Mexico
Central Mexico and Gulf Coast
Mexico City
Things to Do in Mexico City
Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

Floating Gardens of Xochimilco, Mexico City: Address, Phone Number, Floating Gardens of Xochimilco Reviews: 4/5

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Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

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Floating Gardens of Xochimilco
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#64 of 646 things to do in Mexico City
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Gardens
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: Tláhuac
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Restaurants
164 within 3 miles
Catburguers
1
0.3 miStreet Food
Pancho Lopez
3
0.1 miMexican
Torteria La Planta
2
0.3 miMexican • Fast Food
Angelo and Petrino's
3
0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Italian • Pizza
Sanborns Xochimilco
4
0.4 miMexican
Restaurante El Mexicano
6
0.4 mi$ • Mexican
Tacos Don Mike
7
0.5 mi$$$$ • Mexican
Biscuit & Xocolatl
2
0.5 mi
Lina Xochimilco
16
0.6 mi$$ - $$$ • Mexican
Coffee Max
6
0.6 mi
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Attractions
43 within 6 miles
Museo Dolores Olmedo Patino
1,159
1.1 miSpeciality Museums
Mercado de Xochimilco
1
0.4 miFlea & Street Markets • Farmers Markets
Museo del Tiempo Tlalpan
485
Speciality Museums
Museo Diego Rivera Anahuacalli
560
Speciality Museums
Estadio Azteca
705
Arenas & Stadiums
Mercado de Flores
7
1.2 miFlea & Street Markets
Mercado de las Flores de Nativitas
29
1.4 miParks
Cuicuilco
121
Ancient Ruins
Mercado de Jamaica
66
Flea & Street Markets
Tlalpan
77
Neighborhoods
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
1,200 reviews
Excellent
505
Very good
388
Average
171
Poor
68
Terrible
68
gwyneth v
Cooroy, Australia76 contributions
Brightly coloured canal boats giving a delightful, unforgettable experience. A must visit.
Aug 2021
Get there very early preferably, not on a weekend. I went by bus on my own, you transfer in town to a smaller bus takes you all the way there. Google maps. Cost 17 pesos. I don’t like tours. It cost a lot for me alone in a boat because you hire the whole boat by the hour. It is not cost per person. If you want to see the island of the dead dolls, you need 5 hours.
There is no ATM and the hand held machine was not working. Have cash.
I was enthralled by the whole experience. I had an English speaking Guide, who was very knowledgeable and was good at pointing out things I might have missed. If I had had more cash I would have loved to stop at a restaurant and treat myself, but you are still paying for the boat that is waiting. I never felt under any pressure to purchase anything. There was a great feeling of peace on the canals and the floating gardens were a delight. You will be enthralled from your first sighting of the colourfully decorated boats to the amazing activities on the canals. Two hours for me was enough, but I imagine with a group of friends or family you could enjoy a picnic on board and spend more time.
Written August 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
mdyrdek
Switzerland766 contributions
Good for cultural experience, but will likely be ripped off.
Dec 2021 • Friends
Note: This activity has nothing to do with a garden or flowers or anything of that sort. You will be beyond disappointed if that is what you expect. It’s not the cleanest environment either, so be prepared.

Xochimilco is a unique way to get a peek into characteristics of the Mexican culture. It shows how energetic and colorful Mexicans are. They are definitely full of life and enjoy their music and dancing.

However, as a tourist, be prepared to be ripped off. If you can accept that ahead of time, then you will enjoy the experience more. Do not accept the first offer and simply walk away. They will follow you and keep offering lower rates. I felt like they were all in cahoots though. It was late (16:30) and I didn’t have patience to keep negotiating. I also wanted to get back into an Uber before nightfall, so I stopped trying to negotiate and accepted 900 pesos for 1.5 hours. They shortchanged us and only did 1h5m. I just didn’t tip, which they not only expect, but specifically ask for at the end. The experience reminded me of my struggles in Egypt constantly having to negotiate, even for water at a store, and always feeling ripped off.

I wish they would stop trying to rip off tourists. They might get better reviews and, thus, result in more tourist visitors and more money. I’m glad we visited, but I can totally understand why it doesn’t get great reviews. It’s the only place we experienced this during our one week in Mexico City and Puebla.

Side Note: Getting an Uber to and from Xochimilco was easy. We only waited 5-7 minutes for the return Uber, which might be important to others as the neighborhood isn’t the nicest.
Written December 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Virpi K
Tuscaloosa, AL77 contributions
Fun sail
Nov 2021
Our visit to Xochimilco on Friday morning was great. The only regret is that we did not stay longer. The colorful boats are a sight to see and the music from the Mariachi bands made you feel like dancing. Each boat cost 500 pesos; however, there are locals who are trying to entice tourists to go along with them and pay a much higher fee so watch out!
Written November 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Emily J
Swansea County, UK19 contributions
Scary experience
Jan 2022 • Couples
First of all, we were followed by a man working for the boats for 30/40 minutes and made us feel so uncomfortable..following us down alleys and roads we went down to get away from him. When we arrived we were pressured into getting onto a boat and refused to tell us the price until we sat down. They tried to charge us 1000 pesos each and as we were on a budget, we politely said no and left. As we were leaving they all came together clearly annoyed at our decision and surrounded us shouting at us, trying to pressure us more. I would not recommend this at all. Also, there is absolutely nothing around and a very scary experience. As soon as this happend we quickly jumped into an Uber to get out of the situation.
Written January 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Richard L
3 contributions
A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY
Mar 2021 • Friends
This was a total waste of 3,000 peso for 2 people. Not Only was the majority of the House along the water closed or abandoned only a few had flowers and very little. On top of that Fernando asked us if we want anything to drink. he brought us 4 cans of coke we only drank 2, the end of the trip they wanted to charge us for the coke. I told them to take it out of the 3, 000 pesos they screwed us onTotally NOT worth it.
Written March 13, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
moniluvsdean
Rowlett, TX157 contributions
Highlight of our Mexico City trip!
Feb 2020
My husband gave me just what I wanted by getting our friends together for a trip to Xochimilco durng our stay in Mexico City. He talked to the proprietor of the boat that approached us and had them put my name on the banner for my birthday! It's a unique experience, which we had done alone the previous year, but even better this time with friends. There's someone to give you buckets of ice, beer, sodas, waters and you pay when you return by what you drank and not what's left. The canals are crowded in places with other "trajineras" but they are masters at navigating so we never felt uneasy. The food we bought from a lovely couple from their boat was delicious and one of the best meals we had in CDMX. The experience unforgettable. We took our own bluetooth speaker but also the Mariachis on their own boats will pull up and tie up to yours for a price. There are some nice homes along the canals, and of course some poorer ones as well. We also pulled up to a nice lady's house, who our driver knew, to use her restroom, such a clean house, where she offered us shots of tequila and it was 5 pesos to use restroom. She was very sweet. This was a great experience, can't wait to return! Also there's tons of great shopping!
Written March 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Javier G
Royal Palm Beach, FL60 contributions
Pre-Hispanic Water Ways!
Jan 2020
This tour is amazing because you get to experience how the Aztec use to get around their city before the Spaniards. You can make a party in your bout with offered mariachi and Norteños bands aboard other chinampas. We took a VIP 3 hour tour which I thought as a bit expensive, but was very pleased by it since they took us to a museum were we saw the Mexican Pokemons called Axolotls, we got to see the island of the dolls which was a bit creepy but nice!
Written January 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Jcsandiegousa
7 contributions
Very unkempt and disorganized
Sep 2021 • Family
Very sad how poorly maintained this place is. Lots of trash. I was hoping for an exciting experience. From the start, we were harrased by vendors. One jumped on our boat from the start to sell us jewelry. Some boats nearby were selling food, but they were respectful. The boat behind us was playing extremely loud music over a large speaker. The mariachi bands on boats were non-stop harassing us over buying a song, to the point that we were not able to enjoy five straight minutes of silence. If you like to get drunk and be loud, this is the place for you. Unesco has labeled this place a world heritage site, but it is not treated as such. This is very sad.
Written September 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Harriet
London, UK36 contributions
Touristy but fun
Feb 2022 • Couples
We got an Uber from Mexico City which was a good decision. I wouldn’t have wanted to travel for over an hour to get there. The driver dropped us near the boats. We tried in vain to find the Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas which other reviewers said we should. It seemed to be the only one not signed and after strolling for a while we opted for the Embarcadero Belem de la Flores which was fine. Other reviewers talk about being harassed and even bullied to chose certain quays. That wasn’t our experience. Sure, we were asked a few times but no-one bothered us when we said no. Once at Flores we haggled slightly over the price for one hour and ended up paying 1000 pesos. I’m sure it was probably too much but it was lovely to have the boat to ourselves. We enjoyed both the quiet canals and the full-on experience of the main canal which is incredibly touristy with musicians and vendors on nearby boats, but it was all good fun. In the end we got 50 mins of our hour which seems standard from reading other reviews. The town doesn’t have a great deal else to offer, but this is certainly a memorable trip. Good to combine with the Museo Dolores Olmedo once it reopens as its nearby. It’s currently shut due to Covid
Written February 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Dylan C
3 contributions
Peaceful and relaxing
May 2021 • Couples
There was a sense of joy and celebration among everyone there. The least tourist and most authentic Mexican activity. The prices for rides, food, and entertainment are posted publicly. The operators and venders were polite. I feel an ideal situation would be a 6-12 person group looking to have conversation while getting brought food, drink, entertainment, and souvenirs brought by boat by floating vendors. The weather in cdmx is mostly pleasant year round, so sit back with friends or loved ones and enjoy a real Mexican day of leisure.
Written May 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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