40 within 3½ hours · 15 under 2 hours
San Juan del Río is twenty minutes from Tequisquiapan, the spa-and-wicker town at the start of Querétaro's cheese and wine route, and under an hour from Bernal's monolith, the Otomí town of Amealco with its dolls, the cactus garden of Cadereyta, and Hidalgo's hot springs at Tecozautla and arcades at Huichapan. Aculco and Jilotepec in the State of Mexico are just as close. For a weekend, head north into the Sierra Gorda to San Joaquín and Jalpan, or west to the mining towns of El Oro and Tlalpujahua.
Best months for the area: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec (when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons)
Day trips (under 2 hours) 15
Close enough to drive there and back from San Juan del Río in a day. Closest first.
~1 h 21 min · 90 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Fiestas: Feb, Mar, Sep, Dec
~1 h 45 min · 120 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Mar, Sep, Dec
~1 h 45 min · 120 km
Best: Feb, Mar, Apr, Nov
Fiestas: Feb, May, Jul, Oct, Dec
~1 h 50 min · 125 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Fiestas: Jan, Feb, May, Jul, Sep, Oct
Weekend escapes (2 to 3½ hours) 25
Worth a night or two. Closest first.
~2 h 30 min · 170 km
Best: Jan, Mar, Apr, Nov
Fiestas: Feb, Jul, Sep, Oct, Nov
~2 h 30 min · 170 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Fiestas: Sep, Nov, Dec
~2 h 35 min · 175 km
Best: Jan, Mar, Apr, Dec
Fiestas: Mar, Nov
~2 h 40 min · 180 km
Best: Feb, Mar, Apr, May
Fiestas: Jan, Feb, Jun, Oct
~2 h 45 min · 185 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Feb, Mar, Jun, Jul, Dec
~2 h 55 min · 195 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec
Fiestas: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Dec
~3 h · 205 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Apr, May, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
~3 h 15 min · 220 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Jul, Sep, Oct, Nov
~3 h 15 min · 220 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Mar, Apr, Aug
~3 h 20 min · 230 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
Fiestas: Feb, Aug, Sep
On the map
Getting there
San Juan del Río has no airport with scheduled flights; the usual one to fly into is Querétaro (QRO).
A car is the easiest way to reach most of these towns; the bigger ones also have direct buses from San Juan del Río. Each pueblo's page has its own getting-there notes.
Drive times are from OpenStreetMap routing without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance and may run longer on mountain roads.