Experience the Day of the Dead on an unforgettable trip to Mexico! Known as Dia de los Muertos, this beautiful and vibrant festival begins the evening of October 31 and runs through November 2. Not your average celebration, this holiday has been deemed one of Mexico’s Intangible UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Enjoy colorful parades, delicious food, elaborate costumes, folk art, live music and more. Even better, there are a variety of deals on amazing Dia de Los Muertos tours right now.

What is the Day of the Dead?

While Halloween serves as the penultimate holiday for sweets, humor and horror, for Mexican culture, the two days following it hold unique significance. This national holiday in Mexico is reserved for the honoring the deceased and celebrating life. Originally the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, these days are now treated as a blend of traditional Aztec beliefs and Catholicism.

A key element of the festival is the altars to the deceased, usually placed before their graves with offrendras (offerings) of food, flowers (usually marigolds), photos, personal memorabilia, and calavera (sugar skulls) and calacas (skeletons) that depict the dead with lively smiles and fancy clothing. This is a holiday of humor, joy, and remembrance that acknowledges the passing of friends and loved ones as an important part of life.

Where to Celebrate Dia de los Muertos in Mexico

Though the holiday is now celebrated around the world, there are no Dia de Los Muertos festivals like those in Mexico. Here are some top places in Mexico to visit for the ultimate Day of the Dead experience:

Mexico City

This is one of the most interesting and fascinating times of year to see Mexico’s capital. In Mexico City, Dia de los Muertos celebrations combine new and old traditions. Enjoy the famous Dia de los Muertos parade on Paseo Reforma which precedes the holiday. This new parade is just a few years old. (It was first featured in the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre.) See large skeleton puppets, mythical spirit creatures called alebrijes, traditional dancers, moving altars and more.

Visit Mexico City’s Zocalo (the main square) to see the enormous plaza filled with ofrendas.  Journey to the Xochimilco neighborhood to drink pulque, a fermented agave drink. Then, take an evening gondola ride down the scenic canals originally dug out by Aztecs. Here you will learn about the legend of La Lorna (the weeper) and hear the famous song that was played in the Disney-Pixar movie Coco. For fun and thrills, head to Six Flags amusement park which is adorned in special decorations for the holidays.

Enjoy four-day and six-day tours of Mexico City during this special time of year.

San Andres Mixquic

Located about one hour southeast of Mexico City, Mixquic is home to one of the most famous celebrations in Mexico. On this holiday, families and friends come together to honor the dead in the local cemetery. Discover elaborate offerings with thousands of flowers and candles. Mixquic is a town that symbolizes the essence of Dia de los Muertos and comes to life during this time with traditional offerings including sawdust and cempasuchil flowers tapestries, pre-hispanic dancing, colorful shrines, food vendors and more. Experience the many vibrant sights and festivities in Mixquic on a one-day tour from Mexico city.

Aguascalientes

Home of the famous Calaveras Festival (or Festival of Skulls), Aguascaliente is home to some of the most popular Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Much like Mixquic, it celebrates the pre-Hispanic tradition of the “cult of death” with colorful cemetery celebrations and images of La Calavera Catrina, also known as the “Elegant Skeleton.” Enjoy a five-day tour to this north-central Mexican state that also includes a tour of a guava orchard and wine-making vineyards. Take a cruise to the island where the Cristo Roto Sanctuary is located, complete with its 82 foot tall sculpture of Christ. Named “Cristo Roto” (Broken Christ), the monument guards over the surrounding area.

Oaxaca

A popular destination year round, Oaxaca is also home to some of the best Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Experience the cemetery vigils, nighttime carnival-like parades and the sand tapestry competition. Discover many ofrendas of yellow marigold flowers, dead bread, incense, caramel skulls and, in some cases, the music of the deceased’s liking. Enjoy a day-long tour in Oaxaca that also includes Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán cemetery and Santa María Atzompa cemetery. During October 31 and November 1, you can also visit the ghost of San Miguel, which is the general ghost of the city of Oaxaca.

These are just a few of the amazing celebrations during Dia de los Muertos. For more trip ideas and things to do while in Mexico, click here.