The Best Places in Mexico to Celebrate The Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead is a time when Mexicans gather to remember loved ones who passed away, in a celebration of life and death that lasts from October 31st to November 2nd.

Dia de Muertos, as it’s known in Spanish, is one of the most important events in the Mexican calendar. Dating back to a time before the Spanish had even set foot in the Americas, this is a festival that unites indigenous Mayan and Aztec history and culture with Christian beliefs.

Families gather in cemeteries at the graves of the dead while Ofrendas, or altars, are set up and covered in photographs, sugar skulls, Pan de Muerto and many more unique offerings. Children and adults will paint their faces with macabre skulls, but at the same time, the Day of the Dead is always a vibrant and colourful affair, because Dia de Muertos is a celebration of life over death.

Everywhere has its own unique Fiestas and traditions in Mexico, and no two places remember the dead in the same way. To inspire your own cultural adventure, here are the best places in Mexico to celebrate the Day of the Dead!

Day of the Dead

Traditionally, The Day of the Dead celebrations are associated with southern Mexico, rather than the north, and one of the best places to see the festivities first-hand is in the cultural centre of Oaxaca.

Oaxaca City goes all out for the festival, and you can begin by exploring the colourful markets before the Day of the Dead begins, where you’ll find locals and tourists alike buying everything from Pan de Muerto - literally, death bread - to unique figurines which are placed on the altars of loved ones.

There are parades and Fiestas on every street, and you’ll be out of place if you don’t have your face painted like a skeleton and if you aren’t dressed for the occasion. A trip to Oaxaca for the Day of the Dead is one of the most local cultural experiences you can have in Mexico, so be prepared to get involved, and to celebrate life with families in the cemeteries and in the neighbourhoods.

Day of the Dead market offerings

If you’re looking for the most authentic Day of the Dead experience in Mexico, then travel to Janitzio, where you’ll find that traditions have changed little over the centuries.

Janitzio is a small, isolated island that’s found in the middle of Lake Patzcuaro, an enormous, serene, freshwater lake in the state of Michoacan. It’s not easy to get to, and you’ll need to take a boat across to the island itself, but it’s an incredible place to experience real, local festivities in a surreal setting.

The local indigenous groups have long celebrated the Day of the Dead, and across the lake, you’ll see fishermen rowing their boats as they light lanterns in waterborne processions, while the cemeteries on the island become a hub of activity, as families, friends and foreigners celebrate life with music, food, and drink and with the remembrance of loved ones.

Decorated alter for Day of the Dead

The Riviera Maya is Mexico’s top tourist spot, and along the Caribbean coastline in the south of the country, you can find sun-washed beaches and beautiful resorts. While the Riviera Maya is perhaps best known for these beaches and resorts, it’s also a wonderful cultural stronghold when it comes to Mayan traditions, and therefore a fantastic place to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Mexico.

The biggest celebration on the Riviera Maya goes down at Xcaret, the iconic theme park and biosphere that’s an adventure playground for tourists. For the Day of the Dead, Xcaret transforms itself to host parades, cultural performances and even workshops that allow you to learn more about the festival, its history and traditions, than you can’t get anywhere else in Mexico.

Costumes for Day of the Dead

Merida is the capital of Yucatan and like most southern cities, this is a destination that embraces the Day of the Dead wholeheartedly. Merida is often seen as the culinary centre of the south, given the unique number of Mayan dishes that have survived to this day in the city, and food is a big part of Dia de Muertos.

While there’s a huge parade through the city, and the cemeteries take on a Fiesta like atmosphere that’s both colourful and loud, the food is the real reason to come to Merida for the Day of the Dead. Known in the local Mayan dialect as ‘Food for the Souls’, this is a celebration of life that’s celebrated through the medium of food. There will be street food stands everywhere. In the cemeteries, families will leave food and drink on altars, and they’ll eat and drink even more. The traditional food that’s eaten on the day, is called Mucbipollo, a delicious local dish that consists of chicken baked underground in a clay oven.

Day of the Dead food offering

While the Day of the Dead celebrations weren’t historically a part of the culture in the more northern regions of Mexico, the capital is always a great place to celebrate, given the huge diversity of people from across the country that call Mexico City home.

Celebrations in Mexico City can continue for a whole week either side of the official ‘Day of the Dead’, which is November 2nd, and you can find loud and lively Fiestas across the city. The real highlight though, is the Day of the Dead Parade, which sees thousands of performers in traditional costumes, both macabre and colourful, parading through the main streets of the city.

Surprisingly though, the Day of the Dead Parade is a relatively new event, because it was in fact inspired by the James Bond film Spectre, which staged a Day of the Dead Parade in Mexico City in 2016. Until then, locals had celebrated in their own way, but now, the parade is the biggest of its kind in the country!

Mexico City Day of the Dead Parade