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Mexico City (CDMX) is the capital of the Mexican Republic, the seat of the federal powers, and the most populous city in the country. With an extension of 1,485 km² and a maximum height of 3,930 m, Mexico City has established itself as one of the most important financial and cultural centers of the American continent and of the entire globe by receiving distinguished recognition as the 1 Place to go in 2016, granted by The New York Times, and World Design Capital in 2018, awarded by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID).

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Mexico is the Latin American country with the largest UNESCO World Heritage list and the sixth in the world. It has 51 locations registered as cultural heritage sites, of which 12 are natural goods, 37 are cultural, and 2 are mixed. You can visit some of them during your stay.

General Information

Language

Spanish is Mexico’s official language, but the personnel also speak English at most hotels and tour services.

Electricity

The voltage in Mexico is 110 V/60 Hz. The plugs are flat-pinned, type B, like those used in the United States. We recommend carrying adapters as they are not available in all hotels.

Type B plug and socket
Type A plug
Type B socket

Weather

The rainy season typically begins in May and ends around October. Generally, it consists of sunny mornings followed by cloudy afternoons with some rain. Mornings and nights may be cold. The average temperature is 16 °C. Check the weather forecast.

In January, it will generally be cold but sunny. However, since we will be going on outdoor trips, please make sure to bring a good jacket to stay warm.

Tips

In Mexico, it's customary to tip 10% of the total bill in restaurants, bars, and cafes or 15% when the service is exceptional. In some establishments, the tip is included in the final bill, so it's recommended that you review every ticket carefully. Tipping the waiters, valets, gas dispensers, bellboys, and other service providers is also customary. Leaving no tip at all is frowned upon.

Phone calls

Check the roaming rates with the local operator when calling from your cell phone. Buying a phone card available at self-service stores, magazine stands, hotels, travel agencies, and airports is recommended. To make a long-distance call, follow these steps:

To dial a phone inside Mexico: 01 + area code + number
To dial a local cell phone: 044 + area code + number
To dial a cell phone from another state of the Mexican Republic: 045 + area code + number
To dial the United States and Canada: 001 + area code + number
To dial to any other country: 00 + country code + city code + number

An operator can assist with long-distance calls by dialing 020 from a local phone or 090 from an international one.

To obtain more information from a bilingual operator, dial 090.

Safety Considerations

Emergency Hotline

You may not have problems in Mexico City if you keep in mind the following recommendations:

Avoid ostentation: do not wear jewelry or eye-catching accessories when going out.
Watch your wallet, cell phone, or any electronic equipment, especially in public and crowded places.
Carry just the money you need for the daily expenses and a credit card. At any ATM you can get some cash.
Take an official identification with you or a copy of it.
Avoid lonely and dark places.
Use preferably the service of a taxi base. You may also use a mobility app like Uber or Cabify, both available in Mexico City. We recommend you avoid catching taxis on the street.
Request a ticket or commercial invoice as proof of your purchases. If you have any problem related to purchases, services or bills, you may call the Federal Consumer Attorney (Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor, PROFECO) at +52(55)52111723 (in Mexico City) and at 01 800 468 8722, or send an email at asesoria@profeco.gob.mx. To make a complaint from your residence country, you may also email the unit of foreign travelers: extranjeros@profeco.gob.mx.

Important phone numbers

Police, Ambulance, Fire: 911
Anonymous complaint: 089

Mexico City Tour Guides

To download a free tour guide of Mexico City, follow the links:

Transportation

Public transportation in Mexico City

There are several public transportation systems in Mexico City: subway (Metro), light rail, trolleybus, and a vast variety of bus services (Metrobus, RTP, Pesero, Mexibus, Pumabus), and public bikes (you need to download an app and pay about 6 USD dollars per day for unlimited 45 min. rides).

Google Maps and CityMapper are good references.

Airport

Mexico City International Airport, Terminal 2

The only airport in Mexico City is the International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, AICM). Check at your hotel what time you should leave to avoid losing your flight due to the street traffic. As an alternative airport, you may use the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, also known as AIFA, located 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of Mexico City.

Bus stations

Mexico City has excellent bus connections with the entire Republic. Here, you may find the four main bus stations:

Terminal Bus Station of the North (Terminal de Autobuses del Norte)
Terminal Bus Station of the South (Terminal de Autobuses del Sur)
Terminal Bus Station of the Passengers of the East (Terminal de Autobuses de Pasajeros de Oriente, TAPO)
Central Bus Station of the West (Central de Autobuses del Poniente)

Taxi

Taxis circulate in all the main avenues and streets of the city; however, it is recommended to use only those taxis from an identifiable base or those using a card with the letter B in the right rear window with the driver's information. Safe taxi bases can be found in the airport, at the hotels, and at visited places. To request a taxi using your cell phone, you may download these apps: Uber and Didi.

For scholarship recipients

If you're a scholarship recipient a shuttle will cover your trip from the airport to the Hotel and vice versa.

As of September 2024 Uber can not enter Mexico City's International Airport (AICM) to pick you up. Users have to walk a long way to get to the designated pickup spot (video showing how to get to this place)
You can get a cab instead in Terminals 1 and 2 (location map). If you want to split the fare, we encourage participants to share their arrival time in the Telegram chat.

Exchange rate and currency

Currency

The official currency in Mexico is the peso ($). You can find 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, or 1,000 peso bills in circulation and 1, 2, 5, and 10 peso coins. To clarify any questions about bills and coins, visit the official page of the Bank of Mexico (Banco de México).

For any small purchase, it is advisable to use low-density banknotes. Here, you can learn more about the currency and the exchange rates.

Credit cards

The most accepted credit cards are Visa, American Express, and MasterCard.

ATMs or cash dispensers

All the essential bank branches have ATMs compatible with credit or debit cards. The cash available in all these ATMs is in Mexican pesos.

Tax refunds for tourists

Some businesses affiliated with the Taxback program may refund 65% of the value-added tax on the total purchase if the customer is not a Mexican. This only applies to purchases with a minimum value of 1,200 pesos.

Classification of taxes

Value-added tax (Impuesto sobre el Valor Agregado, IVA): 16% of the total value of any product and/or service.

The hotel room tax (Impuesto sobre el Hospedaje, ISH) is 3% over the hotel value.

Special tax over Products and Services (Impuesto Especial sobre Producción y Servicios, IEPS): it may go from 25% to 160% over the value of some luxury goods, fuels, and plaguicides.

Venue and Accommodation

El Colegio de Mexico

Venue

The conference will take place at El Colegio de México (COLMEX) and its Daniel Cosío Villegas Library (BDCV). COLMEX is one of Latin America's most prestigious institutions dedicated to higher education and research in the humanities and social sciences.

Located in Mexico City, the campus is renowned for its modernist architecture, serene surroundings, and commitment to fostering academic excellence.

Accessibility

Non-Gender Divided Bathrooms: The library's first floor features non-gender divided single-occupancy restrooms.
Family-Friendly Amenities: Changing stations for babies are available in the library's restrooms, and there is a designated room in the library where parents can spend time with their children.
Wheelchair Accessibility: The campus is wheelchair-friendly, with ramps, elevators, and accessible restrooms to support attendees with mobility needs.
Modern Conference Spaces: The conference will utilize an auditorium with live interpretation (English-Spanish and vice versa) for Keynotes.

Meals

For scholarship recipients, breakfast will be provided at the hotel, lunch at the convention, and dinner will be covered during social events (in case you don't want to attend, let the organizers know)

For all other registered participants, two coffee breaks will be covered with snacks, and lunch will be served at the venue.

Mexico Travel Health Guide

More about this

It is necessary to consider some illnesses that tourists in Mexico usually experience.

Turista

“Tourist,” sometimes known as “Montezuma’s Revenge,” is the most common health ailment experienced by foreign visitors to Mexico. Turista is a mild form of diarrhea, although it comes in various strengths and can last from a day to a week. A change in environment (food, climate) could cause a mild bout of this, and you should not be concerned if it does—it’s pretty normal.

More severe forms are acquired by drinking non-purified water (the most common way) or foods that have not been appropriately prepared. Provided that you eat sensibly (only at good restaurants and hotels), watch the water you drink (see drinking water in Mexico), and don’t overdo it on the spicy food, you should be fine. If you do become affected, the BEST thing is lots of liquids (not much food)—and go and buy some “Pedialyte” (pronounced “peh-dee-ah-lee-teh)— this is a hydration drink with added salt, sugars, and electrolytes that help your body to re-hydrate. This is important when you have diarrhea, as your body constantly releases fluids. Available at all pharmacies, with a choice of artificial flavors. It doesn't taste excellent, but it does the job! Alternatively, any Gatorade (European Name: Lucozade) drink will do the same job and taste better.

Altitude Sickness

There are many good places to visit in Mexico that are at altitude. When you mix heat of around 25-30 degrees centigrade and altitude above a couple of thousand meters, you get an environment that can be very uncomfortable and tiring for people not accustomed to it! Common symptoms include headaches, loss of appetite, and the inability to sleep well. If you plan to visit places at high altitude, remember that it will take a day or two for your body to adjust. Plan plenty of rest breaks, drink plenty of water, take aspirin or Paracetamol if you get headaches, and avoid spending too much time in direct sunlight. After a day or two, you can scale up your activity schedule as your body adjusts to its new environment!

Heat Exhaustion

Mexico is very, very hot in places. If you’re walking around in the sunshine, take bottled water with you and always keep hydrated. A sun hat is a good investment—you can buy a good one just about anywhere in Mexico! Salt deficiency is another problem—as you sweat, your body excretes the salt it needs. Tiredness, headaches, and muscle cramps can happen through salt deficiency. Add some salt to your food if you don’t normally do this at home; consider taking some salt tablets (you can buy these at any local pharmacy). If you get very dehydrated, go to a pharmacy and buy “Pedialyte”—this is a hydration drink with salt, sugars, and electrolytes that help your body to rehydrate.

Heatstroke

Nasty cousin of the previous ailment; this condition is serious and can be fatal, so watch out! You can get heatstroke if you fail to follow the advice above and spend too long in the sunshine without drinking anything. The intense heat and lack of liquid can cause your body’s natural heating and cooling system to malfunction, and your body temperature will rise to very dangerous levels, possibly fatal ones. General symptoms are severe headaches and no sweating, coupled with dizziness, vomiting, and/or nausea. Hospitalization will be essential, but initially, getting out of the sun, cooled down, and hydrated (if not unconscious) is a priority. You can cool someone down by removing their clothing and wrapping them in a wet towel or sheet.

Jet Lag

Jet Lag occurs when you travel across several time zones. Your body’s clock is set to sleep and wake naturally, and at times, it is set in the place where you live. Travel to a significantly different time zone, and your body clock gets all confused! Traveling from east to west (e.g., Europe to Mexico), you should experience very little jet lag because you are, in fact, gaining time. You’ll arrive late afternoon or evening and should be tired at around 10 pm, just in time for an early night after a long journey. When you wake up, you should feel fine.

Traveling east from Mexico (e.g. Mexico to Europe) will be a different matter because you are losing time. When you return to Europe, your body will want to sleep, but it’s morning in Europe, and time to get up and about. Your body thinks it’s 2 am! If you are traveling east, try to get some sleep on the flight if you can so that you’ll arrive having had some rest already. Try NOT to go to sleep (however much you want to) when you arrive back—doing so could severely upset your biological clock for a couple of days. Resist the temptation to sleep until around 7 pm the evening of your arrival. When you wake up the next day, you should be fine!