Renting a Car in Mexico

Driving around Mexico City is for the brave, and the bus service is excellent anyway. I am a fairly brave driver but there is no way I would have considered driving in and out of the city to the destinations you mention.

By the way, Taxco is unsafe at the moment, and has a "Do Not Travel" warning from the US Govt.

I really enjoyed Cuernavaca a few years ago, the nearby town of Tepotzlán, and the ruins of Xochicalco (I took a taxi there). I have not been to Puebla or Morelia.

I have been to Cuernavaca and Taxco and they are fantastic. However, I don't recommend renting a car in Mexico.
Find a tour, I am sure there ae good tours available.

The Mexico City tourist areas are safe as the places you wish to visit are likely safe as well, however, the cartels have pretty much taken over about half the country.
Just be sure that if you do rent a car to not go to those very dangerous areas. You have a lot more protection in a tour group.

I lived near the border most of my life. Worked on the border from time to time. Back in the '70's we use to drive deep into Mexico every summer. In the '80 I got married on the border (literally on the bridge) and we celebrated in Mexico that evening and to be honest, I spent most ever Friday and Saturday evening in Mexico for years.

Today I will walk across the border in the daytime and be the heck out of Dodge before sunset. As for Mexico City, I love it. I’ve been a number of times and if I were still in the US I would be going more often. For those trips the days are fine. The evenings I hire a local to chaperone.

Rent a car? No way.

A little light reading: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=a5619828d3b120be&rlz=1C1VDKB_en&q=tourists+murdered+in+mexico&tbm=nws&source=lnms&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkWtG_mNb-HwafvV8cKK_h1a5eSkyfXNgRC6a9SKsMT7FK8R6iXJCglfAi7yv12Ray_LvdSK_c3FN4gOPT1KnwrPIXYlRAIL0XyJd2ZnrU8QZDs0Mb3L9qUuvSkkVmEwLJrlIhw9swMi5OFvMitP11NwY0umvI&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjasoif7quIAxU47gIHHexQHu8Q0pQJegQIExAB&biw=1600&bih=867&dpr=1.2

In 2019 we took a bus to Puebla from the city and then back to the airport based on advice from a friend who had lived there. The bus system there was very good. I’d check to be sure that’s still the case after the pandemic.

I live in Mexico. I own my car. I have driven quite a bit, but I avoid driving in large cities. I live an hour from Guadalajara, and I avoid driving there. I'll hire a local driver to take me there and back if necessary, or I'll take the bus.

I've done several road trips, from here to the Pacific coast in Nayarit, to Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Queretaro, and Guanajuato. The only place I regretted driving was in the city of Zacatecas. Just because driving in traffic in a strange place is stressful.

If you do drive, stick to toll roads when possible.

But renting a car is a bad idea for another reason. At the airport you will be enticed with extremely low rental charges. And then they will hit you with huge add-ons for the insurance.

People who rent in my area will take a taxi from the Guadalajara airport to our town, where there are a number of fair and honest rental car agencies. If you can find something like that in Mexico City (if it's a wedding involving local residents, someone might have an idea), it might be feasible. But do consider traveling by bus, which is far less stressful.

If you want to know more about some of my favorite places I've visited, feel free to PM me.

I rented a car for a Yucatán trip and it was great! Until I got in to Merida. The cities are not ideal for foreign drivers even if you have a couple helpers. And the traffic (and parking) in Mexico City is as bad as anywhere you’ll find. The bus system is really good there, and you could look at renting a car in the outskirts of one the cities if you wanted to see areas not serviced by buses. Although even places like the towns outside Pueblo with sites interesting to tourists are still served well by buses, and taxis too as it might be cost effective to just hire a driver when needed. It doesn’t sound like you are going anywhere too out of the way where a rental car would be worth the hassle.

Have you been talked out of a rental car yet? :)

Thank you all for your insight. I will give up on the idea of renting a car at least from Mexico City and see if I can convince myself that the buses are a way to go. Otherwise maybe take a bus to Cuernavaca and rent a car there? Thank you all!

A car would indeed be helpful to explore Morelos state out of Cuernavaca. You could probably drive towards Puebla from there, although I do not know those roads. Not towards Guerrero these days, though, and I am not so sure about the roads from Morelos state to Morelia and Patzcuaro (ask locally).

If it were me with your interests, I would (and have a few times) just hire an amateur driver that knew the way, where to go and where not to go, etc. Very cheap in Mexico.

I love Mexico and have been many times. Even driving once from Colorado down the Pacific side to Guatemala and back up through Belize and Yucatán and returning on the Gulf Coast. Not to mention many other trips by bus. Another time by motorcycle.
Now, I do not go to Mexico anymore. It is my political act. The violence has reached proportions, beyond that which I feel morally comfortable with. I cannot support such things. As Mexico has a huge portion of their income from tourism, my take is that I will whittle that down by the two of us.
It is the reverse of RS who believes on doing tourism to try and help economies and politics by introducing tourism and better values by visiting a country. Like Myanmar or others.
When I have driven there the driving itself is governed by a different philosophy, but not too onerous. That would not be my danger concern. My concern would be roadblocks, corrupt police, or those not police dressed as such, and bandits. Now that seems a funny word in this day and age, but applies to what you could encounter. The criminal element is the supreme law in Mexico. Best to have evacuation and kidnap insurance. Don’t think that just because you are ladies in your 40s you are immune to what could occur.
Otherwise have a safe trip. But hire a driver with tinted windows.