What to buy in Mexico? — Top 15+ souvenirs & best things to buy in Mexico

Famous for its beautiful beaches and historical sites, ancient architecture such as quaint cities, ancient pyramids and ruins of Mayan Civilization, vivid festivals, rich in history and culture… Because of that, Mexico has become one of the world’s most popular, attractive destinations. When traveling to Mexico, besides visiting famous landmarks, shopping is also an interesting experience, worth a try. The country of Mexico boasts a fascinating cultural tradition and exciting folk art. Here, it is not difficult for you to find unique gifts or souvenirs to make memories for relatives, friends or keep for yourself. So, what to buy in Mexico, what can i bring back from Mexico, what products is Mexico known for? Let’s check out our Mexico shopping guide with +15 best gifts from Mexico, best things to buy in Mexico and best Mexico souvenirs as well as where to find them to find out the answer!

What to buy in Mexico: Colorful Mexican Pottery

What can I bring back from Mexico? Yes, definitely pottery! This is one of the best gifts from Mexico, best things to buy in Mexico and best Mexico souvenirs you can choose from. Pottery is definitely a suggestion not to be missed. Oaxaca’s pottery wares have become a world-renowned brand of unmatched quality. Among all types of ceramics, black clay Oaxacan pottery is the most unique. Pottery will be produced into many colorful shapes, sizes and designs made from popular to high-end materials. Surely if you choose pottery as a gift, the recipient will be very pleasant and happy.

Famous around the world for its beautiful ceramics, the quality cannot be better than in Oaxaca City, especially the impressive and attractive black pottery. Made from diverse and abundant materials, and from high-class to affordable to suit many customers with eye-catching shapes, the pottery here are loved so much by tourists.

Best Mexico souvenirs: Mexican indigenous jewelry

Mexican indigenous jewelry is one of the bold and unique gifts of this country. Not only impressive and eye-catching, but these jewelry items will surely make your loved ones surprise and enjoy. You can find these handmade crafts everywhere from markets, shopping centers or roadside shops, but in which Taxco town in Mexico is famous for its durable and beautiful silver jewelry, designs, motifs and sizes are also extremely diverse, comfortable for you to choose. You can choose handmade peyote or beaded bracelets, flower necklaces, earrings, chains … as souvenirs.

Best things to buy in Mexico: Coffee beans

A delicious specialty of Mexico. It is known that Mexico is the leading producer of organic coffee in the world. The quality of the coffee here has been globally recognized for its excellent flavor and quality. The largest coffee growing and harvesting states are: Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz. Some reputable brands can be mentioned such as: Oaxaca Pluma or Café Villarías. If you have the opportunity to travel to Mexico, please take some time to visit coffee shops to buy some to give to relatives and friends.

Best gifts from Mexico: Masks

One of the unique souvenirs and strange attraction for tourists when visiting in Mexico is in the state of Guerrero and the state of Yucatan with weird masks. Coming here, you will be overwhelmed by a world of unique and fancy masks with extremely affordable prices, suitable for the pocket of foreign tourists. With this special souvenir will also surprise and delight your loved ones. Masks, Mexico’s special gift.

What can I bring back from Mexico: Colorful Mexican shawls

If you are wondering what to buy in Mexico and what can I bring back from Mexico, the colorful shawls, also known as sarapes, are the perfect suggestion. These shawls are combined with extremely colorful colors, you can transform it to make different fashion accessories. To buy this quality shawl with the most diverse designs, go to Saltillo (is the capital of the state of Coahuila).

Must buy in Mexico: Corn tortillas

Mexico is known as the country that grows the most corn in the world, so when you come here, don’t miss the specialty corn tortillas from this agricultural product. Although it is no longer strange to corn, but with a completely different processing method and bold culture of the people here, these specialties made from cornmeal will be a small but meaningful gift for your loved ones. Some delicious corn tortillas in Mexico such as: Sopes, Gorditas, Tamales, Tacos, Quesadillas, Enchiladas, Tostadas… You can also buy cormeal packages with its recipes to make your own corn tortillas at home.

What to buy in Mexico: Wool and cowboy products

Coming to Mexico and missing out on buying its signature gifts here is a pity, so why not try to buy woolen clothes or cowboy boots or hats that are popular in Mexico? To find these special items, try to go to Leon (the central Mexican state of Guanajuato), where the leather and wool apparel industry thrives, offering a wide range of footwear, shoes, belts, jackets, and other leather accessories for both domestic and international markets.

Best things to buy in Mexico: Mezcal

Mezcal, an ancient Mexican beverage made from agave, a shrub, of the pineapple family, is able to live in arid regions. With a rich, intense, complex flavor profile, mezcal is considered one of North America’s oldest distilled alcoholic beverage. Coming to Mexico, immerse yourself in the world and taste of mezcal from light to heavy, sweet, slightly smoky, with smell of vegetable or earthy. Growing region, distillation and age also contribute to different mezcal flavors. Some brands, such as Monte Alban and Oro de Oaxaca, always offer very beautiful designs and are suitable as gifts for relatives or friends.

Best Mexico souvenirs: Tequila

Tequila was first distilled in the 1500s to 1600s in the state of Jalisco, whose capital is Guadalajara. Usually tequila has an alcohol content of 38-40%, but there are special types with an alcohol content of up to 43-46%. As one of the traditional wines of Mexico, it brings a delicious taste to those who enjoy it.

Tequila (Mexican pronounce it te-ki-la) is a high-alcohol content spirit distilled from blue agave (known in Mexican as Agave Azul Tequilana) grown around the city of Tequila is 65 km northwest of Guadalajara and is located on the Los Altos plateau in the Mexican state of Jalisco. So most people when it comes to Tequila will usually think of Mexico Tequila liquor because of its characteristics.

The price of this liquor does not only depend on the quality, but also on the design of the bottle, the bottling process, the advertising campaigns… In Mexico, there is a market that sells premium tequila for only the price from $20 to $30, even more delicious up to $50. Those under $20 are mostly mass-produced tequila for the local market and often adulterated, not pure 100% tequila.

Mezcal is an older liquor of Tequila. Today, there are many products that differ both in terms of production process as well as in taste. Many people like Tequila Blanco with its sweet, aromatic aroma. Others prefer the stronger and spicier version of the Reposado. There are also people who like the aroma of wood in Añejo. Customers will try it for the first time at a local bar and then decide to buy tequila. It will be difficult for those who have not tasted much Tequila to distinguish between Blanco, Reposado and Añejo, because there are two types of tequila, 100% and blended.

Some tequila are aged in oak barrels, very premium and rare that can be drunk straight out like Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, Single Malt or aged rum… such as Patrón Añejo Tequila, Reposado Tequila… There are many types of Tequila for you to choose from depending on the composition and age such as: Blanco or Plata, Joven or Oro, Reposado, Añejo, Extra Añejo… It can be said Tequila is the symbol of Mexico.

Best gifts from Mexico: Cocoa & Chocolate

Don’t forget to sip a cup of traditional spicy Mexican chocolate of indigenous people if you have the opportunity to come here. Every sip of the spicy drink will bring us back to the cultural life of old Mexico. Most modern historians believe that cocoa has a very long history, about 4,000 years, originating in Mexico, then spreading to Central America and finally the United States about 1,000 years ago. They themselves could not have imagined that today, chocolate has dominated Europe as a symbol of a high-class drink, once reserved only for royalty.

The traditional Mexican cocoa drink made with ground cocoa beans, fava beans, corn, cinnamon and anise and the sweetness from piloncillo (a raw form of pure cane sugar) is a drink enjoyed by many young people in Mexico. In addition, this drink is also often used in the traditional breakfast in Mexico.

Visitors can visit Chocolateria Macondo cafe (Address: 55800, Adolfo López Mateos 3, Teotihuacan Centro, San Juan Teotihuacan de Arista, Méx., Mexico/Hours: 10AM–8:30PM; Tuesday: Closed) to enjoy authentic Mexican chocolate. The shop specializes in ancient cocoa preparations, its products are found all over Mexico. Instead of industrialization and expansion, Chocolate Macondo continues the tradition of making homemade chocolate drinks and products.

Here, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the history of each type of cocoa, and do not forget to sip a cup of spicy and aromatic cocoa that includes mashed cocoa mixed with hoja santa (an aromatic herb), pepper and Chili, a traditional drink of the Mexican people has been around for a long time. The spicy cocoa drink gives visitors a strong taste with a sugar-free recipe, only the fat taste of fresh milk cream accompanied by the faint aroma of cinnamon powder and the taste of chili powder. This is also a special highlight and creates its own nuance for this drink. Every sip of the spicy drink brings us into contact with Mexican cultural life.

In addition, Chocolate Macondo also creates chocolate drink packages that are sold in powder form. If a customer loves Chocolate Macondo’s special creations, such as hot chocolate with ginger, rosemary and cinnamon or chocolate with damiana and mint, they can purchase prepackaged chocolates as gifts to enjoy at home. Visitors to Mexico can also buy these products as gifts.

What can I bring back from Mexico: Mexican Tree of Life

The Tree of Life (Ceramics Mexican Folk Art Clay Tree of Life) is one of the Mexican full of art souvenirs that you should buy. This is a handmade product made from clay. The flowers and leaves will be colored and decorated very carefully and elaborately. Most will be inspired by the Bible. Today this product not only depicts the Bible but also represents the daily stories of life.

What to buy in Mexico: Alebrije

A great gift for art lovers, Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures representing fantastical creatures of legend or myth. These traditional sculptures were first created by Mexican artist Pedro Linares, who was inspired by a dream.

In the 1930s, Linares fell seriously ill, and while he was lying unconscious in bed, Linares dreamed that he was lost in a strange place that resembled a forest. There he saw trees, animals, rocks, clouds suddenly turning into something strange, some kind of unknown animal. He saw a donkey with butterfly wings, a rooster with ox horns, a lion with a falcon’s head, and all of them shouted the word “Alebrijes”. After recovering, he began recreating the creatures he had seen out of cardboard and called them alebrijes. In fact, even the Pixar movie Coco features several alebrijes, including a winged jaguar and a flying dog.

What products is Mexico known for: Mexican Sombrero wide-brimmed hat

A wide-brimmed hat, along with tequila liquor, poncho, and machete knife, is an integral part of Mexican culture, are also traditional souvenirs. Tourists visiting Mexico often buy sombreros in bulk. Although they originate from Spain (the word “sombra” means “shadow” in Spanish) but over time they gradually took on a typical Mexican style and became a meaningful souvenir item.

What to buy in Mexico: Love paper

If you do not know what to buy as a gift when traveling to Mexico, choose love paper. This is a handmade paper produced in the northern highlands of Puebla. During the occupation, it was banned by the Spaniards because it was used for illegitimate purposes to make witches’ charms. Love paper is made by peeling off the bark of a nettle tree, fig tree or mulberry tree. Each tree produces a different color of paper. Today this type of paper is appreciated by art people.

Aztec Death Whistle

Described as “the sound of a thousand dead,” the death whistle sounds like the lament of the spirits or the anguish of the sacrificed. It was a special part of the civilization of the Aztec Indians of Mexico. These whistles were first found by archaeologists about 20 years ago in an Aztec temple in Mexico, shaped like skulls.

Dubbed the “death whistle,” in the times of the Aztecs, it was used as a powerful talisman for many mysterious and terrifying purposes. Engineer Roberto Valazquez Cabrera – who spent many years restoring the instruments used by pre-Columbian Indians – did a lot of research on this whistle. According to him, the Aztecs blew mournful whistles before they began their sacrifices to the gods. Their sound is also used before the victim is killed, as a guide to the soul to the afterlife.

Catrina

Mexico is famous for its festivals for the dead and coming to Mexico these days you will also see women in skeleton costumes, called Catrinas. The catrina image is reminiscent of the ancient Aztec God of Death (Mictlantecuhtli). In fact, José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican painter, created this image to satirize Mexican upper-class women in the early 20th century. Catrinas later became an integral part of the “Day of the Dead” festival, entered Mexican culture. Today, catrina skeletons are available in a variety of shapes, from sculptures to t-shirt prints and paintings.

In addtion gifts and souvenir items above, you can buy handmade crafts, spices, shoes, paitings, T-shirts, Mexican tradditional costumes… for your love ones. All bring long cultural traditions of Mexico, worth buying.

Mexico shopping guide: Suggest some shopping places in Mexico

Here are some suggestions for reputable shopping places in Mexico that you can refer to:

• Oaxaca: This is a place famous for its beautiful pottery, you are free to choose an item you like.
• Taxco: This place is famous for fashion accessories, jewelry, cosmetics.
• Leon: Here you can buy items from wool, extremely high quality cowboy boots or hats.
• Yucatan: There are many interesting and unique items, especially traditional souvenirs.
• Mexico City: Surely this is a shopping place not to be missed. There are many large and busy shopping malls here, most of the items are very diverse from types to prices. You can treat yourself to a few items or buy some to give to your loved ones.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in Mexico you can refer to

• Must-visit cities in Mexico
• Isla Mujeres All Inclusive Catamaran Tour
• Chichen Itza Ruins Early Morning Tour with Holbox Island
• [Limited Offer] Whale Shark All Inclusive Snorkeling Adventure in Cancun
• Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres Day Trip with Snorkeling
• Private Tour of Tulum Ruins, Cenote and Playa del Carmen
• Xplor and Xplor Fuego Admission Ticket in Playa del Carmen

Are you looking for more top things to do in Mexico: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out here. And Mexico guide here.