5 Star Places To Visit in Southern Mexico, Mexico (11)

1. 5.0 Zona Arqueológica de Monte Albán (4.867 reviews)
   - Photos don’t do it justice!!
   Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Historic Sites • Ancient Ruins • History Museums
   
   
   The ruins of this ancient Zapotec capital make up one of the most important archaeological sites in all of Latin America. See more..
   
2. 5.0 Zona Arqueologica de Palenque (3.706 reviews)
   - Definitely worth a visit! Don’t pay for the very expensive guide at the entrance. It is not worth it at all.
   Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Ancient Ruins • Points of Interest & Landmarks
   
   
   It’s awesome, a must see if you like Mayan ruins, and there is also evidence of ancient megalithic high technology. A very peaceful place with not many tourists so you can take your time and enjoy. As of now you cannot climb and enter the ruins unfortunately. WARNING: Do not pay for the extremely expensive ($1800 pesos) tour guide at the entrance. It is extremely overpriced and the information given by the guide is nothing that you can’t just look up on internet. They oversell their product and it’s just not worth it. Look for the massive limestone blocks for evidence of lost ancient technology. ;) See more..
   
3. 5.0 Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (2.700 reviews)
   - Architectural Wonder
   Churches & Cathedrals
   
   
   One of the city's most ornate structures, this church is lavishly endowed with gold. See more..
   
4. 5.0 National Park of Palenque (1.212 reviews)
   - A good place
   Saturday: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Historic Sites • Ancient Ruins • National Parks
   
   
   A wide variety of pyramids, temples and sculptures have all been found at this famous Mayan archaeological site. See more..
   
5. 5.0 Cascada El Chiflon (668 reviews)
   - Breathtaking natural beauty
   Spent More than 3 hours Waterfalls
   
   
   Stunning waterfalls with clean, well maintained paths. There are plenty of places to swim, too. We stayed a night in the cabins and it was very relaxing. We also enjoyed the restaurant on site. The food was good and prices were fair. See more..
   
6. 5.0 Punta Cometa (553 reviews)
   - Best place to watch the sunset
   Lookouts
   
   
   Punta Cometa is most outward point in Zipolite/Mazunte and watching the sunset is worth the 20-25 min hike. Couple of tips... 1. Wear comfortable shoes: The hike has many ups and downs and the terrain is a bit rough, don’t go with your beach sandals 2. Limited parking: If you grab a cab, no problem. But if you rented a car like me, arrive some 45 mins before sunset in order to park as close as possible. 3. You have 2 spots to sun gaze: you can take the side road towards a beach or continue all the way to the top. 4. This is not a party section: I saw some people heading to the point with beers in hand, AFTER the sunset! There are no trash cans at the point and walking back drunk is not recommended See more..
   
7. 5.0 Zona Arqueológica de Yaxchilán (532 reviews)
   - Amazing experience
   Saturday: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Spent More than 3 hours Ancient Ruins
   
   
   This is a rather large and well excavated Mayan site that is rather difficult to reach so you get the whole "hidden gem/remote jungle" and "beautifull Maya ruins" experience in one go! It starts with a 30/40min boat ride where we haggled down to 200$M/person (we were a group of 4) that is a very nice jungle experience in itself. We saw some toucans and other birds flying over and enjoyed the teeming jungle passing along. The site itself is not the most amazing one, but there is a lot to explore: 2 acropoli, a large plaza and a small labyrinth you van actually enter. Compared to other sites that are this remote it is really well excavated, and a lot of fine carvings can be found while roaming the site. Added bonus is the river that can be seen from some structures. The only other visitors were 4 other people, some howler and spider monkeys and a gazillion mosquitos. Bring repellent and long trousers! (They did seem to stay low) See more..
   
8. 5.0 Bahía de Cacaluta (181 reviews)
   - worth the hike
   Beaches
   
   
   this is a beautiful stretch of mostly deserted beach. the walk from where you have to leave your car (or motorcycle) is about 40 minutes one way through the bush/jungle so it is mostly shaded. there was a turtle just heading back to the water after laying her eggs at the end of the beach. it was too rough to go in when we were there but there are reviews that say its good for snorkeling? boats come quite close to the beach regularly as well. there are no services here - at all - you can find a deserted palapa for shade but even that can be contentious if one of the local ranchers come by. See more..
   
9. 5.0 Steps in San Cristobal (112 reviews)
   - Amazing cooking class!
   Spent 1-2 hours Speciality Museums
   
   
   Steps is a story museum and a NGO, recording the stories and culture of indigenous and help local children with basic education. Here we also offer different events for people to know more about real indigenous culture: 1. Cooking Workshop, workshop of traditional indigenous cuisine everyday at 11:00 AM, to learn how to make tortillas, quesadillas and pozol in community-style, from scratch (day menu, 200 MXN) 2. Story Time, to know more about indigenous culture, legend, lifestyle and ceremony, everyday at 15:00 pm in english and 17:00 pm in spanish. (on donation) 3. Cooking Workshop, workshop of traditional indigenous cuisine everyday at 19:00 PM, to learn how to make tamales, ponche (an indigenous cocktail) and sauce in community-style, from scratch. (night menu, 300 MXN) All the donation we receive directly go to the community to help indigenous children. See more..
   
10. 5.0 Sweet Retreats Casa Chango (87 reviews)
    - Life changing experience <3
    Sports Camps & Clinics
    
    
    Sweet Retreats are vacation style intensive training retreats focused on circus fitness, creativity, and healthy lifestyle. Sweet Retreats are a way to bridge the gap between intensive training, healthy lifestyle choices, and beach get-a-ways. We are a small, family run, family friendly business offering welcoming experiences for various skill levels. Sweet Retreats are held at Casa Chango Mexico. See more..
    
11. 5.0 Microenormous Immersive Theater (78 reviews)
    - Terrific evening—touched every sense!
    Saturday: 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM Theaters
    
    
    Visit the new art experience in Oaxaca City that combines the excitement of the theater experience with digital art installations by renowned artists. Each installation stimulates and activates the 5 senses through music, colors, lighting, images and performances by the actor in the same space. See more..