Day Trip to Lagos de Montebello from San Cristobal: Enjoy Lakes and Chiflon Waterfall
4.0
12 Ratings
San Cristóbal de las Casas

Embark on this journey to experience the various hues of the Lakes and the Chiflon waterfall, truly enchanting locations!

Duration: 15 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Lago Montebello - can enjoy the different tonality of the lagoons, take photos
  • Cascada El Chiflon - Can enjoy the different tonality of the lagoons, take photos
What's Included
  • Spanish-speaking driver
  • National Park entrance fees included
  • Transportation in an air-conditioned minivan
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Guide
Additional Information
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Location
Portal 9
Portal
Cafeteria Al Grano Cafe. Direccion: Portal Oriente, Local numero 9 Frente al parque central de San Cristobal, 29200 San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chis. Enfrente del Zocalo, Telefono : 967 631 4794 El tour sale de la cafetería Al Grano, el conductor llega a recogerte en ese punto.
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.0
(12 Ratings)
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1 star
Andreyta007
Mar 6, 2024
Peace and tranquility - Peace and tranquility in a small raft of cork tricks, to forget any sorrow, fills you with energy and fulfillment
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Antonio_v
Jan 12, 2021
For adventure seekers! - Jalapeńo Tours made our experience even MORE memorable. We were lucky enough to get a driver who was enthusiastic about San Cristobal's history, culture, and nature. Lagos de Montebello and Cascada de Chiflon is a fun trip for those seek adventure and appreciate nature. Savor every moment, because you are bound to miss something you've never seen in person before.
Review provided by Viator
Josue2701
Dec 14, 2018
Excellent company, would use them again - I did this tour and the sumidero tour. On both occasions they were punctual and stayed very close to the times they promised. I like that they pick you up downtown and you don't have to waist time being picked up. On both tours the drivers gave us info and were very polite and honest about what to expect. As far as English... well on the sumidero tour the girl that interpreted wasn't very fluent and my wife chewed me out because I kept correcting her lol. I speak both languages fluently so it wasn't and issue. Clean vehicles, great staff. It was funny because I booked through viator (TripAdvisor) and picked the wrong date accidentally. The viator staff refused to change date so I contacted jalapeño directly and they went out of their way to accommodate me. Will definitely use them again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rosalindpattyn
Jun 10, 2017
This tour was a full, long day and... - <p>This tour was a full, long day and well worth it. We were driven out to the falls and given 2 hours to explore everything there - we opted to walk up to the largest falls bridal veil and it was well worth it as it is spectacular but we warned, you end up in heavy spray even before you even get to the best view points. Once you are there it is like standing in a heavy deluge of rain only even better.</p> <p>It would have helped if we had been warned about how wet it is even if you don't go to the top - take a dry change of clothes, towels and preferably swim wear even if you are not planning on swimming.</p> <p>From the falls we headed out to Lagos de Montebello. again very beautiful even though the weather was very overcast, the waters of the lakes are more like the colors of the carribean seas. There was a stop where you can buy a trip on a wooden raft out to an island. We had a one hour stop where you can buy a meal and then off to see more lakes before starting out on the 3 hour trip home.</p> <p>Some notes that would have improved this for us if the information had been included in the tour description so that we could be prepared:<br/> 1. As noted above, take swim wear, dry clothes and a towel for the falls this would have made the rest of our day much more comfortable and enjoyable.<br/> 2. It takes 2 hours to drive to the falls from San Cristobal and one hour from there to the lakes.<br/> 3. Be prepared for the one hour lunch stop either have lunch at the restaurant or take a packed lunch with you to enjoy then.<br/> 4. It takes 3 hours to drive back to San Cristobal and we only got back around 8:30 in the evening after meeting for tour start at 7:45 AM</p> <p>I do recommend this tour but do not expect any information along the road, there are only a few comments in Spanish at each stop.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Jassyho
May 1, 2018
Economical Transportation - I would not describe this as a tour, it is more like transportation to get to these places. The driver, who was also the "guide" was quite unfriendly and not at all personable, quite grumpy to be exact. If you are English speaking, most likely you will not understand any of the instructions on the bus/van. I had some knowledge of Spanish which was helpful. There are a lot of tourists in San Cristobal who have limited Spanish skills so it would be recommended that perhaps on one day a week or otherwise, there would be an English tour( transport) option. We visited the tour office on numerous occasions to ask questions and get information on several tours. We did not find the staff to be at all friendly, they dealt with clients in an assembly line fashion. We enjoyed what we saw and we thankful for the opportunity to be in this area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tigerlileeee
Apr 26, 2021
Misleading tour description, ATROCIOUS customer service - My only regret in all my time in Mexico. Was told I’d be picked uo at my hostel at 8 AM and dropped off at my hostel at 8 PM. Was told to bring a swimsuit. First half of day was fine, driving then enjoying El Chiflon (although the tour description says that the lakes come first and the waterfall after). The nature itself is incredible but DO NOT take this tour from this company. My advice - if at all possible take a collectivo, go on your own & camp there!! After the waterfall, it was more driving and then our driver says we are going to stop for lunch. He pulled over on the side of the highway where there are a lineup of five eateries that literally have photocopied the exact same menu on their wall. Which means you have the option of one. This photocopied menu had only four options. Meat, meat, meat, or cheese. I bought a beer and since I didn’t have smaller change, handed the lady a 50 pesos bill. She cracked open the beer for me, took my money, walked away, I took a sip and she never came back. 50 pesos for a beer. I was expecting 20 tops! Truly highway robbery. Incidentally, only about half a kilometer further down the highway there are numerous restaurants with vegan, vegetarian, meat, and seafood options available to please everyone’s pallet but this was not offered as an option. WHY? We continued on our way driving until eventually coming to the Montebello Lakes. We were told ahead of time that there would be an option to rent a small wooden boat to take you around the lake. We arrived at the lakes at 4:10 PM. This can be confirmed by the timestamp on the first photograph I took there which was the first thing I did upon arrival. You get out of the bus and are funneled down a staircase which leads to a concrete platform that ends in water with all the wooden boats lined up against it. No beach, no sand, no water access. We were told we had one hour. One hour to choose to pay the additional for the boat or sit on our butts on the concrete platform and do nothing. No swimming allowed. In order to swim, you have to pay the additional for one of the boats who then will take you to a beach where they permit you to swim. It is a monopoly. Everyone was under the impression that after sitting in a hot bus sweating for 8 hours minus the 2 hrs @ the waterfall in order to reach the lakes, of course we would be able to swim in the “crystal waters”! This is not the case. 7 persons in our group, after being really upset by this, eventually decided to give in and just rent the boat. That meant they were a couple minutes late returning. But only a couple. Meanwhile, Antonio the driver loads the rest of us into the van and drives away. Since I was the only one on the tour who didn’t speak a word of Spanish, I was not in a position to stop him. He drove up the highway a ways and told people they could get out and take a photo before coming back approximately 20 minutes later. The group of 7 were ranging between furious and about to bawl. They were absolutely freaking out because they thought that they had been altogether abandoned near the Guatemala border. Antonio laughed. We then left around 5:30 to drive back to San Cris where we arrived at 8:40 PM. Antonio at that time then Merli parked the van somewhere in the city and told us to get out. When I protested that I had paid to be dropped off at my hostile he extremely sarcastically said, “Finished!” & told me to get out of the van. Interesting that he knew this word since the entire day I hadn’t a clue what was going on as he made no effort to tell me even through sign language where we were, where to go, how long we would be there or anything. I had to ask for interpretation from fellow guests. At this point, having taken multitude of photos throughout the day, the battery on my phone was at 4%. I rely on my phone for directions. If my phone had of been dead I would’ve had no way to message anyone or find my way back to my hostile that night. Thankfully, it held out to 2% battery power by the time I found walked back to my hostel. I followed up this tour with a visit to their office and spoke with who I presume to be the manager. He listened to me and then he called Antonio. He came back and told me that “Antonio said” we were at the lakes for four hours, that drop off to the hostel was not included, and that no one ever told me I could swim at the lakes. Clearly Antonio knows he can lie and say whatever he wants about what happens on the trips and that his boss will believe him over any customer. Even when faced with proof of my photographs timestamp. The manager couldn’t care less that his driver was rude to me, he couldn’t care less about the suggestion of having more options to eat that would please more people would make his business better, he couldn’t care less that his trip description is misleading and has no intention of changing it, and he couldn’t care less that Antonio left seven people behind to think that they were stranded. Lagunas de Montebello is absolutely stunning. El Chiflon waterfall is the prettiest I’ve seen in my life. That’s Gods work. This review is for the company and the men. They deserve zero stars. Please don’t support such bad business.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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1 Adult
May 2024
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