Are you wondering how much does a trip to Mexico cost, then this post is for you! In this post, we breakdown all our expenses for our 10 day trip to Playa La Saladita and Sayulita. This post should give you a good idea of how much your Mexico trip will cost if it is similar to ours. Mexico is very affordable and is a great destination for budget and luxury travelers alike.
1 USD is approximately 20 Mexican peso. All prices will be quoted in USD below unless otherwise stated.
Our 10 day Mexico Itinerary
Below is our 10 day Mexico itinerary flying in from Costa Rica. This trip was actually longer because we flew to Las Vegas after Mexico but I'm not going to include that part in here. We did not rent a car and relied on taxis and walking to get around.
- Day 1: Fly San Jose, Costa Rica - Mexico City - Ixtapa, went to Playa La Saladita.
- Day 2: Playa La Saladita
- Day 3: Playa La Saladita
- Day 4: Playa La Saladita
- Day 5: Flew to Puerto Vallarta, went to Sayulita.
- Day 6: Sayulita
- Day 7: Sayulita
- Day 9: Sayulita
- Day 10: Flew to Las Vegas
Our total cost of travel in Mexico for 10 days was $3172.92 USD. Below is our breakdown so you can see how much things cost in Mexico, how much taxis cost in Mexico, how much food costs in Mexico and more. We didn't travel to Mexico on a strict budget, we traveled normally (not super luxury, not super budget).
Sayulita and Playa La Saladita
How Much it Costs to Travel in Mexico
Flights
We purchased 1 way tickets from Costa Rica to Mexico as we were going to Las Vegas after and purchased different flights for that part of the trip. The cost of our flight from SJO, Costa Rica - Zihuatanejo - Puerto Vallarta was $485 USD per person with Aeromexico. We traveled with carry on only so we didn't pay for extra luggage or seat upgrades.
Total cost of flights for 2 people: $970 USD
Playa La Saladita
Below are our expenses for Playa La Saladita.
Transportation
We didn't rent a car in Playa La Saladita although in hindsight, I kind of wish we did. But for our first time there, it was fine and we managed with taxis. Plus we were there for only 3 days to surf so it worked out. If we ever go back, I'll be sure to rent a car and stay longer to explore more of the area.
We took a taxi from the ZIH airport to our Airbnb in Playa La Saladita with the official taxi stand at the airport. It cost $59.21 USD and we paid with our credit card. Then for our taxi ride back to the airport, we paid $45 USD in cash to a local driver from La Saladita.
Then we also took taxis a couple times to visit the nearby town of Los Llanos. It was about $5 USD per way and we went twice ($20 USD total).
Total cost of transportation in Playa La Saladita: $124.21 USD
Lodging
We stayed at a vacation rental in Playa La Saladita called Casa Cuchara. It cost $150 USD per night so for four nights, it was $700 USD. This was a beautiful luxury home with an infinity pool, free high speed Wi-Fi and fully furnished apartments. It was about a 8-10 minute walk to the surf.
Total cost of lodging for 2 people in Playa La Saladita: $700 USD
Food
We didn't do much in Playa La Saladita as we were mainly there to surf and relax. We didn't eat out too much in Playa La Saladita, we ended up cooking majority of our meals due to the lack of open restaurants and we didn't have a car. On our way from the airport to Playa La Saladita, we stopped at the Mega supermarket to stock up on groceries. We spent $45.30 USD at the supermarket.
We did eat out 4 times: we went to Los Llanos twice for dinner and had lunch at the beachfront restaurants Doña Oli and Enramada Yanet. Obviously the beachfront restaurants were a bit more expensive compared to the places in Los Llanos but it was really nice to watch the sunset and surfers while having a good meal and friendly conversation. The restaurants on the beach can be around $6-8 USD a plate and $2 USD for a drink and the places in town are like $2.50 USD for 3 tacos.
Total cost of food including groceries for 2 people in Playa La Saladita for 4 days: $115.30 USD
Activities
4 day surf board rentals for 2 longboards in Playa La Saladita cost us $78 USD for two people.
Extras
We left $50 USD in tips.
Total Expenses for 4 days in Playa La Saladita: $1067.51 USD
The biggest expense in Playa La Saladita was accommodation. Since there aren't really any hotels, the main choices are vacation rentals. Most of the beachfront vacation rentals ran around the same price we paid, the rentals that aren't beachfront were cheaper. However, we wanted a pool, to be beachfront and be close to the surf break so we paid a bit more for nicer accommodation.
Food was not very expensive and I am SO grateful we stopped at the supermarket to pick up groceries or else we would have gone hungry many meals. It's not that we wanted to save money on food, it was just that many restaurants had very odd opening hours so even when we wanted to go out to eat, the restaurant wasn't open and the restaurants were around a 10-15 minute walk away.
Sayulita Expenses
Below are our expenses for Sayulita (4 days).
Transportation
We took a taxi from the Puerto Vallarta airport to Sayulita since our flight landed at 11 PM at night. This cost $65 USD. If we landed during the day, I wouldn't have minded to take the public bus which is way cheaper.
Then for our taxi ride back to the airport at the end of our trip, we split a cab with a friend and paid $30 USD.
We stayed in Sayulita the entire time and didn't rent a car or take taxis anywhere.
Total cost for taxis in Sayulita: $85 USD.
Accommodation
In Sayulita, we stayed a hotel called Rivieria Hotel. The total cost was $452 USD for 4 nights. This was a comfortable hotel outside downtown Sayulita so it was nice and quiet. No windows in the hotel room but it had a big pool and was right next to a pharmacy and pizza place. A 10 minute walk to the beach.
Total cost for hotel in Sayulita: $452 USD
Activities
We didn't do any tours or excursions in Sayulita but we did a surf trip to Playa La Lancha via car. The day trip to Playa La Lancha was $20 USD per person for the transportation and then we had to pay for surfboard rentals separately which cost $78.66 (2 day surfboard rental for 2 people).
Cost of activities: $118.66 USD
Food
As for food, we ate A LOT and we didn't discriminate in what we ate and drank since we really wanted to enjoy ourselves. In Sayulita, we went to both local and tourist places on the beach and enjoyed a lot of happy hour. Personal recommendation: Tacos Al Pastor Tal Ivan. Some of the best al pastor tacos ever and so cheap!
Cost of food in Sayulita (4 days for 2 people): $262.13
Extras
In Sayulita, we paid $127.62 USD for COVID tests in Sayulita. Unfortunately we were entering the US right before the 24 hour COVID test requirement was removed so we still had to get antigen tests in December 2021.
We also got massages on the beach for $40 USD total for the both of us.
We gave $50 USD in tips.
Total cost: $217.62 USD
Total Expenses for 4 days in Sayulita: $1145.41 USD
Although our hotel in Sayulita was cheaper than our rental in La Saladita, we spent more on food in Sayulita and other little things since we met up with a friend in Sayulita so we went out more.
Cost of Travel in Mexico Wrap Up
After not being to travel internationally for nearly 2 years, we were not too strict about our expenses for this trip. We weren't looking to spend thousands and thousands of dollars but we weren't going to limit ourselves to finding only the cheapest places to eat and cheapest places to stay. We wanted to travel comfortably and enjoy ourselves, especially as it was our very first trip where we went just to surf.
Our overall total cost for 2 people spending 10 days in Mexico with one way flights was $3182.92 USD. We paid using a combination of credit card and cash, as we exchanged some money (USD to Mexican pesos). Very important travel tip: Exchange your money! USD is not accepted in Mexico and credit cards were not accepted everywhere. We actually found the best exchange rate at the ZIH Airport. Mexico City International Airport didn't have a great exchange rate and when we tried to exchange money at the local shops and businesses, they gave a horrible exchange rate.
If you are more on a budget, you can definitely cut down your expenses by staying at cheaper places and eating only at local places or cooking your meals. You could also bring your own surfboard to avoid paying for rentals. I wish we brought our own boards but as we were going to Las Vegas afterwards, it wasn't possible.
All in all, Mexico is a very affordable country to travel and we hope our cost of travel in Mexico post helped give you an idea of around what you may spend. Remember, how much your trip to Mexico will cost depends on where you're going and where you're staying. If you're staying at an all-inclusive, your expenses will be drastically different. If you're visiting long term in a local village, your expenses will not be similar to ours. But for those who are also thinking about visiting Playa La Saladita and Sayulita, we hope this post was helpful!