Mexico City · MONARCH BUTTERFLY TOURS
From November to March the fir forests west of the city hold millions of monarchs, and outside that window there is nothing to see. These 10 trips cover the reserves, the uphill walk to the colonies and what the day costs.
Review of the Sierra Chincua monarch butterfly tour from Mexico City, with hiking, mountain views, local lunch, transport details, and honest tips.
“The guide and the driver was very friendly and gave me a lot of information. Though you can not see the butterfly very good the trip is very interesting.”
See monarchs in Sierra Chincua on a long but rewarding day from Mexico City, with transport, a guide, forest hike, local food, and markets.
“This tour was the highlight of my trip to Mexico City. The sanctuary is beautiful and the huge numbers of butterflies was pure magic! Alexei was the perfect guide, and was clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about the area and butterflies. Also an unexpected side show of axolotls! The drive there and back is long, but the butterflies were worth it! Highly recommend.”
Review of a private Mexico City tour to Piedra Herrada, with monarch butterflies, forest trails, optional horseback riding, and practical tips.
“The butterflies were beautiful. The problem was we were supposed to have an English speaking tour guide, but we had no tour guide for the butterflies. We were put on horses with someone assigned to lead each horse, but no one who spoke English. We were a group who wanted to stay together but got separated. We were not told of the difficulty of this tour. I though we were going to ride horses the entire way. However after a short ride we had to get off the horses and make a very difficult climb up a mountain. Our group was told it was a 20 minute walk from there.…”
See thousands of monarch butterflies at Sierra Chincua, hike high into the mountains, and explore Angangueo on a long Mexico City day trip.
“Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this company. The driver got lost on the way to the Butterfly Sanctuary. He very nearly got the van stuck in the sand on a steep dirt road. We ended up at a different sanctuary than was planned, which was WAY more crowded than the one we were supposed to go to. Entrance fee, sanctuary guide, and meals were not included as promised. The guide was incredibly annoying. He never stopped talking, mostly about non-trip related topics. He spewed spittle on nearby guests. Just revolting. We returned to Mexico City 2 hours late making for a 14 hour day. Horrible.Read more”
See monarch butterflies near Mexico City, hike Piedra Herrada, visit Bridal Veil Waterfall and Valle de Bravo on a long day trip.
“The pickup point is very unclear. We had a hard time to get the connection to our guide and asked a lot help from strangers to find the place. Worst of all, we don’t speak Spanish.”
Follow monarchs from Mexico City to Valle de Bravo on a seven-day small-group tour with mountain sanctuaries, horses, and expert guides.
“Clemente could not have been more helpful, fun, knowledgeable, easy to understand and all in all was the highlight of our trip making this adventure so enjoyable! The Majestic hotel location was great but the rooms and food was disappointing .. clean but dated, english by hotel folks was marginal, service people friendly and prompt, room at end of the trip was more comfortable then room at beginning on the 6th floor. Claudio, the driver did a wonderful job making the drive safe, and he was an added plus. The hotel in Valle de Bravo was charming and the indigenous people made it even more enjoyable. Cladia, the manager, and…”
Review the 11-hour Monarch Butterfly Tour from Mexico City, with a mountain hike, local lunch, tortilla workshop, and practical booking tips.
“Unfortunately our Uber driver dropped us at the wrong address (despite copying and pasting the address of the meeting point in the app). We promptly communicated with the company, and as soon as we realized the Uber driver’s mistake and that we were a 5 min drive away, we raced to the meeting point. We ended up being 19 minutes late, arriving just as they left without us and refused a refund or exchange. This tells you a lot about Paseos Touristicos, the company running this tour. Their communication was smug, and they were entirely unsympathetic about tourists trying to get to a destination in an unknown city at 6:30…”
See monarch butterflies near Mexico City, hike Piedra Herrada, visit Velo de Novia Waterfall, and explore Valle de Bravo on a long day trip.
“Excelente experiencia! Wonderful tour! Gaby our guide and Jorge our driver exceeded our expectations! We really recommend it! Lo recomendamos ampliamente!”
See monarch butterflies at Sierra Chincua, hike through mountain forest, and explore Angangueo on a long but memorable day from Mexico City.
“Butterflies were awesome. Super cool experience. Alberto our guide was fantastic. The reserve is really beautiful. Be prepared for some slow and rough road driving out in rural Mexico. Definitely recommend.”
See monarch butterflies at Piedra Herrada, hike high into the mountains, then explore Valle de Bravo on a full-day trip from Mexico City.
“Sal was a wonderful tour guide! He was patient as we hiked up the mountain and it was magical to see the butterflies. It was cold when we got there so they were still up in the trees. It was still wonderful to see! The little town we went to and the museum were wonderful!”
Pick a ruin, a canal, a kitchen or a ring.
