Rutopía

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.

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

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