Five Days in Mexico City from Oakland: What I Learned

Mexico City is one of those places where five days feels both surprisingly substantial and nowhere near enough. Flying from Oakland for a relatively short trip, I learned that a little preparation goes a long way—especially with your phone, money, transportation, packing, and giving yourself enough freedom to wander.

Here’s what worked, what I’d change, and what I’d make sure to pack next time.

My first lesson: buy more mobile data than you think you’ll need.

I bought 5GB and still managed to give myself “data anxiety.” In Mexico City, you're constantly using your phone for Google Maps, WhatsApp, Uber, restaurant searches, translations, photos, and figuring out where you're going next.

Before leaving Oakland, I’d download Google Maps for offline use and turn off cellular data for apps that quietly burn through it, particularly media and streaming apps.

I used Airalo for an eSIM, and next time I’d get a larger data package from the beginning rather than worrying about rationing it.

And obviously: bring your charger and a USB-C power bank. Those became essential everyday items rather than optional travel accessories.

There were several things I wanted ready before the trip rather than figuring them out after landing:

Splitwise was especially useful for a group trip. Set up the trip before you leave so everyone can start entering shared expenses immediately.

I'd also confirm that my Uber account works, understand how I'm getting from the airport to the Airbnb, and read up on the Mexico City Metro and its payment system ahead of time.

The general rule I came away with is: anything involving an account, download, login, or setup is better handled at home on reliable Wi-Fi.

If you're doing a walking tour, food tour, day trip, or other organized activity, save your guide's WhatsApp contact before you start.

Mexico City is enormous and crowded. If you get separated from a tour group, having a direct way to contact the guide is much better than standing on a street corner hoping you'll find everyone again.

One of my favorite Mexico City discoveries was what happens on Sundays: major streets are closed to automobile traffic and opened up to cyclists, runners, skaters, and pedestrians.

If your five-day trip includes a Sunday, take advantage of it.

Instead of treating transportation solely as a way of getting between attractions, walking, running, or biking gives you a chance to experience the city itself.

I kept a running checklist before leaving Oakland, and looking back at it, there's a pretty solid lightweight packing system buried in there.

For a five-day trip, my essentials were:

The lesson wasn't really that everyone needs those exact things. It was that five days doesn't require much clothing. Most of the stuff I really cared about was tiny: passport, medication, phone accessories, payment methods, and things that made exploring easier.

That makes traveling with a small bag much more realistic.

One item from my original checklist that I'd keep: copies of my passport.

I'd keep the original passport secure and have a photocopy stored separately. I'd also keep a secure digital copy accessible to me in case something happened to the physical passport.

It's one of those preparations you hopefully never need.

Another thing I'd simplify next time is money.

Rather than arriving and immediately having to think about currency exchange, I'd land with at least some Mexican pesos already available.

You don't necessarily need a huge amount of cash. Cards work for plenty of things. But cash is useful for smaller purchases, markets, tips, and situations where paying electronically isn't convenient.

I originally planned around $250 in cash and roughly $350 in total personal spending money over five days.

I also deliberately packed more than one credit/debit card.

I wouldn't carry every card together all day, though. I'd keep my primary card with me and leave a backup securely at the accommodation.

That way a lost wallet doesn't immediately become a financial emergency.

My rough numbers were:

Round-trip OAK → CDMX: about $630
Airbnb for five days: about $350
Personal spending budget: about $350

Your numbers can obviously be dramatically different depending on airfare, accommodations, restaurants, nightlife, and activities. But this gave me a useful benchmark for what a five-day international trip from Oakland could look like without turning it into a huge vacation expense.

I brought digestive enzymes/probiotics and anti-diarrheal medicine.

And I didn't get sick.

That's the ideal outcome: bringing something you never end up needing.

Travel to me isn't about being paranoid about food. Mexico City has incredible food. It's about having a few basic supplies so a minor stomach problem doesn't consume one of only five days.

One final lesson that costs nothing: ask.

If your flight arrives well before check-in, ask the Airbnb or hotel whether early check-in is possible. Do the same for late check-out if your return flight leaves later in the day.

Neither is guaranteed, but on a five-day trip, gaining even a few additional usable hours makes a difference.

My pre-flight routine would now be pretty simple: download offline Google Maps, activate my eSIM, set up Splitwise, make sure Uber and WhatsApp work, learn the basics of the Metro, charge my power bank, withdraw or exchange some pesos, make a passport copy, and pack my medication.

Then I'd stop preparing.

Because one of my bigger takeaways from five days in Mexico City was that you don't need to optimize every minute of the trip.

The temptation is to build an enormous checklist—Centro Histórico, Chapultepec, Roma Norte, Condesa, Coyoacán, museums, markets, architecture, tacos—and suddenly you've created a vacation that feels like work.

Five days is enough time to resist that.

Keep your phone working. Carry a little cash. Pack light. Take advantage of Sunday streets. Leave some empty space in the itinerary.