danielonn

I will have a 12 hour layover in Mexico City coming in from San Francisco on the way to Sao Paulo. I was able to find and book a Private tour for $150 for 2 people for 5 hours to and from the airport with a tour of the major sights of the city. I found this tour via ViaTor Independent Tour Guides.

Do you think $150 for 2 people for 5 hours is a great deal for a private tour? I know we need to add some entrance fees and lunch but that is to be expected. Other tours were around $45 per person without airport transportation.

For our limited time I think this is the best option so as not to mess with the Metro/Taxis.

Thanks

JDiver

I think comparable tours in US or Europe would be three times as much, with transport; it sounds like a good deal to me, and you will have continuity of transport, a safe place to leave bags, etc.

Please let us know how it was when you return.

danielonn

Thanks JDiver. This is exactly what I was thinking. I will definitely let you know how it turns out.

We need continuity of transport especially in a large city as Mexico City and really we don't want to spend 9 hours in the city and over exhaust ourselves before our second overnight flight.

danielonn

Hey JDiver just an update. Our original tour guide could not make it for the date we scheduled. So I went online and found a better company to deal with Royal Cars and Tours. For $120 for 2 they will pick us up in a Town Car and give us a 5 hour tour.

The tour company got 5 star ratings on TripAdvisor and has been in business for 25 years and its family owned. As part of the tour they include bottled water and snacks.

Upon further research if you are a Student or Senior you can get into the Anthropology Museum Free of Charge for others its $4.

Royal Cars and Tours

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ulf_Coast.html

http://www.royalcars.com.mx/

Please give me your opinion JDiver on this company. They returned my email within 20 minutes last night after asking for a price quote.

I will keep you posted.

JDiver

On Trip Advisor I look for reviews by people with a track record, and a number of reviews, in attempting avoiding shill postings. Royal seems to be pretty good and well liked by travelers who have traveled a lot. Enjoy!

danielonn

Thanks JDiver for your reply. Yes, I also look for a Track Record on TripAdvisor. I know we will have a great experience with Royal. Soon after paying online they sent us a map of where to meet them. So this is a great start and gives me confidence that they really care about their customers.

sspontak

Have a 6 hour layover in MEX. Can anyone recommend a restaurant/bar/shopping area within a quick cab ride distance of the airport?

Section 107

The Zocalo or the area around Chapultepec is nice and there are some sights to take in.

danielonn

Thanks Section107 we will see this as part of the tour.

danielonn

I wanted to say that this company has been very responsive to our requests and e-mails. Roxanna the Office Manager is very nice and you can email her at [email protected]. I requested Mr. Talvera(the owner or another Historian to give us the tour).

You can request a Lincoln Cartier Towncar BMW(which is what I requested) or an SUV. for $125 they will take you on a 5 hour tour and pick you up and drop you off at the airport. We put down a $24 deposit on PayPal and they charge the rest after the tour.

This is a family run company and got many positive reviews on TripAdvisor and a lot of them were repeat customers.

We were originally booked via Viatour for a more expensive personal guide who could not meet us and this is what you can run into because they manage their own bookings. They don't use as nice cars and the price was $140 for two.

BTW The Anthropology Museum and I believe others give you free entry if your a Senior, Student or Child.

I will write up a review when I return in May or sooner if I get reliable internet in Brazil.

I'm on a Repositioning Cruise from Sao Paulo(Santos)-Barcelona and our ticket from San Francisco had us on a layover for roughly 12 hours in Mexico City so hopefully it will be easy to transfer our bags to TAM in the morning since we arrive at 7 AM and leave MEX at 7:45 PM.