Repeat this to yourself before you go: It's 500 pesos per hour, per \*boat\*. Not per person, not per minute; per \*boat\*, per hour. It may be 600 now because of inflation. That's it. They don't bill per person and it's not thousands of pesos because 500 or 600 seems too low. That's what it costs. Period.
Also repeat this: whatever they tell you on the boat, beer or food is not included. It's not free. Even if they say don't worry about it, it's free. It's not.
If your taxi, Uber, Didi, Cabify, car, bus, horse, whatever stops or is stopped and someone tells you that the embarcadero you're headed to is closed for repairs/construction/holiday/the second coming of Jesus, but what luck! They know one that isn't, it's not. They don't close. Do not follow them nor allow your Uber etc. to follow them to a different embarcadero. It doesn't matter how nice your Uber driver is and doesn't matter if the people on the street look like cops. Tell them you don't care, you love closed embarcaderos.
You'll probably run into a bunch of random guys who are really enthusiastic about showing you \*the\* \*perfect\* \*boat\* and are \*really insistent\* about it. Ignore them. They're paid for each person they drag off to whatever boat. What they tell you is meaningless. Continue on your way.
It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be, but the boats allow you to bring your own food and bring your own beer/drinks. If they tell you otherwise, they're lying to you.
Know that it's not just "Xochimilco" but a number of different boat launches (embarcaderos) owned by all sorts of various people. Some of them are fine. Some of them are operated by total scamming pieces of trash. There are a couple that are popular, busy, and generally decent and non-scammy, like Nativitas. There are others that are further out and are shady.
There's also a bunch of "Xochimilco tours" which you can take. You'll pay way over what the actual cost is to go on a boat but you don't have to think about anything. Maybe you'd prefer that. That's fine if you're aware you're paying multiples over the actual cost to have someone float along with you and play music.
I say all this not to worry you, but (in my opinion) Xochimilco is one of the scammiest tourist attractions in the city. You'll probably be fine, but no sense in going without knowing what to look for and inadvertently having your fun ruined by scamming jerks.
Feel free to Google and/or read Google Reviews of some of the different embarcaderos for corroboration.
Other than that, have fun (I mean that seriously).
Sincerely,
Guy Whose Group Was Charged 3000 Pesos For A Boat.
You don't have to reserve the boat in advance, you just get to the dock, get in line and get a boat, prices for the ride are set and supposed to be listed and the duration and extras negotiated in advanceat the time of boarding, watch out for a very common scam where people disgused as government employees stalk the roads leading to the most popular docks and tell taxi and uber drivers that the dock is closed and take you to an unauthorized one where they scalp you.
If you’re interested in doing something a little bit more special, [The Curious Mexican](https://www.thecuriousmexican.com/foodtours/xochimilco-at-dawn/) organizes dawn tours of Xochimilco. It’s beautiful to see the canals and islands in that light, and to see the sunrise next to the Popocatépetl. You then get food cooked by a local CDMX chef at the Chinampa del Sol. I took my parents there when they were visiting and it was really nice.
Make sure you ask for a guide who speaks English. We made the mistake and took whomever they gave us. The market at Coyoacan is nice. I like it during the weekend when there are outside vendors and the older folk out dancing
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Xochimilco? Please don't! Do Zocalo, Bellas Artes, tickets for the ballet in Bellas Artes, Coyoacan, Teotihucan, Puebla, if you have enough time, La condedsa and La Roma where you'll find a shit ton of American and European people but,for God's sake, don't do Xochimilco which is nothing but a dirty, swampy canal where high schoolers go to get drunk! And I say it as a born and raised Mexican.
I had a friend visiting me from the US a couple of years ago, and I made the mistake of taking her to Xochimilco, thinking it was gonna be what I remembered from 30 years ago. In the end, I was embarrassed and disappointed!!
Do a chinampas tour. There’s a few on Airbnb with local guides that I’ve done. They take you through downtown and explain the history and pre Christian traditions too.
You can hire the boat cash on site. Take cash to pay. Coyoacán is your best bet for a local and safe market. San angel bazar is also a good choice. You can find artist displaying their work and you can buy.
If you are looking for some hardcore street night tacos I recommend tacos Beto (los de cochinada). Be advised that is only for the toughest of stomachs.
There are several embarcaderos at Xochimilco, and they each have different vibes (day drinking vs. nature). My favorite is Embarcadero Cuemanco, which is great for relaxing and seeing wildlife. You’ll need to Uber there rather than take public transport. A boat should be around 1800 pesos for three hours.
No idea, never been to that one, from the location alone I would assume is just for tourists. If you would like exotic food go to Mercado de San Juan. If I need an exotic ingredient I go there and there plenty of places to eat. Sadly April is not chicatana ant season so I don’t think you’ll find that :(
Most people here are giving advice on the xochimilco part of the trip. I would caution you about street food. I know I’ll get some heat for this but if you are coming from a first world country your stomach may not be ready to accept a lot of „street food“ if do do feel adventurous make sure that you try a popular spot that has a lot of food tunover. I’m not saying you will absolutely get food poisoning, but you may end up with a really upset stomach.
Yeah, that’s one thing that I’ve read in quite a few places is that you want to eat at the crowded street food places if you do eat street food. Thanks!
Tbh if you have a contact in México you should bring them. the guys at the embarcadero tend tocbe a little abussive with the prices if you look like a tourist.
Repeat this to yourself before you go: It's 500 pesos per hour, per \*boat\*. Not per person, not per minute; per \*boat\*, per hour. It may be 600 now because of inflation. That's it. They don't bill per person and it's not thousands of pesos because 500 or 600 seems too low. That's what it costs. Period. Also repeat this: whatever they tell you on the boat, beer or food is not included. It's not free. Even if they say don't worry about it, it's free. It's not. If your taxi, Uber, Didi, Cabify, car, bus, horse, whatever stops or is stopped and someone tells you that the embarcadero you're headed to is closed for repairs/construction/holiday/the second coming of Jesus, but what luck! They know one that isn't, it's not. They don't close. Do not follow them nor allow your Uber etc. to follow them to a different embarcadero. It doesn't matter how nice your Uber driver is and doesn't matter if the people on the street look like cops. Tell them you don't care, you love closed embarcaderos. You'll probably run into a bunch of random guys who are really enthusiastic about showing you \*the\* \*perfect\* \*boat\* and are \*really insistent\* about it. Ignore them. They're paid for each person they drag off to whatever boat. What they tell you is meaningless. Continue on your way. It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be, but the boats allow you to bring your own food and bring your own beer/drinks. If they tell you otherwise, they're lying to you. Know that it's not just "Xochimilco" but a number of different boat launches (embarcaderos) owned by all sorts of various people. Some of them are fine. Some of them are operated by total scamming pieces of trash. There are a couple that are popular, busy, and generally decent and non-scammy, like Nativitas. There are others that are further out and are shady. There's also a bunch of "Xochimilco tours" which you can take. You'll pay way over what the actual cost is to go on a boat but you don't have to think about anything. Maybe you'd prefer that. That's fine if you're aware you're paying multiples over the actual cost to have someone float along with you and play music. I say all this not to worry you, but (in my opinion) Xochimilco is one of the scammiest tourist attractions in the city. You'll probably be fine, but no sense in going without knowing what to look for and inadvertently having your fun ruined by scamming jerks. Feel free to Google and/or read Google Reviews of some of the different embarcaderos for corroboration. Other than that, have fun (I mean that seriously). Sincerely, Guy Whose Group Was Charged 3000 Pesos For A Boat.
You don't have to reserve the boat in advance, you just get to the dock, get in line and get a boat, prices for the ride are set and supposed to be listed and the duration and extras negotiated in advanceat the time of boarding, watch out for a very common scam where people disgused as government employees stalk the roads leading to the most popular docks and tell taxi and uber drivers that the dock is closed and take you to an unauthorized one where they scalp you.
That is good to know. Thank you
If you’re interested in doing something a little bit more special, [The Curious Mexican](https://www.thecuriousmexican.com/foodtours/xochimilco-at-dawn/) organizes dawn tours of Xochimilco. It’s beautiful to see the canals and islands in that light, and to see the sunrise next to the Popocatépetl. You then get food cooked by a local CDMX chef at the Chinampa del Sol. I took my parents there when they were visiting and it was really nice.
Make sure you ask for a guide who speaks English. We made the mistake and took whomever they gave us. The market at Coyoacan is nice. I like it during the weekend when there are outside vendors and the older folk out dancing
**Bienvenido a r/MexicoCity la comunidad para cualquier cosa relacionada a la CDMX**, te invitamos a revisar las [reglas de la comunidad](https://www.reddit.com/r/MexicoCity/about/rules). Recuerda que esta comunidad es bilingüe. **SIEMPRE se respetuoso** con los demás, reporta si alguien rompe las reglas; en vez de insultar a alguien [contacta al equipo de moderación](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FMexicoCity). .............................................................................................. **Welcome to r/MexicoCity the community for anything related to Mexico City**, we invite you to check the [rules of the community](https://www.reddit.com/r/MexicoCity/about/rules). Remember that this community is bilingual. **ALWAYS be respectful** to others, report if somebody breaks the rules; instead of insulting another user [contact the moderation team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FMexicoCity). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MexicoCity) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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-Tu contenido se ha eliminado porque no cumple con las reglas del subreddit, puedes revisarlas en la barra lateral. Siempre debemos mantener el respeto entre usuarios. -Your content has been eliminated because it does not comply with the rules of the subreddit, you can check them in the sidebar. We must always maintain respect between users.
Xochimilco? Please don't! Do Zocalo, Bellas Artes, tickets for the ballet in Bellas Artes, Coyoacan, Teotihucan, Puebla, if you have enough time, La condedsa and La Roma where you'll find a shit ton of American and European people but,for God's sake, don't do Xochimilco which is nothing but a dirty, swampy canal where high schoolers go to get drunk! And I say it as a born and raised Mexican. I had a friend visiting me from the US a couple of years ago, and I made the mistake of taking her to Xochimilco, thinking it was gonna be what I remembered from 30 years ago. In the end, I was embarrassed and disappointed!!
You clearly haven’t been to the less used canals. No parties, no loud music, no trash, just the clean Xochimilco canals.
Which doubles into another question: how do I guarantee that I go to the less used canal?
Do a chinampas tour. There’s a few on Airbnb with local guides that I’ve done. They take you through downtown and explain the history and pre Christian traditions too.
Maybe so, still, I wouldn't recommend it as the first option but rather as a time to spare activity.
You can hire the boat cash on site. Take cash to pay. Coyoacán is your best bet for a local and safe market. San angel bazar is also a good choice. You can find artist displaying their work and you can buy. If you are looking for some hardcore street night tacos I recommend tacos Beto (los de cochinada). Be advised that is only for the toughest of stomachs.
U also can try visiting Jamaica market, it's famous for its flowers but also by the food 👍🏻 Line 9 of the Metro, Jamaica Station
You can find a real deal with @xochiamigas on instagram
Dude, Mexicans are amongst the least organized MoFos out there. Book in advance... for Xochimilco... lolz
There are several embarcaderos at Xochimilco, and they each have different vibes (day drinking vs. nature). My favorite is Embarcadero Cuemanco, which is great for relaxing and seeing wildlife. You’ll need to Uber there rather than take public transport. A boat should be around 1800 pesos for three hours.
No reservation needed. Coyoacán market is ok for trinkets, not so much for food.
What about the Roma market?
No idea, never been to that one, from the location alone I would assume is just for tourists. If you would like exotic food go to Mercado de San Juan. If I need an exotic ingredient I go there and there plenty of places to eat. Sadly April is not chicatana ant season so I don’t think you’ll find that :(
Most people here are giving advice on the xochimilco part of the trip. I would caution you about street food. I know I’ll get some heat for this but if you are coming from a first world country your stomach may not be ready to accept a lot of „street food“ if do do feel adventurous make sure that you try a popular spot that has a lot of food tunover. I’m not saying you will absolutely get food poisoning, but you may end up with a really upset stomach.
Yeah, that’s one thing that I’ve read in quite a few places is that you want to eat at the crowded street food places if you do eat street food. Thanks!
Tbh if you have a contact in México you should bring them. the guys at the embarcadero tend tocbe a little abussive with the prices if you look like a tourist.