Puebla and Cholula Day Trip from Mexico City

We thoroughly enjoyed our visits to Cholula and Puebla. Cities are rich in history and culture and many beautiful and ornate churches dot the areas. It was a full day of unique and memorable experiences. Our guide, Miguel, did an excellent job shepherding the group and masterfully highlighting details about the iconic landmarks and points of interests. He is knowledgeable, courteous, punctual, and possesses a sense of humor. Cholula is picturesque and peaceful. Its idyllic setting is captivating. The stroll through the open-air market towards the Great Pyramid and Church of Our Lady of the Remedies is a pleasant experience. There, you can taste fried grasshoppers if you’re up for it. The pyramid today resembles a hill. It succumbed to overgrowth many centuries ago. The conquering Spaniards constructed the church on the summit unaware the largest pyramid in the world lay under it. Interestingly the pathway to the church is through a 300-foot archeological tunnel hallowed out in the hill. The shrine itself is beautiful and offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area in all directions. It’s also located at the foot of a still-active volcano, which on a clear day offers a breathtaking view. Unfortunately, on the day of our visit the volcano was masked by cloudy skies. Puebla is equally appealing. Our first stop was lunch, which was excellent. Puebla is a World Heritage Site and birthplace of the Cinco de Mayo annual celebration when Mexican Forces defeated the French Army in the Battle of Puebla. French influence and architecture are prominent throughout the city center. It reminds us of New Orleans. Of all the churches we visited, the Church of Santo Domingo in Puebla is the most beautiful. Its intricate and ornate gold gilded art throughout the church is stunning. The memories we developed will last a lifetime. For these reasons, we found the time and cost of the tour well worth it.

Trip was amazing, Cholula is such a fascinating city, full of color, history and churches, yes, 365 churches to be exact (according to the guide) We got to see both volcanoes. Following Cholula, we then drove to Puebla. Where we had lunch (mole poblano). After lunch, our guide took us to a tile factory and then gave free time to wonder around the town.

Great trip, Guide and Choices, we had a great time. The tour was relaxing and very well planned and presented. Overall rating of the visits, the explanation form the Toru Guide, overall great service.

We were pleased that our group of 10 could travel together (they used a bigger bus as we exceeded the 9 person max for the tour) to see another side of Mexico outside of Mexico City. The bus was comfortable and well navigated by our driver. Our guide, Umberto, was a combination of funny, informative and patient with our diverse group of Spanish and English speakers. Lunch was typical for tour groups (not too exciting) but the setting was very interesting--an old convent. The sights and sounds of Puebla and Cholula were worth the 4 hours on the bus. Overall, everyone was pleased with the trip.

All I have to say is AMAZING tour and take it! You will love it!

Had a great time seeing the place. Guide is very knowledgeable of the place and history. Small group is great too. Had a great time!

We booked this trip as an English guided tour of Puebla and Cholula. to be picked up at our hotel by 8.45 am. We had the hotel call the tour operator around 9.00 am, . She was put on hold and eventually lost the connection. As she was trying again the company called back to inform me that the pick up driver was having traffic problems, some streets were closed etc etc. We were picked up soon after that and taken to the "gathering place" where we waited with 7 others until past 10 am for arrival of minibus, Finally left at 10.30 making the tour start 1 hour delayed. The "English" part of the tour consisted of the driver-guide explaining in Spanish to the other people with a short quick English summary between his Spanish commentaries. He was fine and did his best but the experience was very unsatisfactory. When we finally arrived at Cholula,time was an issue because of the late start and the same at Puebla since the time was not extended to allow for the late start.. If I were to do this again, I would try a totally different tour company,

The Driver was lost in both Mexico City and Puebla, killed the van 6 times at stop ebla, messed up the tickets at Cholula, we waited over 30 minutes for the driver/tour guide to return to us with the tickets. He was over 30 minutes late to pick us up to go back to Mexico City, He never showed us anything in Puebla, he passed by the restaurant twice before letting us off. NO TOUR at all in Puebla!!!!!! Very poor expericence

Excellent tour guide very knowledgeable and extremly nice person great, comfortable bus, great food. The only complaint is: we spent way too much time in Cholula and as a result, did not have nearly enough time in Puebla! Puebla is a major historical attraction and a very important city of World Heritage. It deserves a tour of its own. This is the 2nd time we take this tour first time was in 2011. Back then, we only spent 45 min. in Cholula, which was great, because while becoming familiar with the Pyramid and its history, and taking in the stunning view of the church, we were later allowd to spend more time in Puebla and had almost 2 hours of free time there to shop and see the sights. This time, we only had 1 hour. Which is SO NOT ENOUGH!!!! The tour should be more balanced to allow people explore Puebla more. Again, many thanks to the guide, who was EXCELLENT!!!!

CAVEAT EMPTOR. I would have liked to given our tour experience 5 stars because I know it could have been great, and had anticipated having a wonderful experience. Sadly, if I had the option to rate the tour with NO stars I would. The reason is very simple. On the day that we, and a nice group of about 10 other mostly native English-speakers went on this tour, WE WERE NOT PROVIDED WITH A TOUR GUIDE. We did not receive the advertised tour! I'm pretty sure that everyone who accompanied us on this tour were extremely disappointed, and felt short changed. As we were leaving Mexico City with our friendly and capable driver, Ulysses, who bravely led us on this odyssey, we suspected something was wrong, but were given no explanation as to why an English-speaking tour guide did not board the van with us. Was a tour guide going to meet us later on at our destination? Apparently not! We were not offered an alternative, or refund, before we got on our way. When we arrived in Cholula Ulysses led us out of the van, and did his best, I guess, to give us a tour of the archeological site on top of which is perched the beautiful church, Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. My wife and I got barely a glimpse of the interior of the church before being led through narrow passage ways through the remains of the pre-Hispanic temple remains below. Then off to the delightful historic quarter of Puebla where we were left on our own to tour without any guidance. The highlight - we did have a very nice, enjoyable and tasty lunch provided in the Hotel Colonial, getting a chance to chat with some of our friendly tour mates. We were very grateful for that. A corner churro shop was also delightful. We explored the neighborhood around the hotel on our own. Since arriving home, and googling Puebla, I am even more painfully aware how much we missed by not having a tour guide. We didn't bring a guidebook, and really didn't know what we were looking at. Chapel of the Rosary, Church of Santo Domingo, Convent of Santa Maria?? Maybe. Onyx and Talavera ceramics factories?? Definitely not! I've learned so much more about the beauty and history of Puebla since returning home. Sorry for the longwinded review which most people will not have the patience or time to read, but I just had to vent for all of us on this tour. Again, this could have been a really great experience, but our group, unfortunately, was cheated. Luck of the draw, I guess.

The trip was interesting and the guide gave us a lot of information.