Xochimilco and National University of Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico

Drift through the magnificent floating gardens of Xochimilco in a colorful ‘trajinera,’ a flat-bottomed boat characteristic of this unique agricultural region. Learn the history of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, first established as a pre-Columbian city on the shores of Lake Xochimilco just south of Mexico City. As you ride the decorative vessel, take in the once-enormous agrarian canal system that fed the Aztec capital. Afterward, enjoy a brief visit to the National University of Mexico, which contains an outdoor gallery of mural art and sculptures.

USD $48.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by:   John G,    February 2018
Very nice when we finally got there. Unfortunately our guide took us to many other places in the city tha_br/_ t were not on the itinerary

Review by:   Rebekah P,    December 2017
Not as described. Picked up at 9:30am from the hotel, didn't arrive at Xochimilco until after 2pm. First stop, a tourist trap silver shop, second stop, waiting around for well over an hour in Coyoacan while people on a different tour went to the Frida Kahlo house. Next stop, Xochimilco. Did I mention the hours stuck in traffic in-between these stops? Well you can enjoy that too! Xochimilco is pretty neat and worth a visit. The tour through the University consisted of driving through the campus. Never got out of the vehicle. Didn't get back to the hotel til after 5pm. A lot of time invested in very little actual activity.

Review by:   ViajesMundo,    September 2017
We never went to the National University, we just passed by.

Review by:   Victor N,    September 2017
Pretty but too short and congested.

Review by:   Amanda C,    September 2017
Summary: DO NOT DO THIS TOUR. Anyone is honestly better off just Ubering to Xochimilco or the Stadium at the University and just navigating it on your own. You'll make better use of your time and learn way more. They budget 90 of the tour to be unsolicited and uncomfortable shopping, our guide taught us only one thing and kept repeating it at each location, and it makes no sense to go 30 minutes North to one location to see it for 2 minutes, and then to go 45 minutes South to the boats/other location where they want to kick you out after half an hour. Full description below:

Review by:   mike,    June 2017
Pretty good tour, but the boat tour of Xochimilco was only one hour. There were lots of stops before we go there - interesting stuff, but it took away from the main reason for the tour.

Review by:   Jeff S,    April 2017
Tour was great. Van picked us up from hotel was a little late, but they called to let us know. While we picked up other passengers the driver and guide gave us history of the city while driving around. We then boarded a smaller van that took us to Xochimilco. The driver/guide was excellent and even stopped at unplanned stops to show us more sights. Xochimilco was amazing, we were able to quickly park and quickly get on a boat this is beneficial as it is extremely crowded. We had another boat stop at our boat with food and drinks. Food was tasty authentic Mexican food. Overall this was worth the money. Everyone we dealt with was professional and courteous.

Review by:   Eileen W,    March 2017
Extremely annoyed when guide decided to take us to see the Frida Kahlo museum instead of the University of Mexico. I have emailed my complaint but no-one has replied.

Review by:   Elizabeth N,    June 2016
This tour was nothing like what was advertised. We stopped at a jewelry store first? Why?? Then we went to the Frida Kahlo museum which really messed up our plans because we had intended to go to the museum and market the next day -- it's also in the opposite direction of Xochimilco. We finally got to Xochimilco and were only on the boat for an hour and literally spent 5 minutes at the National University of Mexico. Frida/Xochimilco is another tour that I did NOT register for -- I don't know why were taken to all of these extra places at the expense of the original itinerary. We spent most of our time in the van. Had I know what we were in for, I would've booked with another group. We wanted to spend more time on the boat and actually do a tour of the University. Not worth it.

Review by:   Gabriel N,    May 2016
Horrible. Waited forever as others were late. Secondly, I booked a tour that didn and #39;t include Frida Kahlo as the tour was too long. Though, when we arrived, we were told they were going to and #34;throw it in and #34; though we and #39;d have to pay for our tickets. You and #39;re not doing me a favor if you and #39;re just wasting my time

Review by:   Craig T,    January 2016
Not sure if I ended up on the right tour, did see and enjoy Xochimilco but didn and #39;t see any of the university.

Review by:   Chattie K B,    September 2015
While it was difficult to see some of the shared items and I thought we would spend more time on the actual campus of the University we stopped on the highway for photos since our focus and desire was to see Xochimilco, that was excellent. _br/_ Our guide, Francisco was fabulous and went above and beyond to make sure we saw and understood more about various areas of Mexico City than we had expected. Turned out quite well. I think a focused comida time slot would have helped but we carried snacks so we were okay.

Review by:   murielrosenfeld,    September 2015
great architecture, tourist boat ride

Review by:   John H,    September 2015
first i was supposed to get a English translator. The tour guide asked if everyone spoke spanish. my wife told her I only spoke english. The translator stated tat she was doing the tour in spanish and that my wife could translate for me my wife does speak spanish. I think we were added to another tour at the last minute, we were picked up by one driver and dropped off to another tour. The only thing we saw at the University was the stadium, expected to see the library etc. At Xochimilco as soon as the boat ride was over the tour guide was rushing everyone back to the van. Thought we would get to walk around. Then asked if we wanted to go to the wax museum with the rest of the group, we elected to go back to our hotel. Would not use this service again.

Review by:   Nicolle M,    September 2015
The tour was a waste of money. The your guide, Marco, was awful. He didn't explain anything and I had to ask him about thing I had already researched. You don't spend that much time at Xochimilco. The your of UNAM was just stepping out of the car and taking pictures of the stadium. Go on your own.

Review by:   Roberth R,    August 2015
The canals at Xochimilco are reminiscent of Venice. You have a driver who moves and steers the boat with a long pole, you hear lively music and there's even floating kitchen waiting to cook you a delicious meal. We got on a boat named 'Linda' and had a quite the pretty time. The stop at the university and its Olympic stadium were really nice and informative as well. Plenty of good photo ops, if you want them. Bonus: I even got to visit the Frida Khalo museum!

Review by:   Nathan O,    August 2015
The wife and I always wanted to do this. The Mariachi was great and the people were all happy,festive, singing and dancing. The food and drinks were great. My wife The Queen of Barter got a great deal on a silver pendant of Our Lady of Guadalupe.Great shops before and after the boat ride. We got some great eats and tried dried crickets, minnows, with peanuts! The crickets were surprisingly sweet and the combo was awesome...it went well with my mechata! Great with place with about three couples or more. Make sure you go to the restroom before you go on the boat or you'll be hurting! LOLs_br/_ The University of mexico I always wanted to see since I first encountered reading and seeing photos of it in an old Golden Book Encyclopedia my Godmother bought me from 'Safeway when I was a young boy of 5. I saw then for the first time a photo of the Mosaic Library and read about what is done at a University. To see it for real along with my wife was a great experience. Loved this tour.

Review by:   Loretta F,    July 2015
The tour lasted 7 1/2 hours. Of that time, we only spent a little over an hour at Xochimilco. The guide said that it was too early for the boats untrue so we would go to Frida Kahlo's house in Coyoacan first, at an additional cost of 120 pesos. Half the people including us had already been to Frida Kahlo's house, so we had to wait for almost an hour for the rest of the group. At the University, we only saw the outside of the stadium. However, the driver was also a guide and was a wealth of information.

Review by:   Melissa,    March 2015
Terrific!

Review by:   cosguardio66,    March 2015
This tour was amazing!

Review by:   Marji P,    February 2015
Good

Review by:   Alice N,    January 2015
08:00: I was ready for the pick up at the hotel. 08:45: I phoned the local number. I was told that I would be picked up at 09:00. 09:00: I was picked up and the minibus picked up other clients.09:30: I was told to change vehicles because now I would join others doing the same tour. 10:00: I was told to change vehicles again and waited at Cibeles for others doing the same tour. 10:30: After 2.5 hours, I had travelled less than 5 km in 3 vehicles! Finally we set off to Xochomilco, I thought! However, the route was not direct. We kept stopping at different places. I asked the guide about this. He explained that the people in the minibus with me had a different tour...I asked whether we were going to do the tour of Xochimilco and UNAM, and was assured that yes we would...I was told we would arrive at Xochomilco about 12:00, so 4 hours after the arranged pick up! I waited patiently. The "tour" of UNAM consisted in a drive pass, the minibus didnt even stop. The driver waved at the library building and the Olympic stadium as we drove. I know a little about UNAM but the guide did not know even basic facts! 12:00 At the time that I had been told we would arrive at Xochimilco, we arrived at the Khalo museum... 4 hours after my expected pickup time. I asked the driver how long we would be there. 40 minutes I was told. So I looked for a toilet and went for a coffee, returning promptly so that we could go on with no further delay. 12:30 I returned to the minibus. 14:00 the guide returned to the minibus with the other clients. He did not have the courtesy to even apologize. 14:45 We arrived at Xochimilco, 6 hours 45 minutes after my expected pick up time 15:45 We left Xochimilco after a mere 40 minute boatride. The guide did not accompany us nor explain about the Chinampas. So, from 08:00 to 16:45, I enjoyed 40 minutes of what I had paid to see. The "professional" guide was not only unprofessional (time keeping) but rude and uninformative. I am disappointed and angry

Review by:   Shaka M,    January 2015
The tour guide Eduardo didn't give me my Frida Kahlo ticket so I have NO record of going. I also wasn't apart of the survey at the end. That made me feel like my voice wasn't important. The driver was fantastic but Eduardo didn't do the tour justice, he was on his phone a lot, barely gave us info on our surroundings and didn't interact well. Also I think you should take the University of Mexico aspect out of the main title because we stopped at ONE site for FIVE minutes to take pictures and no where else. We weren't even aloud to make a second stop to take pictures. Very Disappointed. Thank god for the tour group members. without them I would have rated it NO stars.

Review by:   Subhas C G,    December 2014
The boat tour was too short._br/_ Also, not much was shown at the National University of Mexico.

Review by:   Juan López,    August 2014
Our tour guide was wonderful. George was very insightful, very helpful, talked all the way through our tour...he was awesome.

Review by:   Kathleen P,    August 2014
Great experience

Review by:   Mina,    July 2014
We were lucky as no one showed up on this your so we actually had a private tour it's worth doing the history in this city is amazing and our guide Mildrid was awesome her knowledge is amazing! Worth doing

Review by:   Zonia V,    June 2014
I loved it. For a little extra more, they included me on their tour to La Casa Azul of Frida Kahlo. They also took us first to just pass by the bullfight arena, biggest in the world.... was interesting to see it. Then to the National University of Mexico. But the highlight of the tour for me was the Xochimilco boat ride. When we got there, all of us was given a fresh rose flower. Then on our way to the middle of the waterway. It was quiet first, then all the vendors came out, selling food from boiled corn, to blankets, jewelry. So mayhem, it seemed.... but it was exciting to see all these happening around us. There were mariachis in their uniforms who were ready to serenade us. Even without hiring a mariachi band, we could hear the other mariachi music everywhere, so it seemed like we had them too. Then the food - was ordered on the boat, was cooked beside us on another boat, then served hot .... most delicious tipico comida I ever ate. With the drinks, it was only $150. Nice, I would go on this trip again. Our guide, Paloma, was very considerate, and spoke in both English and Spanish. I was the only English speaking person on the trip, and she made me feel very special, always asking if I was enjoying myself.

Review by:   Jean M,    June 2014
Fantastic excellent guide Mildred

Review by:   Luk Yan H,    April 2014
The tour guide was great. More food choices could have been provided. The option of using email to confirm pick up time should be provided as tourists may not be able to find phone to contact the local agent.

Review by:   LH,    April 2014
The tour guide was great. More food choices could have been provided. The option of using email to confirm pick up time should be provided as tourists may not be able to find phone to contact the local agent.

Review by:   Jessica S,    February 2014
The tour was just OK, I think it could have been a lot better. I think I would probably try to do this one on my own next time.

Review by:   Timothy O,    January 2014
We spent Christmas Day on the canals. Met some amazing people, had lunch, listened to mariachi music as we floated through the canals. Our guide was great. I would highly recommend this tour.

Review by:   Robert S,    July 2013
he sites included in this tour are well worth visiting, but the interpretive information provided by the guide is minimal. You should be aware that you will be very much on your own, and if this suits you, then you will enjoy the tour. We booked two tours with this company and wound up visiting the same silver shop on both. This part of the day, announced as a "brief stop," extended to well over an hour on each occasion. The pick-up process in the morning also took about 90 minutes on one of our tours, not only in traveling from hotel to hotel to pick up passengers, but because of long wait times and multiple shuttling between vehicles. There was no visit to the National University of Mexico, merely a drive-by with the murals available at a distance. This was due to the late hour of the day and the desire of a group of passengers to be taken to a crafts market instead. The vans themselves have a basic level of comfort but nothing more.

Review by:   Kevin F,    May 2013
This was an excellent way to see many of Mexico City's sites that are not centrally located downtown. The guide, Eduardo, was great and took us by Mexico City's World Trade Center, to the bull fighting ring, to the University of Mexico to view the exterior of the library, by the Azteca Stadium, to the Coyoacan neighborhood, and finally to Xochimilco where we took a boat along the canal. We enjoyed beer and marriachi music during the boat ride.

Review by:   Corbin W,    January 2013
The guide was good, but the tour wasn't very good. Brief stop at the bull fighting ring(5 minutes), the University stop consists of pulling up on both sides of the freeway to take pictures(5 minutes). A stop at a museum that isn't covered in the cost of the tour. And Xochimilco is a tourist trap.

Review by:   Zike Z,    January 2013
not fun

Review by:   Thao E,    November 2012
The boat tour is more of a eat and drink tour while watching other Mexican families and tourist's do the same thing. Not much for the guide to talk about. The interesting thing is all of the vendors on the water selling all kinds of things. The mariachi bands as well are nice.

Review by:   Hutch,    September 2012
Very positive review overall. The sights speak for themselves (Coloyoacan, Frida, Xochimilco). You felt safe. The guides were good guys, and informative. Pick-up drop off at your hotel is great. Suggestions: 1) establish and clarify when the group meal will be; 2) Include the Coloyoacan market as part of the tour. Again, glad we took this tour.

Review by:   Jeanette S,    August 2012
Thoroughly enjoyed this tour - Xochimilco is a must see! I was in Mexico two years ago and didn't manage this tour ,so delighted I got to see it this time.

Review by:   Tammy M,    July 2012
I really liked Xochimlco and the ride along the canal, and I think would have preferred more time out on the water than driving around the University. Too much driving on this tour.

Review by:   DAISY E,    April 2012
Our guide made it very boring. Everyone was alseep by da end of the first half of the trip. Should have been a better experiance.

Review by:   DAISY E,    March 2012
Our guide made it very boring. Everyone was alseep by da end of the first half of the trip. Should have been a better experiance.

Review by:   hilda1295,    December 2011
We started this tour with a stop at a Church for 15 minutes and then drove to Frida Kahlo's house/museum. When we arrived, it had a sign that it was closed. We took pictures outside the museum.

Review by:   Philippe M,    December 2011
Sadly there were very few people there so we didn't get a real feel of the place. We only spent 50 minutes on the boat.

Review by:   Leanne R,    August 2011
Xochimilco was very pretty. We basically just drove past the Univeristy however we did stop in San Angel and it was such a beautiful area. Our tour guide was fantastic, so friendly and knowledgable.

Review by:   noella,    August 2011
Very nice quiet tour, not alot of walking, restful day!

Review by:   Suzanne C,    August 2011
Guide was good but needs to include more sites of interest in tour._br/_ Even though we paid for the tour we were told we had to pay the floating boat operator $15.00 each..

Review by:   Marija N,    June 2011
Although the weather was not on our side (it was cloudy and raining), we saw much more than Xochimilco and the University on our way there. We had a very informative guide, the group was excellent. Perfect.

Review by:   Anonymous,   United Kingdom, March 2010
A very enjoyable day out and a good way of seeing parts of Mexico City off the beaten track.

All Traveler Reviews...