Incredible Tolantongo Grottoes From Cdmx

Excellent Tolantongo day trip! Our guide was fantastic—he walked with us to the best spots, drove us between sites, and told us exactly what to bring so we could enjoy everything stress-free. Great lunch stop, beautiful final viewpoint for photos, and a really fun group of travelers. Smooth, well-run, and memorable. Highly recommend!

The day was incredibly cold. We were accomodated in a Mercedes sprinter which was very nice. We stopped at Starbucks for bathroom break and breakfast. The drive was more like four hours no traffic. Our tour guide Howard was energetic and fun. The baths were fine. This is where I take ownership. We lost our group and in the confusion they waited forty minutes for us. We felt incredibly bad because again it was cold. The company communicated with us and Howard came himself and got us. Thank you and I’m sorry again for the miscommunication. The rest went off without incident. It is a lot of walking hills etc so we opted out of the cave and waterfall at that time we were gassed out of breath tired and cold. The restaurant we were taken to was ok. PLEASE BRING CASH THEY ONLY TAKE CASH. No issues on our back. Thank you Howard for making the best of everything

The views and water were amazing. The colors of the water with the mountains were beautiful. It was a very peaceful and relaxing experience resting in the water. The guide left clear expectations as to where to meet him and when. He left enough time to enjoy each site on our own. All of it was very enjoyable with the cave at the end of the tour being a touch of adventure mixed with relaxation. While the tour guide was very clear as to when and where to meet, he was not clear about what was going on or what to expect next. I learned to ask questions very clearly that he should have included. The guide was very friendly and happy to answer any questions I had. There were not to many descriptions of the activity of the tour. We thought it was just the hot springs, but there are three different activities included in this tour… The hot springs: we spent about an 1 1/2 hours at the hot springs with 20-30 different hot tub style hot spring pools. The river: we spent about an hour in a river heated by thermal activity with different sections that reminded me of a fish ladder. The water is turquoise blue and perfectly warm. The cave: the river you swim in starts at the mouth of a cave that has the thermal water gushing out of it. Such a unique experience. Lunch: they stop at a restaurant for you to buy yourself lunch. It was a very tasty restaurant. In all, we left Mexico City at 5:30 am and returned at 8:30pm

This was an amazing experience. Each place and activity had the correct amount of time and was so much fun. This does not include breakfast but we made a stop at starbucks for breakfast. Definetely worth the 4 hour drive. I will say you do not need to pay the extra $25 for lunch since the restaurant has cheaper food that you can just get normally.

This was the best excursion. Being in a cave/waterfall with warm natural water was like being in heaven. Very grounding and relaxing. My family enjoyed all three parts of this excursion, especially the cave. It is a long day of travel but was well worth it. Can't wait to experience the beauty again

It was just me and the tour guide and his car. It was my own private tour pretty much. Can't wait to take the whole family.

Wonderful and otherworldly place; natural beauty at its finest! Our tour guide Nestor was professional, pleasant and very knowledgeable. A must do!

Absolutely thrilling experiences in Tolantongo. The trip was perfectly executed with proper planning and very good guidance. I highly recommend Elias, our tour guide who is an experienced driver and guide. We had a blast! Will remember for a very long time

wasn’t the nicest experience because 1. I thought we booked a English tour guide but it was just a driver that didn’t speak much English. We had to reply on google translator and another lady in the group to help translate 2 We waited for 30 minutes at the lobby because the operator didn’t advise the driver about our hotel change which I advised 2 days prior to our trip

Tour operator cancelled last minute, she sent a text message saying she had no one to operate the tour , she offered to refund

The most amazing nature experience. Crystal clear water, warm and I can even call it an exotic adventure.

The place was GORGEOUS! Viator RUINED my experience. We were promised an English guide. I speak very little Spanish and my friend speaks a little better than me, but even he was having trouble understanding what we were supposed to do & the rules. I learned NOTHING about the area. The guide was inconsiderate and left me behind several times and I was lost. I finally found some English speakers that directed me in the right direction. I whistled loudly the next time he abandoned me. I was in tears and out of breath climbing up the steep stairway alone. This happened MORE THAN ONCE! He promised us breakfast, because we hadn’t eaten because we met at 5:45 AM. I kept asking him when do we eat? When is breakfast? He used sign language for ‘later’, We didn’t have a chance to EAT until 2:26 PM! He said & motioned NO backpacks, bring NOTHING! So I had to borrow money to get something to eat. I ordered a taco. I got a tortilla with meat on it. I asked ‘where is the lechuga, tomato and queso & avocado?!’ There wasn’t any. I walked to the kitchen and was able to get something added to my taco on my own. Absolutely no help from my guide. I was dizzy from climbing and not having ANYTHING to eat and he was yelling at me to hurry. One of the men on the trip said he couldn’t make it any further. The guide eventually went down to the van and drove him to the top. I paid extra for ZIP-LINE & it was broken or something (I don’t speak Spanish, so I really don’t know WHY we didn’t get the zip-line!) The tour was 15 hours long and I was abandoned & had little food. It’s not the guides fault about the English. It’s the tour operator. I will be asking for a portion of my money back for not getting ENGLISH GUIDE OR ZIP-LINE! The place itself is AMAZING! Go visit it but NOT WITH VIATOR!!! Absolutely NO COMMUNICATION OR LEARNING ABOUT THE AREA. My friend translated some of it, that it used to be a dirt road and now it’s paved. I want a refund!!!!

Do not use this company!! TripAdvisor advertises for a company that just takes your money. The email said 7 am at the meeting spot, get there and they said it started at 5:45. Would not refund my money. Just an awful experience!! Would not recommend. Look at the reviews for Vuela Viajera Mexico, you will see they just take peoples money.

Grutas Tolantongo is amazing, 5/5 for the location itself. From CDMX it is a 3-4 hour drive. We expected this so that was fine in theory. The car the tour guide had was a small van that seated 7 (6 + guide). We are both 6’2 200lbs+ guys and the others on the tour left us the middle seat in the second row and the end seat. So on our way we had our knees against the seat/console in front of us, and we were shoulder to shoulder pressed against the doors. My door could not close unless I partially sat on my partner to close it. I asked to move seats so we ended up in the 3rd row. Both of our heads touched the roof, and for me in particular the woman in front of me would roll her seat all the way back and did not move when I asked for some knee room. It was cramped. There are also a lot of speed bumps on the way to Grutas so with each we got to choose between hunching or hitting our heads on the roof. If you are tall, I would recommend finding a tour with a larger vehicle than this tour because of the length of the drive and risk of group mates not being team players. I believe a large part of a tour like this is the other people with you. I think that is what lacked the most for us. We had a family of 3, an ‘influencer’, and ourselves. Not a very social group tour. People kept to themselves which was fine but a little awkward at times. The park was amazing, the first stop was the pools, and we spent the longest time there. The pools seemed warmer up higher, so if they are too cool or too warm go up or down the hill a bit. Our second stop was the river, pretty but honestly a little more boring compared to the other two. A good relaxation stop with nice sun. The third stop was my favorite, the waterfall and caves are amazing! If you get claustrophobic I would caution the upper cave can be tight but it is rather short. The lower cave area was very nice and a good hang out spot. I would’ve loved to spend more time in that location as it seems to have it all, pools, river, and the falls with caves. As we left he also took us to a nice photo spot, and a cool church the owners of the park are building. Our tour guide was nice, he took us to a traditional barbacoa spot on the way, and had us stop to make sure we had water shoes (a must). I would give him a 3/5 mostly because on our way back we hit some traffic, and he tried to avoid it by taking side streets without navigation and lead us down a few dead end streets. He did the whole trip without nav. I was checking the eta, and my phone sometimes recommended different routes than he took but there may be reasons to avoid those routes I don’t know about. He was mostly social with the Spanish speakers, but did of course talk to us and tell us fun facts. He also informed us that the tour we booked was actually from a different company than his tour and they had him do the tour for them. TLDR: Make sure you can be comfortable in the vehicle if you are tall/large, and have a friend or two in case you end up with people who are not super pleasant.

This tour company is a total joke. This company is run by clowns. We booked a trip to the hot spring. Confirmed with them a day prior to the reservation that we’re all set up for the trip the following day. I arrive to the hotel for the pick up and there was already two other guest for this trip. Then someone from the tour company arrived and informed us that the original driver didn’t make it and that he was substituting for him. He comes in a small vehicle max 3 passengers. It’s me and my wife and two other toll and fellows and he said that we could all fight in this little vehicle and do a 4 hrs drive to the hot spring and then come back. This was irresponsible from the tour operator. No other alternative plan was offered or some other resolution. Take it or love it. My wife really wanted to go there and was very excited to go. What a disappointment. Waisted a whole day of my vacation to come to Mexico to be treated like this. Save your selfs disappointment and a bad experience and look to book with a more reputable tour company.

We had the best time on this tour. We were the only two booked for the day and our driver/tour guide gave us the best experience. Checo picked us up on time and was very communicative. The drive was long both ways and he stopped for us to use the restroom and anything else we needed. He stopped and helped us get water shoes and a phone case to protect our phones. This was so useful, the caves and swimming would have been impossible without it. We got to the pools early before it got super busy since we came on a Sunday which was really nice. We swam and took pictures and ate food. Then we were taken to the caves. Checo took us through the caves and waterfalls and it was one of the most amazing and wonderous experiences we have ever had! We then were given time to either eat again or swim in the river or both. We swam in the river then grabbed some food. He drove us back and the whole time we had so much fun with him. It was professional, fun, and just overall a 11/10 day and one of our favorite parts of our Mexico City trip. I am grateful Checho drove for over 8 hours to take just the two of us on this experience. GRACIAS CHECO

Our guide, Howard, was great. He was very friendly and entertaining. Tolantongo was nice and not too crowded on a Monday. The current in the cave was very strong due to the recent rains. The water in the pools is chlorinated. I preferred the river.

Tour was very nice. Prompt response on WhatsApp and phine Driver cum guide Fernando was a nice man. Explained well and accoumpied for all points. Vehicle and driving was comfortable

Now, the reviews about Howard are completely INCORRECT. Howard was a great guide, his english was on point, his knowledge was A1 and he was incredibly sweet. We went to the cutest little shops on the way there. Our driver Azul was completely safe and totally a good time. Azul dj skills are A1 we loved that! Anything we needed they were kindly at our service. Howard became our guest personal photographers and he did it with a smile! They were super sweet overall and I would totally come back again just for them! I will say get ready for a long journey, it takes a good 4 hours there and due to traffic the journey back took a little longer. Overall the springs were so fun, I would totally recommend the swim shoes and phone covers, it made it better experience.

I don't expect the small car for 6 people. Other than that the driver was nice and very informative. Tolantongo is a most do.

Highly recommended! Our tour guide went above and beyond. He was also very attentive to everyone's needs. Thank you so much!

José was our tour- driver man. He was amazing, he explained to us so many things and it was so easy to spend the entire day with him. Highly recommended to get this excursion, you don't have to drive and you have everything in the schedule to make everything happen in one day. Communications through what’s app were very easy. And the place is SPECTACULAR!!!

Overall enjoyed the tour! It was great to see the pools, cave, and river. The drive was brutal (about 4 hours one way). Initially the pick up time was supposed to be 7am, but the time was changed to 5:45 am. We were on time, but had to wait a bit before the bus started driving. It was nice the bus had shades over the windows so we could sleep, but it wasn’t super comfy, and the ride was quite bumpy. The first stop was a breakfast buffet (not included). Then we enjoyed time in the pools. They took us to lunch (not included), and then we went to the caves. The caves were the coolest part. It was dark, and we didn’t get lights or helmets so I had bumped my head against the cavern walls, so this part is kind of dangerous. Lastly, we got time to spend in the river. We got back late around 10:30pm since there was a lot of traffic. For this tour they gave us towels, water, and a phone case so that was nice

Our driver was very pleasant and accommodating to our needs. Offered us water. Offered to take pictures for us while we enjoyed the water. He made our experience very comfortable and enjoyable.

This tour was fantastic. The pools at Tolantongo were really warm and nice to swim in. The driver Antonio got us to and from the destination safely. Howard, our tour guide was really helpful and fun.

Tour operator never showed up, even after communicating the night before with meeting times. Do not use this tour operator.

Howard and our driver were both really amazing. I went along as one person, but Howard always made sure I was having a great time, and he went aboce and beyond to make the whole group of people comfortable, and have what they wanted. The caves are amazing!!! This is probably a unique place where you cant ever epxerience this in any other part of the world. The hot waterfall, underground hot pools, the hot river and the pools in the park themselves were all really amazing. The views of the mountains and hidden ice-blue river and water was just breathtaking. There are a gret choice of lunches and breakfast stop was well worth the 179 pesos. Overall a quality tour. These guys work HARD, and on little sleep to run them day oafter day and are really committed to you having a good time.

The place is great, but Saturday was crowded, we couldn’t enjoy it as we would liked. It was a long trip, and made it tedious the traffic on our way back. Booking wasn’t as good as other trips with Viator. There are certain things that need clarification when booking. For instance, you can say something like, “ highly recommend to wear or bring water shoes” or knowing that I can include breakfast instead of lunch or both. I found it confusing

I booked this trip aware of some of the reviews. It was relatively cheaper than the other tours listed here and on Airbnb so I went through with it. So… the guide named Howard is mentioned a lot in the reviews. We did end up getting Howard and some of the things said about him we did experience. I made a good choice not buying the ticket with lunch because nothing was prepared for those who got the tickets. Howard gave a group of 5, 1,000 pesos towards the meal (equal to $12 p/p when the ticket is $20 p/p). I didn’t even pay $20 for a meal for 2 in person. The trip felt rushed and unorganized. He arrived late due to “transportation issues.” Stopped at some family restaurant for breakfast which was good, but took forever to prepare- we could’ve used the time towards free time we were never offered. Gave no time for pictures, said we can get pictures later (never did). Walked way too fast for me (I was carrying an infant). Didn’t allow any bags to be taken despite there being lockers because he wants us to be in and out. Gave bare minimum facts about the place. Didn’t allow us to go fully into one of the caves because of “there’s too many people & there’s seismic activity at any time.” Book this tour if you just want to be able to get there & that’s it. Bring: water shoes & phone case. Come in ur bathing suit to save time. Overall the place is beautiful and very memorable. My child & I enjoyed ourselves.

The driver picked us up at very easy found location, very friendly and he speaks English. Driving from Mexico city to Tolantonge is 3.5-4hr drive, depends on the traffic, we have ~2hr each at river and pools. The driver was great in leading direction and helped when I needed to purchase water shoe. Very safe, 10/10 recommend!

Definitely one of the top 3 to do in Mexico City. Howard was such a great guide! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and all the rest.

We give the driver (Jimena) 5 stars. She drive to place very safe and courteous. We were laughing and talking. She was very punctual when she picked us up from our Hotel. She was professional on how she was our tour guide and driver. We would recommend her to any friends or family that would want to visit Mexico City. Tolongo was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!

Great experience. We were three Canadian Travellers and booked a private tour. Juan was our driver. Was very long day travelling from Mexico City, but worth the time. Amazing countryside drive. The pools were great and the river was really cool, but the Gruta caves were absolutely amazing. Once in a lifetime experience. Super warm water. Amazing all the way around.

Recently, I had a marvelous trip to Tula, archeological site and then to the caves of Tolantongo both in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. My trip was wonderful and a total unforgettable experience organized by Travel 4 life. Alejandro Guillen (owner) an ethnographer and "super knowledgeable" guide and his driver Raul, they took care of me like if I was part of their family. It was fun to travel with them. One of those trips I will never forget.

We had an incredible experience! Our tour guide Juan was amazing and went above and beyond to make our time memorable. We highly recommend this tour.

We were contacted early by the tour advising where pick up was and then early the next morning contacted by Sergio (tour guide) to confirm pick up location & time. Although he spoke little English he was amazing and went above and beyond to show us and explain locations on our way - using translation app, he is a credit to your tour company

The Grutas themselves are amazing! Some were more warm than others, and given that we went on a Sunday, it was veeery busy but to be honest, we didn't mind. The locals were so lovely and helpful and everyone is happy to share the pools. Make sure you check out the tunnel and the caves. The caves were a huge highlight for us - we'd never seen anything like it. Our driver, Hector was amazing! We asked to stop for food somewhere local and he was so accomodating, even connected my phone for music we enjoy. He also made the winding road so smooth. Big love! Our group wanted to stay as long as possible, and he waited for us until 4pm! The drive is long. We met at pick up at 7am, on the road by 7:20, and we didn't return until 9pm. Worth every second of it!!

Oh the views were great, the water had the perfect temperature and the caves were so amazing. I could have stayed there all day. And our tour guide was patient and considerate! The one thing I would suggest is for the tour company to get new vehicle or fix the shock absorber on those vans esp on that long journey to Tolantongo.

We did not make it to the destination. The tour guides driving was incredibly scary - he was speeding nearly the entire time, and at some times going 200kmph (124mph in a 2000s Nissan Sentra with what felt like bald tires and poor suspension). He seemed to struggle to stay awake, and he was constantly swerving the car. We almost ran off the road and into other cars constantly. When we spoke to the woman in the office, over the phone, we told her we wanted to return to CDMX but we did not want to say it was the driving that scared us - due to fear that he would become angry and drive worse and we were already very scared. He made several wrong turns, which added additional hours to the drive. We only made it about 1.5 hrs outside of CDMX (we had him drop us off in Pachuca as we could not stay in the car any longer). I am still not sure how we managed to only make it 2hrs away from CDMX, when we had been driving from 7:15am - about 11am. We should have been at Tolantongo by this time - which makes me think he was taking many wrong turns due to the speeding and looking very tired. We also did not spend much time in traffic, so this delay cannot be attributed to that. This was very scary and stressful, and we had to make the difficult decision to be dropped off in an unknown city without a way back to CDMX, as we were in fear of dying in this car. This entire situation was not okay or safe, and no one should ever have to go through this. This company should not be allowed to operate on Viator. Do not book this trip. Save yourself an entire day and your life and just book a rental car. This company and viator have also denied us a refund. This affected our entire trip. We had to find a taxi and pay $2000 peso to get back to CDMX from Pachuca. This wasted nearly an entire day, as we spent it driving. We had to rent a car and pay a deposit of $1300 USD and $200 for the rental car so we could drive ourselves the next day to Tolantongo. We did not budget to spend this additional time and money, as we had paid for this tour. Do not book this! The other reviews may seem fine but it was so far from okay I can hardly comprehend it still.

Awesome experience, our tour guide Jose was excellent! Definitely recommend to go to grutas de Tolantongo

Totanlongo was incredible but what made it the most incredible experience was Fernando. Fernando picked us up at Fiesta Reforma and was just a perfect Angel. He drove us out of town and was always checking in with us. He knew the area and knew the best places to take us.

It was a perfect trip, outstading nature and a nice and helpfull tour guide, thank u. I enjoyed a lot and definitely come back again.

Unforgettable experience! Fernando was our driver and was very chill and friendly, he showed us all the spots and i enjoyed the flexibility of the pace he gave us. since it was just 4 tourists, we all got pretty close and drove in a smaller car without a guide. Tolantongo is stunning and worth the long drive.

Very good views. The water is perfect and the guides were very kind and patient. I highly recommend this well worth the drive but staying for more than one day might give more time to enjoy.

Went on this tour with a friend in early July & had a lovely time. Pickup was easy although we were expecting a van and ended up being in a sedan. Unexpected but ended up being very nice as our group was small and agile. If you have them, bring water shoes or any rubber, secure sandal (like tevas or chacos vibe). Also bring a waterproof phone bag if you have it. We stopped about halfway through the drive at a roadside shop and had option to buy it. Also stopped at an OXXO for option to buy breakfast. Once there, there’s places to change although we recommend wearing your swimsuit. We went through the tunnels/caves first then to the river. We broke for lunch around 1/1:30 and then did the shirt drive to the pools. Another place to change for the ride back then hit the road at 4ish. Also stopped halfway back for option to buy food/use bathroom. Got back at 8:30ish pm. Very enjoyable day & amazing place to explore! Other tips: bring snacks for car ride, toilet paper, sunscreen, TOWEL, water!

I was initially very upset upon arrival that it was going to be 4 of us on this tour cramped into a small car, but the people I met on the trip made it worth it. The driver was very nice (but not a tour guide) and it ended up feeling like a private tour because the 4 us would agree when to leave, when we wanted to eat and where, etc. I did want to mention that you may be in a car because I wanted to sleep in the bus, put on my make up, etc. The car made it hard for us to sleep but we still managed to do so. Also as a female solo traveler, had the tour been with 3 other men and a male driver I probably would have gotten off the car, but luckily there was another woman on the tour. I just want to warn other people that might expect the comfort and space of a bus, but I did end up getting super close to the other tourist on there and we exchanged numbers. Tolatongo itself was very crowded with lots of Mexican locals (we went on a Saturday). Apparently you can camp there because there were tents everywhere. I don’t know why I always expect that empty and alone view that instagram promotes haha. Almost everyone wore head to toe coverups, so I did feel self conscious in a bikini for being too revealing. Don’t be afraid to cover up. Don’t bring your ID or passport, don’t bring too much cash, and DO BRING one of those wet baggie cases for your phone, flip flops, and sunblock. Unlike Mexico City, there was plenty of hot sun. Overall, the people in my tour made it worth it.

This incredible trip is full of fun, adventure and pure natural wonder. Everything about this trip was great. You will be amazed at the mountain views, the warm pools and springs, and the natural surroundings. Our guide; Fernando, was fantastic. He helped with every part of the trip. I highly recommend doing this excursion with this company. Muchas Gracias!

SUMMARY: the whole trip was unorganised, the time management non existent and everyone was constantly confused. Long and expensive trip with very little time at the water. Do not recommend. HOWARD: Our tour guide HOWARD was terrible. He didn’t explain our plan and he did not speak enough English. He also did not give any information on the location etc that you would normally expect from a tour guide.There are numerous bad reviews on him, we don’t understand why he is still hired. BREKKIE: we were given food much later than promised and had to pay on spot. TOURIST TRAP: after eating we wasted time in a poor road side hut where we were coerced into buying water shoes (which you don’t really need). POOR TIME MANAGEMENT: The whole trip lasted for about 15 hours out of which we spent only 1 hour in the river and 1 hour in the pool! The rest of the time we were either driving on the bus or waiting on something for most of the day. Due to poor time management we got back to the city several hours later than planned. AMENITIES: the description promised showers, lockers and changing rooms. The shower was broken and run down and we weren’t given time to use it. The lockers did exist but Howard didn’t allow us to bring anything with us claiming that there is no lockers. There were no changing rooms - we were made to change clothes together in the bus. BADLY PLANNED: we were told to get in our swimwear and walk to the caves. We were not told that we will have to walk like that for around 20 min. to get to the cave. We weren’t able to cover up from the sun and from the road workers that were staring. That was completely unnecessary because other people were walking around the roads fully clothed. We weren’t allowed to take anything with us (no water, no sunscreen etc) because the guide told us that there aren’t any places to leave our items. That was untrue since there were actually lockers on the way. I got a sunburn from this because I couldn’t reapply sunscreen in time. CAVE: The cave was disappointing - it was tiny and fully packed with people. The description said that you are allowed to freely check the caves out - this is untrue. They make you stay close to your travel group which was obnoxious since our group had two couples and the rest were screaming teenagers. You not allowed to leave the cave and spend your time in the pool or in the river instead. FREE TIME: no free time was allowed until we insisted that the description says that we get free time. Complaining eventually gave us 1 hour in the river and 1 hour in the pool. The rest of the 15 hour day was spent driving and waiting around! LUNCH/ DINNER: we paid 25€ for dinner. When we got there, nothing was prepared and we had to ask about the food. Then Howard ‘suddenly’ remembered that he had some people that ordered food. Since nothing was ready, he gave approximately 15€ back to buy ourselves food. Total rip-off. BUS: Our bus took a weird detour back, going through small dark villages and side roads late at night. No explanation was given to us but the bus driver made comments to the tour guide (in Spanish) about ‘being safe once we get to the main road’. Additionally the bus broke on the way back and we had a maintenance stop which again was done without explanations.

10/10 recommend. This place is absolutely beautiful. We were a little skeptic because of the distance from the city but it was totally worth it!. Our guide Darry was awesome, very knowledgeable and friendly. We were there on a Thursday and it was perfect not crowded at all.