Yelp Review 2023 #68:
About 3.5 hours away from Mexico City and passing through several towns in Mexico is Grutas Tolantongo. A beautiful and magical place with a cave, hot springs, and a river. The hot spring pool is man-made but everything else is made by Mother Nature. There are hotels, shops and small eateries nearby. They have lockers - grab the key from the shop and pay a 50-peso cash deposit (you'll get it back when you return the key). The shop has everything you need: should you make the trip here and forget swimming essentials: sunblock, water shoes, sunglasses, towels, swim suits, waterproof case for your phone; as well as shirts, magnets, keychains and souvenirs.
My advice is to get here early on a weekday to avoid the crowd. I got here at 8am and they had just opened so, it was just myself and like 5 other people. By 9am, people started to fill the pools. By 10am, say goodbye to peace and quiet! Children running around, people screaming and probably peeing in the pools - my cue to leave and move on to the cave.
There's a map of the area. From the pools, you can either walk 30 minutes to get to the cave or drive. The cave is also part of the hot springs. The water gets deeper towards the middle of the cave. There's hot water coming from the roof of the cave with strong pressure - you can get under it and get a strong massage which felt good after I fell at the pools. From here, I walked a few minutes to the river to finish my trip. Along the river, there are some plastic chairs to leave your towel and non-valuables on or you can just chill. There are trees if being under the sun isn't your thing.
Be very very careful and wear waterproof footwear with lots of traction because the path to the pools is very slippery. I slipped, flew 4ft in the air and landed on my back - and even months later, I get occasional back pain since then.
There are bathrooms with toilets and showers. I brought my own toiletries and a towel from the hotel I was staying at in Mexico City.
Tips: pack everything you need including toiletries, plastic bags for wet clothes, and waterproof phone case in a waterproof bag. Bring some cash. Wear water shoes with good traction. Get here early avoid coming here when children are out of school (i.e. Holy Week, weekends, and holidays). read more