368 Best Places to Shop in Mexico

This boutique mall houses a selection of luxury makeup, jewelry, and fashion brands. Most desirable for tourists may be MAC Cosmetics and Ultrafemme, where you can get done up in advance of a big event; Swarovski and Ultrajewels, should you be seeking a level of jewelry not found in the local shops; and Sunglass Hut, which offers a chic selection of sunnies to save your eyes from the harsh Cabo rays.

If you need protection from the sun and surf (sunscreen should be avoided when swimming near coral reefs), MAJA has you covered. They sell UPF, water-resistant clothing for men and women, some in sweet, locally inspired designs, like the pattern of a whale shark's skin. You can get high-quality swim trunks, caps, sunglasses, towels, and more here, too.

Manos Mexicanas is a treasure trove of fine Mexican crafts, jewelry, decorative objects, and work by local potter Rubén Gutiérrez. Owner Alejandra Brilanti has amassed an incredible collection of affordable pieces. You are not likely to leave empty-handed.

This shop has exquisite flatware, jewelry, and objets d'art.

Mayólica Santa Rosa is an enormous shop with two floors of lovely Santa Rosa ceramics: decorative items, vases (smallish and huge), dinnerware and mugs (including a very pretty, all-white line), tiles, and much more. It's about a 15- to 20-minute drive from Guanajuato en route to Dolores Hidalgo.

A supermarket, pharmacy, and department store all under one big roof, Mega Soriana has a huge covered parking lot and pretty much anything you would need for a short or extended stay on Cozumel. Soriana's wine and international beer offerings are second to none. It's open daily from 8 am to 10 pm, though alcohol sales on Sunday cease at 3 as they do around the island for carryout.

It's mostly locals that you'll find chowing down amid the lively stalls of the daily Mercado 20 de Noviembre, across the street from the Mercado Benito Juárez. No prices are listed, but rest assured that this will be your cheapest meal in Oaxaca.

The city's sprawling market is a long walk (but short cab ride) from the beaches. It's divided into orderly sections of comedors (humble eateries), crafts and souvenirs, produce, and fish and meat vendors (a section that vegetarians should stay away from if they’re squeamish). For culinary adventurers, this is the place to sample Oaxacan specialties such as chapulines (toasted grasshoppers sprinkled with lime and chili), chocolate, and stringy cheese. The best time to visit is on the weekends, when indigenous Mixtec and Zapotec vendors bring their goods from the highlands. Watch for handwoven baskets, unique vegetables, and black pottery.

Close to the zócalo, the daily Mercado Benito Juárez has stalls selling moles, chocolates, fruits and vegetables, and much more. The bulky brick building teems with clothing, arts, and crafts.

The Mercado Central Pino Suárez is a gigantic, turn-of-the-20th-century art nouveau structure between Calles Juárez, Ocampo, Serdán, and Leandro Valle. It's open daily and filled with produce, meat, fish, and bustle. The first few rows parallel to Calle Juárez have shell necklaces, huaraches (Mexican sandals), cowhide children's shoes, T-shirts, and gauzy dresses. Then comes the produce and grocery section, and finally the butcher stalls with the inevitable pigs' heads.

Shopping in Ixtapa lacks traditional Mexican energy. Most stores are relegated to strip malls across from the hotels on Paseo del Palmar. There are boutiques, restaurants, pharmacies, self-service laundries, and grocery stores, but everything seems to blend together. A ban on street and beach vendors restricts small merchants to a large handicrafts zone, Mercado de Artesanía Turístico, on the right side of Boulevard Ixtapa across from the Hotel Barceló. It's open from 10 to 10 and has some 150 stands, selling handicrafts, T-shirts, and souvenirs.

The Mercado de Artesanía Turístico has some 250 stands selling jewelry of shell, beads, and quality silver, as well as hand-painted bowls and plates, hammocks, gauzy blouses, T-shirts, and souvenirs. It's open daily.

For textiles, don't miss Mercado de Artesanías, a great place to shop for handwoven and embroidered clothing from Oaxaca's seven regions. This is also the place to find the handmade huipiles (short, boxy blouses, often made of velveteen) worn in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Spilling out for several blocks behind the Mercado Ignacio Ramírez is the Mercado de Artesanías. You'll find vendors of local work at this artisans' market—glass, tin, and papier-mâché—as well as silver jewelry at bargain prices, Huichol beaded jewelry, and woven wool rugs from Oaxaca.

Although many deal in the same wares, the shops and stalls of the García Rejón Crafts Market sell some quality items, and the shopping experience here can be less of a hassle than at the nearby municipal market. You'll find reasonable prices on palm-fiber hats, hammocks, leather sandals, jewelry, handmade guitars, and locally made liqueurs. Persistent but polite bargaining might get you even better deals.

Avenida Juárez has small crafts stores, but for the mother lode, head to the Mercado de las Artesanías just east of the main square.

For a slice of Mexican life, head to the wildly vibrant Mercado Hidalgo, where you'll find artful displays of strawberries and chilies beside platters of cow eyeballs and chicken feet.

Some jewelry and knickknacks are sold at the Mercado Hidalgo. It's more of an experience than a shopping destination, but you might find some regional treasures if you're lucky.

Also referred to as either Mercado Zona Rosa or Mercado Londres, this is the neighborhood's largest crafts market, featuring artistry from across Mexico, including jewelry, ceramics, and clothing. Vendors here can be intense, calling you to their stalls with promises of low prices (which you may or may not find). The market is an entire block deep, with entrances on both Londres and Liverpool. Most of the stalls sell silver and pewter, or crafts like serapes and ponchos, baskets, pottery, fossils, jade, obsidian, amber, and onyx. Expect to pay slightly higher prices here than at the Mercado Artesanal de la Ciudadela. Opposite the market's Londres entrance is Plaza del Angel, a small, upscale shopping mall, the halls of which are crowded by antiques vendors on weekends.

Small shops and outdoor stands sell an interesting mix of wares at this informal and fun market that divides El Centro from Colonia Emiliano Zapata. Harley-Davidson kerchiefs, Che paintings on velvet, and Madonna icons compete with the usual synthetic lace tablecloths, shell and quartz necklaces, and silver jewelry amid postcards and key chains. The market is partially shaded by enormous fig and rubber trees and serenaded by the rushing river; a half-dozen cafés and restaurants provide sustenance.

As sensory experiences go, the city's most impressive floral market, located about a mile east of Roma and south of Centro Histórico, is quite impressive. The nearly 1,200 stalls proffering boldly colored, radiant arrangements and cut flowers along with a huge variety of potted plants fill the air with fragrant aromas. You'll find more than 300 vendors selling other goods, including snacks, fruits, and fresh juices, plus a good variety of ornate piñatas.

The Mercado Jaureguí, open daily, is an indoor bazaar with everything from jewelry, blankets, and fresh vegetables to some rather dubious-looking natural "healing" potions and supposedly aphrodisiacal body pastes.

Better known as San Juan de Dios, this is one of Latin America's largest covered markets. Its three expansive floors, with shops organized thematically, tower over downtown's east side. Fluctuating degrees of government intervention dictate the quantity of contraband electronics available, but it is certainly one of the best places to buy souvenirs and crafts. Avoid the food on the second floor unless you have a stomach of iron. Be wary of fakes in the jewelry stores. The market opens Monday–Saturday 10–8, but some stores close at 6; the few shops open on Sunday close by 3.

Sellers of chilis, herbs, seafood, and produce fill this pungent and labyrinthine municipal market. Early in the morning, the first floor is jammed with housewives and restaurateurs shopping for the freshest fish and produce. The stairs at Calles 56 and 57 lead to the second-floor Bazar de Artesanías Municipales, where you'll find local pottery, embroidered clothes, guayabera shirts, hammocks, straw bags, sturdy leather huaraches, and piñatas. Note that most initial prices are inflated as vendors expect you'll bargain—one way to begin is to politely request a discount.

The teeming Mercado Miguel Hidalgo, half a block downhill from the main square, sells Totonac costumes, carvings, baskets, and shoulder bags. It's a daily market, but is much busier on weekends. The real draw is vanilla, the region's chief product, which is sold in every conceivable form. Especially lovely are flowers made from the dried vanilla pods.

La Crucecita's Mercado Municipal is a fun place to shop for postcards, leather sandals, and souvenirs amid mountains of fresh produce. Watch as Zapotec street vendors prepare bags of pale green nopal cactus to go, or enjoy a free tasting of exotic fruit such as mamey sapote.

For fresh produce, the Mercado Municipal is your best bet. It's open daily from 6 am until 2 pm. A second market (Mercado Javier Rojo Gomez) operates during the same hours on Avenida Guerrero between Mateos and Matamoros.

You'll find a few souvenirs here, but the municipal market is really a place to see where the average island resident shops for day-to-day goods like fresh produce, fish, and chiles. There are also several inexpensive places to eat serving Mexican and Asian foods. 

Downtown Zihuatanejo has a compact but fascinating Mercado Municipal with a labyrinth of small stands on the east side of the town center, on Avenida Benito Juárez between Avenidas Nava and González.

A good place to shop for local products and produce is the Mercado Municipal.