Private City Tour in Frida Kahlo, Coyoacan, and Xochimilco

We booked this private Xochimilco tour package weeks before our trip. I did a ton of research and choose this company based on the positive reviews and the itinerary that they advertise in the order they list: Coyoacan, Frida Kahlo and ending at Xochimilco. We arrived in CDMX and it was close to 6pm and had not heard from the tour operator confirming that they were still picking us up and at what time. We emailed them through Viator and they wrote back that they would pick us up at 9am. I asked about the itinerary to confirm the listed events/places and they told me that that was not the agenda and that we were going to Xochimilco first (at 10am!!). If you’ve read anything about Xochimilco you don’t want to go on a private tour in the cold morning hours. Xochimilco is all about the culture, the history and the fun. That is why we choose this tour company so we could end our afternoon there. Long story short, the tour guide told us that nothing could be changed in terms of timing of places and we could take it or leave it. I begged them to re-consider and it was a hard “NO!!”. They said I could cancel but they would not refund any money (tour 100% paid for). I suggested to them I would call Viator for support in either cancellation or a change to the itinerary that was advertised. I also told them we were celebrating a very special event (20th anniversary) and that I was sure they could understand our frustration and that we wanted our day to be planned based on our expectations. I also said that I was sure they did not want bad reviews. This caused the tour operator to go a bit crazy. To quote them tour operator: “Excuse me Kimberly, under no circumstance we will tolerate any threat, we are not missacting with this. Nothing is being changed. Due to the threat you said, I am being very clear and telling you we can run the experience as planned and we are not denying your service, but the opposite. And with all my respect, when you say "I am sure you do not want us to complain online or on social media" Is a threat and as I already said, under no circumstances we will tolerate this behaviour. So, once again, Didier will be at your hotel at 9 am and it will be completely up to you wether you do or or do not take your experience. In case you want to complain, please do what you may consider is best for your interests.”. That was entirely shocking for a tour company that depends on great reviews. All of this could have been avoided if they cared about their clients and their reputation. It’s was OUR private tour, one that was advertised as being personal, and one that we had paid almost $500 for. Also the fact that we had not even heard from them until we reached out to them the night before our tour was not professional or well organized. All said, this was completely unacceptable. Our first evening in Mexico City was a complete disaster until finally Viator stepped in and cancelled our tour and gave us a full refund. We booked another group tour for Sunday afternoon with another company and had an amazing time. Please, please avoid this tour company and from our experience, go with a group tour. Xochimilco is best experienced with a group for a true local experience.

Great tour. Our our guide Adrian was very knowledgeable and made sure we had a great time. We got to see a lot of 'must see's' in the 7 hour tour.

Our guide Patricia was excellent—her knowledgeable and entertaining commentary made us see Coyocan in a whole new light, and we learned so much. She was prompt with picking us up at our hotel and spent the ride to Xochimilco getting to know us, while answering our questions about what we’d observed in CDMX already. By the time we arrived in Xochimilco, it felt like we were old friends! She was great with setting our expectations and catering the activities to our interests. It’s clear that she has great relationships with the local vendors and operators. In Coyocan, she told us the rich history of the area in a way that was captivating and entertaining, then took us through the market for some snacks before letting us explore Frida Kahlo’s house. You can tell she loves what she does and her enthusiasm made us fall in love with CDMX even more. Our only regret is that we didn’t insist on having her give the rest of the tours of our trip.