Monte Alban Shuttle

Exactly as advertised, a...

Exactly as advertised, a shuttle to and from Monte Alban. They drop you off in the bottom lot and give you three hours to go out on your own before returning to the same spot. I’m pretty sure it’s cheaper than a round trip taxi and it’s easy.

via Viator

confusing tour operator and activity description

This is a simple shuttle service to/from Monte Alban. But there are a few confusing details that can not be located anywhere in the description. 1) after purchase, they later tell you that you are required to go to the office to ‘convert’ your voucher into a ticket. Turns out, there is no conversion, you need only arrive before the departure so that they can check your name off their manifest. 2) Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to locate the office as it is hidden behind market stalls. 3) Be prepared, staff do not wear distinguishing attire and their vehicles do not indicate Lescas Tours; this makes it very difficult to identify the company and/or staff at the ruin site. 4) If you take the 8:30am shuttle to Monte Alban, you can only leave on the 12noon shuttle back into town. There is no earlier shuttle and a seat is not guaranteed on a later shuttle. 5) The driver will drop you off at the car park, just below the entrance stairs and he will tell you that this is the pick up spot. There is no signage. For the return, I got to ‘the spot’ early and waited 10 minutes past the pickup time, no shuttle. Lescas doesn’t answer their phone or respond to their WhatsApp number. Upon giving up, I started walking down the hill only to find the driver parked in a lower lot with a different unmarked bus. Bewildering why he didn’t position himself, or another staff person, at the original pickup point to direct folks to the new location?! (Turns out there are 3 different car lots). Cell service is limited up on Monte Alban so you can’t just hail a cab. The walk down the hill into the city center is 2 hours. A few other tips: Go early, it’s less crowded and cooler in the morning. Use the only bathroom at the main entrance and bring your own paper. 2 hours is plenty of time to wander the site with ease. This company has some tweaking to do before it could be a viable go to tour company; if you can find an alternate option it would be a better value for your time, money, and effort.

Response from the operator: "Thank you for your feedback. We would like to clarify some key points, as there were several misunderstandings regarding our service.First and most importantly, the parking lot where our vehicle was parked is the only authorized area by local regulations for buses and minivans; our driver was in the correct designated spot. Our staff always coordinates to be at this established checkpoint, and we regret if you accidentally waited in an incorrect lot. Furthermore, due to the high altitude, cell service is extremely limited up on Monte Albán for all networks, making real-time calls or WhatsApp messages impossible.Regarding our facilities and team, our physical office is fully registered and easily locatable on Google Maps. Both our entire staff and all of our vehicles are always clearly identified with our official company uniforms and logos.Regarding our schedules, return shuttles are actually available starting as early as 10:00 AM, providing flexibility for our passengers. Our check-in manifest is a standard procedure precisely to guarantee everyone's seat and safety, especially during the peak high season of July and August when the region experiences extreme tourist congestion.Lastly, please note that the restroom facilities at the site are managed entirely by the government archaeological administration, meaning their conditions, supplies, and maintenance are completely outside of our company's control. We appreciate your visit and remain committed to offering an organized, high-quality service."

via Viator

Disorganized return and inflexible return time unlike originally told us

Cons: - Reached out to confirm it's going to be a hop-on/hop-off shuttle with flexible return time before booking vai the Viator app (about 3 days prior to the trip), but when checked in with local office a day before the trip, we were told that we had to take the return bus that would only give us 3 hours onsite. There was no flexibility of taking other return shuttles at a different time. I showed them the message with their contact prior to the booking, but the local staff just said they couldn't accommodate that despite what we were told before booking. The staff was friendly, but unfortunately not helpful. - Return shuttle was about 20 minutes late. We arrived 15 minutes before the return shuttle was supposed to show up. Through the entire process, no one onsite or via text to let us know the shuttle was running late. I was trying to reach Viator first and then the tour company, but the cell reception was not great up on the mountain. We tried to remain calm and finally a shuttle with the tour company's local showed up, but the driver didn't speak English. Via other people, we were told the return shuttle for us was running late. The entire return process was extremely disorganized and stressful, not knowing if or when the return shuttle was going to show up. Pros: + Easy to locate their office right off the Alameda de Leon, though it's behind the fair stalls during street fairs + Generally friendly and courteous staff + Short walk from local office to the outbound shuttle embarking point

Response from the operator: "Thank you for sharing your detailed feedback. We sincerely apologize for the frustration and stress caused by the conflicting information regarding our return schedules and the delay of your shuttle.We are actively auditing our communications on the Viator platform to ensure our online support messages align perfectly with our office operations; we understand how frustrating it is to receive contradictory instructions. Regarding the 20-minute delay, your trip took place during the peak high season, which brings extreme tourist congestion and heavy traffic on the mountain's single access road, unfortunately shifting our transit times. Additionally, as you experienced, cellular reception up on the mountain is highly limited for all networks during these crowded months, which completely prevents our team from sending real-time text updates or receiving calls.We are glad to hear our staff was friendly and that our location was convenient for you. We take your experience very seriously and appreciate your patience and understanding regarding the seasonal challenges."

via Viator

Take the 8:30 am departure

Take the 8:30 time departure since it gets you up there early. In addition you get back to town early. We went up on a Sunday morning and it was free for the locals. It was very busy up there but we really enjoyed Monte Alban. What an amazing place. We headed down to the parking lot to take the 12pm return bus. The traffic was so bad that the 11am departure had not left by 11:20am so we were lucky to get on early. The bus driver was amazing driving the narrow mountain road. It was not his fault that he was not on schedule. Several turist busses blocked his departure from the parking lot, and it was a zoo going downhill with the masses parking along the narrow road making a 2-way passage a real challenge. Take the early departure or your departure time will probably be late.

via Viator

Safe driver. Punctual.

Picked up on time. Clean van. Nice driver. Helped with suitcase. Friendly. Confirmed pick up time the night before.

via Viator