Turn your layover into a stopover
Aztec ruins, leafy plazas, and a world-class food scene at high altitude.
Your trip must route through MEX (Mexico City) with a 24–168 hour layover. Eligible classes: see airline.
Choose the Stopover option when booking an eligible Aeromexico international itinerary connecting through Mexico City on aeromexico.com. Accommodation is offered at preferential partner rates, not free.
The airline confirms your hotel and any included tours via email, usually within a few business days.
Make your own way to the hotel (most cities have cheap metro/airport taxis). Take any included tours, then continue your journey.
Tours and skip-the-line tickets that fit a layover. Book on GetYourGuide.
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How much is all the free stuff actually worth?
Will the airline actually respond to my email?
Is this city worth visiting for 1-2 days?
Flew Aeromexico round-trip on 737s with a connection through Mexico City — on time both ways, no lost luggage, helpful staff and smooth landings; the layover itself was dull but the MEX airport was easy to navigate.
Traveled: May 2019
Rated the trip poorly mainly because of the Mexico City connection — the immigration queue was enormous and ate up the layover, and they'd advise others to book direct to avoid it.
Traveled: Jan 2018
In response to a flyer with 11- and 23-hour Aeromexico stops, a Mexico City destination expert confirmed you clear immigration then are free to leave, and strongly encouraged going into the city to see Centro Historico and neighborhoods like Roma or Condesa.
Flew four Aeromexico segments Toronto–Mexico City–Chihuahua with a stop in MEX; reported zero delays and prompt baggage, and praised the spacious Mexico City Premier lounge and clear in-flight gate/carousel announcements that made the connection painless.
Used a 24-hour Mexico City stop to hit the Anthropology Museum, Centro Historico, Bellas Artes and al pastor tacos at El Tizoncito, and argues the airport is so close to downtown that you should deliberately build in a stopover rather than just connect.
Did two long Mexico City layovers (one 16-19 hours, staying overnight at a hostel) to see Bellas Artes, the Zocalo, Los Cocuyos tacos and El Moro churros, but came away feeling a single long layover wasn't enough time and warns against booking two long stops because of the travel overhead.
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Aeromexico offers discounted stopover packages in Mexico City rather than a fully free stay. Most travelers pay a reduced rate for the hotel and tours, and still cover meals, transfers, and any transit-visa fee. Check the all-in price before you book.
Passengers flying Aeromexico on a ticket issued by the airline, with a qualifying layover in MEX between 24 and 168 hours. Eligible booking classes: see airline. Free stopover in Mexico City of up to 7 days at no extra airfare, for international passengers connecting via Aeromexico's Mexico City hub. Launched April 2026. No free hotel or tour — accommodation is offered at preferential (paid) partner rates only. Exact ticketing and fare-family rules are not officially published (trade reports suggest higher fare families include it free while basic fares are excluded). Mexico is visa-free for US, UK, EU and Canadian tourists (FMM permit included in the airfare).
Your connection in MEX should fall between 24 and 168 hours. Two things travelers get caught by: flight-search sites usually show the shortest connection by default, and that's often too short to qualify. You may need to deliberately pick a longer-layover flight. And the layover shown isn't all usable: clearing immigration and any baggage steps eats into it, so give yourself comfortable margin above the 24-hour minimum.
Stopover programs are run by the airline, so the safest route is a ticket booked directly with Aeromexico on an eligible fare. Award and miles tickets, and bookings made through online travel agencies or other third-party sites, often follow different rules: sometimes they don't qualify, sometimes the stopover has to be arranged another way. Before booking like that, confirm directly with Aeromexico that your specific ticket type is eligible.
To leave the airport for your stopover you must meet Mexico's transit or entry rules, and this matters before you even fly: if your passport requires a transit visa and you don't have one, the airline can deny boarding. The good news: many nationalities get visa-free transit, visa-on-arrival, or a quick e-visa, and some stopover programs include the transit visa. Select your nationality on this page to see the exact requirement for Mexico, and arrange any visa well before departure.
Airlines do sometimes adjust schedules after you book. A change can shorten or lengthen your layover. If it drops the connection below the 24-hour minimum, or past the maximum, it can affect your eligibility. If you get a schedule-change notice, re-check your layover against the program's window and contact Aeromexico to rebook or re-confirm the stopover. It's worth re-checking your itinerary a few days before departure.
On a single Aeromexico ticket, your checked bags are normally tagged straight through to your final destination, so you head into Mexico City with just your carry-on, and your luggage continues on the onward flight. You'd only collect and re-check bags if part of your trip is on a separate ticket. If you'd like a checked bag with you for the overnight stay, ask Aeromexico when you arrange the stopover.
Most stopover programs allow only one stopover per round-trip — on either the outbound or the return leg, not both. A few carriers are more flexible. Confirm with Aeromexico whether your specific itinerary can include a stopover on each leg before planning two stops.
Aeromexico offers discounted hotel packages in Mexico City rather than a complimentary room; you pick from their partner options at a reduced rate. Confirm the all-in price when you book.
Choose the Stopover option when booking an eligible Aeromexico international itinerary connecting through Mexico City on aeromexico.com. Accommodation is offered at preferential partner rates, not free.
Up to 7 days. You can extend your layover without paying additional airfare, as long as it fits within the program's rules.
Choose your passport to see if you can leave the airport.
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