Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve Tours

Visiting the Monarchs in Mexico is an amazing adventure. The sight of over 89 million butterflies will leave you speechless. It’s an easy 3 hour drive to walk through the forest.
Visiting the Monarchs in Mexico is an amazing adventure. The sight of over 89 million butterflies will leave you speechless. It’s an easy 3 hour drive to walk through the forest.
It takes 1,000 butterflies to weigh one pound (.45kg), and the branches on this tree were sagging under the weight. The monarch colony here was quite different than at the more popular El Rosario sanctuary. 40 minutes outside Zitacuaro, near El Capulin, we chartered a couple of tiny mountain horses to take us up the rugged path to view the colony. The monarchs were clustered within a ravine, swirling around a few choice pine trees in search of sunny roosts. Whenever the sun went behind a cloud the butterflies scrambled into the air and back to the safety of the nucleus, knowing that settling down for the night outside the warmth of the colony would mean certain death.
Up to 1 billion monarchs winter in the mountainous pine-oak forests of central Mexico after completing one of the most spectacular migrations on Earth. From November to March they hibernate here, waking only long enough each day to sip water and gather pollen. As the weather warms they fatten up and mate. The males die quickly, but the pregnant females head north to Texas in search of a milkweed plant on which to lay their eggs. Four days later each egg hatches into a tiny caterpillar that feeds non-stop for two weeks before molting into a small cocoon-like chrysalis. Hormonal changes lead to the "birth" of the next generation of monarch, which continues the northward migration. Over the course of the spring and summer three successive generations of butterflies repeat this cycle on their northward trek. By the time the fourth generation emerges it is once again time to head south - a journey last undertaken by this generation's great-great-grandparents. The El Rosario sanctuary is open to visits, but it's a long drive from Zitacuaro and you need to get here early in the day to catch the monarchs when they are active. It also requires some steep hikes at elevations great than 10,000ft (3,000m).
Those are millions of little Monarchs clumped on the threes! Monarch Migration 🦋 Hands down one of the most special events we have had the pleasure to witness. Millions of Monarch wings fluttering to sound like a huge stream, the swarm of delicate orange overhead. Simply magical. .

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Ocean Dream Cancun by GuruHotel

Ocean Dream Cancun by GuruHotel

3 out of 5
Zona Hotelera
Price was $1,904, price is now $681 per person
$681
per person
May 5 - May 12
found 1 day ago
Roundtrip flight included
Chicago (CHI) to Cancun (CUN)
7.4/10 Good! (1,000 reviews)
Great spot to stay restaurant and clubs are like 2 to 3 minutes walking

Reviewed on Feb 26, 2026

Naay Boutique Hotel

Naay Boutique Hotel

4 out of 5
Price was $2,040, price is now $707 per person
$707
per person
May 10 - May 16
found 1 day ago
Roundtrip flight included
Chicago (CHI) to Cancun (CUN)
8.6/10 Excellent! (199 reviews)
The room was spotless. The stuff was nice. It was a beautiful experience.

Reviewed on Feb 16, 2026

Casa Gitano

Casa Gitano

3.5 out of 5
Zona Hotelera
Price was $2,176, price is now $800 per person
$800
per person
May 17 - May 23
found 1 day ago
Roundtrip flight included
Chicago (CHI) to Cancun (CUN)
8.4/10 Very Good! (68 reviews)
Amazing staff, perfect room and location - But the staff were what made the stay excerllent.

Reviewed on Feb 6, 2026

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