Taxco is maybe the most magical place in Mexico and is highly underrated. Taxco’s charm will instantly hit you as you step into this unique town. The cobbled streets lined with white walls with red or blue borders feels out of the world. But maybe Taxco is better known as the silver capital of Mexico. And this place has one of the most authentic Mexican cuisine you can find. Here is our budget travel guide for things to do in Taxco and much more.
We are a roaming couple who likes to travel on a budget and we generally don’t spend a long time in a particular place. As our blog name suggests, we hop around quite frequently. So if our style, i.e., short trip on a budget, suits you, we believe the following guide will help you to understand the place better. There is also a suggested 2 or 3 day itinerary and an estimated cost at the end which we followed and might help you with planning your own trip.
We also have a separate post regarding a detailed photostory about our experiences in Taxco.
Top things to do in Taxco
Even though it’s a small town, a village rather, there is no dearth of activities to spend a couple of days or so here. Taxco looks like a town right out of the pages of a fantasy book and absorbing the magical atmosphere is enough for a memorable trip. However here is a list of things to do we loved about Taxco.
1. Getting lost in the alleys
Seriously this is the best things to do here and we did this for a major portion of our time and never got bored. The cobbled streets of Taxco are pretty beyond imagination. Clean alleys lined with white walled houses with red or blue lining, balconies adored with flowers, people with friendly attitude and always smiling faces. And the whole town is full of cafes and small and large churches which you can happily discover at every corner. And the amazing number of cute colorful Volkswagen Beetles put out a nice contrast to the majorly white town.
2. Silver shopping
Long before it was famous as a tourist destination, Taxco was already well known for its silver production. It was founded in the 16th century on and around a silver mine and is always famous not only for its high quality silver output but also for the quality craftsmanship on the silver products.
The main square, locally called zocalo, and nearby it is full of small and large silver shops. They are hard to miss actually as it almost feels like a silver market there. We were mostly interested in shopping for silver jewelry and most of the shops were selling them in abundance. For jewelry they tend to use sterling silver (silver 925) as they are more durable. Be sure to check for the “925” mark though on the pieces as some shops are known for selling duplicate metal. The items that they sell are comparatively much cheaper than what you will find in the United States or in Canada, so shop guilt free.
3. Enjoying the food
Surprisingly, we found one of the most authentic Mexican cuisine in Taxco. The restaurants were generally beautiful and served excellent food. Pick a place with a rooftop seating and you will feel serenity with a view of the beautiful town at your disposal while sipping on a cold glass of Tequila cocktail with some nice crisp Tacos. Also not to forget the numerous pretty cafes Taxco has.
4. Getting a view of the town from Cristo Rey
There is a decent sized Jesus statue at the top of the hill overlooking the town. The statue itself might not be that memorable but the view from up there of the beautiful town was breathtaking. This place is especially popular for enjoying the sunset while the lights of the town start to turn on gradually.
You can hike up the hill which will take around a couple of hours or you can take a white volkswagen beetle taxi, lovingly called vocho, for around M$ 50 for one way. If you are hiking, you will find some small food and souvenir shops on the way.
How to Reach
We arrived at Taxco from Mexico city by bus and the journey was hassle free. We availed an Estrella de Oro bus from Terminal Central del Sur (Taxqueno) which took around three hours following a beautiful curvy road through the lush green mountains, a visual pleasure indeed.
Both Estrella de Oro and Costa Line have regular services between Taxco and Mexico City and buses are generally not full with few seats always available at the last minute. One thing to bear in mind is that Estrella de Oro has two stops in Taxco. The first one is near the Mina Prehispánica museum which is a bit far from the town centre. The bus will stop there for about ten minutes and then will finally arrive at the last station from where the town center (Zocalo) is just ten minutes walk.
Other important tourist cities with which Taxco have bus connections are Toluca, Acapulco and Cuernavaca.
Where to Stay
We are generally a heavy user of Airbnb due to its affordability and more connected to the place feel and Taxco has a lot of affordable options in that respect. Try to stay near the town center (zocalo) as there are a lot more shopping and food options than the rest of the town. We stayed at a place just over the Restaurante Abolengo (owned by the same gentleman), a beautifully decorated place with a grand rooftop.
If you want to spend a little more, there are a good number of choices for absolutely gorgeous hotels too, most of which are converted from vintage colonial houses. A few worth checking out are:
Budget | Habitación céntrica en Taxco
A convenient guesthouse located just 2 minutes walk from the Santa Prisca Church.
Budget | Hostal Luna
Another affordable gem within walking distance of the town square.
Mid Range | Hotel Mi Casita
A Mexican-style family house converted to a hotel, this place is close to the town square with excellent view of the Santa Prisca Church.
Mid Range | Hotel Los Arcos
Another colonial age house converted to a hotel, this establishment has a beautiful courtyard garden and traditional decor of rustic wooden beams and ceramic tiles.
Mid Range | Hotel Agua Escondida
Extremely close to the town square, this colonial-style hotel has an outdoor swimming pool and a rooftop terrace with stunning views.
Where to Eat
Often you may find that the more remote you go from commercial cities, the more authentic local experience you will get. Taxco is no exception. Taxco has a huge collection of restaurants and cafes, most of them serving authentic local cuisine. Some of the restaurants feature rooftop seating which provide stunning views of the town. Here are a few places worth trying:
Restaurante Flor De La Vida
Right beside the town square, they have rooftop seating, directly facing the Santa Prisca church, from where the view was amazing. They have amazing Mexican food and heavily recommended is their chicken in molcajete salsa verde. They have good selections of cocktails but we found them not up to the mark.
Bar Berta
Good food, even better cocktails, friendly stuff, charming decor and situated right beside the Santa Prisca church. Do try their classic Berta, which is a local cocktail with Tequila. We ordered a Pizza and it was delicious. They have a good selection of beer too to wash down the food. They are still in business since 1930 for a good reason.
El Atrio
Just overlooking the Zocalo, this is a restaurant with spectacular views. Their breakfast menu is really good and they have some nice colonial style balcony sitting areas. We were lucky enough to get one of the balcony tables for breakfast and the experience was amazing. We had Chilaquiles with green salsa and eggs with beans and both were top notch.
Cafe Punta Del Ciel
This is a nice little place across the Santa Prisca church if you are looking for some coffee and some confectionaries. They have balcony seats and make excellent coffee and bakery products. They also serve Café de olla, a traditional Mexican coffee made with ground coffee, jaggery and cinnamon, a must try.
A short trip itinerary for Taxco
Here is a short itinerary for Taxco from Mexico City if you want to visit it for a couple of days. This is based on what we did there.
Day 1:
- Take an early morning bus from Mexico city to Taxco.
- Check into your hotel and after lunch check or the town center (Zocalo).
- Towards the evening, take a beetle cab (vocho) to Cristo Rey and witness the stunning sunset over the beautiful town.
- Have a rooftop dinner and call it a night.
Day 2:
- Wake up early and try to roam around the charming alleys of Taxco and take some mind boggling photographs before the streets start getting crowded.
- After a heavy breakfast you can indulge in some silver shopping. If you are not into that then you can check out the many museums that Taxco has.
- Towards the evening get a peaceful and pleasant experience visiting the Santa Prisca church.
- Cheers to life with some local Tequila cocktails like Bertha accompanied by some delicious Taxco cuisine before you get back to your hotel.
Day 3:
- Check out from your hotel in the morning and after a nice breakfast start back for Mexico City by Bus.
Estimated costs of the trip
Here is an estimated cost for this trip for 2 persons for 2 days from our experience on what we spent.
Bus from Mexico City to Taxco : 107 Peso x 2 = 214 Peso
Bus from Taxco to Mexico City : 110 Peso x 2 = 220 Peso
Hotel for 2 nights (Airbnb) : 290 Peso x 2 = 580 Peso
Food cost for 2 days (Average) : 800 Peso x 2 = 1600 Peso
Misc expenses (bottled water, cab etc.) = 500 Peso
Total cost ~ 160 USD for 2 people for 2 days.
Well you must add up some separate cost to buy silver merchandise over that.
Having said all these, if you are really tight on schedule, you might want to check this Taxco day tour that can be availed from Mexico City.
Or this day trip from Acapulco
Hope you have a great trip ahead!!!
If you liked our budget travel guide about things to do in Taxco, please check our other posts related to Mexico here:
- Our Magical 2 Day trip to Taxco Mexico: A Photostory
- 4 Top Things To Do In Taxco Mexico: A Budget Travel Guide To The Magical Town
- A Captivating Day Trip to Teotihuacan from Mexico City by Bus
For our other Destinations, please check here.
