Xochimilco Boat Tour: Mexico City Things To Do
Do you love colorful boat rides, mariachi bands, day-drinking, and good times with good people? If you answered ‘yes’ to at least one of these things, you will love Xochimilco. Located just 20km outside of the centre of Mexico City lies Xochimilco, well-known for its ‘trajinera’ (boat) rides through canals built by ancient Aztecs. If you are looking for once-in-a-lifetime experiences of things to do in Mexico City, read on!
>> Take a look at my Instagram Reel to see what it is like to live the Xochimilco experience <<
Enjoying a day in the sun and lots of mezcal on a boat cruise in Xochimilco, Mexico City
Imagine this… you are floating down a canal in Mexico City on a colorful boat listening to a live mariachi band, with a taco in one hand and a beer/shot of mezcal in the other. Does this sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not! Just a short Uber drive away lies this dreamy experience.
Xochimilco, Mexico City
Xochimilco, its name meaning ‘flower field’ in the Aztec language of Nahuatl, is a truly beautiful place that everyone should experience at least once when visiting Mexico City. The canals were once used as a means of transportation by ancient Aztecs and today are full of trajineras (the charming colorful boats pictured in this article). Here you can enjoy a relaxing boat ride floating down the canals, day-drinking, good food, live mariachi bands, and you can purchase jewelry and crafts from local vendors floating by on their own trajineras. One of my favorite parts of this experience was hiring a life mariachi band to play a couple of songs.
Floating down the canals of Xochimilco in colorful trajineras (boats) listening to live mariachi bands in Mexico City
The Xochimilco Trajinera Experience
I found and booked an amazing experience on Airbnb for a 2-hour boat tour which included a brief history about the customs and legends of Xochimilco, seemingly endless mezcal (18 different flavors), coronitas, a paloma (mixed tequila drink with grapefruit juice), do-it-yourself beef tacos (or vegetarian if you tell them in advance), guacamole, drinking water, and music. You can check out my Instagram reel here to see what the experience was like. Be sure to check out Juan Carlos’ Instagram if you’re interested in taking the same tour with him and his daughter!
An FYI: I am not earning any commission by recommending Juan Carlos’ tour. After living in Mexico for nearly 4 years, this so far has been my favorite tour/experience. It is not easy traveling as a female alone in Mexico and Juan Carlos, his boat crew, and daughter made me feel completely at ease. He waited outside a restaurant for me to arrive, gave perfect instructions, and was very accommodating. Juan Carlos loves giving these tours and ensures everyone is comfortable, safe, and has a great time. Also, if you are wondering, there are bathrooms along the way where the boat can stop. Be sure to ask about 10-15 minutes in advance and have change to pay to use the facilities!
A mariachi singing the song ‘hermoso cariño’ after we hired his band on the canals of Xochimilco in Mexico City
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How to get To Xochimilco
There are 3 ways to get to Xochimilco: car, metro, or rideshare like Uber or DiDi. If you are renting a car, you can easily drive to Xochimilco by following your GPS. Traffic can be bad sometimes, so it may be best to take the toll highway from Mexico City. You can also take a rideshare which will cost about 250 pesos from Condesa, Roma, or the historic centre. Whether you drive or take a rideshare, the trip will take around an hour (it took me over an hour with traffic). Leave early and give yourself an hour and a half to arrive! You can also take public transportation (the metro) but I do not recommend it if you are a female traveling alone.
Tasting 18 different flavors of mezcals on a colorful trajinera (boat) on the canals of Xochimilco, Mexico City
How much a day trip costs to Xochimilco
The cost of a day trip to Xochimilco in Mexico City depends on what you are looking to do. The experience with Juan Carlos was about 920 mxn pesos ($58 Canadian dollars) through Airbnb. In my opinion, an experience well worth it! You could arrive to Xochimilco and hire a boat when you get there. However, depending on your level of Spanish and what the locals decide to charge you, this could range anywhere from 400 to 700 or more mxn pesos per hour. Since our experience lasted 2 hours, included more alcohol than I could possibly need, and food, I ended up saving money by going with Juan Carlos’ tour. Not to mention, the fun energy of our group was contagious and made the experience all the more special! Be sure to bring cash for snacks, crafts, jewelry, bathroom breaks, and if you want to hire a live mariachi band to play a song or two (150 pesos per song).
My day trip to Xochimilco cost a total of $1350 mxn pesos (including bathroom breaks and a song from the mariachis). I ended up going with the group back to the city centre, so I only paid for my Uber the one way. You could save a lot of money by taking the metro since it’s only 5 pesos, but I didn’t feel it was worth the risk. This is a personal decision!
Different mariachi bands in Xochimilco on their own, different boats (trajineras) playing along the canals in Mexico City
I intend to return for this experience closer to Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) when the marigold flower fields are in full bloom!
Stay tuned for more personal tales of past failures, current wisdom, and tons of travel tips to get you on your way to solo travel and the nomadic lifestyle!
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links and I am not earning a commission on any recommendations.