The Cheapest Ways to Travel to San Miguel de Allende, the Best City in the World

Want to see first-hand the charming colonial town in Mexico that was honored as the No. 1 city in this year’s World’s Best Awards?

Getting to San Miguel de Allende requires a bit of planning, as it’s located about 150 miles north of Mexico City.

The closest major airports are Del Bajío International Airport in Guanajato, and Querétaro Intercontinental Airport in Querétaro — between an hour and 15 minutes and an hour and a half away from San Miguel de Allende.

It’s hard to come by inexpensive flights to either hub. We found flights to Del Bajío from New York City for $489 round-trip in early August, though fares typically hover between $495 and $600.

At the end of August, flights to Querétaro are available for $533 round-trip.

But for serious deal seekers, the cheapest flights can be found to Mexico City and Guadalajara (a three-and-a-half-hour drive; a four-hour drive, respectively).

Travelers can easily find $274 round-trip flights to Mexico City from New York City in late October, with fares dipping to $269 in November and early December.  Los Angeles-based travelers can score fares for $249 round trip during the same months or $223 in January. Flights to Guadalajara are priced similarly. (Look at Google Flights’ calendar to find the cheapest flights from your city, and be on the lookout for deals from Mexico's major low-cost carriers, Volaris and VivaAerobus.)

According to Travel Skills, Alaska Airlines will enter the market with flights between San Francisco and Mexico City for an introductory rate of $320 round-trip (and for one day only, on Tuesday, July 11, they will slash this price to $240 round-trip).

Aeromexico is also introducing flights between San Jose and Guadalajara, meaning fares to this region of Mexico are likely to continue dropping as competition for passengers becomes more intense. 

While renting a car will be the fastest and most comfortable option, a number of buses service these routes for a much more wallet-friendly price.

From either Mexico City or Guadalajara, travelers can find regular buses to Querétaro for as little as $12 (a number of bus lines service this route in 15-minute intervals). The hourly bus from Querétaro to San Miguel could be as cheap as $3.

That means you could travel from either coast to San Miguel de Allende for as little as $253, including all buses and flights.