We were walking around the park of Chapultepec when we came across the lake. They have paddle boats…read moreand row boats that fit up to 5 people. The 5 person row boat with a shade was 200 pesos an hour which I thought was a great deal. We didn't see the entire lake, but it looked pretty big. On Saturdays they have lots of stands that sell souvenirs, snacks, food, and drinks. I would recommend checking it out if you're in Mexico City.

The lake is nice, but can be really crowded on weekends. There's also hawkers literally everywhere…read moreselling all sorts of useless stuff. It's about 90 pesos to go on a boat and paddle around, but I didn't do that part. The rest of the park more towards the castle is much more worth your time, and I highly suggest that.

I booked a trip with AirBnb so the experience was fantastic and a great price ! It gets busy here…read morequick, and if you can, visit earlier. There are a bunch of shops and places to eat, people will try to sell you things and convince you to join a boat tour. The canals get so crowded because of the amount of boats that there is huge traffic. Our guide mentioned sometimes there is a standstill because of this. Once you're on the boat, people will try and sell you drinks, food, souvenirs and mariachis will ask if you would like live music. You can stop at touristy things like seeing axolotl and reptiles. Definitely some tourist traps, but it's worth it haha. I paid extra to hold some snakes and got some cute souvenirs, which were a reasonable price. Book an organized tour if you can !

My partner and I wanted to visit the canals of Xochimilco…read more If you don't read the rest, know that this is the legit embarcadero of to go for trajineras and touring the canals of Xochimilco when visiting Mexico City. It's the same one they visited on a former season of Amazing Race! We knew it was going to take an Uber ride (~$9USD) and ~45 minutes to get there. What we didn't know is there are guys on bicycles that will try to con your driver into taking you to an alternative boat landing where they, according to travel blogs, either rob you or charge you more. Thankfully I speak Spanish and could understand what was going on. While I considered listening, I quickly Googled what was being said--the road is shut down and there's an alternative and better embarcadero that can be accessed by taking a different route--and learned that it wasn't legit. I was able to reassure our driver to follow the Uber/map instructions and also tell the guy on the bike off. He still persisted and followed us for a few miles until we took the final turn on the road to Embarcadero Nativitas. Anyway, the boats are well-kept, the time out in the canals was as long/longer than we paid for, and the prices were very fair (and negotiable). The whole place is the same company so any of the people that approach you about boats are there for the same place. We brought our own beers and took a two-hour ride and it was so nice. You can also buy food and drinks from vendors on the water. And you can bring a portable speaker/play music, too. We legit had the best time taking in the whole experience. You can stop along the way to use restrooms (highly recommend clocking them on your way out so you know where they are on your way back in and don't pee your pants). Don't forget to bring some coins along to pay the bathroom fee, too.

Xochimilco is a historic canal district in Mexico City, famous for its colorful boats (trajineras)…read morethat offer festive tours through the waterways. Xochimilco is a popular destination for tourists visiting Mexico City, even though it's a hike from the center of the city (you'll likely spend an hour getting to Xochimilco). We didn't visit on our first trip to Mexico City, but we did make a quick stop to tour the Xochimilco canals on our second visit to CDMX a few weeks ago. We visited with a tour group, which I recommend. I've heard it can be difficult to arrange things on your own. I believe it. When we visited, the market at this portion of Xochimilco had just been torn down (they are rebuilding it in time for the World Cup next summer), and it made for a confusing site. Without our guide, we definitely wouldn't have known where to go. There are lots of ways to experience and enjoy Xochimilco. For a lot of people, it's a party. You can eat, drink, and listen to mariachi music. I've heard it can be quite an experience and people can turn this into a party. You can also have a more historical- or ecological-focused experience, which is what we did (several groups focus on this kind of visit, including some that take you out at sunrise to experience it). Our tour guide taught us the history of Xochimilco (the waterways here were a main transportation venue from the pre-Hispanic period until the 20th century) and some of the ways people are trying to focus on improving the environment in the area (bringing back agriculture/chinampas and attempting to preserve habitat for the axolotl - Google it, it's amazing). If you're hoping for a particular experience, I highly recommend checking with a tour guide who can help you pick the portion of Xochimilco and ensure you get the experience you're most interested in. It's an interesting place, but given its distance from the city center, I wouldn't say it's a must visit for first time tourists to the city.

Our outstanding boat guide, born and raised here in Xochimilco, said that he thinks this magical…read morespot will be around only about five more years due to human contamination and dwindling water levels. I felt privileged to experience this place, perhaps for the last time, on a peaceful Friday afternoon. We took the 2 hour round-trip tour to Isla de la Llorona, and our guide recounted a bounty of historical and environmental information as well as some fascinating legends (spoiler alert - the original Llorona was probably not actually a remorseful perpetrator of infanticide but something else entirely). Aside from the totally unique experience of having special Mariachi, food and booze boats float by, the very best thing about this spot is the utter silence. On this day, there were no other boats on our route, so when we fell silent the only sound literally was the wind rustling through the leaves of the spindly trees on the river banks. Yet we were still right within the confines of a 20M+ inhabitant city! This is what all of Tenochtitlan used to look like before folks decided to pave paradise, save for this one last, delicate corner. As a bonus, on our way to the island, we passed by and got to photograph the exact image that is displayed (along with a giant axolotl) on the back of the new $50 MXN bill. Here's hoping that future thinking leaders of Mexico will commit to restoring this special place, before it's too late - before a simple rendering on the back of a banknote is all that we have left.

Scammed. Payed on arrival and they charged me $2,700 pesos for 1of 2 hours for the tradicional…read moretour.I looked at their website after and they charge 1,695 for the same 2 hour tour. They pressure. They gave prices verbally, i asked for the tiny pamphlet and they gave me like 15 seconds to look before they started pressuring me to pay.

You need to plan this visit with a lot of time. You cannot rush it. Enjoy the view and boat in…read morecanal. Xochimilco experience is just like Canal boating In Venice. Except their boat is wooden flat canoes. The moving of canoes is by hand rod push to bottom of canal. The entire trip probably about two hours. Many bring their on beer to the canoe. Some event bring their boom box. And even some has mariachi band. The boat is painter with their unique multi bright colors. Each boat have their name. The canal can be crowded when they try to miss each other or pass each other in different direction. Some time they have to bum each other to pass. Traffic jam can be happening.

Leo was perfect and professional in every way! He was so considerate and accommodating for my mom…read moreand me. Great way to learn about the history and culture of the area. Great teacher Leo!

Turibus is the worst tour company I have ever experienced and I am a frequent traveller. They do…read morenot have any English speaking employees. They do not provide clear directions on where to pick-up their tour buses. They do not have after hour services or anyone you can speak to during off hours or during business hours. Their staff are uncaring. I cannot stress how bad they are. DO NOT USE THIS TOUR COMPANY.

Highly recommend a private tour with Vibe Adventures! Our guide, Sal, picked us up right on time…read moreand was so personable from the start. He is incredibly knowledgeable and made exploring the Anthropology Museum and Chapultepec Park a great experience. The best part about Sal is his attitude, he genuinely seemed to enjoy the visit just as much as we did, which made the day feel really special. Great guide, great company, and an amazing tour.

Alberto was an amazing guide and we learned so much on this trip! I highly recommend this tour!read more

We had a such a great time with Manny at Tolantongo. He facilitated a trip that felt relaxed and…read moretranquil while also keeping us on time so that we could see everything there was to see on the tour. Next time we visit Tolantongo we will definitely call on Manny again. Thanks Manny for being so welcoming and kind!

Manny is a gem! We had *such* a wonderful day with him. In addition to having a great wealth of…read moreknowledge, he is kind, caring and attentive. We asked him to take us a bit off the beaten path away from more touristy spots and he took us on a great tour of Sonora Market, explaining about what vendors were selling and why, the stories and history behind them. By the end of the day it felt like hanging with a friend. I highly recommend him!

TERRIBLE. DO NOT COMR HERE. Absolute scam and insane prices as all the other reviews (besides the…read morefake one) say. They tried to charge us $3500 for a two hour ride. I'm embarrassed to say we paid half of that for what was promised to be 2 hours. Of the two hours 1.5 of them we were not moving because of the traffic and because of that as soon as we got out of the traffic we turned around right back to where we started. We did not see anything. We called an Uber to the main area where you are supposed to depart from and some people on motorcycles directed our Uber driver here. We realized this as a red flag but went through with it because we know all the canals connect anyways and they told us we would go to the places we wanted to.

As others have shared in their reviews, this area is a complete scam and one that you should try to…read moreavoid when attempting to ride a boat in the canal here in Mexico City. This port shares a similar name with the actual tourist site, "Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas." Over there, you'll find tons of boats, more food stalls, and souvenirs up the alley. Here however, you'll find desolate locals attempting to make a profit off uninformed tourists. Many signs from the Xochimilco Station will potentially lead you down here if your'e not careful. The fellas here charge MX$350 per person per hour, which is a complete rip off from the locally enforced price you'd find in the other port. The folks here will attempt to sell you this lie and emphasize that all tourists pay this. Don't fall for it. Get yourself out of here and walk 20 minutes further to get to the real port where you will be charged the correct price of MX$350 for two hours, no matter how many people are in your party.