Mexico

Currency in Mexico

The currency in Mexico is the Mexican Peso, at the time of writing this in January 2023 the exchange rate was

£1 = MX$23.2 $1 = MX$18.8

However it is always best to check up to date rates, I usually us XE to find up to date rates.

Withdrawing cash in Mexico

What cards to use, how and where to withdraw cash & whether it is better to use cash or card for purchases abroad can be a bit of a minefield – read our Budget & Money tips for some general advice on managing your money when travelling.

When visiting in in January/February 2023 we found that unfortunately, Mexico doesn’t offer the facility to withdraw cash from it’s ATMs from foreign accounts (as far as I have found & researched online) for free. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to select the bank you withdraw money from carefully as some charge much more than others. See below the list of charges which Mexican banks charge for foreign cards (correct as of February 2023);

ATM fees in Mexico

Bank

Citibanamex

Santander

Banorte

HSBC

Banregio

Scotiabank

BBVA

Withdrawal fee

MX$30.74 (£1.30/$1.60)

MX$34.80 (£1.50/$1.80)

MX$46.24 (£2/$2.40)

MX$81.20 (£3.50/$4,20)

MX$100 (£4.30/$5.20)

MX$174 (£7.50/$9)

Mexican food & drink

Eating out in Mexico is incredibly cheap especially if you stick to local cuisine. Mexican cuisine is world renowned for tacos, fajitas & burritos but is that all there is to it? Also, how much of that is traditional Mexican cuisine. Follow these links to find out all about mouth watering Mexican food & drink & the best taco fillings.

Language spoken in Mexico

In Mexico the official language is Spanish which is spoken by over 90% of the population. However there are 69 recognised languages in Mexico still recognised by their indigenous routes.

Buying a SIM card in Mexico

Mexico has to be one of the easiest places we’ve bought a SIM card in so far. We opted for Telcel as it has a reputation for having the best coverage throughout the country. Simply walk into a Telcel store, they asked for one passport between the 2 of us. We paid, SIM’s swapped & we were out of there in less than 20 minutes. We opted for a 4.5Gb package as below that didn’t last for 30 days, it gives you unlimited social media (inc Whatsapp), 500Mb of Claro music (we haven’t tried it as we have Spotify but could be good if you don’t) & unlimited sms/calls throughout Mexico, US & Canada. The cost for the package was MX$200 (£6.25/$7.50) & the SIM was MX$(£3.50/$4)

Mexico visa requirements

When visiting a new country we would always refer to the GOV.UK website before travelling as we find we can rely on them being up to date & we have found some foreign governments websites entry requirements page a little confusing at times.

The UK government Mexico entry requirements page currently states

"If entering Mexico as a tourist, an immigration official will determine the number of days you can remain in Mexico and stamp it in your passport. You do not have an automatic right to the 180-day maximum stay possible for tourists. You should refer to the “Temporalidad” stamped on your passport to check the duration you have been granted. The Mexican authorities have the right to detain individuals who exceed the duration of stay granted."

So make sure when you arrive to state the maximum amount of time you are likely to need & check your passport to make sure you have been given enough time, don't just assume you have 6 months!