Imperio Monte Albán, Ex Convento De Cuilapan Y Artesanías Locales

This is a well organized trip. Our driver and guide, Germán and Antonio, were very kind and knowledgeable. Every activity was well planned and we had sufficient time everywhere. I would just warn people about Monte Albán because it is not friendly to elderly people or those with physical impairments of any kind.

Overall a positive experience. I enjoyed visiting quite a few historically/culturally significant places in the same tour. For my particular tour, they combined English and Spanish speakers into the same tour. It sort of works in a sense, but a lot of time was consumed in explaining everything twice. And this may result in not having enough time for more detailed descriptions or Q&A. In some sections of the tours, there were a lot of bumps on the road. The driver was at first a bit too hard on braking and accelerating, and I felt very nauseous. But after I provided feedback to the tour guide, the next section felt much better. So I appreciated that they took feedback.

Amazing tour. Best way to see Monte Alban and all the other sites. Hector was a star. He explained everything in English to me even though I was the only English speaking in the group. He took photos and really helped me feel part of the group as a solo traveller. Don’t miss this tour.

The tour is bilingual (S/E). The guide, Gabriel, is very nice and knowledgeable. He made a great effort to make us comfortable for his bilingual presentation even though the bilingual tour is a little bit annoying to us at times.

We enjoyed the majority of the trip. Gabriel was a knowledgeable and very good-natured guide. Luis was a very cautious, careful driver, much appreciated on narrow, windy roads and particularly on the unpaved and bumpy passages into smaller villages. Though the choices were plentiful, we found the lunch disappointing. My friend thought the meat was inedible. Perhaps you could suggest an option to bring a bag lunch for those who might not want to spend the money on a meal. The stop in Cuilápam should have been better described; it was noted that the entrance was optional ($200+ MXN), but there weren’t accommodations for an alternate place to wait for the group should you choose to opt out. The trip was lengthy and included a lot of walking and going up and down steep stairs, often without railings. Nonetheless, we were happy to have gone on trip. Really loved seeing the many vistas of the valleys that include Oaxaca. Appreciated the very informative background history of the numerous indigenous groups in the area, the diversity of languages, the hierarchy within communities, the impact of the Spanish conquerors, all clearly explained by Gabriel. Similarly, the wide range of topics he addressed during visit to museum at Monte Albán was fascinating! ¡Muchas gracias!

Very good value for the time involved and places visited. Our guide, Moisés, was top notch; he was very knowledgeable and personable. His bilingual skills were excellent and he flowed easily between English and Spanish. We'd love to have him as a guide again. We recommend the tour and the company based on our experience.

We really enjoyed the tour, especially getting to see Monte Alban and explore all the different spots. The buffet stop was also a highlight for us.

I enjoyed all the four stops for this tour and the lunch buffer is better than I imagined. I liked the intuitive demos in the two workshops.

Monte Alban is must see, the guide was knowledgable and gave extensive information anout the site. You will also see two lovely local places and learn more about the colonial history , local arts and crafts. I enjoyed this trip very much

Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. Gave us a good amount of time to explore on our own. Monte Alban is beautiful, and I think the church at San Bartolo was fascinating, esp for those interested in the colonial/missionary history of the area

Lots of walking but 100% worth it the buffet was sooooo good and the pyramids were such a beautiful view.

Great experience! Hit a bunch of great spots and learned a lot about local art and culture! Very convenient and well organized.

Fantastic tour. Our guide was excellent. He was passionate and well spoken. He is an archaeologist so he knows his stuff. Learned so much. The lunch was awesome!!

Our tour guide Emanuel did an outstanding job, being kind and exited to share all the information he has gathered through his own life, experience and studying. He had every bit of information about every place, every historical name, every historical time. I totally recommend enjoying this tour.

Lovely, informative tour that makes a great day trip from Oaxaca. We left promptly at 8:30 and returned to Oaxaca City a bit after 5 pm. We particularly loved Monte Alban and the pottery demonstration. Lunch was ~300 pesos apiece (buffet + one beer) + Monte Alban/monastery entrances (175 pesos apiece) + tip.

Monte Albán's arqueological site exceeded our expectations. A really beautiful site in a wonderful setting. Transport was punctual and comfortable. Antonio, our guide was very knowledgeable and an excellent communicator.

Our trip to Monte Albán was absolutely mesmerizing. The ancient temples, breathtaking views, and fascinating historical insights made it unforgettable. My family also loved learning about alebrijes and black pottery, such rich and colorful traditions! The food along the way was authentic and delicious. The final stop at the convent beautifully tied everything together, offering a glimpse into Oaxaca’s colonial past. Moisés was an excellent guide, knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about the region’s culture and history. I highly recommend this trip for anyone who would like to learn about Oaxaca.

First time visiting Oaxaca. Our tour was July 7. Our experience was excellent. Our guide was Gabriel. His knowledge of Monte alban is fascinating. I geek out with history stuff. Monte Alban has some incredible views. Important to note: WARNING! It will be a workout. Those steps aren't a joke. BUT if you make it to the top you will reward yourself with a vista. I can be super warm. Take a hat, some sun screen and water. Especially if you do the hike. Our day continued to the alebrijes factory. We see how they are made. Incredible art passed down from generations. Once you see how there made you want to buy everything in their store. Don't worry, you will have plenty of time to shop. Next we had lunch at El Trapiche buffet place in a large open air restaurant with Oaxacan cuisine. The food was delicious. Loved it. After our food coma, we arrived at a convent built by the Dominican monks in 1555. Just in time for a brief thunderstorm storm. Amazing building going all the way back to 1555. The church/convent is beautiful. Gabriel provided historical facts to provide its significance. Lastly, Finally, el barro negro factory. It was fascinating to see the detail and artistry that goes into creating the "black statutes" seen throughout the mercados. I was more inclined to purchase some of their work to support their craft. Their shop had a good collection of quality craftsmanship. Once again, there was no pressure of time. Gabriel, thank you for your knowledge and for providing me and my group a rewarding experience.

The guide is very knowledgeable in providing the history of the sights. He even took the group to sit in one of the courts in mt albán for a live demonstration. The tour did take longer than expected and the guide sometimes went on ranting about his views on life, but overall it was a great tour.

The places we visited on this tour were truly impressive—Monte Albán in particular was absolutely amazing. Walking around such an ancient and historical site was a highlight of my trip. However, I was quite disappointed with how the itinerary was handled, especially by the tour guide, whose name I believe was Moses. According to the information on TripAdvisor, this was supposed to be an 8-hour tour, returning around 5 PM at the latest. I even confirmed with TripAdvisor’s administration beforehand, and they assured me we’d be back by 5 PM. Unfortunately, the guide did not follow this schedule at all. There were only three of us on the tour: two Australian girls and myself. Instead of managing the group professionally, the guide seemed to focus exclusively on the preferences of the other two participants, essentially acting as their private guide. There was no structure to the time we spent at each site. For example, when we visited the monastery, the guide and the two other participants spent over more than an hour inside. Had this been a group of 10–15 people, I doubt we would have lingered so long. It was like a private tour for the other Australin girls. It was highly possible they would spend 3 hours there as they acted like it was a private tour. And the guide did not bother at all. Later at the black pottery demonstration, again no time slots were given. The guide simply left us there and waited for the Australian girls to finish browsing. He never once communicated how long we had at each stop or when we needed to return, which made the entire experience feel disorganized and unprofessional. When I politely mentioned that I expected to return by 5 PM as originally stated, the guide reacted defensively and acted as though I was rushing the others, which was not the case. My concern was simply about sticking to the agreed-upon schedule and being treated equally as a paying participant. To clarify—of course I understand that tours can sometimes run late due to traffic or unforeseen circumstances. That’s completely acceptable and understandable. My issue was not about being delayed due to external factors, but because of a lack of structure and time management during the tour itself. The extended delays were avoidable and came from the guide not setting expectations or managing time equally among all participants. Again, in Monte Alban we were waiting at 11.45 as we finished and the guide kept on chatting with his friends even though he saw that we were all waiting. Recommendation: Even if the group is small, this is not a private tour, and the guide should maintain structure and fairness for all participants. I strongly recommend ensuring that guides communicate clear time slots for each site, stick to the promised itinerary, and treat everyone with equal consideratio

Another amazing trip in Oaxaca. Our guide was Gabriel. A true gentleman. He spoke both Spanish and English, and for the ones who moan this is a problem? Get over yourselves . Your in a spanish speaking country , what do you expect ?? Anyway. The whole day was fantastic . Monte alban is fascinating. Some incredible views . It's super warm so be warned. Take a hat and some sun screen . Especially with some of the hiking. There are stairs so don't expect it to be a totally flat experience. After this we went on to an alebrijes factory to watch how they are made. Incredible art. And they sold it in their own shop. It was too much choice for me. I couldnt have spent hours there . It wasn't rushed so you had plenty of time to look . Next we did lunch at a buffet place in a large open restaurant. Lots of oaxan cuisine. Some of the nicest food I've had in mexico. Loved it . Next it was on to a convent built by the Dominican monks. Amazing building going all the way back to 1555. Again Gabriel was very informative and would answer all our questions. Finally we went on to a barro negro factory. What a delight. The young guy who went round explaining was a tonic . A delight warm and educational tour . It was a great atmosphere they worked in together . Even watching their pet dogs just wander freely around was a sign of how good the atmosphere was. The shop had a huge collection of art I'd not seen elsewhere. Under no time did it feel we where pressured to buy anything on this tour either . So if people start saying oh they felt pressured they are telling lies . It was never the case. I've been to countries where it's felt like that and definitely not on this trip or others in this country .

Wear sunscreen! An umbrella is also very helpful to keep the sun off you. Our guide was fantastic. Very knowledgeable. Fluent in both English and Spanish.

Antonio our bilingual guide was a very knowledgeable, fit , 72 year old man who has been studying archaeology sites for many many years . He made the tour very interesting . Monte Albán the highlight . The other points worth visiting and the lunch was pretty good with options for all .

The tour was fantastic, it did not feel like 8 hours at all. The drive between stops was quite short and each stop we visited was very interesting and worth spending time at. Our tour guide, Gabriel, was very knowledgeable and spoke great English. The place we stopped off for lunch was delicious, and was nice to be able to sit and spend time getting to know the other people on the tour. Highly recommend!

Excellent! Our guide Daniel was exceptional and shared so much information on history, archeology, botany and art. We were all very impressed and highly recommend this tour.

It was a good experience, our guide was Silvia, an archaeologist, she was great explaining all the history from Monte Alban, to Arrazola, San Bartolo Coyotepec and Cuilapam.

There’s uphill climbing but worth the hike. Also a lot of steps to climb. The entire trip was enjoyable and very educational. Our guide was excellent. Would highly recommend this tour

A great experience. We all enjoyed the day immensely. The itinerary was full but not overwhelming. The stop for brunch was amazing as were all the sites of the day.

Wonderful experience so fun and learned a lot. Wonderful tour guide very knowledgeable and great driver. We had a fantastic day.

This was a very educational experience. Our guide was very well prepared, and willingly answered questions. Lunch break was welcome with a complete buffet of Oaxacan cuisine. An enjoyable day

our guide Moses and driver were fantastic. very kind and knowledgeable. we enjoyed the whole tour. and also a delicious lunch.

Bring a hat, and a lot of water, and be ready to walk and climb. Don't skip buffet lunch - their mole is far better than the mole served in expensive Oaxaca restaurants.

Jorge was a fantastic guide and this trip gives a good overview of many of Oaxaca’s treasures. Monte Alban is important and I highly recommend a visit there. The stops at the two artisan workshops were great.

Very long day. Wear good shoes for monte Albán. Visit to Convent took TOO LONG. not that interesting. Made the day too long. Skip convent. Just go to monte alban. Alenrihes and pottery. Lunch good but so late. We ate at 2 pm. Trip went so long we had to cancel dinner reservation.

We had an excellent guide and driver and enjoyed the whole experience. Monte Alban was very interesting place to see.

Pickup and return were one hour late. Return was not to my designated hotel. Overall tour and guide were good

The monte alban temple tour with Antonio was great, 10/10 he is incredible knowledgeable and speaks clear English. The carving store, church, black pottery stop were less interesting. I would skip that and stick to solely Monte Alban. Lunch was great and traditional.

This experience wa ask much worth it. Our guide was very fun and give us a lots of historical, social and cultural perspective along our tour. The timing for the visit felt just right with no rush. Even though I think the admissions should be included in the final price.

The Monte Alban tour was amazing, and the tour guide was very helpful. I particularly enjoyed the pottery demonstration. However, I do have one regret regarding the tour guide. I wish he had spoken a bit more English while explaining the archaeological details and narratives for each site we visited. I felt that there was too much Spanish spoken, which made it difficult for me to understand what was being explained and what I was supposed to be seeing. Although this was meant to be an English/Spanish speaking tour, it felt heavily skewed towards Spanish. As someone who speaks very little Spanish, I found it quite challenging to follow along.

What a great excursion! My fav parts were Monté Alban (of course) and the Arrazola alebrije stop. Our tour guide, (San) Clemente was REALLY knowledgeable, flexible, friendly, and gave a perfectly bilingual tour. It was a great day. :)

The guide and driver were great, the guide very knowledgeable and helpful with every need. He was very sweet and patient. This tour started off being very disorganized. While the tour company was nice enough to pick us up at our hotel, once we arrived at the meeting point, we waited over half an hour while the organizers consolidated vans so that every van was full. This also meant that our driver and guide were out of a job for the day. As a tourism professional, I am very mindful of this kind of thing and being Christmas Day, I was not impressed with that part. These guys got up on Christmas Day and left their families to work for us and ended up with nothing. Also the vans that this company uses are in need of repair. The seat belts are often broken, the phone chargers don't work, the arm rests are often broken off and the seat fabric is torn in spots. We ended up sitting in a wet spot that left a big stain on our trousers. The portions in Monte Alban, the convent and the pottery visit were good. The alebrije workshop was disappointing and although we understand the desire to support local artisans, this one was more touristy than educational. I have been on other tours to alebrije workshops that have been much better than this one. The Spanish tour was much better than the English one. But this was a modern studio that gave no history of the alebrije origins and I found that disappointing.

The guide was very knowledgeable, informative and interesting. He did a great job at bringing the historical areas to life.

We met our group at the stunning Hotel Quinta Real in downtown Oaxaca where we got to grab a quick breakfast. Next we made our way out to the Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban with the group. Our guide Gabriel was very kind and informative, we learned so much about the Zapotec people and it was so cool to walk the grounds and imagine life back then. The next stop was at a Tallera where we met the owner, Angelico, who is a 3rd generation master carver and painter of tonas and nahuales. He gave us a master class on his carvings and natural dyes that he uses. We also got a close up of all his finished pieces and marveled at his intricate designs. Thereafter, we headed to a delightful Oaxacan buffet where there was all this amazing food! We tried all 9 main moles. The last stop was visiting an ex convent and a later black pottery shop for another master class. We were dropped off just in time to get a great spot for the parade.

The tour to Mt. Albans is great. We had just enough time there to see everything. Hotel pick up was appreciated too. The lunch buffet was excellent. The shopping stops were interesting but I wouldn't do those again. I was really looking forward to seeing the chapel and convent but when we got there we couldn't go in because of lack of time? So that was very disappointing. For the price the tour was good but next time I might get a taxi.

I really enjoyed this tour. Monte Alban is magnificent and the places to visit where the handcrafted artifacts are created are very interesting. The tour guide explained very well with a excellent sense of humour.

This was an amazing experience with all the history .Emanuel was such an amazing and well informative about this tour with excellent explanation

Monte Alban is a fabulous sight and the museum tour was helpful. Having one Guide switch between Spanish and z English was challenging.

The whole day was great. The ruins were bigger and better than expected and they gave us plenty of time to explore on our own. They split us into a Spanish speaking and English speaking group which was great so the guide didn’t have to repeat everything. The alebrijes were very cool, a highlight for me. The lunch was exceptional. The food, the people, watching them cook, everything about it was great. Then we walked around their marigold fields, tasted mezcal. They were just so welcoming and everything was high quality. The convent was interesting. The black pottery was unique and such an intimate insight into the process. Jorge our guide was perfect. He was sunny and attentive and so knowledgeable. All of it exceeded expectations.

Our tour was excellent! Monte Alban is a must see if you visit Oaxaca for the first time. Our guide Jorge was great!! Very knowledgeable and very kind a patient with the whole group. Highly recommend!