As Mexico City gets increasingly popular as Mexico’s hottest tourist destination, it’s gotten easier than ever to get immersed in the rich culture of the city.
If you’re the kind of traveller who wants an authentic Mexican experience, you’ll likely enjoy visiting Xochimilco. And although it’s a great experience, there are a few things to know before you go. In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about this awesome experience on the canals, and how to avoid getting scammed at Xochimilco Mexico City.
What Is Xochimilco Known For?
Xochimilco is such an interesting place, so rich in culture and history. The ‘Venice of Mexico’ that many tourists know Xochimilco for, has a whole other side to it.
In terms of historical significance, the ancient canals of Xochimilco once served as a commerce hub. The trajineras (gondolas) were used to cultivate flowers and other fresh goods, which were then transported to Mexico City. Culturally speaking, the locals of Mexico City have enjoyed Xochimilco as tourists for many years. You’ll find the most interesting food and drinks along the canal and will hear tons of local music, like Mariachi and marimba.
To the tens of thousands of tourists who visit Mexico City, Xochimilco is known as a fun day trip. Some tourists go for the culture, while many others go for the fiesta. Either way, Xochimilco is most certainly a Mexico City must-do!
Where is Xochimilco?
Xochimilco in Mexico City shouldn’t be confused with the Xoximilco Theme Park in Cancun. The ancient canals of Xochimilco are located about an hour’s drive from Centro Historico, CDMX. When planning your trip to Xochimilco, it’s important to avoid peak transit times, as the roads into and out of the city tend to get pretty congested.
We wouldn’t recommend booking accommodation near Xochimilco, as it can be time-consuming to get into the city, which is where all the action is. It’s easier to just stay in the city and make a day trip of Xochimilco. Here are a few high to mid-range hotels and they’re all located in different unique parts of Mexico City.
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How to get to Xochimilco from Mexico City
There are a few ways to get to Xoxhimilco, and it’s totally possible to create a DIY day trip. However, this option is only a suggestion for those who love adventure and don’t mind roughing it a bit. Having at least transactional Spanish is a huge plus too.
If you prefer a well-planned tour where you don’t have to worry about a thing, then we’d highly suggest taking a tour. Below we share the different types of tours you can take to Xochimilco
Uber: This option is great because it’s hassle-free and comfortable, but not the quickest way to travel to Xochimilco. Peak traffic hours should be avoided as they can cause huge delays. An Uber ride from the centre of Mexico City to Xochimilco is around MX$200 (US$12.5), one way. But keep in mind that this price will fluctuate depending on the time of the day and how much traffic there is. The exact area you’re in will also have influence on your fare.
Rental Car: This is an awesome option because you’ve got the freedom to move at your leisure. However, the Mexican style of driving may seem a bit chaotic to some. We use this price comparison platform to find the best deals.
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Metro: The underground train system is absolutely massive and transports millions of passengers daily. This is how we got to Xochimilco and it was actually fun and not as scary as people make it out to be. We’d highly recommend watching the YouTube video we made on Xochimilco as we show you exactly what the stations and trains look like. More in-depth info on exactly how to use the metro is below.
The Top Xochimilco Tours
If you’re excited to experience Xochimilco, but dread the thought of having to get there and communicating with limited Spanish, a tour is a great option.
Not all Xochimilco tours are equal and it’s important to decide what you’re looking for in your trip before booking. Are you going for the fiesta, or are you more interested in the cultural & historic portion of the experience? Or perhaps you want a bit of both. While you do not need to pay for a tour to go on a trajinera, one of the biggest advantages of taking a tour, is avoiding the scam of being over-charged at the dock.
Are you visiting Xochimilco soon and want to go all-out on a full-day booze cruise? We’d recommend booking this tour because it is marketed as a party boat with unlimited food & drinks. The only things you’ll pay for separately are any live performances, souvenirs or additional food or drink you may get along the canals.
This particular tour is awesome if you’re in CDMX to learn about its culture and history. In addition to Xochimilco, you’ll get the chance to visit Coyoacan, the legendary home of Frida Kahlo and the largest university in Latin America.
How To Do A DIY Xochimilco Tour
We have personally been to Xochimilco twice, and both times we opted not to go on a tour. This option is awesome because it helps to save a bit of money and you can also curate the experience to your preferences. The only thing to note is that to negotiate a fair ‘trajinera’ price, your Spanish will need to be pretty decent. Later on in this article, we’re talking more about how to avoid getting scammed at Xochimilco.
Your Free Riviera Maya Survival Guide
Here’s exactly how to get to Xochimilco from Centro Historico, Mexico City;
- Start at Juarez Station
- Catch the green line to Hidalgo Station
- Switch to the blue line at Hidalgo Station heading for Tasqueña station
- Switch to the light train (tren ligera) headed towards Xochimilco
- Use one of the motorbike-powered taxis to get from Xochimilco station to Nativitas Dock.
This entire journey won’t cost more than about US$8 for a couple, so it’s awesome to use the Metro if you’re on a tight budget.
According to locals, you shouldn’t go to the Belem dock because the personnel tend to overcharge by a lot. Instead, we were encouraged by Mexico City locals to arrive at Embarcadero Nativitas (Nativitas Dock) for a better chance at getting a good price on a trajinera.
Once you’re at the embarcadero, you can find big price boards, which we’d recommend taking a photo of. Then you’ll chat with a trajinera ‘captain’ to work out a deal. They’ll usually want to know how long you want your journey to be and how many passengers there are.
When we visited Xochimilco in 2022, the official price for a trajinera or gondola was MX$500 per hour (around US$30). The captains typically offer a shorter route that lasts about 2 hours or a longer route that lasts around 4 hours. The great thing about the four-hour trip is that you can see La Isla de las Muñecas, or Doll Island. We haven’t personally been to Doll Island, but from the dolls we’ve seen randomly hanging from the trees, it seems to be a bit creepy, but interesting.
Another reason for opting for the longer trip is that the trajinera captains are such experts on the area and the incredible folklore surrounding Xochimilco. The only catch is that your Spanish must be more conversational to follow the stories. Our Captain, Jorge, was such a great storyteller and had fascinating superstitions to share with us. Apparently, Xochimilco has a pretty dark past, hence the creepy dolls strung to the trees.
We’d recommend bringing some beverages and snacks along with you. At the docks and all along the canals, local food vendors are selling hot dishes. You can also find a typical local beverage from Mexico – the Michelada. It’s also common to wear flower crowns at Xochimilco, so you’ll see souvenir boats floating along the canal, too.
We’d highly recommend taking a longer trip because the canals are just so extensive and there are so many weird and wonderful things to see and do In Xochimilco. We only took a 2 hour trip and it wasn’t nearly long enough, we wish we had opted for a longer trip.
💡Create a trajinera. If it’s only you and your partner visiting, you may want to go alone which is totally fine. But we’d recommend staying open to the possibility of sharing the rental costs with another group. We were fortunate enough to run into a very sweet Mexican-American family and joined them on their trajinera and split the costs – it ended up being a lot of fun!
A scam to avoid at Xochimilco
The scam at Xochimilco that we’ve been referencing in this article has to do with what you’re charged for your trajinera. If you’re visiting Xochimilco on an organized tour, you won’t need to worry about this as the rental is already built into the cost of the tour. It does however help to double-check your change when buying things along the canal.
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Although we haven’t personally been victims to this scam in Xochimilco we know it’s pretty common. Basically, the agent or trajinera captains may try to overcharge you by telling you that the price you see on the price board is per person. This is however untrue, the trajineras are charged per boat and NOT per person. So if one hour on a trajinera costs MX$500 (around US$30), they may convince you to pay MX$1000 (around US$60) for you and your partner.
One other thing to keep in mind as you plan your day-trip to Xochimilco is that pick-pocketing is common on the metro, so we’d recommend travelling with a bum bag across your chest or and anti-theft back-pack. You can also find more travel goodies you may need for your trip to Mexico City, here.
Is Xochimilco safe?
We consider Xochimilco to be fairly safe, but it’s not the kind of place you visit and disregard common sense. Aside from being wise to the common scams at Xochimilco, you’ve also got to keep your wits about you. We wouldn’t recommend leaving your personal belongings out of sight, or getting incredibly intoxicated.
Personally, we think Xochimilco is a ton of fun in the daytime, but we wouldn’t stick around long after dark, due to the area it’s in and for all the intoxicated tourists and locals getting off their trajineras.
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Beware of Moctezumas Revenge
The reason we’re mentioning Mectezumas Revenge is because Geovanny got an awful case of it, a few hours after leaving Xochimilco. The only thing he had that I didn’t was a Michelada, which he bought on the canal. Although we’d highly recommend trying out as much of the local food as possible, keep in mind that hygiene standards are not that high and you do run a risk of getting ill.
“Moctezuma’s Revenge” is a clever term to describe traveller’s diarrhoea. Typically, this condition is contracted by consuming street food prepared in unsanitary conditions or contaminated by certain bacteria and viruses carried by individuals. While it is worth considering the potential risks of trying street food, I have only experienced a mild case of Moctezumas Revnge from street food in the three years I have lived here. If you fall ill after eating street food, there is no need to panic as it is not life-threatening, as long as you maintain proper hydration. Symptoms should typically subside within 3-7 days. In addition to staying well-hydrated with water and electrolyte powders, it is necessary to rest and practice good hygiene to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses to others.
You will most likely not need medication, but if you do, “Treda” is a commonly used over-the-counter medication you can purchase at any pharmacy.
Is Xochimilco Worth Visiting
There’s a reason we’ve been back twice already – it’s such a unique and fun experience. Bright and colourful trajineras, Mexican music blasting in from different directions, and a little bit of folklore all along an ancient canal – I couldn’t think of another experience similar to this.
It is honestly a bit of a mission to get out to Xochimilco on your own, but can also be such an adventure if you’re brave and willing. Whether you take a tour or not, Xochimilco is an absolute must-visit spot to add to your Mexico travel bucket list. So in short, yes Xochimilco is 100% worth visiting! If you’re looking for a great place to stay in Mexico City, use this handy map to pick your ideal location:
We hope that this article got you pumped up and prepared for your trip to Xochimilco. If we missed any important details, please let us know in the comments below. For more detailed information on Mexico City, you can read this article next.
