Hierve El Agua Guided Full Day Tour In Oaxaca

Tour guide and driver were great it was wonderful. Tour guy was perfect at describing everything and guiding us through everything it was a wonderful experience I would highly recommend it make sure that they include everything.

Plan for a very long full day for this event. Herve el Agua is very beautiful in a serene setting with stunning views out across the valley. The hike can be challenging because of the steep descent (~1,000 stairs) but the way to the bottom of the formation is on secure steps and paths that are manageable. The cool mineral pools are very refreshing to swim on your return. Our guide was so knowledgeable and had very many cultural and archaeological insights.

Wouldn’t recommend this tour operator and the tour guide we had. He left me at two locations twice. I had to pay for a taxi to get to one location to the next and almost was going to leave another couple. I would recommend the natiral pools and hike with another tour operator, but if you can drive, the cost per car is 150 pesos. The cost for mitla is 205 pesos for foreigners and 105 for residents. I didn’t personally like this part. The buffet charged $15. So the package they offered that included all tickets, buffet is higher than what I actually paid when I went in person.

It was awsome, great tour guide. Only one other such place in the world, it is in turkey.

Xenon was a great guide. The food was very good.

A very full day with an amazing mix of experiences. The waterfalls are beautiful and our guide Xenon was knowledgeable and excited to share these places with us.

We had a great time on the tour very informative lots of fun sites very comfortable bus. It is a very long day with no water or food provided so be prepared. When booking it says only 12 people would be on the tour but the bus had 21 people in it. We were also asked to be ready much earlier than our actual pick up time. The man giving the weaving presentation had his phone on full blast with nonstop notifications going off. It was strange. Our English guide was amazing but I forgot his name. We went to his hometown when learning about the weaving.

Super interesting. The best guide ever. We saw so much in only one day. I would highly recommend this trip

Fantastic experience with loads packed into the day. We tended to miss most of the crowds thanks to guys running it. Going to the Mezcal tasting was extremely interesting too with some normal mezcal and some not so ordinary, loved the scorpion one 🦂 🥃 We finished at the big tree which was a great way to end the tour. Thanks to our guide, driver, and all those involved for a memorable time, cheers Oaxaca 🙏

Very enjoyable, highly recommend. Just enough time in each place. Guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Comfortable ride. Food at buffet was adequate, highly recommend the chicken in peanut sauce. Chicken was tender. There is no other place to buy food in that area, stand alone restaurant.

We booked the Hierve el Agua tour and it was one of the best days of our trip to Oaxaca. We started at Hierve el Agua, then visited a weaving village, a mezcal distillery, Mitla, and finished at the Árbol del Tule. That’s a lot of ground, but it never felt rushed. We had plenty of time at each stop. Our guide, Zeon, was excellent. He explained the history behind every place we visited, and what stood out most was how much he taught us about the Zapotec people who still live in the region today: their language, their traditions, and how they live now. It gave the whole day a depth we didn’t expect. The group was a mix of Spanish and English speakers, and Zeon switched between both easily so everyone got the full experience. If you want a tour where you learn as much as you see, ask for Zeon. Highly recommend.

This is how you do a full day tour! Absolutely jam-packed with activities that are just varied enough to not overwhelm. You get a decent workout (with an equally stunning view) with the Hierve el Agua, an unforgettable bonding experience with your fellow travellers at the mezcal distillery, an insightful history lesson at the Mitla site and textile workshop, and a nice lunch in-between. The Tree of Tule, unfortunately, had to be skipped because of heavy rain (they did try to get us a good view from the vehicle though). Also, huge props to the company for the van pick-up right outside my Airbnb.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and able to take regional historical details and give us a culturally relevant presentation. The best!

Really good tour! It’s pretty long, so take your time and wouldn’t recommend booking it when you have a dinner reservation right after it because it can be tiring. Besides that, it was great that they picked us up at the hotel and drop us off at the zocalo. Really good guide, and we’ve learned a lot during all day, specially on the road on our way to our stops. The only thing I didn’t like was the chosen restaurant for lunch. Oaxaca is very known for the food and the place just wasn’t very good… it’s not the worst, but it could definitely be better compared to other tours! Even with that, the rest was really good so I would still recommend this tour :) just don’t go with high hopes for food.

Guide did a good job. Worth the price.

There was a bit of a delay in the pick up time; we had to walk a few blocks to meet the van due to traffic. Once we got going everything went well. We really appreciated the knowledge and effort put in by our tour guide. The only place i was not a fan of was the Mezcal tasting, but we still made it a fun experience. The buffet lunch place was not the best, but they did have a few good options. It was a lot of places packed for one day so plan accordingly - but very worth it.

amazing tour. the guide was super knowledgable and contributed a lot to the experience. the highlight is definitely going to see hierve el agua, but the other parts of the tour are also super fun. especially liked ending it off with a mezcal experience and seeing the thule tree

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He had great English and explained a lot of the culture and lore. I’m really glad I booked with him.

Great tour with an amazing guide, Zenon! We were a small group which made it very personal. Zenon took the time to explain everything in detail and answer any questions. He was very friendly and knowledgeable.

This is a great tour. It lasted almost 12 hours from start to finish. The gods did a great job and were very friendly and accommodating. I enjoyed everything. The mezcal factory was something else. The owner himself walked us through the whole process.

A great tour. Guide is knowledgeable and small group. The time spent at the petrified waterfall is decent.

Hierve el Agua and Mitla are incredible. Tour is long but very fun and a great way to see a lot of the sights east of Oaxaca.

The experience was great, there was plenty of time to do all the activities and still get home at a reasonable time. Our tour guide Rocio was very knowledgeable and would always ask if how we were doing. The guide from the mezcaleria Santiago was also very nice and knowledgeable. He answered all our questions to our understanding.

This is the best day trip I’ve ever been on! Simon is an amazing guide—knowledgeable, warm, and fun. He explained a lot about the history of Oaxaca and Mexico in English throughout the tour. I really appreciate him! Also, Antonio drove very smoothly, was friendly, and I highly recommend him too. I strongly recommend this tour — it's packed with great content: we saw beautiful scenery, enjoyed a buffet that exceeded expectations, visited a mezcal distillery and a wool shop, and finally saw a tree over a thousand years old.

This experience was amazing. The tour guide was super knowledgeable and attentive. Each location stop was the right amount of time and never felt rushed. I liked the experience of seeing so many things in Oaxaca in one day. The weather was great for us and cross were limited. Though we got caught in Guelaghuetza festivities and caused the travel to be a bit longer, it was still very fun. The group I was with was a ball of energy as well! Someone even got engaged at Hierve de Agua from our group! It was a beautiful day! Would highly recommend.

This tour was highly worth the cost as it was an all day tour! Our tour guide m, Rocío, was knowledgeable, friendly, and kept us on time. Everything on this tour was fascinating! The buffet we stopped to eat at was delicious as well and had great variety of food. Transportation was also great, comfy and they actually picked us up from our stay which was appreciated. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in learning more about the state and culture of Oaxaca!

This was easily one of my favorite parts of my two week trip in mexico. The tour was engaging and our guide was very knowledgeable and I can’t believe how much we got done in one day.

The guides were very knowledgeable, friendly, and patient!

It was awsome, great tour guide.

Great and easy tour to see the combined highlights of many other tours. I’m very glad I picked this one. It’s a long day but the guides and driver were all great. Small van with a cozy and friendly energy. Lots of opportunities for bathroom breaks and a very delicious lunch. Would recommend bringing some snacks as well. No pressure to buy anything or drink at the mescal stop.

This is a jam-packed but very well organised tour which includes several must-do activites in Oaxaca. We elected to go straight to the pools at Hierve del Agua rather than doing the hike and I would highly recommend this because it was so quiet when we got there that we almost had the pools to ourselves! The mezcal tasting was incredible (I think we were given 11 different types of Mezcal to try) and we especially loved our guided tour of Mitla and the info the guide shared about the Tule tree/town of Tule. We didn’t catch the name of our guide unfortunately but he was incredible and did a great job managing an at times rather difficult tour group. We were a little sad in the morning to have missed out on some of his guided commentary on the bus ride to the waterfalls (he stopped after someone interrupted him asking to get off the bus). We understood why he didn’t continue as most of the group were visibly disengaged, but we had been enjoying hearing about the local indigenous history of the area!

We joined this full‑day tour to Hierve el Agua in late April, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide, Zenon, set the tone right away—friendly, knowledgeable, and generous with information as we made our way to the farthest stop of the day. Starting at Hierve el Agua was a great call. We had two hours to explore on our own, and everyone in the group found something that suited them—some tackled the steep 30‑minute hike to the bottom, while others relaxed in the turquoise pools or enjoyed from under the shade of the sparse trees. Even in the morning it was warm, so I can’t imagine doing this in the afternoon heat. Be sure to use sunscreen throughout the day, bring a hat or umbrella and wear comfortable shoes to walk. From there, we continued to Mitla. It’s smaller than Monte Albán, but worth visiting in its own right. Zenon walked us through the history and symbolism with so much patience and depth, and he made sure to answer every question. Lunch was a buffet with plenty of options. It was tasty, though quite busy with other tour groups. Afterward, we visited a family‑run wool rug workshop. Zenon translated as they explained their traditional rug‑making process, which was fascinating to see up close. The highlight of the day for us was the artisanal mezcal tasting. Alvaro, who guided us through the production process and tasting, was charismatic, engaging, and knowledgeable. We ended up buying several bottles from their shop—great quality and much better prices than what we saw in the city. Our final stop was the famous 2,000‑plus‑year‑old Tule Tree. Zenon shared its history, and we had a quiet moment to take in just how extraordinary it is. Overall, we were genuinely impressed by the variety of experiences packed into one day and by the care and expertise of the team. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area.

This is a spectacular tour and a must if you're in Oaxaca. Our tour guide was excellent. Very friendly, extremely knowledgeable and very organised. We left this lovely town knowing so much more than when we arrived. We visited many places, all wonderful and informative, our tour guide was very good at keeping us informed as to where and when we would be picked up which made it very easy for us. We would fully recommend this tour.

This was a well-organized full day tour that included many experiences a first-time tourist wouldn't want to miss. Bring water, hat, grippy shoes, swimsuit, sunscreen and a snack. For me, 30 minutes more at Hierve would have been better. It is a stunning site and deserved more time. Two hours seems like a lot but another half hour would have been perfect. Mitla was worthwhile (not as amazing as Monte Alban), but still very good. The buffet lunch was a good value and tasty. The mezcal tasting: it was very interesting to learn the process from plant to product. We tasted many styles of mezcal. The visit to Teotitlan for the rug-making demonstration was remarkable for its labor intensive handmade process. Seeing how the dye colors come from plants, nut shells and the cochineal insect was very cool. Ofc, the rugs are for sale, but there is no pressure to buy. Lastly, the Tule tree was very impressive! The town has protected this natural treasure, surrounding it with lovely gardens and the adjacent church is also very pretty. Our tour guide, Xenon, added a lot of value with his knowledge of the sites and his description of how these Oaxacan towns organize their communities was an added bonus. He even spoke to us in his native Zapotec language a little to hear what it sounds like! You get a lot done in one day and it was a great experience overall!

Even though there were some pickup issues in the morning the team more than made up for it. Denisse was incredibly accommodating and the driver Carlos was very friendly and had great energy. Was an excellent day overall!

Great tour filled with many activities! Zenon was very knowledgeable and loved how he shared his on experience from an indigenous community. Also the buffet lunch was delicious! It even had some Oaxacan food we hadn’t found in restaurants yet. Keep in mind the guide doesn’t come with you into Hierve el Agua because that is reserved space for guides who come from the local community, but our guide still shared information beforehand.

We are very happy with the tour. We had an extra stop after the tree at a bakery. Tour took 12 hours total, no rush. Our guide was very informative, and shared his own life experiences. Normally I don’t like guided tours, but this one was just wow. We are super happy to have it on my birthday.

I wish I could’ve stayed the whole day at Hierve el Agua. The whole tour was fantastic and the guide Sauson (hope I spelled it correctly) was excellent. Other highlights were going to Mitla and the Bitao Mezcal farm. Our guide at the Mezcal farm, Kevin, made it very fun. I was exhausted by the end of the day, so be sure you bring water and snacks.

Really fun, you start at Thule, then get to Hierve fairly early to beat the crowds--it's certainly a place you could spend more time (you get about two hours total), then tour Mitla ruins, then do a Mezcal tasting. It's a lot. Back in town by 7pm-ish. Very glad that I did it. Special thanks to Xenon, a really great guide.

A lot of companies offer similar tours, so it can be hard to choose, but we were very happy with Istmo! Communication, driver, van and schedule were all very well handled; we prefer a small tour, and this one was about 10 people. We liked this tour because you get to see all of the major sites in the Tlacolula Valley without feeling rushed. Also, we did not want to spend a full three hours at Hierve en Agua; two hours is plenty, unless you want to take the full hike down to the base of the falls and back. Otherwise, if you just want to do a small hike and take a dip in the pools, two hours is more than sufficient. Highlights were the tour of Mitla, the mezcal tour and tasting, and the stop at a rug weaver. We had plenty of time at each and felt no pressure to buy anything, while learning a lot.

Great guide very knowledgeable Great driver safe driver The ride is long and the bus got very hot at times The stops that I enjoyed was the tree , archeological site and the making of the mescal

The tour is very well planned out with very attentive tour guides. They will make stops in the early morning if needed to a local shop for coffee/water/snacks as it is an all day tour. Rocio made sure she explained to us where things were right before we entered a location to prepare us for what was to come. During the road trips out to the sites they would give us facts about Oaxaca and the pueblitos. Depending on the site they would accompany us to explain a few things. 10/10 recommend.

It is a very nice tour where you can see phenomenal nature on one side and traditional crafts on the other. For the cherry on top, you can find out something about the rich history of that place.

This tour was designated as English speaking, and it was; however, our guide went back-and-forth all day between English and Spanish, making the continuity of his information difficult for us to follow. We were contacted via WhatsApp before hand to bring snacks, but hadn’t been told that we’d stop along the way where we could purchase snacks so therefore the things we bought, we did not use or need. The water was not provided for anyone and that was a problem for many. When we got to the waterfall, our guide simply mentioned we could hire a local guide to take us for the hike. None of us had done that until we met up with a couple who had hired one of the local guides and thank goodness they were open to many of us in our group to join them. This Guide was able to take us back to the meeting area in a somewhat easier/quicker way - this hike is a difficult one, especially with no water. Our Guide should have been more clear about the role of the local guide as many of us would likely have taken one from the beginning. The Mexican lunch buffet was adequate at best and we did not eat until 3 PM. In the end, we’re glad we took this tour because we got to see more of the countryside; however, if you choose to take this tour, be sure to ask questions beforehand and BRING YOUR OWN WATER!

Again brilliant day! We did back to back tours with Zenon and both days were amazing even with a 8 month old baby. Both tours were very interested with variety of sites, the guide was extremely knowledgeable. There is plenty of time at each site although it may seem packed. 100% recommend it!

Picked us up at ArBnb on time. Stopped for coffee at a sweet location on way to Tulle Tree - much appreciated. Enjoyed Heivre el Agua. Glad we did the hike - well worth it. The textile family owned business stop was interesting. The group enjoyed the mezcal. The only disappointment was the restaurant. We were not able to order ala carte and had to eat a mediocre buffet that was expensive for the quality of the food. Also, our guide and van driver were five star. Overall an awesome day.

Jam packed day full of many interesting sights and experiences. Our favourite was definitely Hierve el Agua - both the hike and cooling off in the pool after. Be prepared with snacks as lunch is not until the late afternoon. We had a great time.

Zenón was a fantastic guide. He's from the area and was incredibly knowledgeable and personable. Every stop on this all-day tour was just excellent. He even made an extra stop at a bakery so we could get a coffee on our way out of Oaxaca. The buffet lunch was underwhelming. The owners should consider finding an alternative.

The tour guides did a perfect job. Both were very knowledgeable and were respectful. They looked out for their tourists and I felt it.