Coyoacán and Xochimilco including Frida Kahlo Museum

Awesome guide! somimromative and pleasant!!

There were three parts to this tour - definitely not all equal in the excitement satisfaction stakes! The first , Coyoacan, was the least interesting, we were left to our own devices to wander around a church, a park and the general area. It was too early for the Saturday to be open so we settled for a hot chocolate at one of the many upmarket cafes. We had been advised by our guide that Mexicans considered it a privilege to reside in Coyoacan as it still provided a feeling of the real Mexico. Frida Kahlo's home, now a shrine/ museum to her memory was next. As we had tickets already we were able to join the short queue - only about a 10 minute wait to enter. The other queue was considerably longer. Our guide did not accompany us which was not an issue as most info was in both Spanish and English. Be aware that you must pay an extra 30 pesos if you want to take photos inside the house - outside in the garden is free. There is a small cafe, clean toilet amenities and a disappointing souvenir shop. The house itself is a fascinating tribute to an amazing woman for her time and personal suffering. The final leg of the tour was an invigorating experience onboard one of the many canal boats jostling for right of way on the narrow man made waterways of Xochimilco. Our guide did accompany us this time. A bucket of cold drinks including a variety of beers was on offer under the table. They were not offered to us, we had to ask and it was not until the end that we were asked to pay 30 pesos a bottle - not a problem, except the vendor who was onboard all the time did not have change!! He also tried to sell us jewelry during the cruise. The boats are propelled by one pusher with a very long wooden pole. This should have made for a quiet trip - no motors- but that's not the idea. Families were out in force celebrating life! They bring their own food - we had none - and hire Mariachi bands - there were plenty, together creating a Mexican cacophony of sound! An exciting vibe all round. Our guide Miguel was very experienced and knowledgeable and happy to answer all our questions. He conducted our small group tour - 4 people- in both English and Spanish.

Our tour was operated by Mexitours. It says in the listings picks up from hotels in the Zona Rosa, that was a perk for us because it's where we were staying. They said we were out of range so we had to catch a cab to the meeting point, not a huge deal. But they were a half hour late, another couple waiting for a different Mexitour had been there for an hour and a half..not a great impression. The Frida museum was nice, and downtown Cayoacan is a cool area. But our guide did minimal guiding and instead really enjoyed telling sexist jokes about marriage. Xochimilco was the real disappointment. I love flowers so the idea of rafting through floating gardens sounded magical, it's not at all. It's essentially a booze cruise tourist trap. There are just wall to wall boats of tourists, bachelor parties, people selling souvenirs, food vendors. There were islands with plants but we didn't stop at any of them and you could barely see them for all the junk in our way. If you're looking to party on the water, this is totally your bag, but it's not what we wanted.

All the places were beautiful Humberto was a great tour guide with a great personality! Coyoacan had beautiful homes and xochimilco was very fun! The Frida Kahlo museum was amazing I would definitely recommend and the audio provided a lot of info wish I took more pictures there!!!

The Frida Kahlo Museum is a must see in Mexico City and our guide Umberto was a fund of information about Frida, her life and times. The Coyoacan part of the tour was a mixture of drive-by and walking around a fascinating district, quite different from anything else in Mexico City with an opportunity to see the artists of today plying for business in a tree shaded square. The traffic back to downtown was horrendous but that's Mexico City.

Terrible! We were picked up late. The guide could not be heard at the back of the bus. When it became hot, we had to ask for the air conditioner and the bus would not run. The guide left us most of the time. We found a cab and left the tour.