Mercado de Medellín (Campeche 101, Roma Sur) for authentic Oaxacan prepared foods
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Stop 6: Late-night tacos at El Vilsito (Pettenkofer 31, Narvarte) — famous petrol station suadero tacos from 9 PM to 5 AM
Foodie tips
Get more out of every meal.
Eat where there's a queue — lines at taco stands and market stalls signal freshness and local approval, not poor service
Comida corrida (set lunch) at local restaurants costs $5-10 USD for 3 courses — the best value meal in Mexico, served noon to 3 PM
Learn to ask 'sin hielo' (without ice) and 'agua embotellada' (bottled water) — avoid ice at street stalls unless the vendor specifies purified water
Chapulines (roasted grasshoppers) in Oaxaca are a must-try — seasoned with chile and lime, they're crunchy and delicious, not scary
Sunday morning is ideal for food exploration — nearly every neighborhood in Mexico City holds its weekly tianguis (open-air market) with the best prepared food
Oaxacan chocolate is stone-ground, grainy, and mixed with cinnamon — very different from European chocolate. The best comes from Mercado 20 de Noviembre in Oaxaca City.
Mezcal is meant to be sipped slowly (besos, not shots) — bartenders at artisan mezcalerías will judge you and rightly so
Regional hot sauces vary enormously — collect small bottles from markets to take home as the best souvenir Mexico offers food lovers