Tepoztlan Magico!

We had the tour today with Juan Carlos. He is a thoughtful and considerate driver and tour host. We toured the beautiful small town and then we hiked up to see the Pyramid. He hiked with us and we all shared the views and the beautiful spring day from the top by the Pyramid. We had very good street food and went to see the church. Juan is peaceful to travel with. We felt like we were taken to Tepoztlan by a friend. we will recommend this escorted trip to others!

I’ll start with sharing this tour is basically just hiring a driver to take you to Tepotzotlán for $245 usd (for 2 people) - WASTE! Hire or arrange your own transportation if you want to visit Tepoztlán. This was not a real tour at all and quite a terrible experience. Our guide did not know the history of the pyramid, altitude, town historical founding, etc. We had to look up a lot of details online to get a sense of the place. We were not informed of how much of a intense hike it would be get to the top of the mountain to see the pyramid and we’re woefully unprepared. It took us 3 hours to get to the top and was dangerous given the massive amount of people climbing due to a carnaval that was happening that day. I had emailed the company for details and was not informed about the dangers of the climb, like how slippery and steep it is, the timing, what shoes to wear, sunscreen, etc. All I was told was that we would see the pyramid, visit the shops, covenant and history of the town. While the mountain climb is beautiful we could not enjoy the town as a rowdy carnaval celebration was happening and it was dangerously crowded! It took us nearly just as long to get down the mountain and when we wanted to leave we could not get out of the city for 4 hours and were stuck there. We left at 8am and did not get back to our place in CDMX until 11:30pm! The fact that we were not given expectations of the tour/mountain climb and carnaval to give us an option to cancel is unacceptable. I do not want to blame Juan Carlos, our tour guide as this is no fault of his but this company as he was nice, took care of us and it’s a lack of training and service on the company part. DO NOT BOOK THIS!

I am SO happy we booked this tour with Juan Carlos. I was a little wary at first because this experience didn’t have any reviews on TripAdvisor, but SO GLAD we took the chance! Juan Carlos was one of the best tour guides we’ve ever had. Very professional, communicative and knowledgeable — he made the experience stand out. We were picked up right at our hotel, and then took about an hour drive to Tepoztlan, a gorgeous magical town in the mountains by Mexico City. Upon arriving, we walked through the town until we reached the trail head. No for the faint of heart but wonderful exercise to climb to the top!! Unfortunately because of COVID the *very* top was closed, but we still got some incredible photos and views. Juan Carlos got us some paletas (popsicles) on the way down which gave me sustenance! We then got lunch at a local restaurant — absolutely delicious! I got the chicken verde enchiladas and tried a couple of local apps as well. Then Juan Carlos treated us to a delicious ice cream! I got cafe con leche and my partner got coconut — but the best flavor was Juan Carlos’s, so I recommend listening to him for the best fruit flavors. We also had time to stop by local artisans as well as the market in town. We got so many goodies to bring home — Oaxacan chocolate, a rams skull for our collection, incense and much more. There’s also an organic soap shop in town that I highly recommend. Don’t overthink it — BOOK this experience with Juan Carlos and be prepared for a magical time.