Cerro Pelon Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary: A Private and Hassle-free Experience
3.8
20 Ratings
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

Unlike many others, we reach the sanctuary from a different route, avoiding many touristic hassles and giving the tour a more private and comfortable experience.

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve - Experience Mexico’s hidden magic with an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon! Every year, during winter the Monarch Butterfly start their migration from the forest of Canada to the sanctuaries in Mexico. As it is not typical tourist fare, it is important to have a guide who knows the area well and can ensure…
What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Tollroads
  • Saddles
  • Surcharges on fuel
  • Parking fees
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Breakfast
  • On-board WiFi
  • Alcoholic Beverages
Location
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
Cerro Prieto,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.8
(20 Ratings)
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Dale_h
Apr 4, 2023
Best experience ever! Make sure you ride a horse! - What a wonderful adventure! What an amazing guide and the family who hosted us was generous and gracious! I would recommend to anyone. Bring lots of cash as you will feel so grateful you will wish you could tip more! The trip was the mountain was hard, going over boulders but the men who helped us were experts and they made the journey look easy. Once there as I was taking pictures I realized I was missing it, for the rest of the time I was just there, just being in that place, smelling the sweet dirt smell, listening to the silence as the miracle played out before me. I wish someone had told me the way down was easy, it gave me a bit of anxiety thinking about getting back on the horse! Lol. It seemed the butterflies followed us as we made our decent. Wafting to and fro, not a care in the world. The family lead us into their home and made us an authentic delicious meal! Thank you for being our gracious host. The ride home, over two hours seemed like twenty minutes as the conversation was so ignited by our experience. All in all, a day I will remember for a life time! Thanks!
Review provided by Viator
Karenhq9057st
Mar 14, 2023
Experience of a lifetime - We had an amazing tour with Jose to see the Monarch butterflies before they migrated back north. Not only was the experience incredible, our tour guide was the best! On time, fun, great taste in music (for the drive from Mexico City), kind and generous. We highly recommend him for any tour he offers. The monarchs swarming is a site to see - nothing I write here could do it justice. It is an experience of a lifetime. Note to those traveling to Cerro Pelon -read the disclaimer that this is physically challenging and it would take hours to hike yourself - you really need to ride the horse (included) and if you aren't experienced with horses (we weren't) it is harrowing esp. coming down. Steep, high altitude and rocks, lots of rocks - try to relax and trust the horse. Each horse has its own experienced guide leading it up and down the mtn (on foot). Hold on to the saddle (one hand in front and one in back of it) and lean back (for an hour) when descending. It is mentally exhausting and we were saddle sore the next day but we wouldn't trade this experience for the world. (bad weather could cancel this trip - too dangerous to do in the rain, hence some of the bad reviews for canceling). Four of us (in our 50s) were lucky to have such a beautiful day. If you are in decent shape and adventurous - ck the weight limit and do this trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Grblay
Jan 4, 2025
Bummer - I was sooo disappointed! We were in Mexico City at the perfect time for the monarch migration. We had a reservation and the night before we were notified that the tour guide had cancelled. We were not able to rebook because of time restraints
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oscar
Dec 19, 2024
PESIMO TOURING MEXICO, DO NOT BUY THIS TOUR. - They look bad, I was scammed, the trip was contracted for December 15, 2024 and had good expectations. They didn’t even have the despair to cancel by mail or call. We were waiting outside the meeting point for more than 1 hour and could never contact Touring Mexico. I will definitely never hire tours from this company. The tripadivisor page was the one that I supported with refund issues but in the meantime we spoiled a wonderful day from very early.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Moniquegu178tu
Dec 6, 2024
the trip was canceled last minute - It has been very dissapointing. There was a cancelation of my trip just 20 minutes before my pick up at the hotel, 6:10 in the morning via e mail.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mark_s
Mar 4, 2024
Terrible service from Viator - First day was canceled. No explanation. Second day was a no show. Money was returned, but we scheduled with Viator and then flew to Mexico City for the sole purpose of seeing the Monarchs on my wife's birthday. Never went
Review provided by Viator
Wayne_s
Feb 27, 2024
Bad experience - Viator canceled my tour on the morning of the tour. Thanks viator for a bad experience. I flew aero Mexico just to come to Mexico city to take this tour. I changed my hotel to make it a pickup spot for the tour. Never again will I book viator.
Review provided by Viator
Pat_o
Feb 5, 2024
No Butterflies - No butterflies this year. All tours to this location were canceled. I flew from Northern Wisconsin to Mexico City and waited outside my hotel for 2 hours. Only after I called to find out where they were did I find out the trip had been cancelled weeks ago. This fiasco cost me over $1500.
Review provided by Viator
Bill_s
Feb 2, 2024
Never again - Guide Canceled the night before and only cuz I called to ask. When I tried to chat with viater after waiting forever for them to get back to me, they then shut down the chat because I didn't respond within 2 minutes. Well, at least supposedly they're sending me my money back but I haven't seen it yet.
Review provided by Viator
Connector521489
Jan 29, 2024
Horrible both the tour operator and Trip Advisor - We signed up and paid for this tour. This was a "Life Event" for me, something I had dreamed of doing. We were to meet at the hotel lobby at 6:30am for a full day. No one showed up. We called the tour operator, no answer. We called TripAdvisor/Viator and they were not able to help us. I have tried to contact Trip Advisor for a Refund and their website provides no guidance or help. Very Disappointed
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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