The Grutas are run by the Sociedad Cooperative Ejidal de las Grutas Tolantongo. The association was formed in the late 90s by the local families who own the land. All workers belong to these ejido families and each family has a say in how things are run. 

Does a trip to the Grutas de Tolantongo live up to the hype?

🚌 Public transportation from CDMX

​Prior to actually making the journey, it felt as if it was going to be stressful and difficult to navigate but it’s actually pretty easy once you know how (tip: write out/copy these steps and keep them handy as you travel)

1️⃣ Take a bus from the CDMX North Bus Station (we took an uber to get there). You’re looking for platforms 7 or 8 (all the way down the far end), OVNIBUS or FLECHA ROJA direction Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo. This bus takes 3 hours. I recommend buying only a single as you may want to return with the other company depending on the schedules.

2️⃣ When you arrive in Ixmiquilpan you can either take a colectivo (around 15 pesos) or cab (around 80 pesos) to the Microbus station San Antonio, near Mercado Morelos. Everyone will know exactly where you’re going, foreigners aren’t generally coming to Ixmiquilpan for any other reason than to get to the Grutas. We took a cab on the way there and a minibus on the return.

3️⃣ In the Microbus station on the right as you enter you’ll see a very obvious bus-stand for the dedicated bus to the Grutas de Tolantongo. It currently (late 2025) costs $70 pesos per person one way. 

These buses have a set timetable (we arrived with 2 minutes to spare but they kindly said they’d wait while we found a bathroom). Buses depart at 7.30 am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm & 5.30pm and take around an hour to reach the resort. 

🤢 If you get travel sick, I recommend being prepared. On the way there I was absolutely fine because the driver was fairly sedate and I was entirely focused on the astounding views. On the return journey, the driver obviously had better things to be doing and drove at one gazillion km/hour over every. single. speed bump. I had to work hard to not throw up.

From San Miguel de Allende

A number of people have asked me about visiting the Grutas from San Miguel de Allende since it’s only a 4 hour drive from there too. I haven’t been able to find a direct bus from San Miguel to Ixmiquilpan, which means really the only options are to rent a car and drive yourself or to take a tour.

​🚘 Drive yourself

👣 Take an organised tour

Of course, there are always organised tours available – I like to use GetYourGuide and Viator to find my own tour options.

💰 Money talk for the Grutas

🎟️ Once you arrive, you have to pay to enter the site – $230 pesos per person, per day. This, along with every single other transaction you make at the Grutas, must be paid in cash (Mexican pesos, only, obviously).

💰 Every meal, every hotel bill, everything must be paid in cash so please don’t forget to bring wads of cash with you. There is a cash machine in Ixmiquilpan.

🔐 If you do go for the day, there are lockers you can rent for $150 pesos (when you leave and return the key you are given $50 deposit back)

Day trip or multi-day?

If you can, I recommend spending a few days at the Grutas. If you can’t manage it, a day trip is fine but I definitely I think there are benefits to spending a few days relaxing and taking it easy once you’re there.

Where to stay and what to eat?

🏨 There are a number of hotels available throughout the resort but only a couple of them can be reserved in advance.

📱 Reservations are made via Whatsapp for Grutas Paraiso 2 (+52 7721220889) and Hotel Rancho (+52 772 365 6824) – the automated response gives you prices and options for rooms and then you deal with a real human to book the room.

💰 Rooms in the other hotels are only available once you arrive, via the reservations desk. Check the official website for details.

💳 One good reason to reserve in advance is that you can then also pay with a bank transfer rather than in cash on the day, and it’s definitely better to have to carry less cash. Remember, this entire place is cash only. 

⛺️ You can bring your own tent, or rent a tent when you arrive. It’s also possible to rent bedding upon arrival.

Where to eat

On site. Your only real option is to eat on site. Yes, I saw a couple of roadside options as we approached but the reality is that once you’re here at the Grutas de Tolantongo, you’re not going to want to leave. 

🥨 There are a few small shops selling alcohol, soft drinks and snacks.

🍽️ At meal times, you’ll always be able to find a restaurant open and there are snack bars open and willing to feed you throughout the day. And at the weekends there’s barbacoa on offer, which is apparently incredible.

🌮 The menus I experienced aren’t super varied but the food is all freshly cooked and perfectly decent. It’s also, surprisingly affordable given that you’re out in the middle of nowhere. 

💰 A hamburger and fries is $150 pesos in the snack bar. Evening meals and breakfasts in the restaurants a little more expensive but not too much more. 

What is there to do at the Grutas de Tolantongo?

OK, finally, all the important admin is out the way and we can talk about what there is to do at the Grutas de Tolantongo. 

🚐 There are shuttle buses that run people between the various sections of the site if walking between the river/caves and pools isn’t your idea of fun

Cascadas / waterfalls

When I visited, the main waterfall area was closed to visitors due to the fierce storm that had ravaged the region only a few days before so we didn’t get to experience it. I guess it just means I have an excuse to return, right?

There are small waterfalls in the pozas but the main attraction is the large waterfall at the far end of the site in Section La Gruta. Here you can swim under the waterfall, into the caves and tunnel system behind it where you’ll find yourself swimming in cave pools of deliciously warm water, surrounded by stalactites and stalagmites.

You can also enter into the La Gloria park from down here (but yes, you have to pay, it’s a separate area).

Río Tolantongo

Similarly, the river was closed for swimming when I was there. Instead of the gorgeous, warm, turquoise water you see on social media, we were treated to muddy brown, fast flowing, cold water (which is what can happen during heavy rains). That’s the luck of the draw though, right?

And to end, some more useful information

When to visit

As you may have gleaned from reading this article, my timing wasn’t great with my visit. We thought we’d be fine in mid October and we were, mostly.

We had beautiful hot blue days, as you can see from the photos. However, the week before, the region was hit with a massive rainstorm, which meant half the site was closed for safety reasons.

🗓️ A note on days to avoid

If you can avoid weekends and national holidays, I would recommend it because obviously, this is when most people can get there.

👧🏽 Can you take the kids?

Mine are currently 11 and 13 and they were pretty annoyed I went without them. 🤣

I would say that at the weekend or during the school vacation it’s fun with and for kids but during the week it is very much a calm, relaxing place, not one where kids are running around and splashing everyone. We did see a few kids while we were there but they were all pretty small and well controlled.

Had I had my kids with me I’d have been stressed about keeping them quiet and respectful of everyone else’s peace.

(And yes, Mexico is one of the most child friendly places in the world so I’m sure even during the week would be ok, but personally I wouldn’t want my kids disturbing people with their loud voices and splashy hands).

⭐️ As you drive from Ixmiquilpan to the Grutas de Tolantongo, you pass roadside stores selling inflatable water toys so I suspect it can be very busy with kids outside of school hours.

⚠️ I’d watch kids carefully on the slippery steps and paths around the pozas.

💰 Kids over 5 pay full price

→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to packing for a family trip to Mexico

🐕‍🦺 What about pets?

No. That’s all, just no. Sorry, not allowed at all.