Rutopía

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 The only drawback of the lovely Petra Hotel was it advertized having breakfast included but that was out of date info.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!

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

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.