Travelling to Mexico in December

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Still don’t know what to do in December? And you want an experience that will stay in your memories and be full of color?

Mexico is your best option…

December is one of the most awaited seasons by many people in the world because it is a time of traditions, gifts, meals, dinners to travel in the company of family or friends. After the pandemic of covid-19, it is necessary to take a getaway, being able to go on vacation becomes necessary, and it is possible to enjoy them with all the necessary measures to prevent risks.

In Mexico, winter is the perfect season of the year because it has very little chance of rain, the weather is usually cooler, including the Mexican southeast.

Unlike destinations in the rest of the world, the climate and the warmth of the service make the beaches the main attraction of our country, requested by domestic and foreign travelers, who seek a friendlier climate than the extreme cold of the north of the continent. 

Celebrations and unique traditions distinguish our destinations, which exclusively take place in different parts of the Mexican Republic where you can appreciate the traditions of each locality, so here are the most important things you should know before choosing your destination.

Planning a trip to Mexico in December? At Rutopia a travel specialist will personalize for you an authentic and smooth vacation. Request your trip here.

Weather in Mexico in December

In the Mexican Republic, temperatures begin to drop with the arrival of autumn, which allows you to enjoy a stay during December. Destinations such as Mexico City and San Cristobal de las Casas are among the most frequented by local and foreign travelers, after the beach destinations.

Once you choose your destination and wish to travel by road you should take precautions when driving, since winter storms cause cloudy dawns and very cool evenings, a situation that can compromise visibility in trucks and cities during the night, during the day the temperature is ideal to enjoy a great ride on your visit to one of our destinations.

Unlike the cities, we can find a warm climate in the southeast of the Republic, where temperatures range from 23 to 27 ºC, specifically in the Yucatan Peninsula, Baja California and central Chiapas, so it is important to wear cool and comfortable clothes and make stops to enjoy a refreshing drink. 

The following table shows the weather forecast for the month of December in the sites mentioned above:

As in everything there are some advantages and disadvantages, in this case we will talk about what can happen when traveling outside your city or country of origin.

Advantages:

  • Hospitality, Mexicans like to treat foreigners as if they were their friends or family. 
  • Travelers when passing through the Mexican Republic, leave the routine and continuous stress that can cause them work, school or their daily activities, this trip can be in the company of their friends or loved ones, depending on the experience you are looking for. 
  • Enjoy new horizons, meet new people, visit places where you are in direct contact with nature, magical towns, museums, historical sites, beaches, fairs, festivals and other destinations. 
  • Knowing traditions, customs and typical dishes of each of the places visited. 
  • In places with cold weather, the risk of contracting infections and bacteria found in the environment is reduced.
  • You can find handicrafts made by native families, which transcend for generations and the funniest thing is that they have very affordable costs.

Disadvantages:

  • The main disadvantage tourists have when traveling is that they can get their luggage lost on the way from one place to another which makes their plans that they have an unpleasant time. 
  • In some regions, mountainous conditions cause a weak phone and data signal that often prevent the instance of our experiences that we commonly transmit through social networks to share them with our family and friends.
  • The insecurity in highways or localities, unfortunately many of the highways of the Mexican Republic are not in conditions for the transit of cars so if you have not come to travel them an accident can occur. 
  • Natural phenomena such as hurricanes, rains, floods and earthquakes that sometimes it is almost impossible to know when they may happen, but you can prevent them by checking the national seismological system. 
  • Pollution in the cities or beaches is something that we dislike the most.

 

Activities and celebrations in December in Mexico

Mexico is characterized for being a land full of festivities, every year numerous religious, civil, cultural and entertainment festivities are celebrated and the month of December is no exception, so before traveling it is important to know about them.  

The posadas:

They are the representative festivities that take place throughout the Mexican Republic and are celebrated 9 days before Christmas, the way in which they are celebrated has been changing over time, adding elements of other religions but have always been characterized by punch, traditional food, baskets of candy and piñatas. 

Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe:

In downtown Mexico City and in some states it is one of the largest religious celebrations in Latin America, where thousands of pilgrims gather to the Basilica, in the Zocalo you can appreciate the decorations and lights that adorn the central buildings.

Tizimín Fair:

Takes place in the Yucatan Peninsula, from December 30 to January 19 where the roots and customs in pre-Columbian times are promoted, on December 31 the sidewalks of Yucatan are filled with piñatas and dolls, plus on this date Uxmal and Chichen Itza are full of tourists. 

Arrival of the gray whales and whale sharks:

The arrival of the gray whales to the Pacific Coast after traveling 18,000 kilometers from the cold Bering Sea to the waters of northwestern Mexico where they settle for a few months, where they have the conditions for their calves to be born.

Another guest is the whale sharks, this phenomenon occurs from June to December, who also seek the warmth and the vast production of plankton where they can find it.

Sand surfing:

It is an extreme sport but extremely fun, young and old enjoy in the sand dunes in different destinations of the Republic, even international tournaments are held, a sport that just seeing it makes you want to practice.

The night of radishes:

A purely Oaxacan celebration that enchants tourists, where artisans create radishes in different shapes to exhibit and sell them in the Plaza de la Constitución.

“La rama”  (the branch):

On the 24th the girls and boys decorate “la rama” is a piece of tree that they decorate with lanterns, balloons, streamers and spheres, in which they are given money, the branch and burning of the old man is a tradition of Veracruz but has spread to other states including Oaxaca, the old man is represented by a person disguised in old clothes and mask who dances to the rhythm of tropical songs goes from door to door asking for cooperation.

Ritual of “sowing”:

This tradition consists of women leaving the church carrying some corn seeds in their hands, which serves as an omen to know when to sow and if there will be rain.

Chiapas Fair:

The main commercial fair and the most outstanding of the country with thousands of visitors, among the events there are concerts, bullfights, horse races, mechanical games and fireworks. 

Santo Tomás de Apóstol Festival:

Festival where the villagers take offerings, incense, candles, liquor and crop seeds to the church to be blessed, then the “amarre” of flowers and palms for the processions takes place. 

Would you like to spend Christmas in one of these places enjoying the winter weather?

We hope very soon you can visit our ecotourism map where you can find these and more places to visit in the winter with your partner, family or friends.

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Victoria O.

September, 2022
Two Weeks in Mexico
Seamless transfers, excellent hotels particularly in Mexico city and Puebla, combined with various cultural and food tours. Particular highlights were the cultural/food tours in Mexico city and Puebla (also including the anthropology museum in Mexico city), and the rural tours in Oaxaca where we visited textile workshops, mescal producers and participated in a cooking class using traditional equipment. Also, although we didn't need it, the on call remote assistance was reassuring. I would definitely recommend Rutopia.
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Kris S.

April, 2022
Enjoyed using Rutopia
Enjoyed using Rutopia (Marisol and Melina) to plan my trip to Mexico. Marisol helped me figure out the best options fand booked everything. Melina was my in country support. Rutopia (the company through Kim Kim) is great and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to take the burden out of vacation planning. My son and I truly enjoyed the trip knowing everything was taken care of and we just had to have fun. Thanks!
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Melissa W.

July, 2022
Adventures in the Yucatán!
Such an amazing time in the Yucatán! Between floating in the mangroves to visiting Chichén Itzá to spending a whole day on the beach in El Cuyo, I couldn’t have planned a better trip without their help. Thank you so much for an unforgettable birthday vacation!! Simply amazing! Don’t think twice about having them help you plan your next vacation!
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Cat839

April, 2022
Great experience with this agency, totally recommend!
Great experience with this agency. Our tour in Mexico was perfect and organised with great passion and precision. Special thanks to Mel (our direct contact during the trip) for being super responsive and to Jorge Barbosa (our tour guide in Mexico City). Totally recommend this tour operator!
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Sue G

June, 2022
Mayan Site Tour in Yucatan Penninsula Mexico
Rutopia did an outstanding job with the arrangement and execution of a 9 day tour of Mayan sites in the Yucatan peninsula. We provided Rutopia with the general parameters of the trip we wanted and they suggested an itinerary. After our approval, they set up the hotels, transportation within Mexico, and site tours. The hotels were good quality, and all of the drivers and tour guides showed up on time. We were very impressed with the quality of the tour guides and learned a lot on the trip. Jorge handled setting up the itinerary, and Melina handled the execution of the trip and was readily available via WhatsApp throughout the trip for any questions or issues. Melina was particularly helpful in changing our transportation arrangements to the airport at the last minute per our request. I would recommend Rutopia and would use them again for future trips.
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Varadarajan

July, 2022
Fantastic Will do it again
My wife and I had a fantastic holiday in Mexico thanks to Marisol, Ana, Teresa and their colleagues & partners. The entire itinerary and arrangements were put together in less than 4 days. What we really liked about Marisol & her team was that they were only a message or a phone call away for any query/suggestion, etc. The trip was bespoke to the extent that Rutopia had kept in mind about our interests, food habits & executed bookings, tours. They were also very flexible in catering to last minute changes/requests. The team took upon them to ensure that our entire trip was comfortable & safe by taking care of even small stuff that one normally finds out post getting to a place. We would definitely like to use their services again!!
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Elena R.

April, 2022
A literally perfect trip to the Yucatan peninsula
Tom and I knew we wanted to go to Mexico. We knew we wanted a little bit of culture, some wildlife, and maybe a splash in the ocean. That's it. With the vague and minimal information we gave them, Rutopia was able to put together a perfect trip for us. We had a flawless itinerary. It's so clear that Rutopia really cares about the communities (animals and humans) in Mexico. Everything we did and everywhere we stayed felt like they were helping us experience Mexico as authentically and respectfully as possible. It's almost impossible to pick a highlight, but top of the list has to be the day we shared with Enrique, a Mayan host who was unbelievably generous with us. He shared the community gardens, including history and background about the families that live in Nuevo Durango and other nearby communities. He showed us the neighborhood cenotes, Punta Laguna, Uma Nojoch Keej (a wildlife reserve), and more. We picked and prepared the plants as Enrique and his wife Blanca showed us the best way to cook them (and rescued us when we were pricked by the nopales!). We saw howler monkeys and spider monkeys in the wild which was very cool. That had to be the very best day, but every day was amazing. Sian Ka'an reserve was lovely, the Mayan ruins were spectacular, the snorkeling in Puerto Morelos was fabulous, the bicycle cenote tour was jaw'droppingly gorgeous. I'm waxing superlative but it really all was like a dream. Beyond the activities, the scheduling and pace was perfect for us. We felt like we really made the most of our six days, but with enough downtime to explore and enjoy at our leisure. From picking up our car at the airport to finding our accommodation, the logistics were very smooth at every interaction. Special shoutout to Melina who pretty much instantly helped us when we had any questions about the trip. We've never used a travel planning service like this before. But after this trip, we'll never go back to the old way!
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David

July, 2022
Journey to Mexico City, Cholula and Cuetzalan
We had a wonderful time. We started out in Mexico City with a 2 day tour filled with museums, food, and beautiful sights. We then went on to Cholula to experience the culture in a smaller town, see a local market, and eat traditional food. We finished the tour in a small town called Cuetzalan, where most people speak an indigenous language. All of our guides were great. Thank you for a memorable vacation!
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DaniEla

March, 2022
Just wonderful!
We had an amazing trip excellent organized by Jorge and supervised by Melina from Rutopia. We spent 10 days in Mexico, starting in Ciudad de Mexico where we visited the amazing Teotihuacan and then we flew to Yucatan for the amazing sites of Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Ek Balam, Tulum, Merida, Valladolid and the great Island Holbox. The trip was perfectly organized, the hotels were very good, and the guides were carefully chosen. We highly recommend Rutopia and especially Jorge!
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Bikø J

November, 2021
Chiapas, Neri and her family
I traveled to Chiapas for an ecotourism experience with Rutopia and I liked it very much, the team responds very quickly to all questions and accompany the traveler throughout the experience, I missed my flight and they were very flexible to accommodate the entire itinerary, My destination was the lakes of Tziscao, where I was received by Neri with his family in very nice cabins next to a lake with incredible views and a magnificent tranquility, with them you make experiences of beekeeping and coffee and tours to nearby lakes, Montebello is a must! 100% recommended.
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Alexhcros1500

March, 2021
Super local agency
We have worked with Rutopia for several tours in Mexico in the Yucatán and Chiapas and we have never been disappointed. Authentic experiences, with locals, in magical places and off the beaten tourist track. Our contact Marisol was always super available and responsive, understanding and anticipating our desires. And she speaks very good French. I highly recommend Rutopia!
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Mikel D

April, 2021
The best moment lived in Mexico
We were traveling as a group of friends with nothing organized. We like to improvise and be able to find alternative plans to the conventional tourist routes. We arrived in Puerto Escondido - Mexico's paradise - and started looking for options. A Mexican friend recommended us to contact Rutopia and we did. We explained our way of traveling - which they quickly understood - and in a few hours they came to us with a perfect selection of activities. We chose one of them and the next day we found ourselves galloping through beautiful hills, crossing a small lagoon in canoes, bathing on an unspoiled beach at sunset and sipping freshly picked coconuts with some mezcal. We had dinner in the only hut on the beach, eating fish that had been caught that day from the lagoon. Then we went to see the luminescence of the placton with paddle canoes until we were surprised by one of the biggest and reddest moons I have ever seen in my life. We ended up sleeping in bamboo huts a few meters from the waves. There were no more than 5 huts on the miles of beach that we could see. And at ALL times with an exquisite treatment - sympathy, kindness and attention. This is just one of the plans we booked with Rutopia, which definitely changed the course of our trip. Without a doubt, I would repeat this experience in any place I would like to visit in Mexico. Viva Mexico!
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Claudia A

September, 2020
Super organization, great accommodations and nice team
The trip was perfectly organized, we were always exclusive or in very small groups and had freedom to do our own activities. All accommodations were fantastic and sustainable, the food almost always local and very good, we could always fill our Rutopia water bottles and travel as plastic free as possible. We were met at the airport and had assistance getting a rental car. After that, we traveled independently but had our fixed dates and reservations with Rutopia. It was the perfect mix!
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pascalrichard0304

March, 2020
Circuit in Yucatan
Discovering wonderful and surprising sites, Mayan communities with an unforgettable welcome, breathtaking landscapes, a very pleasant climate in the middle of March...and smiling people! A big thank you to Rutopia and his team for the elaboration of this ideal circuit, alternating nature, city life, simplicity and comfort. Thanks to Mélina for the follow-up during our trip. We don't speak Spanish well enough, and we appreciated having a French-speaking contact person who could be reached if necessary. We still have a lot to discover and hope to come back very soon, and with Rutopia without hesitation!
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Sabrina N

March, 2020
Perfect
For those who don't like to manage logistics like hotels, rental cars, activities. And above all, to have someone who speaks fluent French that we can reach at any time for the unexpected... You are in the right place! Thank you to Chloe for the preparation of our trip, to Melina our Ariadne's thread and Teresa for her welcome and help at the arrival and departure. A big thank you to Enrique and Blanca from Nuevo-Durango for their welcome, their smiles, their family, a lot of emotions at the time to leave you. Thanks to Mémo for your teaching of Mexican customs (Sian Ka'an) The Yucatan is a magnificent region. And the population is very pleasant. Only downside Holbox... Too much dust, too much smell of fuel oil, too much tourist. I will keep in memory these wonderful moments!
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