Guide · 3 min
Cuautla, Las Estacas, Ixtapan de la Sal and Tonatico: hot springs and swimming holes within three hours of Mexico City, with drive times and what to expect.
Updated
A day in the water is one of the plans that always works near Mexico City, in cold weather or hot: a warm spring in Cuautla, a clear river in Tlaltizapán and thermal towns in the south of the State of Mexico. This guide sorts them by drive time. Events in these towns for the next 30 days appear below, in case your visit lands on a fair.
Long weekends fill up. A weekday, or a Saturday if you leave before 8:00, is a different experience.
Cuautla is a city of springs. Agua Hedionda is the best known: the water comes out warm and sulfurous, and there are pools for spending the day. It is not a quiet spa. It is a town balneario, with families, food and noise. That is the plan.
In December the city holds the Nochebuena fair. The 2026 dates are in Christmas near Mexico City.
Oaxtepec belongs to Yautepec and has the big vacation park, with several pools and plenty of room for kids. It is the simplest plan if you don't want to wander a town: you arrive, you pay, you stay. The town of Yautepec, next door, has its own square if you want to eat outside the park.
Tlaltizapán de Zapata is south of Cuernavaca. Las Estacas is a clear spring-fed river, not a pool: you swim with the current and walk back along the bank. There is an entrance fee. Bring a life vest if someone in your group doesn't swim, and a layer for the shade, because the water feels cool even on a hot day.
The two towns sit next to each other, so you don't have to pick just one.
Ixtapan de la Sal lives off its thermal water. There are large bathhouses, with indoor pools, and simpler ones in town. It is a Pueblo Mágico: the center takes a short walk and the real plan is the water.
Tonatico, about ten minutes away, has a municipal balneario, the Grutas de la Estrella caves and the Tzumpantitlán waterfall, with a park around it. With kids, this is the fullest day on the list: water, a cave and a fall, without changing region.
Chignahuapan, in Puebla's Sierra Norte, is about three hours away. Besides the Christmas-ornament workshops, there are hot springs on the edge of town. It makes sense if you were already going to the sierra, or if you want water plus a town to sleep in. As a there-and-back day from Mexico City, the drive eats the morning.
If you'd rather walk, hiking near Mexico City collects the day climbs. For a meal on the way, see what to eat near Mexico City.
The ones in Cuautla and in Oaxtepec (Yautepec), under two hours by the México–Cuautla highway. Las Estacas, in Tlaltizapán, is a bit farther, south of Cuernavaca. Ixtapan de la Sal and Tonatico are about 2 h 30.
Almost every place in this guide charges admission. Tonatico has a simpler municipal balneario that costs less than the big parks. Bring cash: several ticket booths still don't take cards.
Yes. Oaxtepec, the Cuautla pools and Tonatico are built for a family day, with pools of different depths. Las Estacas is a spring-fed river: kids love it, and a life vest is a good idea if they don't swim well.
They are ten minutes apart and you can see both in a day. Ixtapan is the town of the big thermal parks. Tonatico adds the Grutas de la Estrella caves and the Tzumpantitlán waterfall. With kids, Tonatico gives you more variety.
October 20 – November 18
What is already on the Entre Lugares listings (in Spanish). Every event is checked by a person; festivals without a flyer show an estimated date.
No confirmed events for these dates yet
We add them as flyers come in. Meanwhile, check each place:
CuautlaYautepecTlaltizapán de ZapataIxtapan de la SalTonaticoChignahuapan