My partner and I had an educational and insightful tour of Centro Histórico with David in December…read more2023. His deep appreciation of the peoples and cultures that have made Mexico City a thriving metropolis for seven centuries was evident in each interaction he had with a local citizen and in every choice he made regarding where to visit and what to point out. With a deep understanding of what makes a city great, and keeping in mind our particular interests, David was able to put together a perfect tour for us. We really enjoyed spending the day with him. Fellow travelers will benefit from his deep curiosity and his keen eye for the nuance and detail of this sprawling city- his home for the past thirty years. We highly recommend David as a tour guide and look forward to exploring the city further with him the next time we visit.

We spent 6 hours with David walking through the Condesa and Roma neighborhoods. Throughout the…read moretour, David pointed out interesting historical and architectural details, and made sure to include visits to several neighborhood markets. He also recommended a wonderful restaurant where we took a break and enjoyed a delicious Yucatecan lunch. We had been a bit apprehensive and even intimidated to go on a neighborhood tour with a published author, no less, but as soon as we began our walk our fears melted away; David is a lovely and charming person, a real pleasure to hang out with. Before we traveled to Mexico City, we read David's book, "First Stop in the New World," which painted vivid and evocative vignettes of the Mexico City of 2008, when the book was published. Walking the Roma and Condesa streets with David made the book come alive. David's deep knowledge of the city, gained over 25 years of living and working there as a journalist, was very evident during our tour. His curiosity about the city and its people is infectious. From everything we'd read about Mexico City, we knew we were going to love it once we traveled there. Spending the day with David walking the streets of this great city made us love it even more. We look forward to taking another tour with him when we visit next, perhaps in the Centro Histórico or Coyoacán/San Ángel.

Journeys Beyond the Surface is an excellent arranger / provider of guide services for a visitor to…read moreMexico City. We spent 5 days exploring the city, partially on our own following suggestions from Journeys and partially with the personal guidance of their field guides. Our explorations were closely tailored to match our specific interests. This was a "bespoke" experience. The guides were very knowledgeable. Their commentary and observations, placing much in a local and historical context was very valuable for us. Details of any one's days explorations could be altered as the day evolved. Very flexible. We are an older couple with significant travel experience in western Europe but we lacked similar experience in Mexico. Our Spanish language skills were weak. Journeys made a significant contribution to the quality of our experience. Highly recommended.

I was looking for a tour guide who could take two people on an in-depth colonial art and…read morearchitecture day trip from Mexico City to Puebla with stops in Cholula and at the Church of Santa María Tonantzintla. I also wanted background in Mexican history, and thought it likely that I was asking too much of a one day tour. But Mojdeh set us up with our guide Maria, who was absolutely fantastic. We effectively had a day-long seminar that was perfectly tailored to our interests, which is what I had been hoping for. Maria was exceptionally knowledgeable, and shared her knowledge in a very accessible and engaging way. Our driver Frede was outstanding. We felt very safe and he handled an unexpected road closure very well.

Margaret hosted my husband and me for a private photography tour during our first visit to Mexico…read moreCity. It was easily the highlight of our trip. Margaret picked us up at our hotel, drove us to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (an amazing site that we probably would not have ventured to on our own), and spent the next several hours showing us where and how to get amazing photos. She also speaks fluent Spanish and knows so much about the history and culture of Mexico--meaning that we got both an excellent photography guide AND an excellent tour guide. The price that she charged us for the tour was so reasonable that I encouraged her to charge more to future visitors (sorry, Yelpers!). I would have considered the tour to be an excellent value if she had charged us twice what she did. On the plane home last night, we looked through our photos from the trip, and those that we took with Margaret were by far our favorites. We will certainly book another tour with her for our next trip to Mexico City. I encourage anyone with an interest in photography--and learning more about Mexico's culture and people--to make a tour with Margaret the centerpiece of your visit to Mexico City.

On our recent visit to Mexico City, we took a private tour with the Traveling Beetle, which…read moreprovides private and small group architecture, design, and art tours in Beetle vehicles (ours was in a bright orange VW bus) in and around Mexico City. The tours are guided by architects who can teach you everything you want to know about the spaces you visit. They offer a range of tours focusing on individual architects (Luis Barragán, Alberto Kalach, Félix Candela, Juan O'Gorman, Mario Pani), specific neighborhoods (Pedregal, UNAM), or particular architectural styles (Modernism, Sacred Architecture). We took their Organic Architecture Tour, which allowed us to visit Conjunto Satélite, Nido de Quetzalcóatl, and Parque Quetzalcóatl. It was a 4 1/2 hour tour. They picked us up at our hotel in Coyoacán and were kind enough to drop us off in San Ángel, where we planned to spend the rest of the day. The Organic Architecture Tour focuses on select works of Javier Senosiain, and the sites we visited really blew my mind. I've never seen anything like the buildings and sites we visited on this tour. They are places that I will continue to think about and be inspired by for a long time. Our driver was Luis, and our tour guide was Pamela. They were lovely - helpful, friendly, informative, and made our day incredibly fun. They made our tour very special. If you are interesting in learning about Mexican architecture while on vacation in Mexico City, I highly recommend the Traveling Beetle. It's a little pricey (but they offer small group tours that are less expensive than private tours), but it's worth it. Our tour with the Traveling Beetle was absolutely one of the highlights of our visit to CDMX a few weeks ago. I am planning on taking another of their tours when I'm back in Mexico City with my family next year.

Wow ! From initial contact to actual Barragan Tour, Our experience was fantastic! Organized, easy…read moreand just plain fun. Our guide: a young architect, Martin, was the best. His breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject was infectious. We had a great time , learned much and....when was the last time you were in a VW bus ( Woodstock for me!)

4* Turibus Best value tour in Mexico for four hours; great…read moresights; great scheduling; double decker bus. Note: bring water, hat, sunglasses on sunny days. Also, bring something to insulate your butt from the plastic seats that heat up during the day Luis was excellent guide Plenty of opportunities for bathroom breaks; no toilet on bus Speaker system is adequate; in Spanish Purchase tickets from Tourist Information office across from Zocalo

I have to say this tourbus tour was pretty awesome. I got to see the main spots of Puebla in Under…read more2-hours. I got some great pictures of allot of the town architecture and the beautiful churches. Definetly work the price (Under 100 pesos)

I wanted to take a day trip out to Puebla during my almost one-week vacation Mexico City. During my…read moreresearch online I discovered the Soy Poblana blog. I emailed the blogger, Alice, if she operates any food tours in Puebla. She responded back to the e-mail saying she can organize a 4-hour tour of the city including the best Pueblan foods. I could have done the trip alone, but to ensure I get more of the time I was there, I decided it was a good idea to hire a local guide. I took an Estrella Roja bus from the Mexico City at 7:20 am to Puebla arriving at around 10 am. I took an Uber to the cathedral and met my guide Alejandra at 10:30 am. It was just me and the guide so it was great that I was able to modify the tour as I wished. She asked if I was hungry and I told her that I didn't have breakfast yet so she took me to a stand to try a melote and pelona -- two Pueblan foods I've never heard of before! We then headed to Rosary Chapel, a place that blew me away. Photos of the chapel do not capture how beautiful this place looks in person. A sight to see while you are in Puebla for sure. My guide, Alejandra, gave me talk of the history of the chapel and pointed out things that I wouldn't have noticed on my own. We then walked over to get a sample of the local sweets and also she took me to the back to view a talavera workshop where I learned more about the process of making this local handcrafted ceramic work of art. We then walked over to look at a "parian," a local market. After a walk through the market, she took me to try totopo and a chalupa con mole. After that tasting, we ate again. She took me to try tacos arabes. My first time trying this as well and it was exciting to try. Alejandra mentioned that the al pastor tacos were great as well, so I wanted to sample that next. Next, we visited Biblioteca Palafoxiana, a UNESCO World Heritage site where Alejandra talked about the library and its history. Next were my favorite cemitas, something I am always seeking out in Los Angeles. I had so many delicious things to eat, but this was probably my most favorite! To end the trip, Alejandra took me to try "pasita" which was another local drink I've never heard of before. It was a family owned bar established in 1916. The bar didn't have set hours, so we were lucky that it was opened when we arrived. To end the tour she took me to the most colorful street to take a photo. I don't know if I could have found this on my own. If you want to see the best of Puebla, I highly recommended taking a tour with Soy Poblana. I felt that so much was packed into my short visit to Puebla. I also got to taste the best of the city from a local's perspective. My local guide was born and raised in Puebla and knows all the local spots for great Pueblan food. Sure, I could have done this trip on my own, but the experience would not be the same as having a local show you around.

My husband and I wanted to get a local perspective on Poblano cuisine. We came across Soy Poblano…read moreand very easily booked a tour. The private tour with Alejandra was excellent. She was punctual. She walked us around the area to try many local foods. She has a relationship with the vendors- and you can often split dishes so you can try more things. The quality of the food was excellent. We had tacos arabe, cemita, chalupas, went to a local dulceria and sampled candy and liquor. We also booked the mixed tour - so she took us to the rosary chapel, the cathedral, the library and el parisan. The price was very reasonable. Her English is excellent. We started our time in Puebla with the tour and now we feel comfortable wandering the city. I know I'll be returning to many of the places she showed us for more meals!