Mexico City or Scottsdale?

2,016 km apart, in Mexico and United States. Each is scored month by month on the same ten years of climate readings, the public holidays that crowd it, and what the flight costs. This is where they part, and when.

• Mexico CityMexico · best Jan, Feb, Apr
• ScottsdaleUnited States · best Apr, Oct, Dec

Month by month

• Sweet spot
• Good
• OK
• Avoid
• Busy

Each cell is that destination's own verdict for the month — sweet spot, ok or avoid — with its typical daily high and its rainy days ("11d": days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them). The pick goes to the better verdict; with the same verdict, to the higher score, unless the two are within a whisker of each other, when it is either. A month both would avoid is neither. A dot marks a busy month.

Before you go

• Cost of living — Mexico City: cheap, about 54% of the United States; Scottsdale: expensive, about 100% of the United States.
• Currency — Mexico City: Peso; Scottsdale: United states dollar.
• Plugs — Mexico City: type A and B, 127 V; Scottsdale: type A and B, 120 V.
• Driving — Mexico City: on the right; Scottsdale: on the right.
• Travel advice — Mexico City: avoid all but essential travel to parts; Scottsdale: no advice against travel.

Facts from Wikidata (CC0), the UK Foreign Office (Open Government Licence) and the World Bank. The advisory is written for British travellers; entry rules depend on your passport.

On arrival in Mexico City

• Apps — Rides: DiDi, inDrive, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp. Ride apps are not authorised to pick up at Mexican airports; at Mexico City airport, take a fixed-fare authorised taxi from the stands inside.
• Paying — Cards are widely accepted in cities, in chains and bigger restaurants; carry pesos for markets, street food, small family-run shops and anywhere rural.
• UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
• Getting around Mexico City — Tap a contactless bank card or phone at Metro and Metrobús gates, foreign cards included, or use the Tarjeta de Movilidad Integrada, which also covers Cablebús, Tren Ligero and city buses.
• Tipping — 10-15% in restaurants, usually left in cash on the table; taxi drivers do not expect a tip.
• Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
  TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

On arrival in Scottsdale

• Apps — Rides: Lyft, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: Text messages (SMS), WhatsApp. In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and some other cities you can also book a driverless Waymo in its own app.
• Paying — Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work almost everywhere, though a few small places take cash only. Keep some $1 and $5 notes for tips; Venmo and PayPal are for locals.
• UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
• Tipping — Expected: 15–20% in sit-down restaurants (18–20% is standard in New York) and 10–20% for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers. Large groups may find it already on the bill.
• Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
  TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 5 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Between them

2,016 km as the crow flies, about 3h 23m in the air.Nonstop · Aeroméxico, American Airlines.

The flight time is estimated from the distance. A nonstop or a road is named only where a record has it — nonstop routes from Wikipedia's airport articles (CC BY-SA 4.0), roads from openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT — and none of it is a fare; the searches on each destination's page are where prices live.

Also compared

• Mexico City or Anchorage
• Mexico City or Asheville
• Mexico City or Austin
• Mexico City or Boston
• Mexico City or Charleston
• Mexico City or Chicago
• Mexico City or The Grand Canyon
• Mexico City or Key West
• Mexico City or Los Angeles
• Mexico City or Maui
• Mexico City or Miami
• Mexico City or New Orleans

Every verdict here is the destination's own: ten years of climate readings, the public holidays that crowd it, and what the flight costs. The comparison is the difference between two pages, not a third opinion.