Morelos · Mexico
Cuernavaca travel guide
Cuernavaca is a city in Morelos, Mexico, home to about 341,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- TLC58 km · Adolfo López Mateos International Airport
- Currency
- MXNpeso
- Time zone
- America/Mexico City
- Language
- Nahuatl, Spanish, Yucatec Maya
About
About Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerican civilization.
It is a city of 365,000 (820,000 metropolitan area) people 84 km (52 miles) south of Mexico City. Be prepared for many micro-climates inside the city and surroundings, where there have been variations of up to 10°C in less than an 8 km radius; while the lower zones can have very humid weather, the northern forest area will most certainly be cold by night. The heart of the city is the central plaza and palace.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Cuernavaca
See
- Cuernavaca Cathedral
- El Castillito
- Robert Brady Museum
- Papolote Children's Museum
- Xochicalco
- Salto de San Anton
- Zocalo
- Borda Garden
- Juan Soriano Museum of Contemporary Art
- Parish church of Tlateltango
- Teopanzolco archaeological site
- Chapultepec Park'
Do
Cuernavaca has many local and nearby tourist attractions. Water parks are very popular and range from basic water holes such as "Las Huertas" with thermal waters, natural rivers as "Las Estacas" and large, multi-facility parks as "El Rollo" and "Six Flags Oaxtepec." You may also camp in many parks some of which feature other services such as hot baths, cabins and restaurants. About 16 km (10 miles) south of the city is Xochicalco, a large, beautiful and well-restored archeological site; other archaeological sites are in Coatetelco and Chalcatzingo.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 36 °C; August is the wettest, with about 220 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Cuernavaca: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Adolfo López Mateos International Airport (TLC), about 58 km from the city centre in a straight line; Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX, 60 km) and Hermanos Serdán International Airport (PBC, 95 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Getting to Cuernavaca is fairly easy but beware the traffic in the Mexico-Cuernavaca-Acapulco tollway on Friday (from Mexico City to Cuernavaca) and Sunday afternoons (from Cuernavaca to Mexico City). Many visitors tend to travel those days and you might spend more than 2 hours on the road. Plan accordingly or choose other days for your travelling.
Getting around
Buses cover most of the city and surrounding areas and cost M$8 per trip, more for longer distances. These are not particularly comfortable, but are relatively safe and regularly used by the many foreign language students in the city. Alternatively, there are many taxis which can be hailed on the street or ordered by phone or board them at base stations. There are several radio taxis and there is Uber service. Radio taxis are safer if you call (as opposed to hailing) them, as a record of your pick-up is registered by a dispatcher.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
TLC · Adolfo López Mateos International Airport
MEX · Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport
PBC · Hermanos Serdán International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Cuernavaca
Eat
Cuernavaca isn't particularly known for seafood, but you might try Tia Lucha on Rio Mayo in Vista Hermosa or in Polvorin. Los Delfines is also popular.
Drink
Los Arcos on the Zocalo is popular on Tuesdays when students converge on the open bar/cafe with live salsa music and cheap drink. La Bola is a typical Mexican cantina with live Norteno and Mariachi music every night between 19:00 and 22:00. 2 for one promotions daily between 14:00 and 21:00 and very cheap food/drink packages. On average M$400 buys a generous plate of food for the table to share and a bottle of alcohol or 20 bottles of beer. La Taurina and Crudalia are very simple bars that sell cheap booze by the litre. Expect plastic tables and chairs and very few frills but a good atmosphere. McCarthy's Irish Pub on Avenida Diana in Delicias offers Irish and Mexican drinks and food.
Stay safe
Exercise some prudence, as in late 2020 there have been a couple of mass shootings.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Cuernavaca: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Cuernavaca?
Cuernavaca has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. April is the warmest month, with average highs of 36 °C; August is the wettest, with about 220 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Cuernavaca?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Adolfo López Mateos International Airport (TLC), about 58 km from the city centre in a straight line; Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX, 60 km) and Hermanos Serdán International Airport (PBC, 95 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Cuernavaca?
peso (MXN).
Nearby
Destinations near Cuernavaca
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.