Kimkim Trip Reviews for Mexico

A wonderful trip to Mexico was brought to life by the stellar organisational efforts of Javier and the team at Rutopia. Javier was the chief planning architect of our trip and spent a lot of time on watsapp calls and messages curating the ideal itinerary for us. His passion and enthusiasm for sharing the sights of his country rubbed off on us and we were able to maximise our time and enjoyment during our stay. Eduardo was our go-to contact person and very prompt in checking in with us daily to see how were going and if we needed help with anything.
The chief highlights for us were seeing Chichenitza and the pyramid at Uxmal, up close and personal. We loved visiting the Xcaret theme park and enjoyed the show immensely. Snorkelling off Isla Mujeres, strolling down Quinta Avenida in Playa del Carmen , drinking Margaritas in Tulum and relishing Marquesitas in Bacalar were other standouts for us. We also enjoyed the culinary experiences in Yalcoba with a Mayan family and the cooking class courtesy of Lina's Mexican Kitchen.
We had a memorable time in the Yucatan peninsula and hopefully we can visit again in future and see the other parts of Mexico.
Muchas Gracias :)

Our trip to Mexico City was wonderful
We got to see all the highlights over a few days
It was wonderful being there over dia de muertos
Would absolutely recommend kimkim for all your travel needs!

Activity Reviews

Private Experience: Tacos, Chelas & Mezcal in Narvarte

Mexico City

Excellent way to try different cuisine and the mezcal tasting at the end was a great way to end the night!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pop

Air Balloon Flight over Teotihuacan & Biking Experience

Mexico City

A must do

Sweets & streets! Family-Friendly Historic Center Tour

Mexico City

Our tour guide was wonderful and the kids loved it!

Lucha libre experience & mezcal tasting

Mexico City

Such a fun experience! Our boys loved it

Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

Unique experience Beautiful wildlife and nature

Tour the famous and picturesque neighborhood of Coyoacán.

Mexico City

Tour guide was great Beautiful part of mexico

Enjoy an Oaxacan dinner at Los Danzantes.

Mexico City

Delicious!

The Oaxaca day trip guide was great.

The Oaxaca group tours were too long. I would recommend half days only.

The Mazunte boat tour was great. I recommend the tour guide.

The museum tour was fine in Mexico City at the Museo de Antropologia. But she recommended a night tour is even better.

All the drivers were courteous and timely.

The hotels were all fine.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Decu

Mexico City

Nice size rooms, in a lovely neighborhood.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador del Dominico

Oaxaca de Juarez

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Altamira

Mazunte

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Oaxaca (city tour)

Oaxaca

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Monte Alban - San Antonio Arrazola - Cuilapam de Guerrero - San Bartolo Coyotepec

Oaxaca

The National Museum of Anthropology - Guided visit

Mexico City

Absolutely fabulous trip. It was well organised and we had the best time and cannot fault the logistics.

We had an excellent experience in Mexico. All the drivers and guides were excellent, very knowledgeable and friendly: Daniela, Montserrat, Suzy, Pablo.

We missed Rene because he disappeared and Mariana was the one coordinating our trip while in Mexico.

Hotel Review

Casa Decu

Mexico City

Great hotel, very well located, all the staff very friendly and helpful

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

This is an unforgettable experience, really unexpected. Very interesting to see how they work the Chinampas and all the work it takes, and above all keeping it as a family tradition

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

LuzMa was very attentive to checking on us during the trip.
Iber was our guide for the Chichen Itza, Vallodolid and cenote excursion. He was super knowledgeable and friendly.
Our guide at Tulum, Adrian, was very well-spoken and charismatic.
The family-run business, Lina's Kitchen was an amazing experience. Felix was a great tequila mixologist and distiller.
Memo at Rio Secreto was fun and ensured everyone's safety.
The staff at The Fives was outstanding! The food was amazing everywhere we ate on the grounds.

Hotel Reviews

Copal Tulum Hotel

The room was like an apartment, but there were no coffee filters, dish towels or soap to wash our dishes.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walking anywhere had us going through some questionable neighborhoods.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The breakfast at the restaurant was great. Cocktails are expensive at the bar.

The Fives Beach Hotel & Residences

Playa del Carmen

ALL staff was friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

It was definitely for tourists, but it was relaxing and fun to be spoiled a little.

Location

On the beach!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover the Art of Cooking and the Enchantment of Mezcal in Tulum

Mexico

Miriam and Orlando were so kind and helpful. They work well as a team and made us feel like part of the family.

Quality of Experience

Food

We cannot wait to try the recipes at home!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our driver waited for us without issue when our tasting ran a little long.

Río Secreto Privilege: The Mayan Underworld

Mexico

It was a major tourist attraction. While it did not seem very intimate at first, once we broke off into our small group, the guide Memo made the experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

lots of options

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the archaeological site of Tulum

Tulum

Adrian was a great guide. His ending was rather abrupt, so we weren't sure if we were supposed to tip him or not...

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dining recommendations in Tulum

Tulum

It was a little vague, addresses would be helpful. The front desk at our hotel was helpful though.

Quality of Experience

Discovering a wonder of the world: Chichén Itzá, cenote and Valladolid

Tulum

It was not too crowded or hot.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The first half of our trip was really well planned with great hotels, perfectly timed transportation and amazing tour guides. At the end of the trip we were reserved in a hotel that was extremely inconvenient and kept giving us false information. We wasted most of our time in Tulum trying to work around the inconvenient location of the hotel.

Hotel Reviews

Histórico Central Mexico City

Mexico City

Great hotel and location. The breakfast menu was excellent. Very clean hotel and helpful service.

Authenticity & Character

Clean, beautiful and easy

Location

Located perfectly near the main attractions

Staff

Helpful recommendations

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great beds

El Mesón del Marqués

Valladolid

Great location and helpful people. Very pretty building

Authenticity & Character

Great ambience and restaurant

Location

On the main square

Staff

Helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Good beds but a smell of mildew

Copal Tulum Hotel

Beautiful room and pools but the location is terrible and the staff repeatedly gave us incorrect information

Authenticity & Character

Nice pool

Location

It takes hours to get to the beach and walking to the center of town requires walking through a poor neighborhood with no sidewalks and muddy dirt roads

Staff

Incorrect information was given at least 4 times

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and good beds

Activity Reviews

Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

The boats are beautiful and the scenery fascinating

Quality of Experience

Very interesting

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lots of information and a great tour

Transport

Tour the famous and picturesque neighborhood of Coyoacán.

Mexico City

The market was fascinating and the fruit stand a once in a lifetime experience. The neighborhood otherwise didn’t seem very interesting

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit of Teotihuacan and the Basilica of Guadalupe

Mexico City

Fascinating archaeology and Luis, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking tour through the historic center of Valladolid

Valladolid

The guide was friendly but his English was hard to understand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Chichén Itzá: A Wonder of the Mayan World

Chichén Itzá

The driver, Carlos, was very friendly and helpful. The guide was informative and nice. The site is very crowded

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit a peaceful cenote and enjoy traditional mayan food

Mexico

Amazing swimming and a great lunch

Quality of Experience

Food

Sops de lima was great

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Carlos was really nice

Explore the mysterious area of Ek Balam

Ek Balam

A less crowded site where you can climb the pyramid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Carlos was very nice

Visit to Xcanche Cenote

Ek Balam

Great experience and lots of fun

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carlos was nice and helpful

Transport

Maria was nice. Other than that everything was horrible except the hotel in Puebla . Starting from our hotel room in Mexico City to uber driver from Puebla to Mexico City as he kept turning the AC off in the car in the heat. The boat guide was good. We did not like the way we were given the hotel room or the way we were treated when we complained about the hotel

We had a great trip to Mexico , Charlotte did a splendid job of organizing everything given the short notice of 4-5 days to plan & book our itinerary.

On arrival in Mexico City , our car with a driver was waiting for us at the appointed location, next day we took in the sights around the main square and cathedral with our guide, who had very in depth knowledge of area. In the afternoon we visited the

Tonalli with eat mexico was so fun and enthusiastic!!
The chinampas with Gabriel was unique and so informative. Bikes and munchies was a fantastic bike and food tour in the city.
Luis in teotihuacan and again in Amanalco was very informed and enthusiastic. Loved the alpine cabins.
And Aaron and Irving with Unlimited guiding us to Popocatepetl were topnotch. Went above and beyond with extra driving duties.
Aand to top it off with the luche libre on our last night. Unforgettable.

Activity Reviews

Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

unique and unexpected part of mexico city

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

gabriel was very informed, gentle and easy to be with

Transport

Bike tour around the most hipster neighborhoods

Mexico City

guides were incredible looking after a fairly large group through the street of mexico city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hike in the Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park

Mexico

Aaron was excellent guide and Irving, driver was very good driver on difficult road

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aaron and Irving drove us an extra 2 hours when our other driver didnt show up.

Transport

Lucha Libre Experience & Mezcal Tasting

Mexico City

so fun and different

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

guide was fun and engaging

Transport

was no transport

Private Experience: Tacos, Chelas & Mezcal in Narvarte

Mexico City

Tonalli, our guide was so enthusiastic and street food was top notch. We went to places we never would have gone without our guide.

Quality of Experience

guide was great and choies of food vendors good

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Biking in Teotihuacán "The City of the Gods" & Overnight in Cholula

Mexico

unique experience and not expected to see pyramids in mexico city

Quality of Experience

unique

Guides, Drivers and Staff

excellent guide in luis

Transport

To preface, we have used Kim-Kim 2 previous times and were pleased with the experience each time; this time was the exact opposite. The over arching issue was poor communication. Throughout the planning process we were very clear in our desires. When we expressed them, Andrea would agree and then present a plan which was different from discussed. This disconnect progressed for 3 weeks (2 months before the planned trip) when we finally called KimKim admin to step in for a better person to work with.

Gustavo jumped in to help, and honestly things did not improve significantly. Like before we would try and be clear about our desires and he would agree to our requests. Then he would present something different. As we got closer to the trip, there were also delays in responses to our questions. Excuses were given, always different, but the delays for prompt answers to our questions kept piling up. This affected our ability to make plans outside the official tour related events. We wanted to figure out meals, restaurant reservations, shopping opportunities etc. This was especially challenging and anxiety provoking since we were a travel group of 11 which included travelers aged 11 to 80, half of which were seniors. Gus kept making the excuse that we keep changing the plans. Our perspective is that the proposed plans have not been satisfactory and we keep catching the flaws.

Specific issues with our planning involved our desire to have a tour focused on food and religiosity for our visit to Mexico City. We wanted an overview type day - tour of the city and food tour at the beginning of the week were in CDMX. Then each day would have a mass/visit to church and as the week progressed we build on the great beginning city tour. Didn’t seem like a big ask - but they couldn’t do it. In the final itinerary, we were offered a city tour with food tour at the last day of the tour, the exact opposite of what we wanted. After we continued to push, they relented and placed a city/food tour on day 2 of our itinerary.

When day 2 arrived, our local guide Yuichi Pablo was very nice and educational. He took us a tour of Metropolitan Church and a limited walking tour of the city. But not a single food tour or sample. NOTHING. So when we got to lunch, we complained and also contacted the local tour operator, Ibis Murillo at Rutopia. They apparently knew nothing about the agreed food tour on the itinerary. This was maddening. So Yuichi’s adjustment on the fly was to take us to a sandwich shop.

To appease us, Yuchi promised to try and add food elements into our itinerary. To meet this end, he added a lunch stop at a touristy restaurant each of our tour days. As you can see, very underwhelming and disappointing. Yuichi was a wonderful guide in terms of meeting our goal for religiosity - he really understood the special history of the Catholic Churches we visited and helped us worship and attend mass each day. So kudos to that.

One final knock against our travel week is the driver they used for our week visit, Carlos. He drove a large Mercedes van for us and was a great driver and kept the vehicle clean. However he also had poor communications skills with Yuichi and the parent company, Rutopia. When he dropped us off for a site visit and then parked, he was always late upon returning to pick us up. The worst was on the second to last day of our trip, he dropped us off at Teotihuacan (pyramids). When we finished he did not come to fetch us for over 30 minutes - in the hot sun with our aged parents, aunts and uncle. Our guide Yuichi unsuccessfully messaged him in watsapp and called on his cell phone but he never answered. On the final day, we had early flights out of Mexico City and he was to pick us up at 4:40am. When he hadn’t shown up by 4:55 (15 minutes past the scheduled time) I used the whatsapp to contact our on call tour operator, Ibis. I sent her messages 2x with no response. I then tried calling Ibis directly and finally got hold of her. She proceeded to call our driver Carlos directly, but she said he wasn’t answering her phone calls. This was completely unacceptable especially on a travel day.

These poor experiences really tested our patience and dampened our excitement. It certainly ruined what could have been a great visit to CDMX.

Ultimately I cannot recommend KimKim based on this experience. We also caution travelers who decide to visit Mexico City to make sure they do NOT use Rutopia, or any travel firm that associates with them.

Luz Ma did great job of keeping us on task. Only had one problem 2nd day hooking up with trip to Mercado Jamaica but think this was our fault with unfamiliarity with transportation & difficulty/misinformation from Google Maps. Resolved subsequently by using UBER. Pablo Yuchi was fantastic guide/host for Tue 29 Oct/Thu 31 Oct trips to Mexico City/Museum of Anthropology; Xochimilco, Coyoacan, Museum Diego Rivera & Casa Azul (Frida Kahlo) Pablo was very well informed and communicated fabulously. Montserrat was equally fantastic for our visits to Teotihuacan & Basilica of Guadalupe. Very well informed, helpful, accommodating and very easy to talk with. The Chef's table at Tezontle was excellent and a surprise for my wife's birthday (6 Nov). Food was excellent and chefs Jorge Sibaja & Ezequiel Garnica with their great staff were both very enthusiastic, informative and provided an exquisite tasting experience with great enthusiasm and kindness to our questions. The Emporio Hotel was fantastic and an ideal location. Service, food and attention to details was stellar. Only negative experience was the disappointing restaurant Balcon del Zocalo which was way overpriced with poor to mediocre food. My wife and I were very disappointed and felt this was very overrated.

Hotel Review

Emporio Ciudad De México

Great location, excellent service and food. Very thorough and accommodating

Authenticity & Character

Fantastic food and service. Wait staff and maitre d'hotels are very attentive, conscientious and helpful

Location

Best location to get most places in Mexico City

Staff

Excellent

Cleanliness & Comfort

very well attended

Activity Reviews

Explore the historic center of Mexico City and the Museum of Anthropology

Mexico City

See my review

Quality of Experience

Overwhelming without guide

Guides, Drivers and Staff

excellent service all aroung

Transport

timely and as efficient as possible considering Mexico City Traffic

Day of the dead Experience at Mercado Jamaica

Mexico City

Cannot assess. Missed this. Group not helpful in helping us get to there location

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit of Teotihuacan and the Basilica of Guadalupe

Mexico City

Monserrat was excellent guide and extremely helpful and informative with both Teotihuacan and Basilica

Quality of Experience

Fantastic at both locations. Teotihuacan is a must see

Guides, Drivers and Staff

guide and driver were superb

Transport

Great. Unfortunately car broke down and had to get UBER from Basilica

Cut your own Cempasúchil flower and enjoy the local gastronomy in Xochimilco

Mexico City

Very interesting with lovely surrounding and breakfast.

Quality of Experience

Very kind and informative farming couple with excellent breakfasr

Food

Very good organic breakfast

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pablo Yuchi was great

Transport

Timely and comfortable

Visit the Museum Diego Rivera - Anahuacalli

Mexico City

Great visit much helped by our guide Pablo Yuchi who helped as effectively navigate this massive museum

Quality of Experience

Very informative about Diego Rivera and his life. Guide was essential

Guides, Drivers and Staff

guide and driver very helpful and attentivew

Transport

Driver was readily available and kept us on schedule

Chef's Table Experiencie

Mexico City

Excellent tasting with multiple dishes proudly offered by Chefs Sibaja & Guanica. Were not hurried and food was great presented with lot of enthusiasm and excellent support staff.

Quality of Experience

Chefs loved their offerings

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great support from everyone. We were not rushed at all. Very casual.

Transport

Really provided our own transport via UBER

Explore the Casa Azul Museum

Mexico City

Very informative tour and display of Frida Kahlo's life. Guide Pablo Yuchi was very essential in bringing out highlights of this extensive museum

Quality of Experience

Very revealing. Recommend seeing move "Frida" with Salma Hyatt before

Guides, Drivers and Staff

excellent. Streamlined our visit of this extensive museum

Transport

Kept us on time. Comfortable transport

Our KimKim experience was seemless! All of our transfers and personal experiences were done with such wonderful guides, drivers and expertize. Rene worked hard on the itinerary with us and communicated closely. Gabriel from Rutopia Tours was our go to person for any concerns or issues and communicated with us daily! They selected interesting hotels with Mexican character and charm for us. The only drawback for the charming Hotel Corazon Mexicano was the steep hill to get to it, but what views! Try to get an exterior room. The only drawback of the lovely Petra Hotel was it advertized having breakfast included but that was out of date info. We loved our knowlegable guide Luis in Teotihuacan and Angela who drove us from Mexico City to Teotihuacan and then on to Guanajuato. Susana Ojeda from Rutopia Tour gave us a History Tour of Guanajuato and was wonderful! Her father Antonio gave us a Street Food Tour along with more history the next day. Both took such good care of us and were flexible and such fun. Mario drove us to San Miguel de Allende and we had a nice historic tour of the town with him after seeing the lovely Mask Museum, a real gem thanks to the setting and host, Bill. In San Miguel de Allende, Ana from Coyote Canyon Adventures took great care of us. We loved Frederico with Horseback Riding for 2 of us and Brittany with interpreting for the Cooking Class for the other 2. We also loved Alfredo who took us to the Sanctuary of Atotonilco and he was flexible enough to detour to see the murals of Guadalope and sit and have some great local street food with us. We had fun with them all! Thanks KimKim for making this a memorable vacation!

We had several stand out guides and experiences.
San Miguel de Allende
. Alberto in San Miguel de Allende made us feel very welcome and gave us a great overview of the town.
. Tour with Aldo and driver Raul of Guanajuato was also excellent.
as you know Hotel Petra has seen better days and was not comfortable. We cannot recommend it. We stayed a bit above town at Casa de Liza. It is delightful and the restaurant below has a good breakfast.
Bus was really comfortable getting us to MXC.
Mexico City
. Dani was a good start for exploring the centro.
. the bike and explore Techtihuacan tour was just ok. Felt like the guide was disinterested and the lunch spot was very touristic.
. Emiliano was a terrific guide on the mural tour.
the AU bus was pretty basic We would have preferred the upgraded version in the same company which has a bathroom for the 2 1/2 hour ride..
Puebla
. we loved Puebla and thank Rene for including it in our itinerary... super clean and pleasant city all around.
. Aleyn was a great guide in Chalupa where we learned about all things corn and tried to make tortillas from scratch. Would like to have added a visit to the archeology site at the base of the buried pyramid.
. Guadalupe took us back into the country of Atlizto where flowers abound and started out search for all the Catrinas. So fun! The town is charming and full of history and pretty zocalo.
Oaxaca
. the long drive was broken up with a trip to the onyx factory (not much happening), the gorgeous cactus forest reserve in Tehuacan, and an interesting stop at the salt ponds. Our driver Ernesto was charming and super patient and our guide Alex was very kind.
. The stop at the tule tree was worthwhile and Alex our guide and driver is very knowledgeable. The ride to Hierve el Agua was long and we wish we had know to bring swimsuits. Stopping at the traditional mescal distillery on the roadside was a great addition.
We decided to forgo any more tours on the road and had a blast wandering in Oaxaca for our last two days.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Boutique Parador San Miguel

Oaxaca

the nicest place we stayed. very pretty hotel with an interior courtyard. We would stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

really pretty courtyard and the room had Oaxacan character

Location

close to the action adn on a busy street, but once inside the rooms are quiet.

Staff

super nice and helpful. they went out of their way.

Cleanliness & Comfort

comfortable bed, clean room and nicely sized shower.

Hotel Petra

San Miguel de Allende

lumpy beds and pillows. The place is rundown adn must have been charming at one time.

Authenticity & Character

Location

there are better places close to downtown.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Rosa Gran Hotel Boutique

Puebla

We enjoyed the location and rooftop restaurant. Our room had an amazing view of the cathedral and while there was a lot of street music outside, the room was quiet. The room was clean although a bit small for two people with luggage for a three week trip, but it is workable.

Authenticity & Character

the rooftop restaurant is great - has a lovely view. the room has a window that opens up to the street below. so you can see the action.

Location

right on the Cathedral Square and catty corner to the Zocalo

Staff

staff was nice, but not friendly. Our needs were met when we mentioned the smell of sewer gas in the sink.

Cleanliness & Comfort

the bed was comfortable , but the room is small and bathroom is small and there is a smell of sewer gas if the sink stopper is left open.

Activity Reviews

Monte Albán and the alebrijes workshop: an unforgettable experience

Oaxaca

we did not take this tour and we were tired of driving and wanted more time in Oaxaca.

Shared biking experience through Teotihuacan "The City of the Gods"

Mexico City

so so. guide seemed to be "dialing it in", although the city of the Gods is awesome. Glad we saw it.

A Walk among Murals: Exploring the History and Legacy of Mexican Muralists

Mexico City

excellent guide...

Between markets and corn in the magical town of Cholula

Mexico

really fun tour, great time making tortillas. Would add a visit to the archeology center at teh base of the pyramid next time.

Exploring Atlixco: Puebla's Garden

Puebla

Great guide through the backroad gardens and farms and looking for Catrinas all over the town. the guide was from a traditional village and had lots to share about traditions

Walk in a Cactus Forest: Tehuacán-Cuicuitlan Biosphere Reserve

Mexico

we are landscape architects so seeing this place like none other was fabulous.

Visit Mitla, the Tule Tree, a Mezcal Distillery & Teotitlán del Valle

Oaxaca

the tule tree, distillery were highlights. The drive to the boiling waters was long and we did not bring swimsuits - please remind anyone that takes this tour. We opted out of the weaving and Mitla visit due to time constraints.

City Tour of the historical center of Guanajuato

Mexico

we really enjoyed this tour and going to off the beaten track sights. Our guide even added a trip up teh funicular which was not planned. we had a really great lunch where he suggested adn great coffee to start,

I loved the itinerary and all the tour guides. It was such a wonderful trip including a city tour, food tour, a visit to Monte Albán and a hike to Heirve el Agua

We booked our honeymoon through Rutopia via the KimKim platform. It was the worst decision that we made during the entire wedding planning experience. Rutopia claim to be in-country experts who know the towns and indigenous communities of Mexico. That couldn't have been LESS true.

Almost all of the activities that we did were subcontracted through one, if not two, other companies. No wonder they charged us so much to do so little. Every single thing that Rutopia booked went wrong. I wish that was an exaggeration. Here are just a few examples:

- The hotel they had booked for us in Oaxaca was a glorified hostel that they had sold as a 4-star, luxury hotel with a pool. When we sent Rutopia photos of the water damage in the room and the hostel-like bathroom complete with torn shower curtain, they told us there were no other hotels in Oaxaca. A quick search showed it was in fact low season and most hotels were not only fully available, but discounted. We had to find and book our own hotel as Rutopia refused to offer any help or advice. When we asked if anyone from their team had ever actually been to the hotels they booked, they never replied. We were given a refund for the original hotel but this only emphasized how little of the over $10,000 that we had paid was being used to pay for our accommodation.

- On our first day trip (which started with a 3-hour drive (which we expected)), the driver wasn't given cash to pay for the toll road so we had to drive along the backroads over potholes and about a million speed bumps. It was only when we asked the driver why he was ignoring the instructions that his Google maps was giving him to get on the highway that he revealed that he didn't have the cash to pay the toll. We paid for it on the return trip and we were eventually reimbursed but, again, only after having to raise the issue with Rutopia. A $20 toll should be included in a $10,000 holiday.

- All of our transfers to the airport were booked 4 hours prior to the flight, leaving us more than 2 hours to kill at the gate, including for a 7 am flight. When we told them we don't need nearly that much time, the reply was that the transport company was busy and had to fit us in when it worked for them. We chose to cancel the remaining transfer and pay the $7 Uber to the airport instead.

- They even messed up the logistics on the experiences that are designed specifically by Rutopia (not subcontracted). On one day trip, they set the start time too late and we missed two-thirds of the activity. It was supposed to be an immersive amaranth experience starting with a nature hike followed by an amaranth cooking class and lunch. When we asked the hosts about the hike, they told us we'd arrived too late. The day trip turned out to be an hour drive, a "cooking class" that was about 20 minutes of mixing puffed amaranth with honey and making it into shapes with cookie cutters and then a homemade lunch of meatballs with amaranth as a thickener. The drive was longer than the "experience".

Every time something went wrong, Rutopia offered no help. We were completely on our own and had to foot the bill for their mistakes.

We decided to work with a travel agent for our honeymoon so we could relax and not have to deal with any potential issues. Sadly the only issue we had to deal with was a horribly incompetent travel agency who sold us a shoestring budget holiday for the price of a luxury vacation. Our initial experience was positive, we had a number of calls with a representative and we described what kind of trip we were looking for and the type of activities and hotels that we hoped for. Sadly it seems that this was just a front. Almost none of what we had spoken about was taken into account and a trip of a lifetime for 2 honeymooners who have travelled extensively before and are food lovers became more akin to a first time traveler's poorly planned budget holiday.

Hotel Reviews

Zócalo Central

Mexico City

Gorgeous location right in the heart of Mexico City. The view from the rooftop restaurant is incredible. Breakfast is spectacular. The rooms are full of character and very comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Oaxaca Real Hotel

Oaxaca

If you are travelling on a budget, this is likely a good choice instead of a hostel. If you are looking for a nice place to stay, definitely look elsewhere.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Fives Oceanfront

Quintana Roo

Beautiful hotel with a fabulous rooftop pool overlooking the sea! Great snorkeling trips leaving right from the beach. Easy walk to incredible local restaurants! Breakfast is fabulous. Rooms are big and very comfortable. The travel planner we worked with did not want us to stay at this hotel and we had to specifically request it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Real Maestranza

Guadalajara

The hotel is quite old and a bit run down. It is right in the heart of Guadalajara but in an area that is abandoned after dark. The reception said it was not safe to walk out of the hotel after dark and insisted we take taxis or Ubers from the door of the hotel. Would not stay here again and definitely would not recommend it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Chef's Table Experiencie

Mexico City

We loved this!! It was so cool to sit right at the kitchen and see each of the dishes being made while the chefs themselves explained how they were cooking them and told us about the ingredients they were using. The food was FANTASTIC!! Rutopia booked the vegetarian menu for us which was a bit odd as we are not vegetarians. But we love vegetables so it was delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dining recommendations in Puerto Morelos

Puerto Morelos

We were given 3 restaurant recommendations and they were the most touristy spots in the whole area. We ended up not going to them as they didn't have any of the local foods on the menu and were about twice the price of everywhere else in town.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit a peaceful cenote and enjoy traditional mayan food

Mexico

The cenote was very cool. We came here after a long (and very hot!) morning at Chichen Itza. We had about 30 minutes to swim before lunch. It was very refreshing! The food was fine but nothing special. No one explained anything about the food or why it was traditional. This is just a self-led swim followed by a set menu at a restaurant.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Chichén Itzá: A Wonder of the Mayan World

Chichén Itzá

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and we learned so much! The drive was long (which is fine!) but our driver took the backroads to avoid paying the toll. The toll road is a new, sleek highway. The backroads go through all the little villages on a road that is plagued with potholes and speedbumps. Neither of us usually get carsick but were both green by the time we arrived.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide at Chichen Itza was hugely knowledgeable. He wasn't friendly, but he really knew his stuff which allowed us to appreciate so much more this incredible site.

Transport

Shared biking experience through Teotihuacan "The City of the Gods"

Mexico City

Teotihuacan is definitely worth visiting! And cycling was the best way to see as much as we could in one day. Unfortunately our guide was not very good. He didn't seem to know much about the site and constantly contradicted himself. It felt a bit like he was making it all up as he went along. He was not very friendly and didn't give much information about what was going on or where we were going or what was going to happen.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day trip to Tequila and Tlaquepaque - Custom experience for Amy and Sam

Guadalajara

This experience was subcontracted through a local company called Sensaciones Turisticas. Our guide, Ada, was fantastic! We loved the horseback riding through the agave fields!! It would have been nice to visit the actual town of Tequila. We started with a visit to the distillery Cofradia. It was very cool to see the process of how tequila is made! Unfortunately our guide for the visit didn't know very much about the process and wasn't able to answer any of our questions. I was still very cool to see the distillery! We then did a tequila tasting followed by a very tasty lunch. After that we left the tequila area and went to Tlaquepaque, an artist town just outside of Guadalajara. It was very cool! But I wish this had been two separate days. One of the main reasons we chose to go to Mexico on our honeymoon was to learn more about tequila. This was front and center of all of our conversations with our travel planner. It would have been nice to spend the whole day in Tequila. The highlight of the day (tied with riding through the agave fields) was a surprise Mariachi serenade at dinner! It was so special. Thank you Ada!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Forest Benefits Trail & Huautli Experience: Knowing Amaranth

San Pablo Etla

This might have been a cool experience but Rutopia mismanaged it. We didn't get to do the forest benefits trail or hike. The "cooking class" was pretty disappointing. We didn't get to see amaranth growing or what the plant looks like. The hosts of the experience were very nice but this is really oversold.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The ultimate Taco Crawl of Mexico City By Garuda

Mexico City

We went to three different taco places throughout downtown Mexico City and tried 1-2 tacos at each. Drinks were not offered. The whole experience lasted about an hour and a half. The tacos were all fantastic and I doubt we would have found the places on our own! It would have been nice to learn a bit more about the different tacos and the history of the places.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very helpful and timely assistance.
Amazing experience!

Activity Reviews

Chef's Table Experiencie

Mexico City

Def highlight of the trip

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adventure in Tulum

Tulum

Epic

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the archaeological site of Teotihuacan

Mexico City

Very cultural rich

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a great experience with all our guides; they were knowledgeable and friendly. However, our food tour could have focused more on the food rather than the history. Despite this, the guides were excellent.

It would have been more convenient to stay in Pueblo and Cholula instead of making the 2-3 hour drive back and forth in a day. Additionally, the transportation to and from the airport could have been better. While the pickup at the airport was pleasant, the ride back was a bit cramped with three passengers and three pieces of luggage in a Prius.

Overall, it was a good trip, but a few adjustments could have made it even better.

Hotel Review

Casa Decu

Mexico City

We arrived super early at 4 am. The hotel had the room we were going to stay in for the rest of our trip available, but they wouldn’t let us check in early without charging us for an entire night, even though the room was sitting empty and their early check-in policy starts at 8 am. This left a bad taste in our mouths. It took the front desk person an hour or so to get approval from her boss to let us into the room we were going to stay in. We were super annoyed because we were charged for an entire night and had to wait around for approval.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleaning agents that were used to clean the room gave us headache. Needed to air out the room for hours.

Activity Reviews

Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

Our guide made this trip enjoyable. Pamela was so knowledgeable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

a bigger car

Walking tour of the historic center of Puebla

Puebla

Our guide Lupita was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover the Magical town of Cholula

Mexico

Lupita was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and the ability to relax knowing that all details were taken care of and that we would be going to lovely hotels and have interesting and fun plans each day. Our local specialist came up with many ideas for our family and continued to work with us to perfect an itinerary, and the ongoing support was helpful for daily reminders and any necessary changes. Our local guides were outstanding. I travel extensively for work and really wanted my children to be able to have authentic and respectful cultural experiences for their first major international trip, and they did. We were charmed and delighted by the whole trip.

The trip was great but we had some negative experiences. We were taken to a business called Obsidian de Corazon near the Teotiuachan site by our guide Tlallal where my father was scammed out of $181.43 for tequila that the seller said would pass customs and that the official site for Mexico's airport customs rules stated as such, but when we went through customs they took the bottles. We also got scammed for $87.29 at a Centro Historico restaurant called Rocco Restaurante. After we didn't order what they wanted, they took an hour to give us our food which was cold. We didn't finish it fearing food poisoning and just opted to pay the bill but upon checking out card history we noticed they charged us twice.