👎Mexico City: Don't be "that" tourist

Visiting Mexico City? Blend in and be a good visitor with these simple etiquette rules on money, clothes, Spanish, and more.

Paul has a word for these tourists—“gringbros.”

They’re a block away, and yet their voices are all you can hear. They’re dressed like they’re in Cancun, not Mexico City. They’re taking up the whole sidewalk, and they all have beers in their hands, like they can’t manage the five-minute walk between bars without drinking.

You don’t want to be like them.

The fact that you care about how you come across means you’re more than halfway there. Most of what makes you a good visitor comes down to being polite and respectful when you’re out in public.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re in Mexico City, so you won’t be that “gringbro” who’s making the locals roll their eyes.

💰Shut up about how cheap you think everything is

What seems like a bargain to you might be outrageously expensive to someone with a different standard of living.

To be a respectful tourist in Mexico City, keep in mind that “cheap” is relative, so it can be rude to talk about what a bargain everything is.

From souvenirs to restaurant meals to Ubers, things are probably less expensive than what you’re used to in the U.S.

They are probably not cheap to the restaurant server, store owner or front desk clerk who can hear you.

Minimum wage in Mexico City is $315.04 pesos per day.

That’s a little more than $18 USD.

Minimum wage in Mexico City is about $18 USD per day.

A $54 USD dinner may seem cheap to you, but it could be three days’ pay for someone within earshot.

In the same vein, that $4 USD Uber that seems like a bargain is out of reach for someone paying $0.25 USD to take the metro or the bus.

💬Learn and use a few Spanish words

A greeting to a shopkeeper is always the right thing to do.

Yes, you should speak Spanish in Mexico City. Yes, you’ll feel awkward. You’ll worry about your pronunciation. You may even be corrected by locals. Do it anyway.

Don’t just walk into a place speaking English and assuming someone will understand you.

No one expects you to be fluent in Spanish before a vacation, but you can learn enough to be polite:

Duolingo basics: Our strategies and tips to help you get started

• Buenos días/buenas tardes/buenas noches: Good morning/good afternoon/good evening.
  This sounds formal in English, but it’s a polite, friendly greeting in Spanish, like “hi” or “hello.” Greet people in stores and restaurants as you enter.

• ¿Habla ingles?: Do you speak English?

• Por favor: Please.

• Gracias: Thank you.

• La cuenta, por favor: The check please.
  You usually have to ask for the check in Mexico City. The server won’t assume you’re finished or leave a check and say “take your time” or “whenever you’re ready.”

• Hasta luego: See you later, used more than “adios” for goodbye.

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Your Spanish will probably be so bad that the other person will speak in English, or offer to, if they can. If not, you’ll need to muddle through with gestures, pointing, and your translation app.

🤫Keep your voice down

A street like this is not the place to be loud.

If you want to be a respectful visitor in Mexico City, read the room (or street, or bus) before you talk.

If you’re cheering for a soccer team at a crowded bar or you’re shouting to your friends over the music at a club, fine.

But if you’re walking down a peaceful neighborhood sidewalk, riding the Metro or Metrobus, or having a latte at a quiet cafe, keep your voice down. Listen for a second, and drop your volume down below what you can hear around you.

And it goes without saying (but of course I’ll say it) use headphones. No one wants to hear you FaceTime your friends/kids/cat sitter.

📷Before you take someone’s photo, ask

Give the street performers a few pesos if you take a photo.

Locals and vendors don’t necessarily want to be in your Instagram or TikTok. Ask “¿Puedo tomar una foto?”

If you photograph or video a street performer or musician, leave a tip.

🩴Skip the sandals

Also no.

Mexico City is a long way from the beach, and it’s a city—the sidewalks can be dusty in the dry season and full of puddles in the rainy season.

Plus, most of the year, it’s chilly in the evenings and a lot of restaurants are indoor/outdoor with plenty of fresh air. Nothing says “tourist” like someone shivering in a sundress because they didn’t even bother to check the weather and pack a sweater.

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You’re probably going to look like a tourist regardless of what you wear, but you’ll at least look like you’re trying with sneakers, jeans, a plain shirt or sweater, and a cross-body bag or backpack.

• Exception: Dressy sandals for a nice dinner when you don’t have to walk far are fine.

🔇Keep your comments to yourself

You will find a place to eat that’s open in Mexico City, I promise!

Not everything will be the same as it is for you at home. If it was, why would you leave?

That doesn’t mean things that are different are weird or bad, even if you think what you’re used to is better.

It may be surprising or inconvenient for you to find out that a breakfast spot opens at 9 a.m. But it works for the people who work there and the locals who eat there.

💧Don’t ask if it’s safe to drink the water

If water or ice is served to you in a restaurant, it’s filtered. You don’t need to ask if it’s “safe.”

Mexicans can’t drink tap water here either. That’s why you see so much bottled water for sale on every street corner.

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If you would rather not drink water that’s served to you, just leave it there.

If you want bottled water, ask for “agua natural” for plain water or “agua mineral” for sparkling water.

The word for ice is “hielo.” If you don’t want ice, you can say, “Sin hielo, por favor.”

(Thanks to Lydia of Mexico City Streets, which you should absolutely subscribe to, for pointing out how common this is.)

Do you have tips to add? Leave them in the comments.

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