Michoacan/Monarch butterflies

[Barbara]

Hello all,
I'm looking for information for a 3-4 day trip to Michoacan the week after Cervantino to see the Monarch butterflies. There will be 3 or 4 of us. If you have made this trip either by public transport or a local tour group, please let me know. I found a tour that leaves from San Miguel with TRAVELIAN TOURS, but would like to know if there's one that leaves from Guanajuato. Or would you recommend taking a bus to Morelia and then looking for a tour from there? Any recommendations and advice about tours and hotels will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[MarionP]

We drove last year and then booked our tour with the hotel we stayed at. We went in early Dec. and it was wonderful. I would check with some hotels in the area if the butterflies are there, as it seems a bit early.

[Barbara]

Thanks, Marion! I think it is too early. I researched more, and found the butterflies sometimes arrive late October, but usually not until mid to late November.

[sparksmex]

Yep .... late November

Probably easiest to bus to Morelia and have your Hotel find a tour for you. We took a tour from Patzcuaro and it was a full day

[Barbara]

Gracias, sparksmex! The tour guide in San Miguel said mid-February is the best time of all to go.

[roberb7]

Angangueo, Michoacan is, according to Google Maps, 3 1/4 hours from here. It's close to the Sierra Chincua area of the biosphere reserve, and they have a butterfly festival in February. Sierra Chincua is open to visitors from November to March.
I could be talked into doing a road trip to this place.

[DonaldW]

I have visited twice .... Drove once and hired a car from Morelia once, both times in late November. When I drove about 5 years ago there were two hotels I found in Anguangueo. I looked at the $65 hotel and it was too expensive for the accommodations so I stayed at the $35 hotel. They are possibly more costly now, or perhaps not? The blankets I needed at the cheap hotel were so heavy that I had to lift them with my knees to turn over at night. My breath fogged the room and I had to cover my nose at night and later turn on the hot shower in the morning just to steam up the room enough to be able to get out of bed to get dressed. At over 9000' elevation, baby it's cold outside!

The tour from San Miguel is well advertised but a long journey and what I learned from both trips while seeing some of the tour buses that showed up is you don't want a bunch of people around and a tour guide tapping his foot rushing you along; instead you want to spend as much time as you feel appropriate. Worth waiting for when it gets dead silent and all you can hear is the gentle whisps of millions of wings. So for that reason, I'd either drive or sleep over in or near Anguangueo or hire a car out of Morelia like I and some friends did 2 years ago ($100 for the day for 3 people). Either way, I wouldn't do a mad rush of a tour to visit this place if I were you. Spend a few days touring Morelia and perhaps Patzcuaro and when you can head to the reserve from Morelia. Also, there are hot springs in the hills for those brave enough to face such contrasts in sometimes near freezing weather. Better have your flu shots ;-).

Also note that there is a stiff walk up to the actual butterfly location from the parking lot of the sanctuary. Be sure you take enough ($15 - $20 US) to rent one of their human drawn horses to climb the mountain if you're not that hot of a climber at the chilly 9000-10000' elevation. And don't forget your jacket.

[roberb7]

If you keep your eyes open when walking around town, you should have seen posters for Viajes Ramirez, a charter bus tour company. They are advertising two-day butterfly watching trips to Los Azufres (where there are sulfur baths) and Laguna Larga in Michoacan. The cost is 1,000 pesos for transportation and overnight accommodation, which sounds very reasonable. The date range is Feb. 19 to March 18, and the operator gave me a specific date of March 11. You can contact them by phone at 473-732-8370.

[Barbara]

Thanks everyone for the useful information. I haven't gone yet, but will soon. Several people recommended this place, which looks interesting and isn't as touristy as the Rosario Reserve.
http://jmbutterflybnb.com/

[sailsequoyah]

That place looks perfect and the website is really great.

Thanks! Please report back if you go.