Kimkim Trip Reviews for Mexico

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.

We loved our trip to the Yucatan! We traveled from Cancun to Tulum to Vallodalid and ended our trip on la Isla Holbox. We especially loved our accommodations in Tulum which were tucked away in a neat little area surrounded by plants, had a beautiful pool, and wonderful breakfast. We were able to walk easily to the main street to explore. We also loved our stay in Valladolid which had my sons' favorite breakfast and walkability to the main shopping/restaurants.

We enjoyed all of our tours and adventures and felt that they were nicely spaced out and easy to check in and experience. Some of our favorites were the Sian Kaan, Cenote Sac Actun and Punta Laguna. We felt that the guides all cared about our safety and enjoyement as well as our desire to learn about the area.

Monica was very helpful when we had a flat tire and got us a recommendation for where to get it fixed right away.

Our rental car agency was professional and prompt in dropping off our car the first day and meeting us at the airport to pick it up the last day.

Our least favorite spot was Cancun. We were only there one night but we would rather have gone right to Tulum :)

We truly enjoyed our adventures and look forward to having Kim Kim plan another adventure for us soon.

Hotel Reviews

Ambiance Suites

Cancun

This had a lovely breakfast and was clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

This was not close to anything you can walk to

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Don Diego

Tulum

This was AMAZING! Although it did not have air conditioning it was still our favorite. It had a wonderful staff and a nice small feel. It was close to walk to restaurants and downtown but felt safe and tucked away. We loved the resident animals and the laundry service was a nice added bonus!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel boutique Saastah

Valladolid

Beautiful, wonderful breakfast, nice laundry service, wonderful pool

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spirit Holbox

Isla Holbox

Great location on the beach! The pool was cool but not very deep. Nice restaurant and breakfast but you had to pay for dinner which was very expensive and not too many choices. Nice staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Boat tour in the Natural Reserve of Sian Ka'an

Mexico

This had an amazing breakfast and lunch with it! We loved the float and although we didn't see any manatees we still had a great time in the mangroves

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Punta Laguna

Mexico

This was really fun! It was an adventure for sure! This includes a zipline and a drop into a very deep cenote that you have to climb out of so be sure to be strong to be able to do this portion.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chichen-Itza site with an English speaking guide

Mexico

This was an outstanding tour! He was our favorite guide. He was so funny and gave us a great look into the mayan culture

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rene was very helpful and nice. After submitting our quiz, Rene reached out to us with an introduction. That same day he created an overview of our itinerary. We were surprised by how quickly he put everything together. At the end, we came back satisfied with our trip. We will definitely be using Kimkim again.

Overall the trip was brilliant. Knowing nothing about Mexico we didn’t know where to start but I knew I wanted to see Mexico City and Frida Kahlo house and Diego Rivera murals. We added in mesoamerican history, and seeing something of the amazing national parks. This set us on I think a pretty standard tour of MC, Teotehuacan, Puebla, (and stunning trek of a high altitude, dormant volcano in national park which was a real highlight and not standard), Oaxaca with art tour and Monte Alban, and Puerto Escondido. We also did a small
Detour into the mountains en route to Escondido.
Our top guides were Clara from Food Mexico who gave us a tour of street food and the markets in MC. She was a true authority on Mexican eating and culture and was such a good introduction to eating as a local! Our guide Pablo took us to Diego Rivera’s museo Anahuacalli in neighborhood of Coyoacan , a 40 minute taxi ride outside of MC. Another trip highlight giving us an in depth understanding of pre Hispanic Mexican culture as represented in their artefacts. Loved this! Pablo was amazing , so much enthusiasm for the subject and we then went into Frida’s and Rivera’s house. Gorgeous .
Being Londoners we like to travel by metro and explore areas not necessarily of the typical tourist agenda and I do think a little more help could have been offered here in the itinerary. If you like to get off the proverbial beaten tourist track and experience MC as lived by Mexicans where do you go? We sort of worked it out though! We loved the metro. Easy to use, felt safe ( with common sense) and cheap! Often quicker than a taxi.
Our trip to Teotehuacan was fascinating but our guide a little confusing on his history which may be due to the fact so much of the archaeological understanding of Teotehuacan is down to informed interpretations of the era as there are no written records. Onto Oaxaca city which is a beautiful and vibrant city . It’s everyone’s favorite and it’s filled with gorgeous art murals, museums , funky little cafes, and exquisite food. Our guide Diego from Coyote tours was amazing and showed us his favorite murals providing a detailed background to the relevance of different murals(social, political, and cultural) that I would never have understood by myself nor gleaned from a tour book. We did a bicycle tour which meant we could cover more ground and was fun but you can do walking tours.
Only low point of guides was our visit to Monte Alban in a group tour. Place is fascinating but could have done it as well with a book! I think a personal guide is really worth it on everything.
Finally Puerto Escondido for our beach rest. We moved our hotel to Punta Zicatela as we prefer a funky beach scene. It’s very lively but we found a quiet place end of town and had a fabulous day watching the surfers and enjoying the sunshine. A morning with our guide Ishmael on the lagoon 30 minutes along the coast was another highlight. We kayaked and saw a range of unusual bird life, mangroves and a baby crocodile! It was a totally chill experience and I highly recommend it. Ishmael provides the guided info. whilst other members of his family work behind the scene to provide kayaks, organize etc. I love the fact we were benefited from the knowledge of truly local people, living on the beach or local town. All so proud of their regional defining cultures. We leave Mexico feeling excited by what we have seen and learnt an appetite for more exploring of this wonderful country as we only saw a tiny part.
Now at the airport about to go back to England. 😥
Rene and Mariana did a fabulous job of planning our trip. Mariana always available to sort out any problems and giving us lots of advance notice of guides, taxis etc. It was a real comfort to know we had such great background support. Thank you.

Hotel Reviews

El Sueño Hotel & Spa

Puebla

Beautiful boutique hotel just on the edge of Pueblo. Loved all the exotic greenery, tasteful decor and location

Authenticity & Character

A characterful building of Pueblo creatively reimagined for the discerning tourist who loves plants, water and spacious spa style rooms. Very clean and staff so helpful.

Location

Easy to walk into Pueblo, lots of cafes and great restaurants on your doorstep

Staff

Smiling and so helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Los Pilares

Oaxaca

Beautiful boutique style hotel , spacious, light filled with the most fabulous roof top lounge area , small pool, sun lounge and restaurant. Food was uncomplicated, delicious and beautifully presented . The staff at Los Pilares were so helpful and efficient. Always with a genuine smile. Loved this place and was so sad to leave it!

Authenticity & Character

Space, decor and amazing plants thoughtfully arranged. Gorgeous

Location

In a fascinating local community bug only 20 minutes walk from center . Absolutely top location. Quiet and unusual.

Staff

Efficient, attentive and kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything exceptionally clean from rooms to bathroom to restaurant

Hotel Punto Mx

Mexico City

Excellent central location within walking distance of Museum Belles Artes . Vibe is rather corporate and formal, lacking charm, the rooms dark and soulless although very clean and well appointed, huge bed, smart bathroom but the water wasn’t hot. Room right by atrium so noisy whilst breakfast was being set up early morning. Breakfast food rather average, good fruit and juices, everything else rather stale and dry. Redeeming feature were the restaurant staff who were all so sweet and attentive and a few of the reception staff

Authenticity & Character

Everything . Nothing about it was Mexico

Location

If you like being central great but you’re in a city center

Staff

See above

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Casa Elba Cabins

Damp, our room was right at bottom of Stoney track and staff totally disinterested. Didn’t even know we were arriving and it was not busy. Dirty sofa was our first impression of room and not enough hot water for a shower.

Authenticity & Character

All of it

Location

It had a beautiful view of the valley. Short walk outside of town . Quiet.

Staff

Interest and enthusiasm

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sofa dirty. Made me feel it was all grubby

Hotel Suites Villasol

Oaxaca

It’s everything I don’t like in a hotel. Big, soulless down a development of other horrid hotels. Big rooms , soulless and the air conditioning has an awful chemical smell that made me feel sick. It was clean and staff were very nice. Breakfast was awful.

Authenticity & Character

Everything.

Location

Whole thing reminded me of a cheap English holiday camp, not a compliment. Hated it so much we moved hotels. Soulless neighborhood.

Staff

The few we met were very nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean room .

Activity Reviews

Explore the Casa Azul Museum

Mexico City

Pablo is a real authority on this . Not to be missed

Quality of Experience

Our guide Pablo made this very special as he had such an understanding of Frida, his her health affected her art and the social political context that influenced both her and Diego

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So knowledgeable and kind

Transport

Pablo driving

Visit the Museum Diego Rivera - Anahuacalli

Mexico City

Again it was our guide Pablo that made this one of the most enjoyable cultural tours we did. His knowledge of the artefacts and Diego’s motivation to collect , what each piece represented was astounding and thus knowledge lay the foundation to every thing else we went into see. Brilliant experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Mexico

Fascinating place and guide good

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great driver who spoke good English and gave us lots of tips

Hike in the Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park

Mexico

Another wonderful guide that transformed this experience. Very knowledgeable about the national park and genuinely a mountain lover! We started at 4000 meters and climbed to 4500 meters of the “ white lady”. Hard at this altitude so got a real sense of achievement. We also met some very funny and friendly fellow climbers.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver , Alberto was excellent. Punctuatuek, courteous and a amazing driver, we felt very safe.

Transport

Oaxaca Street art walk

Oaxaca

Without this tour we would never have fully appreciated the significance of the street art we saw. Stories of the artists, the subject matter and techniques. Our guide Ariel was an absolute gem. So knowledgeable and passionate about his city and art. Fabulous English too. We had a great morning with him cycling around the best of the murals. This is a must activity to really fall in love with Oaxaca

Quality of Experience

All of it

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bikes , good enough

Free Afternoon in Puebla

Mexico

Loved this city and our hotel. Easy to walk around and absorb the atmosphere.

Quality of Experience

Kayaking in the Manialtepec Lagoon

Puerto Escondido

Already given a description of this. Top experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rural cooking workshop in Oaxaca

Oaxaca

We started with a tour of the local market, a local church to soak up the vibe and cultural richness of this small town just outside oaxaca. Our guide Alejandro was so knowledgeable and relaxed and really knows food and the history of his country. Our cooking experience was so special and we felt so privileged to spend time with this family and cook with them. Dalia planned a menu to suit our unsettled tummies and used herbs to promote digestion and healing in the most delicious soup and chicken broth. We made tacos which was great fun and ground cacoa nibs and made them into a delicious treat. We will always remember this . So special.

Quality of Experience

Food

Everything!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover the flavors and colors of the exotic San Juan Market

Mexico City

Already reviewed. Fabulous

Quality of Experience

See my general review. Book Food Mexico with Clara

Food

We tasted the best street food from best vendors and samples in market

Rene was prompt, clear and professional in attending to my questions prior to the trip. This is consistent with other travel agents that I have used for other countries. I found out quite late that one of the hotels did not have air-conditioning and hence wanted a change. We ended up cancelling the hotel booking by Rene and I booking the hotel myself using Booking.com. Rene refunded me the "cost"of the hotel but refused to provide a breakdown of how he arrive at the refund amount which I thought was a bit on the low side.

Things also didn't go so well with the 'Trip Support' (the Rutopia team) during the trip itself. The team have to check with 3rd party providers most of the time and takes a while to respond to changing situations or questions. Some examples of areas that definitely needs improvement:

1) Drivers were late on 3 instances. Once by 0.5hr (we woke up early to be picked up at 5am for the hot air ballon tour but the driver came at 5.30am) and a second time by 10mins (we had landed at Cancun airport but the driver only showed up later) and a third time by almost 1hr (after we took the ferry from Holbox back to Chiquila). In the 3rd instance, my family was left standing in the open at the entrance of the jetty waiting for the driver for 1hr. To escape the hot sunny weather, we had to seek shelter at a nearby public toilet! When the driver eventually showed up, he expected us to go find his van which was supposedly parked in front of some restaurant instead of coming directly to our location at the entrance of the jetty. The driver also picked up an additional passenger along the way without explaining why (is this appropriate for safety reasons?)!

2) I reminded 'Trip Support' before the trip and a few times during the trip that we are a family of 4 adults with big luggages. However, they still arrange for small cars to pick us up on a few occasions. We were told that this is what the 'package' provides for which I am very surprised given that this is not a budget tour package! We have to spend time figuring how to fit all the luggage into the car as well as squeeze 4 adults into a small car for long journeys. I find it most unacceptable when there are no shortage of vans or big SUVs in Mexico and other travellers in smaller groups are travelling in comfort in larger SUVs and vans. I have used travel agents in the US, South America, Europe and Asia and they are all able to ensure that my family travels in comfort when it comes to transportation but the experience in Mexico is definitely below par.

3) We were booked into Ventus Ha Resort at Puerto Morelos for 1 night. However, we were not told beforehand that we were booked into 1 room instead of 2 rooms. We only found out when we checked in at the resort. Although the room at Ventus Ha are a little bit bigger, it will be normal expectation for us to be given 2 rooms which is the arrangement for all our other hotels during the trip. As we were given 1 room, the resort only provided 2 complimentary wifi access and we can't even share the access as they are fixed to 1 person each! The 4 of us have to squeeze into 2 double beds for the night and a single toilet. It's a beautify resort but our experience was sub-par due to the arrangements.

4) There were huge demonstrations along the main streets of Mexico City and in Zocalo Square due to the elections but the travel agent did not give us any warning or advise beforehand or did not do anything to adjust the itinerary to help us avoid the crowds or disruptions. During the tour of historic Mexico City on May 19, the tour guide did her best to navigate through the rowdy crowd in Zocalo Square and the surrounding streets but I feel that the travel agent should have switched the tour to another day given that we had multiple days in Mexico City and the date of the political rally in Zocalo Square on May 19 is known beforehand. When I requested to stay 1 more night in Mexico City on May 29 in a hotel next to Zocalo Square, the tour agent also didn't advise me that there will be a big political rally at the square on that day and the roads surrounding the square will be closed. We had to walk 45mins out from our hotel in order to get an Uber to travel out of the area. In fact, our hotel had to roll down the metal shutters in its front entrance in order to protect the premise from the rowdy crowd. For basic security and safety reasons, these are things which I expect the travel agent to discuss with me in advance and help me avoid them rather than leave it to me to figure things out myself on the spot!

Overall, I find the tour arrangements to be sub-par for the price that I paid. This is the first time I used Kim-Kim for my travel arrangements and I had high expectations. However, I have to say that given the sub-par experience, I will think twice in using Kim-Kim again.

The trip was super memorable from the beginning to end.

Isa was amazing from the very beginning. She understood our need to have private tours to learn about meso-american civilization and culture.

Luz Ma fantastic as well and was constantly in touch via WhatsApp. She helped us with daily questions and resolving daily issues.

Our tour guides Louis and Guadalupe for Teotiuhacan and Cholula were great. Appreciate their professionalism and knowledge.

Then comes Manuel, our tour guide for the majority of our stay in the Yucatan and Mayan sites. He became my Mayan brother. He further customized our trip as per our need on the go. We would love to do more trips with him.

Finally, our tour guides at Punta Lagoona, Enrique and at Muyil, Memo made some indelible impression for this trip.

Hotel Reviews

Kuka y Naranjo

Mérida

Loved the hotel's interior decoration and authentic style. Our room with a big terrace was a win (if I remember the name of the room it was Santa Lucia). Great service, they used to deliver tea or coffee at our request in the room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa de la Luz

Mexico City

Great location, historic property, fantastic service. The only issue I had was with rooms with no windows as I was feeling claustrophobic and altitude sickness. They understood and changed my room twice to accommodate my need that was super service. Shoutout to Lazaro!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Muuch

Valladolid, Yucatán

It was a good hotel but the room was a bit small and a little inconvenient with the luggage.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Pescadores Tulum

Tulum

This was the best and the most comfortable of all the hotels we stayed during our trip. Great room, comfortable, big, open design, separated from the bathrooms. Eco friendly yet they cleaned everyday. It was within the boundary of a national park and Tulum archaelogical site. This made it more private, a bit secluded, and safe. I loved it. Extremely friendly folks and great service including room service.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Uxmal and Kabah: The Jewels of Puuc

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the archaeological site of Teotihuacan

Mexico City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover the Magical town of Cholula

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The car was too small for 4 people.

Merida to Valladolid Visiting Chichen Itza Archaeological site and Yodkzonot

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Lo

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The archaeological site of Cobá

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the archaeological site of Tulum

Tulum

It's a great site but most of the access was closed to visitors. We could see it bit could not enjoy it to fullest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Float in the Muyil Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve

Tulum

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ek Balam Archaeological Site & swim in a cenote

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Look for spider monkeys in Punta Laguna

Mexico

Not the most interesting activity for us. Although the experience was fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My partner and I left our trip planning for 3 weeks in Mexico very late! We were inundated with a hectic work schedule, the X-mas/NY holiday period having just been and a wedding to negotiate. The thought of sitting down and coming up with an itinerary, researching each town and finding accomodation was daunting. We didn't have a great first impression using a travel agent in Sydney who was suggesting all the wrong activities for us as a gay couple to see and do in Mexico and the hotels he suggested were dated and drab. He also gave us "homework" to research what we liked and feed back to him which sort of defeated the purpose of using a travel agent.

We went home that day and discovered some pre-made examples of itineraries on the Kim-kim website with Maps and pictures. We loved the idea of customising/combining two of the suggested itineraries presented to suit our plans with a wedding smack bang in the middle of the holiday.

The process was easy - fill in some information about yourselves, what you like, what you dont like, what you're open to trying, your aversion to noise kids/tourist hot-spots, how many rest days you prefer and how often you want to travel plus any other comments.

Within 3 days we had a draft itinerary which included funky boutique hotel suggestions, and a list of optional activities. Charlotte our trip planner was from France but travelled Mexico extensively and loved it so much she moved to the Yucatan province to live. She knew personally all the good things a young couple would enjoy along our travels with flexibility to change. An easy tick box/comment box below each activity let Charlotte know our thoughts on each activity/destination. 2-3 iterations later (about 2 weeks) and our trip was pretty much planned and paid for.

The only thing left to book was flights which was not included (smart of KimKim as dealing with airlines is a nightmare for traditional travel agents so this makes their business model more sustainable).

Our favourite large city was Oaxaca which was an eclectic mixing pot of fabulous art, colourful architecture, friendly people, punchy delicious food and great cocktails. Cooking class here is highly recommended! We felt most zen along the beaches of Zipolite and Mazunte which attracts a young, textile-free bohemian crowd. We saw turtles and dolphins on the beaches here and had superb food. Chichen Itza site in the Yucatan was absolutely mind-boggling and the area was surrounded by hundreds of natural crystal clear cenotes to take a dip in during the heat of our days driving around. Once back on the east coast our boat tour of Sian Ka'an to see dugongs, flamingo's, pelicans, and swim in a warm crystal clear pirate channel was our best of many boat experiences of the trip. Finally after 3 weeks of driving around the country by ourselves it was nice to be back in the vibrant beach-side town of Playa Del Carmen (a less confronting town than Cancun but still with enough stimulation to bring us back to reality).

As with all trips there are times things don't quite go to plan. Kim-Kim sets up a WhatsApp group with the trip planner and a local booking guide (Monica in our case). They are available 24/7 to assist you in your own language with any misunderstandings with bookings, interpretation, rescheduling etc. Such an easy and personable experience and always super friendly encounters. They also send daily reminders of activities with hints on best parking places and how to ignore scammers/false signs etc.

Looking forward to using Kim-Kim again next year for our upcoming trip to Spain.

Hotel Reviews

Zoa

Loved this place and the staff here. Super picturesque, LGBTQI+ Friendly, outstanding service with all tips included, spectacular food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Situated right on a cliff looking out to the ocean with a very natural jungle hut vibe but high end. Very close to Mazunte main town (2 min drive)

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Circulo Mexicano

Mexico City

Stunning architecture and rooftop terrace bar. Grand spacious rooms with high ceilings and crisp luxurious linen. Location was so central and easy to get everywhere in the historic centre. The Wifi did not work in our room but the whole building is made out of thick architectural concrete slabs so I suspect this may be a challenge to deal with.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Breakfast staff were a bit surly/disinterested. Frequently had to get up to get stuff ourselves. Bar staff and front desk staff are wonderful however.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Escondido Oaxaca

Oaxaca

Absolutely stunning what they've done with this place. As the name suggests it is a true hidden gem.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to some large food and craft markets. Ideally should have a car here as its not that close to the historic centre. The location however is a little less impressive right next to a main road so if in the pool area or bar it is reasonable noisy with trucks going past. The location however is a little less impressive right next to a main road so if in the pool area or bar it is reasonable noisy with trucks going past.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villas Caracol

Holbox

This is such a cool Island and a very lovely hotel. Absolutely MASSIVE rooms with open plan bathroom/shower and expansive balcony. Great food and cocktails Great pool area and general ambiance. Be aware this is a family hotel and you will see children running around

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique Olbil Valladolid

Valladolid, Yuc.

What a romantic and well executed build this is. This hotel is hidden inconspicuously along a busy and slightly shabby street. once the front door is open you get a view right down the middle of the hotel across a serene pool surrounded by flowers on vines and tropical trees. Thick wooden furniture in the bar/restaurant area gives a funky safari vibe. Very pleasant staff and gorgeous rooms (high ceilings, massive bed with crisp linen, a macrame hammock stretches across the room and the bathroom has a mayan/Incan temple vibe - truly executed wonderfully.

Authenticity & Character

Location

This hotel was a little far from some of the funkier streets of this city/anywhere to get good food. We recommend having a car to explore from here. Also the street felt a little unsafe at night.

Staff

The bar tender was overbearing - constantly hustling guests to buy more drinks/food/give a tip for service. He was super enthusiastic and invested in his job which is obvious but for most people wanting to relax on holiday it was unwelcome.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Piedra de Agua Hotel Boutique

We didnt love Piedra de Agua Hotel in Merida. Despite it being situated in an incredibly historic old building with a grand central foyer and elaborately ornate doors the rooms themselves were horrendously small with NO WINDOWS! The room was pitch black until you could find a light switch and the balcony did have two sets of opaque wooden shutters that could be opened with some difficulty. Breakfast was 4 slices of fruit and 2 tablespoons of yoghurt. I wouldn't recommend anyone stay in this hotel at all unless they get a presidental suite which apparently has a different setup. You can see similar reviews on google maps for this place. The best thing about this hotel was the central location.

Authenticity & Character

Great building, poorly executed rooms and underused central lobby. Could install an elevator to make rooms accessible to elderly and disabled people.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Rancho Encantado

Bacalar

Hotel Rancho Encantado - we probably would have preferred to stay in Bacalar town itself as the town was quite vibrant and had lots of places to eat and drink. This hotel was quite isolated out of town and down a VERY bumpy dirt road. The hotel itself was beautifully situated on the lake with a lovely picturesque wharf on the water but besides that the food and drinks were average, the people working there were quite surly and menu prices quite high. Rooms were big and bright but a bit dated (think the Flintstones). Grounds were so big it was hard for them to keep things clean with rotting fruits all over the pathways (we can look over this as it was a "jungle get away" although some people may not appreciate this. We did see monkeys here which was a highlight).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great if you want to be secluded and hang around the resort all day but not in town so need a car to do anything else.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mereva

Tulum

Mereva - this was a gorgeous little hotel 20 min drive out of Talum. It had good facilities and THE BEST breakfast i had at a hotel the whole trip. It is also right on the water with its old private little stretch of beach. The reason it lost some starts from us is it was 20 minutes away from the cute little town of Talum (Again we probaby would have prefered to be in Talum and wander around rather than be stuck in a resort 20 minutes away with kids splashing in the swimming pool around us). Some people however just want a private get away to lounge in without having to visit local towns. The cocktails were also insane expensive here ($370mx for a cocktail!!! which is double what we pay at a nice bar in Sydney, Australia and triple what everywhere else in Mexico was charging).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tequila and Mezcal tasting

Mexico

This was a really cute, personalised tasting experience paired with snacks at intervals. Located in a gorgeous hotel bar in a really quaint neighbourhood i would stick around for dinner afterwards if we had our time again.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private car with Spanish speaking driver and English speaking guide

Mexico

The driver seemed sweet but was soooo slow, couldn't understand us, and didn't want to use the air conditioner.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Lucha libre in Mexico city

Mexico City

So much fun. Really colourful and energetic play-fighting. Great costumes and entrances. Love the improvisations and the level the crowd got worked up.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lovely driver.

Xochimilco Tour Trajinera

Mexico City

Cool to do and see but not the highlight of my day.

Cooking Class - Oaxaca

Oaxaca

This was one of the highlights of our trip. Super friendly and informative guide/chef who takes you through the market to buy produce and then back to his house which has a colourful kitchen within the courtyard to prepare and cook 3 different delicious meals.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat tour 3 islands

Holbox

Very tranquil and pretty half day experience.

Quality of Experience

Safari Magico - Between Sea and Mangrove

Mexico

1. The snorkelling boat trip through Dive Center Puerto Angel was so incredible. The day was sooooo windy but this didn't put a damper on the journey. The boat punched through waves as we spotted dolphins and schools of morbula rays. We had 3 snorkel spots - each one more vibrant and impressive than the last. The guides/driver were also super lovely. 2. The second part of this trip (the afternoon Mangrove Safari with Ventanilla Ecoturismo) was average. We were 15 minutes late travelling between the two destinations but when we arrived they sent us to another tour operator as they had no English speaking guides. Eventually our lovely Kim-Kim representative Monica spoke to the company on the phone and 45 minutes later we had an English speaking guide drive in from home and take us out. The boat itself did not have any shade and it was a baking 37 degree celsius (so bring an umbrella). The guide also seemed disinterested and lacked genuine friendliness except where it was time to give him the tip at the end. We saw some crocodiles and birds and some deer in captivity but probably could have given this afternoon activity a miss.

Quality of Experience

Food

The lunch/breakfast at the end is included (excluding alcohol) so be sure the waiter doesn't charge you like he did with us (we paid twice)

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hierve el Agua – Mitla – Teotitlán del Valle - Tule Tree - Mezcal Testing

Oaxaca

A really great introduction to the area surrounding Oaxaca. A mix of history, culture, architecture, natural beauty, local art/trade skills and of course mezcal production and tasting at its finest. The buffet lunch was also one of the highlights, showcasing an incredible variety of delights exclusive to Oaxaca and Mexico - you can see why it got its UNESCO world heritage listing for cuisine.

Boat tour in the natural reserve of Rio Lagartos

Mexico

Very chilled and pretty experience.

Chichen-Itza site with an English speaking guide

Mexico

This is a must see. Incredible site on so many levels. Wonderful, knowledgeable and friendly private tour guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat tour on the lagoon

Mexico

It was an insanely windy day when we went out but this didn't put a damper on my very first experience in a crystal clear, bath-warm, fresh water lagoon. We couldn't believe such a huge expanse of fresh water would be so clear and devoid of polution/algae. This lagoon is pristine in so many ways. It was also a delight to swim in. Our trip was unfortunately cut short as our boat broke down and we needed to be rescued. The driver couldnt speak English and unfortunately we missed out on the second hour of our experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat tour in the Natural Reserve of Sian Ka'an

Mexico

Best boat activity we did in Mexico. The early start to the day was acknowledged and breakfast was provided (most hotels dont open breakfast until 7.30/8). The breakfast was homely and welcome. The boat was tiny but super fast and we sped across crystal clear fresh water lagoon towards a channel cut through the mangroves by The Mayans for trade hundreds of years ago. We could see fish and all sorts of water birds along the mangroves here. Another ultra fast blast across a second fresh water lagoon brough us to a natural "pirate channel" where we floated effortlessly in 29 Celsius fresh water through a mangrove river. This was unimaginably peaceful and unique experience. Finally we blasted out into brackish water at the mouth of the river to spot crocodiles, manatees, flamingo's, dolphins and make it back in time to wash off in a rain storm. Lunch was provided before we departed and we can both highly recommend the banana leaf chicken - so succulent and tasty. I wish i could eat this again.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkel in Akumal

Mexico

You will see turtles which is cool and there are some lovely clumps of fan coral at the furthest most point where you are dropped in the water. I was not a fan at all of the huge tourist machine that was made of this Akumal bay. Hundreds - if not thousands - of tourists coming and going by the bus load to jump in the water and harass a handful of turtles in this spectacular bag. Stirring up sediment with their fins and pushing on the barriers to get closer look at the turtles. It's great that we can see these majestic animals in their habitat but some thought needs to be put into sustainable tourism at this location. All surrounding parts of the beach have been privatised by the hotels that occupy the forshore so you cannot enjoy a drink or slice of beach along this bay unless you are a hotel member or happy to sit down among the throng of life-jacketed tourists coming and going from the water.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had an incredible experience in Mexico City. The trip was completely customized to our needs and we thoroughly enjoyed our time. In particular, the market tour, the cooking class and the tour of the Chinampas were excellent.

Activity Review

Discover the flavors and colors of the exotic San Juan Market

Mexico City

Clara was an amazing tour guide. She was incredibly attentive to the needs of the entire family and adjusted the trip to accommodate our interests. She was very kind and very knowledgeable. Really terrific trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Charlotte was a pleasure to work with. She made thoughtful recommendations and consistently emphasized the importance of tailoring the experience to our family's preferences. She was also responsive in answering questions, etc.

Hotel Reviews

La Noria

Oaxaca

The common areas of the hotel were amazing, particularly the small pool in the courtyard, and the location couldn't be beat. The rooms themselves were a bit sparse, but had lots of room and were very clean. The staff was very friendly and accomodating.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Bocana

Huatulco

This is a beautiful boutique hotel. We would go back in a heartbeat.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Teotihuacan site with and English speaking guide

Mexico

This was an amazing site and our guide, Isabelle, was fantastic. We wouldn't have enjoyed the experience nearly as much without her knowledge and insight.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lucha libre in Mexico city

Mexico City

This was a highlight of our time in Mexico City. While we aren't wrestling fans, it was a highly entertaining experience and we particularly enjoyed the fact that it was a bit off the tourist path -- most of those in attendance were local families.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private car with Spanish speaking driver and English speaking guide

Mexico

We loved Alberto! He was an excellent driver and incredibly thoughtful person. We recommend him to others without reservation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pros:
1. Constant communication
2. Convenient and stress free- having a driver take you to remote locations is a lot more reassuring than driving yourself.
3. The drivers provide an authentic perspective of the way of life for people in Oaxaca.

Cons:
1. Pricy since you’re paying for the service
2. The itinerary is subject to change- some of the activities mentioned in the itinerary were not offered. For example, we were not given the opportunity to paint our own alebrijes (which was what my son was looking forward to)
3. Some of the activities felt like sales pitches rather than interactive workshops.

Overall, I recommend for those who want a stress free adventure in Mexico.