Where to stay

Choosing where to stay in Mexico comes down to matching the place to the trip. Beach cities such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel and La Paz draw travellers for sand and water, with Puerto Vallarta and Cancun also carrying the largest family-friendly hotel counts in this selection. Colonial and cultural cities — Oaxaca, San Miguel De Allende and Mexico City — suit walks through historic streets and long museum days, and each holds a mix of 5-, 4- and 3-star hotels. San Miguel De Allende stands out for parking, and Cancun for the sheer breadth of its hotel choice.

A second group of places works for a specific purpose rather than a classic holiday. Hermosillo is a 3-star city with 15 hotels and parking at all 15, so it fits an overnight on a northern route. Inland cities such as Toluca, Villahermosa and Guanajuato are built almost entirely around 3-star hotels. Coastal spots including Playa Del Carmen and Tulum add 5-star resorts beside 4- and 3-star options, while Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo keeps to 4- and 5-star properties. Weather matters too: on the coasts, September to mid-November brings rain and hurricane season, and Holy Week, July-August and the year-end holidays are the peaks.

Three-star hotels carry most of the choice in the smaller cities: Hermosillo, Toluca, Villahermosa, Guanajuato, Juarez, Chetumal and Ciudad Del Carmen list no 5-star hotels at all, and places such as Tijuana, Guadalajara and Merida keep 3-star alongside 4- and 5-star options. Choose 3-star for a straightforward base where the destination, not the property, is the point. Four- and 5-star hotels cluster in the resort and large-city destinations: Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Playa Del Carmen, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose Del Cabo and Tulum each have 45 hotels and 15 of them 5-star, and Cozumel and Oaxaca add 4- and 5-star properties beside their 3-star ones. For a beach or city holiday with the fullest range, start there.