What to Do in Your First 48 Hours
Published Jul 3, 2026 · updated Jul 3, 2026
The anxious question is usually some version of “how do I not get ripped off the second I land?” The honest answer: you mostly won’t, if you get four small things right in the first two days. Money, a phone number, your ride from the airport, and cash for tips. Handle those and the rest of the trip gets easy.
At the airport: money first
Skip the currency exchange desks in the arrivals hall. Their rates are bad. Use a bank ATM instead. Look for names like BBVA, Santander, or Banorte over standalone machines with flashy “no fee” promises, which usually hide a worse rate. The machine will ask if you want to be charged in your home currency; always choose pesos, not dollars, or you eat a markup. Pull out enough for a few days at once to save on per-withdrawal fees.
Get a SIM or eSIM
Data changes everything: maps, ride apps, translation, restaurant reviews. Telcel has the widest coverage in the country, and you can often buy a prepaid SIM at an Oxxo convenience store, which are everywhere. Many phones now support eSIM, which you can set up before you even land. Either way, having your own data means you are never dependent on a stranger’s directions.
Your first ride from the airport
This is where first-timers overpay. Do not follow anyone who approaches you offering a taxi. At most major airports you buy a fixed-price taxi ticket from an official booth inside before you exit, so there is no fare to negotiate and no meter games. In many cities Uber and DiDi also work and show the price up front. Either is fine; the thing to avoid is the guy who grabs your bag and names a price in the parking lot.
What a friend who lives here would tell you: keep small bills and coins on you from day one. Mexico runs on tips and small cash payments, and the person bagging your groceries, the gas attendant, the guy watching the parked cars all expect a few pesos. Roughly 5 to 20 pesos handles most of these, approximate. Breaking a 500 note is a daily struggle, so grab smaller bills when you can.
Settle in slow
Do not schedule anything demanding for day one. Eat somewhere close to where you are staying, drink bottled or filtered water until you know the local situation, and let your body adjust to the altitude if you have landed somewhere high like Mexico City. The city will still be there tomorrow.
The 48-hour checklist
- Pesos from a bank ATM, charged in pesos not your home currency
- A working SIM or eSIM, Telcel for widest coverage
- A fixed-price official taxi ticket or a ride app from the airport
- A pocket of small bills and coins for tips