Day Trips from GuadalajaraAn Independent Guide Check Availability

Day Trips from Guadalajara

Four roads leave the city and none of them ends in the same kind of day: west into agave country, south to the lake shore, out to a set of circular pyramids nobody warns you are shut on Mondays, or up into pine forest at 2,200 metres. Twelve guided day trips from Guadalajara are compared here against what the buses, the distilleries and the archaeological zone charge on their own.

Compare the Twelve Trips Check Live Availability

Updated September 2026

  • Twelve GetYourGuide listings compared, none of them ours
  • Fares read against INAH, Mundo Cuervo and the bus lines, September 2026
  • Traveller feedback reviewed: 1,190+ verified reviews
  • We compare listings — we do not run these tours
Quick answer Which direction suits which day, and the closure that ruins a Monday

Tequila is the default and the reason is arithmetic as much as agave: the $46 classic route is the cheapest full day here and it includes the distillery, the tasting and two hours at Cantaritos El Guero outside Amatitan. Going alone is cheaper still — Tequila Plus charges MX$153 one way from the Antigua Central and La Rojena sells its own distillery tour at MX$345 — but you drive nothing, and after five tastings that matters. The circular pyramids at Guachimontones are the trap on every itinerary written before this year: INAH lists the zone open Thursday to Sunday, 9:00 to 17:00, entry free, so a Tuesday plan reaches a locked gate. The lake shore is the easy day — Chapala and Ajijic sit an hour south and the most-booked trip adds a boat and Vicente Fernandez's ranch for $52. And if you only have one spare day, take the tequila route; if you have two, make the second one Guachimontones and Tequila together, which is the only listing that covers both core zones of the same UNESCO inscription.

Key takeaways

Independent comparison — we sell nothing and run nothing
Fares and opening days read against official sources, September 2026
Every trip listed states free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Traveller feedback reviewed: 1,190+ verified platform reviews

This is not the official site of any operator, of Mundo Cuervo, or of the Guachimontones archaeological zone, which is administered by INAH. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting for any operator or booking platform.

Twelve Day Trips from Guadalajara, Compared

Ordered by direction: five days in agave country, three on the lake shore, two to the circular pyramids, two into the mountains and the opal mines. "From" is the lowest adult shared-group rate we read on each GetYourGuide listing in September 2026; the platform's checkout shows the final figure, takes the payment and owns the cancellation. Every trip here carries free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.

Premium Tequila Route with Professional Tasting

4.8 from 377 reviews — the deepest review base here, and the only tequila day with a seated pairing tasting

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.8(377 reviews)· 8.5 hours

Five stops built around a seated tasting of five premium tequilas with a food pairing, taught rather than poured. The day ends at Cantaritos El Guero and returns after dark, which is the trade for the deepest tequila education on this page.

Category
Tequila route
Pickup
Meet at Fiesta Americana, Minerva
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Destino Agave
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Classic Tequila Route Tour with Extended Cantaritos Stop

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.6(209 reviews)· 8.5 hours

The cheapest full tequila day here, and the one that gives Cantaritos El Guero two hours rather than one. The distillery stop is two hours long and includes a tasting; food and cantaritos are yours to pay for.

Category
Tequila route
Pickup
Meet at Fiesta Americana, Minerva
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
GDL Experiences Tours
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Premium Tequila Tour with Tastings and Pairings

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.8(160 reviews)· 8.5 hours

The only tequila day on this page that includes brunch as well as the tastings, and it needs three travellers to run. Departure is fixed at 10:00 from the Minerva roundabout, with lunch scheduled at the fourth stop.

Category
Tequila route
Pickup
Meet at Fiesta Americana, Minerva
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
GDL Experiences
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Tequila Trail Tour with Tasting

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.8(124 reviews)· 8 hours

Two hours inside a working Amatitan distillery with a tasting of four premium tequilas led by a certified taster, plus an hour of guided walking in Tequila town. The cantaritos stop here is optional and carries an extra fee.

Category
Tequila route
Pickup
Meet at Fiesta Americana, Minerva
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Panoramex Tours & Travel
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Town of Tequila and Jose Cuervo Factory Tour

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.8(51 reviews)· 9 hours

The one listing here built around La Rojena, the Jose Cuervo distillery in the middle of Tequila, with hotel pickup anywhere in the metro area. It is also the most expensive way to see a distillery that sells its own tour at the gate for MX$345.

Category
Tequila route
Pickup
Hotel pickup across metro Guadalajara
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Estacion Turistica GDL
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Lake Chapala and Ajijic Day Trip with Boat Trip

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.7(304 reviews)· 8 hours

The most-reviewed lake day here: Vicente Fernandez's ranch, a tequila stop on the Chapala highway, a 30-minute boat ride on Mexico's largest lake, then Ajijic and Chapala on foot. Lunch at the seafood place is on you.

Category
Lake Chapala
Pickup
Meet at Fiesta Americana, Minerva
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
GDL Experiences
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Lake Chapala and Ajijic Premium Tour

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.6(63 reviews)· 7 hours

Seven hours instead of eight, in a small group with admissions and travel insurance included. It trades the boat ride for more time on foot in Ajijic, where the guiding is about the lakeside expatriate town rather than the water.

Category
Lake Chapala
Pickup
Meet at Fiesta Americana, Minerva
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Panoramex Tours & Travel
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Chapala Lake and Ajijic Tour with Hotel Pickup

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.6(29 reviews)· 8 hours

The lake day for anyone not staying near the Minerva roundabout: pickup is from your own address and drop-off can be Minerva, Expo Guadalajara or the historic centre. Two of the eight hours are free time by the water.

Category
Lake Chapala
Pickup
Hotel pickup, drop-off at Minerva, Expo or Centro
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Amigo Tours LATAM
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Guachimontones Circular Pyramids Archaeological Site Tour

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.8(39 reviews)· 5 hours

Five hours, hotel pickup, and nearly two of them on the terraces at Guachimontones with the Phil Weigand museum included. The shortest trip on this page, and the only one that treats the circular pyramids as the destination rather than an add-on to tequila.

Category
Circular pyramids
Pickup
Hotel pickup in Zapopan and Guadalajara
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Estacion Turistica GDL
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Tequila and Guachimontones UNESCO Route Tour

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 5.0(8 reviews)· 9 hours

Both core zones of the same UNESCO inscription in one day: two and a half hours at Guachimontones, then a distillery and free time in Tequila, in a jeep rather than a coach. Eight reviews so far, all five stars — promising rather than proven.

Category
Circular pyramids
Pickup
Hotel pickup in Guadalajara
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Daniel Travels MX
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Mazamitla Mountain Town and Eco-Park Day Trip

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 4.5(16 reviews)· 9 hours

Nine hours into the Sierra del Tigre for pine forest, an alpine-looking pueblo magico and an eco-park where the zipline, horseback riding and hanging bridge are included in the fare. A vampirito cocktail stop at San Luis Soyatlan breaks the drive.

Category
Mountain towns
Pickup
Meet at Fiesta Americana, Minerva
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Panoramex Tours & Travel
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Magdalena Opal Mine Private Experience

★★★★★ ★★★★★ 5.0(10 reviews)· 7 hours

A private day in the opal country north-west of the city, walking dirt trails into working mines with a miner as the local guide and hunting your own obsidian at a deposit. The steepest fare here, and the only trip on the page that is private by default.

Category
Mountain towns
Pickup
Private pickup from two set points
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Operator
Grupo Dragonfly
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Check Dates and Live Prices

The calendar below runs on the tequila route with the deepest review base; the chips switch it to any other trip in the catalogue. Weekends fill first on the lake days and Saturdays sell out on the tequila route in the November and December fair season.

Powered by GetYourGuide

Switch the calendar to another trip Classic Tequila Route Tour with Extended Cantaritos Stop · Premium Tequila Tour with Tastings and Pairings · Tequila Trail Tour with Tasting · Town of Tequila and Jose Cuervo Factory Tour · Lake Chapala and Ajijic Day Trip with Boat Trip · Lake Chapala and Ajijic Premium Tour · Chapala Lake and Ajijic Tour with Hotel Pickup · Guachimontones Circular Pyramids Archaeological Site Tour · Tequila and Guachimontones UNESCO Route Tour · Mazamitla Mountain Town and Eco-Park Day Trip · Magdalena Opal Mine Private Experience

Which Trip Goes Where

The second column is the one to read. Four of these listings have "Tequila" in the title and end up in different towns, and two of them spend more of the day at a cocktail stand on the Amatitan highway than in Tequila itself. Prices are the listed adult from-rate in September 2026.

Trip Goes to Hours Rating You pay Book
Our pick Premium tequila route Amatitan distillery, Tequila, Cantaritos 8.5 4.8★ (377) $65 Check Availability Details
Classic route, extended Amatitan distillery, Tequila, Cantaritos ×2h 8.5 4.6★ (209) $46 Check Availability Details
Premium with brunch Amatitan ×2, Tequila, Cantaritos 8.5 4.8★ (160) $65 Check Availability Details
Tequila trail Amatitan distillery, Tequila market 8 4.8★ (124) $59 Check Availability Details
Jose Cuervo factory La Rojena, Tequila town 9 4.8★ (51) $165 Check Availability Details
Chapala with boat Ranch, Chapala, boat, Ajijic 8 4.7★ (304) $52 Check Availability Details
Chapala premium Chapala, Ajijic on foot 7 4.6★ (63) $59 Check Availability Details
Chapala, hotel pickup Chapala, lake, Ajijic 8 4.6★ (29) $80 Check Availability Details
Guachimontones half day Teuchitlan site and museum 5 4.8★ (39) $112 Check Availability Details
UNESCO double Guachimontones and Tequila 9 5.0★ (8) $124 Check Availability Details
Mazamitla Sierra del Tigre, eco-park 9 4.5★ (16) $118 Check Availability Details
Magdalena opals Opal mines, obsidian deposit 7 5.0★ (10) $172 Check Availability Details

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure applies to every trip in this table.

The Four Directions Out of Guadalajara

Every trip on this page follows one of four roads. Picking the road first, and the operator second, is the way to avoid buying a second version of a day you have already had.

West into agave country

Tequila sits 65 km north-west of the city, an hour and a quarter by road, inside the UNESCO property inscribed in 2006 as the Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila. Most tours stop first at Amatitan, the older distilling town in the valley below, then give you free time in Tequila's plaza and finish at a cocktail stand on the highway. Most of the trips compared here run this route and the differences between them are the tasting, the hours and the fare — the cost section sets them against doing it yourself.

South to the lake shore

Lake Chapala is Mexico's largest freshwater lake at roughly 1,100 km², and Chapala town is 49 km from the city, an hour on the road or on the bus. Ajijic, the painted village next door, holds one of the largest concentrations of North American retirees anywhere in Mexico, which is why the guiding there is about the town rather than the water. The lake trips compared here differ mainly in whether you get on a boat and whether you get collected from your hotel.

West again, to the circular pyramids

Guachimontones, above Teuchitlan, is the largest pre-Columbian site in Jalisco and its stepped pyramids are circular, which is close to unique in Mesoamerica. Built between about 300 BCE and 450 CE by the Teuchitlan tradition, the zone is a second core zone of the same UNESCO inscription as the agave landscape. It is also the one destination here with a closing rule that breaks itineraries — see the opening days.

Up into the sierra, or out to the mines

Mazamitla is a timber-built town in the Sierra del Tigre at around 2,200 m, two hours south-east, and the day trip there includes an eco-park where the zipline and horses are in the fare. North-west, Magdalena is opal country: the private mine day walks dirt trails into working mines with a miner as the guide. Neither is a first-visit trip; both are what you do on a second or third free day.

Tequila Three Ways: Tour, Bus or the Cuervo Train

The tequila day is the one where the guided price looks high until you price the alternatives. Here is what each route actually costs one adult, with the figures read from the operators' own pages in September 2026.

What each way costs

The bus fare is from the Tequila Plus timetable, the distillery prices from Mundo Cuervo's own booking page, and the tour price is the lowest listed adult rate here. Peso conversions are at roughly MX$18.5 to the dollar.

How you goWhat you payHow longWhat it buys
Guided van tourFrom $46 (about MX$850)8 to 9 hoursTransport, distillery entry, one or two tastings, and a driver after the tastings — the classic route
Bus and do it yourselfMX$153 each way, plus MX$345 for La Rojena's classic tour — about MX$6511 hour 15 each way, plus your dayFull control of the timing; the walk from the bus terminal; no ride to Cantaritos
Bus plus the tasting tourMX$306 return plus MX$585SameLa Rojena with a guided Jose Cuervo Tradicional tasting
Mundo Cuervo's own dayMX$1,9009 hoursGuadalajara pickup, agave fields and La Rojena, run by the distillery itself
Jose Cuervo Express trainMX$3,250 general, MX$2,680 for ages 6 to 1711 hoursA themed railcar, live music, an onboard tasting and La Rojena — a day out, not transport

Where the tours actually end

Read the itineraries and the same name keeps appearing: Cantaritos El Guero, a cocktail stand on the highway near Amatitan that serves the region's citrus-and-tequila drink in clay pots. Most of the tequila trips compared here finish there, one of them for a full two hours. That is not a criticism — it is the most enjoyable hour of the day for most people — but if you booked expecting an evening in Tequila's plaza, the plaza is the 90-minute stop in the middle of the afternoon.

The bus is not the cheap trick it looks like

Tequila Plus leaves the Antigua Central from 06:00 to 20:30 and Central Zapopan from 06:50 to 21:20, 60 to 70 departures a day, so the schedule is not the problem. The problem is what the fare does not include: no ride between the town and the fields, no lift to the distilleries out on the Amatitan road, and nobody sober to drive at the end. Independent works well if you plan to walk Tequila and take one distillery tour; it works badly if the point of the day is tasting.

Guachimontones Is Free — and Shut Half the Week

Two facts about the circular pyramids changed in January 2026 and most itineraries online still carry the old ones.

The opening rule that breaks plans

INAH lists the Teuchitlan zone as open Thursday to Sunday, 9:00 to 17:00, with entry free — the fee that guidebooks quote at 30 pesos is gone, and so are Tuesday and Wednesday. Check the days before you book anything: a Monday or Wednesday booking on a listing that names Guachimontones reaches a closed gate, and the operator's cancellation window is 24 hours. The figures here come from the INAH zone page, read in September 2026.

What the tour fare buys when the gate is free

With entry at zero, a $112 half-day is paying for the drive, the guide and the Phil Weigand interpretive museum — Teuchitlan is 60 km out and there is no direct bus worth the day. That is a defensible fare for a guided visit to a site whose whole point is invisible without an explanation: the circles are house platforms and a ceremonial pole base, not tombs, and the ball court beside them is one of the oldest in western Mexico. If the guiding matters less to you than the ruins, the nine-hour UNESCO route pairs the site with Tequila for $12 more.

Why it is a UNESCO site at all

The 2006 inscription is usually described as the tequila landscape, but the property has a second core zone: the Guachimontones archaeological zone at Teuchitlan. The link is the agave itself — the Teuchitlan tradition worked these same slopes 1,500 years before the first distillery, and the terraces you walk between the circles were agricultural. It is the reason a nine-hour trip that puts both in one day is a coherent itinerary rather than a scheduling stunt.

The Lake Day: Chapala, Ajijic and the Boat

The lake shore is the shortest, easiest day out of the city, and the lake listings compared here are separated by about ninety minutes and one boat ride.

What the day contains

Chapala town gives you a malecon, a pier and the pelicans; Ajijic, fifteen minutes further west, gives you painted lanes, murals and galleries. The lake is Mexico's largest freshwater lake and it is an hour from the city, so nothing about the day is rushed. The most-booked lake trip adds Rancho Los Tres Potrillos — Vicente Fernandez's ranch, now a museum, where the ranchero singer is buried — and a thirty-minute boat ride with a drink.

Doing it by bus

Chapala Plus runs from the Central Vieja on Dr. R. Michel, Sala A: regular service from 05:35 to 21:50 and a direct Ajijic run in the morning, with no online sales — the ticket is bought at the window. That makes the lake the easiest independent day on this page and the tour a convenience purchase rather than an access purchase, which is worth knowing before paying $80 for the hotel-pickup version.

The seafood-lunch caveat

Two of the lake listings compared here schedule a 90-minute stop at a seafood restaurant that is not included in the fare. It is a good stop and the bill is modest, but it is the reason an eight-hour day can leave you with only two hours actually in the two towns. If the towns are the point, the seven-hour premium trip skips the ranch and the restaurant and spends about two and a half hours in Ajijic.

When to Take the Trip, Month by Month

Bars are average daytime highs in Guadalajara in Celsius. The city sits at 1,560 m, so the heat is dry and the evenings cool; Mazamitla runs about six degrees colder and the lake shore two or three warmer.

See the Three Destinations First

Walking footage of Tequila, the Guachimontones terraces and the Ajijic lanes, so you can judge which day you actually want. We did not shoot these and have no relationship with the creators.

Tequila Centro, Pueblo Magico — 4K walking tour

The plaza, the Cuervo and Sauza frontages and the streets you get free time in. Watch it to see how much of Tequila is walkable in ninety minutes.

Video: Exploring Mexico

Teuchitlan: Los Guachimontones archaeological zone — 4K walking tour

The circles at ground level, the climb between the terraces and how exposed the site is. The best way to judge whether the half day suits your knees.

Video: Exploring Mexico

Ajijic and Chapala, Jalisco — 4K walking tour

The malecon, the murals and the pace of the lake towns, filmed end to end.

Video: Mexican Explorer

Tour, Rental Car or Bus — and the Safety Question

Every destination on this page is reachable without a tour. Whether that is the better day depends on the road, the drinking and what you make of the advisories.

What each option is good for

A rental car wins for Mazamitla and the smaller lake villages, where the buses are slow and the stops are scattered. The bus wins for Chapala and, if you are not tasting, for Tequila. The guided day wins whenever alcohol is central, whenever the site needs interpreting, and on the Guachimontones run, where public transport turns a five-hour trip into a full day.

DestinationBy tourIndependentlyWhich we would take
Tequila and AmatitanFrom $46, 8 to 9 hoursMX$153 each way plus MX$345 at La RojenaTour, if you plan to taste
Chapala and AjijicFrom $52, 7 to 8 hoursChapala Plus from the Central Vieja, about MX$80Bus, unless you want the boat
GuachimontonesFrom $112, 5 hoursNo direct service; a bus to Teuchitlan then a taxiTour
MazamitlaFrom $118, 9 hoursBus from the Central Nueva, about two hoursCar, if you have one
Magdalena opal minesFrom $172, privateNot practical without a local contactTour

The safety answer, plainly

The US State Department advisory reissued on 29 May 2026 places Jalisco at Level 3, reconsider travel, while placing no restriction on US government employees travelling in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Chapala and Ajijic — the corridor every trip on this page uses. Read those two facts together rather than separately: the state-level rating reflects cartel violence elsewhere in Jalisco, not the tourist road to Tequila. The practical advice from that same document and from Mexican highway habit is unchanged: use the toll roads, drive the intercity stretches in daylight, and use the bus or a tour rather than driving after tastings.

Nearer the city, if a day is too much

The Bosque de la Primavera, the forest on the western edge of the metropolitan area, is about 30 minutes out. The Rio Salado thermal river inside it charges two separate fees, both cash only — one for the forest, one for the recreation area — and no tour on this page goes there. It is the closest thing to a half-day escape that needs neither a booking nor a bus terminal.

Meeting Points, Pickups and What Is Shut

Four practical things decide how a day out of Guadalajara starts and whether it happens at all: where the van waits, whether it comes to you, which day you picked, and how much cash is in your pocket.

Where these trips start

Most of them meet in the same place — the Fiesta Americana at the Minerva roundabout, and there are two Fiesta Americanas in the city, which is the single most common way to miss a departure. The rest collect you from your hotel instead.

TripStartsPickupDay to avoid
Premium tequila routeMinerva, C. Aurelio Aceves 225NoNone
Classic routeMinervaNoNone
Premium with brunchMinerva, 09:45 for 10:00NoNeeds three travellers
Tequila trailMinerva, black vanNoNone
Jose Cuervo factoryHotel, or Plaza del Sol by 09:55YesNone
Chapala with boatMinervaNoNone
Chapala premiumMinerva, black vanNoNone
Chapala, pickupYour hotelYesNone
GuachimontonesYour hotel, Zapopan or GuadalajaraYesMonday to Wednesday
UNESCO doubleYour hotelYesMonday to Wednesday
MazamitlaMinervaNoNone
Magdalena opalsTwo set pointsYesNone

Carry pesos, and more than you think

Lunch is excluded from every trip on this page except the private opal day, and the stops where you will want money — the Tequila market, the cantarito stand, the seafood restaurant on the Chapala road, the crafts in Ajijic — are cash-first. Card acceptance in the towns is patchy and the ATMs in Tequila queue on weekends. Two of the operators put cash on their own what-to-bring list, which is unusual enough to be worth taking literally.

How many days the city itself needs

Two days covers central Guadalajara properly — the cathedral and Hospicio Cabanas one day, Tlaquepaque and Tonala the next, both of which are inside the metropolitan area and are not day trips in any real sense. A third day buys the tequila route, a fourth the lake or the pyramids. Below four days, take the tequila route and leave the rest; it is the day that shows you what Jalisco is for.

What Travellers Say

★★★★★ ★★★★★
Edna was our tour guide and Edgar was our driver. I've done a Tequila tour before, and it was nowhere near as informative, funny, or entertaining as this one.
Cristina · verified GetYourGuide review · August 2026
★★★★★ ★★★★★
One of our favourite experiences in Mexico. so much fun!! Edna was an awesome guide!
Vadim · verified GetYourGuide review · June 2026
★★★★★ ★★★★★
Great tour. Highly recommend this when looking for a tequila tour
William · verified GetYourGuide review · July 2026
★★★★★ ★★★★★
really good, specially the extended hours in cantaritos
Alejandro · verified GetYourGuide review · August 2026

Short excerpts from verified reviews on the listings compared here, with their original dates. The full reviews sit on GetYourGuide.

Planning a Day Trip from Guadalajara

What is the best day trip from Guadalajara?

For a first visit, the tequila route west to Amatitan and Tequila: it is the shortest drive of the four directions, it is inside a UNESCO landscape, and the day ends with a drink instead of a hike. The classic route is the cheapest full version at $46 and the premium route has the deepest review base. If you have already done tequila, the circular pyramids at Guachimontones are the more interesting day, as long as you go Thursday to Sunday: the visiting guide has the opening rule in full.

What small towns can I visit around Guadalajara?

Tequila and Mazamitla are both Pueblos Magicos, and Ajijic on the lake shore is the third. Amatitan, below Tequila in the valley, is where the older distilleries are and where most tours actually stop. Teuchitlan sits under the pyramids and is worth the extra hour if the tour offers it. Tlaquepaque and Tonala are often listed as day trips but are inside the metropolitan area — take a taxi, not a tour.

Is it safe to take day trips out of Guadalajara?

The US State Department advisory of 29 May 2026 rates Jalisco Level 3, reconsider travel, and in the same document places no restriction on US government employees travelling in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Chapala or Ajijic. Every destination compared here is on that corridor, and the safety guide sets out what the advisory does and does not say. The usual precautions apply and are about roads rather than crime: use toll highways, do the intercity legs in daylight, and do not drive yourself after a tasting.

How many days do you need in Guadalajara?

Two for the city, three or four if you want the country around it. A fourth day is what turns the trip from a city break into Jalisco: one for the agave valley, one for the lake or the pyramids. Anything beyond five days is better spent moving on to Puerto Vallarta or Michoacan than adding a fifth day trip.

Do I need to book day trips in advance?

On weekdays outside the fair season, a day or two ahead is usually enough. Book earlier for Saturdays, for the whole of the November and December fair season, and for the Guachimontones trips, which only have four running days a week and small vans. Every trip listed here holds free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure, so booking early costs nothing.

Can I do these trips without a tour?

Tequila and Chapala, yes — the buses are frequent and cheap. Getting to Tequila and the lake by bus walk through both, and what a tequila day costs prices every route. Guachimontones and the Magdalena opal mines, in practice no: there is no useful public transport to either, and the opal mines need a local contact. Mazamitla is a two-hour bus ride that works if you are staying overnight.

Pick a date, check the live price, and start with the road west into agave country.

Saturdays on the tequila route and the whole November to December fair season sell out first.

Every trip compared here can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before departure, on the platform that took the booking.

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