Amigo Tours

What it offers. A tour operator working across Mexico, with a catalogue built around the classic excursions out of the capital and transfers to and from the airport.

The day trips that leave Mexico City. Teotihuacán, usually combined with the Basilica of Guadalupe and Tlatelolco; Puebla and Cholula; Taxco and Cuernavaca; Tepoztlán; and, in season, the monarch butterfly sanctuaries in Michoacán and the State of Mexico, which run roughly from November to March and are the one excursion genuinely worth booking rather than improvising.

And inside the city. Guided tours of the historic centre, Xochimilco and Coyoacán, plus the museum circuit — the kind of day where the value is in someone else handling the logistics of four stops.

What to confirm before paying. Whether site entrance fees and lunch are included; how many shopping stops the itinerary carries, which is the commonest complaint about cheap excursions; the group size; the guide's language; and the real return time. For Teotihuacán specifically, ask the departure time — leaving before 08:00 is the difference between walking the Avenue of the Dead in shade and doing it in full sun.