Tour Guide Jorge Mendoza Review

Planning a visit to another country can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know the area or speak the language. For these reasons, we always book a tour guide when we vacation abroad. It’s a great way to avoid stress while gaining a better understanding of the local history and culture.

However, finding a local tour guide that is reliable, knowledgeable, and entertaining can present its own set of challenges. So before traveling to Mexico City, we heavily researched some major travel sites and online reviews before decided to book a couple of excursions with Jorge Mendoza.

Continue reading this article for an unbiased review of our experiences with Tour Guide Jorge Mendoza. We’ve also included some insight into a handful of the nearby attractions to help you plan for your upcoming trip to Mexico City. If you’ve already read the reviews for Jorge, here’s how you can reach him by email: Jorge Mendoza.

Quick Review Guide:

1. Our Experience with Tour Guide Jorge Mendoza
2. The Ancient Sites We Visited with Jorge
3. Other Nearby Museums, Markets, and Attractions
4. What Sets Jorge Apart from his Competition
5. Why You Should Consider a Tour of Mexico City
6. How to Book a Tour with Guide Jorge Mendoza

Our Experience With Tour Guide Jorge Mendoza

Jenn and I love history and we studied the subject together at Arizona State University. This obsession caused us to delay starting a family so we could experience some of the places we had always dreamed about. As a result, we’ve had the privilege of experiencing dozens of private tours around the world.

With that being said, our time with with Jorge was absolutely amazing. It is one of the best experiences we’ve ever had with any tour guide. His rates are also very reasonable in comparison to his competitors rates, especially for a private tour. In fact, all of the companies we considered before booking Jorge were considerably more expensive.

If Jenn and I weren’t expecting our first, we’d be probably be booking our next tour with the Jorge Mendoza Tour Guide company now. When we last saw him, he was mentally and physically preparing for his next challenge. I was honestly jealous when he told me the destination of his next tour.

The Ancient Sites We Visited with Jorge

Unfortunately, Jorge was already booked for the day after we arrived. This forced us to use a different tour guide for our trip to the pyramids of Teotihuacan. During the time we spent with Jorge, we visited some of the most important and historically significant attractions we wanted to see that were within the city limits.

Thankfully, this worked out for the best. It also gave us a better chance to connect with Jorge. We really enjoyed his insight into the various ethnic groups that make Mexican culture what it is today. Our tours also gave Jorge the chance to explain the significance of the pyramids we climbed the day before.

One of the sites we had a chance to visit while touring with Jorge was the Xochimilco Canals. Often referred to as Mexico’s version of Venice, these ancient canals are still being created the same way they were centuries ago. While floating down the canal, you’ll see floating juniper branches that are bundled together with crops planted on them.

Other Nearby Museums, Markets, and Attractions

There are literally thousands of attractions to experience and see in Mexico City. We tried to take in as much as we could, but the city is literally gigantic. In fact, almost 9 million full-time residents call this sprawling metropolis their home. During our time with Jorge, here are some of the destinations that we had a chance to visit:

Anthropology Museum
The Anthropology Museum in Mexico city contains a collection of Pre-Columbian artifacts from the Aztec, Toltec, and Olmec cultures. It also contains some Post-Columbian artifacts from the time of the Spanish Conquistadors.

Basilica of Our Lady Guadalupe
The Basilica of Our Lady Guadalupe is the most visited site in all of Mexico City. Every year, millions of people from all over the country of Mexico make the voyage to the Basilica to worship Our Lady Guadalupe.

Chapultepec Castle
This castle is still in use by politicians and foreign leaders today. The Hollywood film, “Romeo and Juliet,” featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, and John Leguizamo was also filed here in 1995.

Coyocan Market
This open-air market is famous for a variety of reasons. Vice once advertised it as one of the best places to buy marijuana abroad, but we didn’t see any. Even without the munchies, the smell of the fresh produce and tacos made us hungry and we had to stop for lunch.

Diego Rivera Murals
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, how about a thousand years? These murals help explain the history of Mexico and the adjustment that followed after the arrival of the Spanish.

House of Leon Trotsky
Trotsky’s house is a only few blocks from the Frida Kahlo Museum. Besides a small plaque commemorating Trotsky, there isn’t much to see. The infamous bullet holes from a week prior to his assassination were repaired decades ago.

Frida Kahlo Museum
This museum was once home to Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera. Paintings and artifacts line the floors and walls to give Frida’s followers a better understanding of her everyday life and the pain she endured.

Templo Mayor
Templo Mayor is all that remains of the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Mexico City sits directly on top of its remains, but this site has models that will give you an idea of how the city looked before the Spanish arrived.

If you’re unsure of what to see while you’re in Mexico City, Jorge can help. He’ll provide you with a realistic expectation of what you can expect to see during your visit. Remember, this city is more than twice the size of Los Angeles, so it’s important to plan ahead.

What Sets Jorge Apart from His Competition

First and foremost, Jorge offers private tours which are somewhat rare in Mexico City. Some tours and excursions are great with big groups of people, but this is not the case with most of the historic sites and ruins that surround the capital of Mexico.

Jorge provides more than transportation and a history lesson. He offers you a real-life prospective into Mexican philosophy. This insight allowed us to better understand the significance of each of the modern and ancient sites we experienced.

We really enjoyed the fact that Jorge Medoza’s Tour Guide experience made us feel like we were his guests. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been on an excursion and watched our guide eat a completely different meal at another table. It was nice to sit down and have a meal together.

Lastly, most of the tour guide companies in Mexico City will drop you off at one of the jewelry stores that they have a relationship with. Most of these stores offer local handmade crafts like silver or obsidian carvings, but the prices are two to three times more than they should be.

Why You Should Consider A Tour of Mexico City

There are tons of exciting things to see and do in Mexico’s capital. Taking a private tour is the best way to get to know the city and learn your way around. The local tour guides also know the best places to go for great views, authentic food, happy hours, dancing, inexpensive drinks, etc.

When you consider the overall cost of a vacation and the use of your precious “sick pay” or “paid-time-off,” isn’t it worth spending a few extra dollars to really get the most out of your trip? Of course you could hire a taxi or take public transportation to each of these places, but wouldn’t you rather sit back and enjoy your visit?

I also have to admit that our experience with a couple of the taxi drivers in Mexico City wasn’t the best. In other parts of Mexico we’ve visited like; Merida, Cancun, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Tijuana, and Cabo San Lucas, the cab drivers spoke more English, and seemingly had a better understanding of the area.

Mexico City is a sprawling city with millions of people and cars sharing the roads. Having a local tour guide like Jorge show you around will save you some stress, and it could prevent you from wasting most of your vacation in traffic. Instead of hopping on buses and flagging down taxis, he took us directly to the destinations we wanted to see.

How to Book a Tour with Guide Jorge Mendoza

At the time of publishing this article, the best way to contact Jorge Mendoza is through email or on LinkedIn. I decided to send him an invite on LinkedIn before sent him an email to let him know that I was serious. I also wanted him to have the opportunity to put a face to my name.

Jorge speaks perfect English and is fluent in Spanish. He grew up in Mexico City and knows the area very well. He’s also down-to-Earth and has more than 15 years of tour guide experience. We really enjoyed his extensive knowledge of the Aztec ruins, Mexican history, Mayan culture.

If you decide to book with Jorge Mendoza, please contact him as soon as possible to confirm his availability. He is a one man show, and he is always in high demand. His current email address is: jorgemendozaturismo@live.com and here’s link to his profile on LinkedIn.

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