Have you booked a flight from Colombia to somewhere in Canada or the US, with a 12-hour layover in Mexico City?

If so, you’ve most likely booked a cheap flight on Aeromexico. These discount flights usually leave the Rio Negro airport (Medellin) at 1am and get into Mexico City early morning around 4:45am. In my case, I booked a flight from Medellin to Toronto with a 12-hour stop over in Mexico City.

My motive for taking this red-eye flight was pretty simple – I wanted to SAVE MONEY. It would cost me about $300-$500 less to do the stopover in Mexico City than to fly directly to Toronto. I figured that even if I spent an extra $150 while in Mexico City, I would still come out in top.

The good news is that you don’t have to spend the entire 12 hours sitting in the airport waiting for your next flight. I decided to put this post together for those of you who have a similar layover and want to make the best of it.

What to do with Your Baggage If You Leave The Airport

I’m sure you’re wondering whether you’ll have to drag all of your suitcases and bags around with you all day. Spoiler – YOU DON’T!

Once you arrive in Mexico City, you will be required to first go through customs, then collect your all of your checked luggage. NOTE:  Your checked bags DO NOT get sent automatically to your next flight. You will have to go pick them up.

After collecting your bags from the baggage claims area, you’ll have two options.

The first option is to take all your bags and leave the airport through the massive exit doors in the baggage claim area. You can’t miss these doors since there is only one set of doors to exit once you have your bags.

The second option, the one I took, is to take your bags to the connecting flights baggage drop-off area (directly to the right of the exit doors in the baggage claims area). You will be required to put your suitcases and hand-luggage through a massive scanner. You may also be required to have your bags manually checked by a security officer. This is just a formality. Once they have checked your bags, you will walk a few more steps to the baggage drop-off carousel for connecting flights. Once you send your baggage through, the next time you will see them is when you arrive at your final destination. This was extremely convenient for me since I had about 15kg of coffee and several heavy Christmas presents which I didn’t care to fetch around the city. Without the suitcase I only had a small backpack and a hand-luggage with wheels.

IF you decide not to leave the airport, you can just take the escalator upstairs to the waiting areas.

Going by taxi from the Benito Juárez International Airport to the Historic Center of Mexico City

Since time is a limiting factor, I recommend taking a taxi instead of going on a crazy adventure on public transportation.

Right outside the baggage claim exit, you will see an area clearly marked as Taxis Autorizados (Authorized Taxis). There you can pre-pay for your taxi. Prepaid taxis are great because you know exactly how much you will pay for the ride and there are no surprises once you get to your destination. Depending on which area of the city your pan to check out, the price of the taxi will vary.

I recommend checking out the historic center of the city. This section is based on my experience spending my layover in the Historic Centro of Mexico City; however, you can choose wherever you want to to go.

It’s important to mention that I have overpaid for taxis from the airport to the Cento on several past trips. The taxi companies has an “innocent” little scam going.

There are a few taxi companies at the “authorized taxis” counter/booth. The two that I have used are PortoTaxi and Yellow Cab. The first time I did this trip, I was quoted 374 pesos by Porto Taxi. Naturally I accepted the quote because I didn’t know any better. I must admit that I was surprised when I was given a very comfortable and spacious Suburban van for this ride. Although it made me feel like I was a politician or a famous celebrity, it was a bit too excessive in my opinion.

Later that day I paid 122 pesos for the taxi to return from the Centro to the Airport. That’s a third of the price I paid from the airport to the Centro. As they say, “Ignorance is bliss.”

Returning from Canada, one week later, I went to another taxi stand and they also quoted me at about 380 pesos. I asked them why they were charging three times the price of a taxi from the Centro to the airport and they explained that everything in the airport is more expensive. Although this is true, I still thought that 3 times the real rate was ludacris. I moved on to the next stand, Yellow Cab, and asked the attendant how much they charge for a taxi to the Centro. She relied “224 pesos.” Even though that was still double what it costs to get the airport, I would pay 150 pesos less than what PortoTaxi and the other company quoted me. I took Yellow Cab’s offer and paid the 224 pesos.

TIP: So what’s the scam? By default, the taxi companies will charge you for the big Suburban vans instead of the smaller sedans (even if you’re only one person). That way, they can get nearly double the money from you. So it is your job to tell them that you want a small car/sedan.

Once you pay for your taxi, they will give you a large receipt/ticket and direct you to the door where you can find the taxis waiting. An dispatch representative from whichever company you choose will be waiting outside the door and will assign you a driver. Since you’ve prepaid your taxi, there is no need to exchange money with the driver. However, I do leave a little tip for my drivers at the end of the ride. I tipped around 35 pesos ($2USD) to my driver, but you choose if and how much you want to tip.

The trip from the airport to the historic center will take about 30 minutes at that time of the morning.

TIP: If you don’t have Mexican pesos, you can use any of the cash machines at the airport to withdraw the money that you need for taxis, meals, accommodation and other shopping throughout the day. The banks charge a transaction fee of about 35 pesos ($2USD) to use the machine. If you have USD or CAD, you can change them for pesos at any of the countless money exchanges in the airport.

Finding a Hostel in Mexico City – Resting For A Few Hours (Optional)

If you’re taking the 1am flight out of Medellin, chances are you’ll be exhausted and sleep deprived once you arrive to Mexico City. Trying to stay awake for the next 12 hours or napping in the airport can be nothing short of torturous.

I recommend booking a private or shared hostel room where you can crash for a few hours. I always book a room at the Hostel Mundo Joven El Cathedral right in the Centro Historico. I choose Mundo Joven because it is perfectly located in the main plaza and you can easily walk and discover the area without getting lost. The hostel is also very clean, safe and modern, and most airport taxi drivers know exactly how to find it. Note that if you are going to book a room, make the reservation for the day before you get there. So, if you get there on Friday morning, book the room for 1 day from Thursday. Since checkin time is normally around 2pm, you won’t be able to make use of your room if you make the reservation for the day you arrive. Instead, by booking for the day before, your room will be ready for when you get there early in the morning. Although I used Hostel World to make my bookings, I also sent an email directly to the hostel letting them know that I would be arriving at the hostel around 6am and checking out around 1:30 pm to return to the airport.

A private room will run you about 680 pesos or $34USD. If you’re on a tight budget and don’t mind sharing a room, you can spring for a cheap dorm room instead. A basic breakfast is included in the price of your stay. In addition to having a place to sleep for a few hours, having a room offers a few other overlooked advantages like – taking a hot shower, having a place to leave your hand luggage, free Wifi, and getting sightseeing tips from the knowledgable hostel staff.

Early Morning Breakfast at Cafe el Popular

In addition to be being tired, I am usually pretty hungry after a night of travel. Once I checked into the hostel, I went for breakfast at Cafe El Popular. Cafe El Popular as its name implies, is very “popular”. The cafe stays open 24 hours a day to serve a constant flow of patrons throughout the day. By 9am there is usually a lineup of hungry customers waiting outside for a seat.

Walk out the front door and walk one block in the main square. Make a right at the first street and walk 1.5 blocks to the Cafe El Popular – right opposite the Addias Store and BBVA bank. If you forgot to withdraw money at the airport or could use some extra pesos, the BBVA is a great place to use the cash machine. Most people in the area can point you in the direction of Cafe Popular.

A big breakfast and a coffee will run you about 100 pesos or $5USD.

Once I was done my breakfast, I walked back to my hostel to crash for 2 hours.

Returning to the airport by Taxi

If you ask a random taxi driver on the street how much he will charge to take you to the airport, he will most likely quote you at about 300-370 pesos. They even have legitimate rate cards that they will flash you with the “official prices”. However, you can get a taxi for a lot cheaper. Look for the Pink and White electric taxis. They use a taxi-meter and will cost you the 122 pesos that I mentioned earlier in the post.

Another reason I like staying at the Mundo Joven hostel is because the electric taxis leave from right outside the front doors.