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Last Updated on December 30, 2023 by Natalie

Queretaro, Mexico is a wonderful place to call home, even temporarily. If you decide to base yourself in Queretaro for your time in Mexico, there are so may great day trips from Queretaro you can take. Let’s get to enjoying what central Mexico has to offer!

Queretaro makes a great base for temporary digital nomads or those temporarily working from home who want to experience a little something different while they have the opportunity to do so. If you can spare a month or two, Queretaro has a lot to see.

Wondering about what it’s like to live in Mexico? Here you can read all about living in Queretaro!

Best day trips from Queretaro

Queretaro offers so many great day trip and weekend trip options. Some of which are out of this world – or at least it feels like it! While the following can be done in a day, they also make great weekend getaways, if you have the time to spare.

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San Miguel de Allende

We have visited San Miguel both on weekend getaways and day trips. The drive takes around 1 hour from the city center, depending on traffic within Queretaro. San Miguel is a city to visit with plans only to walk around, eat food, try new ice creams, and just enjoy the atmosphere. We’ve been fortunate enough to stumble upon dance performances in the main square, too. You never know what you’ll find in San Miguel!

On my first trip, there was so much English being spoken, it felt like I was in the states for a minute. However, San Miguel attracts tourists from all over, so if you’re paying attention, you’ll hear a lot of Russian, French, German, and other languages.

Additionally, you can visit one of the hot springs in San Miguel and relax before tackling the centro.

Teotihuacan Pyramids (outside Mexico City)

Depending on your location in Queretaro, it takes around 3 hours without traffic to get to the pyramids. We hired a driver who doubled as our tour guide to explore Teotihuacan. This private tour option was one of the more expensive options, but we felt it was the easiest thing for us at the time, especially since we wanted to use the car seats for the kids. Even if you have a car rented, you can’t just drive into Mexico City. You have to have the correct plates and tags and even then, you have to know what days and times you’re allowed to drive there. It can be complicated and if you don’t follow the rules, it could end up being costly. It’s better to take a bus or hire a driver.

There’s so much to do in Mexico City that it definitely can be a great weekend (or week-long) trip, too. We explored the pyramids over about 1.5-2 hours and then grabbed a meal at Restaurante La Cueva Teotihuacán, where I tried grasshoppers.

A cool feature about these pyramids is that you can climb them, which can help keep your child’s interest a little longer. A lot of these archeological sights are really cool because of how different they are to modern day architecture. When you can actually touch the rocks and feel the stones under your feet, it brings history to life.

Peña de Bernal

The Peña de Bernal is a huge monolith in San Sebastian de Bernal. You can hike up a good portion, but you have to use special equipment to get to the top. I haven’t climbed it yet, but my husband climbed it early on in our stay. We have spent some time wandering around San Sebastian de Bernal and I highly recommend it. The wares are much cheaper than in San Miguel. It’s a touristy town, but it’s not one that attracts a huge amount of international visitors. It’s an awesome place to visit, especially when you’re local. The drive is around an hour (36 miles, 59 km).

There are nice little hotels and it makes for a nice weekend getaway, too.

Tequisquiapan

Tequisquiapan is known because of the vineyards in the area, including Vineyards La Redonda and De Cote, which are both excellent places to visit. On our wintery visiting trip, we stayed overnight. Our accommodations were a little bit out of town, but I would recommend staying in town if you want to explore. You will need transportation if you’re planning to go on the Quetertaro wine and cheese route.

We’ve visited several Queretaro wineries. The easiest way to get around is by having access to a car. Everything is close enough for a day trip out out to visit the wineries, sample their wares, and return to your hotel in the city.

Rincon de Parangueo

The Rincon de Parangueo is part of the Las Sietes Luminarias (Seven Luminaries) a series of 7 craters around Ville de Santiago, Guanujuato. It’s good to know it’s real name, though the Las Sietes Luminarias signs point you to this crater. It’s not easy to find. Also, if you have a local friend to go with you, do that. It’s under 2 hours from Queretaro and it remains one of my favorite day trips (72 miles, 116 km). Being inside the crater feels like being on a different planet. It’s an incredible place.

Around the crater, there are vendors from whom you can buy food and drinks. I do recommend bringing water (just in case) and wearing clothing and shoes that are appropriate for climbing around outdoors. This place was one of my favorite places to visit, due to the vastness of the crater. It felt otherworldly in the best way possible.

Best weekend trips from Queretaro

Xilitla and Edward James’ Surreal Garden

It is absolutely worth going to Xilitla to visit the Surrealist Garden by Edward James. If you drive from Queretaro, the map will tell you that it’s 169 miles (272 km) and that it will take nearly 5 hours. That doesn’t sound right, does it? Listen to the map because it speaks true. The drive goes through the Sierra Gorda mountains and those mountains are not joking around. It feels like you’re a million miles in the air while switch backing through the mountain roads, without guardrails on the straight aways. This trip is best done on a long weekend or four days, if you can spare it.

There is an alternate route that takes you through San Luis Potosi. It is longer at 324 miles (522 km) and just over 7 hours. It’s supposed to be an easier drive that the route I described above, but it doesn’t seem like it’s that much easier to drive and I haven’t driven that route yet to confirm.

Still, the Surreal Garden is so neat and I do recommend visiting it if you can. Even my kids, who were 4 and 5 then, had so much fun. Arrive at the garden early and be prepared for rainy weather.

Viñedos Puerta del Lobo Queretaro

While Puerta del Lobo is an easy day trip to visit the winery or have a meal at the restaurant, it’s best experienced by staying a weekend in the hotel. We stayed several days with another family and had a dreamy experience. A hiking path up the mountain that is part of the hotel grounds is a do-able hike, even for young-ish kids. They are busy adding things and since my first visit, they’ve added some amenities to the top of the mountain.

I can’t get enough of this hotel and the beauty around it. I enjoyed everything about it. It’s quite luxurious and relaxing. When the city gets to be too much, this is the place you go to slow down and enjoy life.

Tequila, Mexico

Tequila is a typical, small town in Mexico, with one special addition: the tequila making factories! We stayed at the Barrel Hotel and it was pretty cool being surrounded by agave. However, it’s a bit far from the centro, so be prepared to use taxis or other transportation if you don’t have a car. Staying there was awesome because a tour of the tequila factory is included with the price of your room! We loved exploring Tequila, learning how to make tequila, and tasting tequila. The best part about being on the hotel grounds after you’ve had your tasting and free beverage? You can safely stumble back to your room.

Guadalajara, Mexico

Guadalajara, Mexico is a huge city (3rd largest by metro population, at the time of this writing). One of my favorite areas, so far, is Tlaquepaque (Tlah-kay-pah-kay). It’s a colorful area, known for the many ships and vendors hanging around the walking-only street. If you want to shop for things, including pottery, jewelry, clothing, art, food, and more, this the place to go.

Since Guadalajara is so big, it’s best to focus a weekend trip on a single area. It makes it much easier to enjoy exploring when you aren’t on tight time frame.

In conclusion

There is so much to explore around central Mexico. Queretaro is a perfect home base for doing a lot of exploring. Though the Mexican coasts get a lot off attention (and rightfully so), central Mexico has so much to offer adventurous explorers.

What are your favorite day trips from Queretaro? The best feedback comes from my readers. Please leave a comment.  Thanks!

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