Monte Alban Shuttle
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Oaxaca City, Mexico
- 1 to 3 hours (approx.)
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Overview
Travel to Monte Alban with the freedom to create your own experience there. This shuttle service enables you to travel from Oaxaca de Juárez to Monte Alban without being tied to a specific tour or excursion—travel in comfort and safety, and plan your own day. Enjoy eight hours in Monte Alban, then take the shuttle bus back to Oaxaca de Juárez.
- An easy and reliable way to travel to Monte Alban
- Suitable for solo travelers and small groups
- Small group service—you may be traveling with other passengers
- No hidden costs or taxes
What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Travel insurance
- Round trip
- Does not include admissions to the archaeological zone
- Does not include tourist guide
- does not include food or drinks
- Does not include souvenirs
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
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End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Great customer service, on time, and smooth ride. Driver was nice and friendly. Monte Alban is a must see.
Reviews
4.4
based on 93 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
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.
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 Host, Sep 2026
"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."
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 Host, Sep 2026
"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."
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.
Picked up on time. Clean van. Nice driver. Helped with suitcase. Friendly. Confirmed pick up time the night before.
Shuttle worked effectively - it was a nice way to be able to spend your own amount of time exploring Monte Albán
Everything worked fine and was on time. Very uncomplicated and very fair price after all. Very comfy seating and the AC was a blessing.
Does what it says. Not the greatest value as you can probably get a taxi for cheaper if you have 2 or more people.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your honest feedback. We’re glad to hear that our service met your expectations in terms of reliability. We understand your concerns about value, especially for groups. We continually review our pricing to ensure we offer a convenient and comfortable experience that is competitive with other options. Your input is valuable and will help us improve our services for future guests.
Shuttle is easy to find using the phone. Place is beautiful and the guide is super interesting and knowledgeable about the history.
Information dissemination was chaotic and there could also be not enough seats on the return trip but there’s no way to make reservation in advance.
Majority of the staff also don’t speak English and so if you don’t speak Spanish, you may miss out some important information leading to you being left behind
Simple ride to Monte Alban was exactly what we were looking for. Glad we didn’t use a public bus or taxi nor needed a tour guide. This was the best bet and great choice.
Worked as advertised. I have never really had a bad tour but some you want to go solo and this is perfect for that! You decide when to go and at what pace. The ride up is beautiful and the drivers were safe and the van is not that cramped. Greta value
This was a good ride service. We stayed longer than the recommended time and had no trouble getting on the next shuttle.
The trip is pretty much as described. The ruins are actually more extensive than I had thought, with some fantastic views.
Booked online for shuttle to Monte Alban, great experience. Easy walk from Centro to pick up point, then hopped on return after visiting the site
The bus was bigger than the minibus shown in the photo and probably more comfortable. Efficient and on time.
Everything went smooth. If you just want a ride to and from Monte alban I would definitely recommend booking with this operator
I had been to tours at ruins in Mexico City and Guadalajara recently so didn’t want another tour. The shuttle was a nice way to tour the ruins myself and know I had a way back.
All was Great, as advertised, we did not encounter any issues. The bus was on time on both directions
It was very convenient and van was clean, comfortable and air conditioned. We had three hours at the site which was just anout right.
An easy and reliable way to go to Monte Alban. This was easy to book online for the date and time we wanted to visit this impressive site
Easy, friendly and timely transport to Monte Alban. Easy to find meeting place, clean mini bus, friendly staff and was on-time in both directions.
Great customer service, on time, and smooth ride. Driver was nice and friendly. Monte Alban is a must see.
Easy and cheap enough way to see Monte Alban at our own pace without doing a guided tour. You pick your pick up time on the way there and there is a return each hour in the afternoon til 5pm.
It did the trick and was relatively straightforward, but they left late and did not have hourly return options, so ride back was overpacked and people stood.
Reliable and smooth experience. Great way to travel to Monte Alban with a return trip at a fair price.
Buses are convenient, air conditioned, friendly, and flexible. Gave us the chance to take a half day to visit this amazing site and take the time we wanted to walk around.
We took this shuttle which departs from Lesca Tours near the Zocalo. It’s behind a bunch of tents selling things so it may be a bit hard to find but there is a sign that says Lesca Tours. They depart on the half hour from Oaxaca (8:30, 9:30, etc). Buying a ticket on Viator should guarantee you the seat versus if you just show up and try to pay. Our bus even at the 8:30 first bus was full. You get to Monte Albán in about 25-30 minutes with no traffic. The return trip is supposed to arrive at the Monte Alban parking lot on the hour and they seem to have an option starting at 11:00 am which is not on the schedule. If you have an activity afterwards, give yourself an additional half hour because there is traffic going up Monte Alban in the afternoon. Our bus scheduled for return to Oaxaca was supposed to be 12:00 but due to traffic, they didn’t arrive until 12:20 and we made it back to Oaxaca close to 1 pm. They were very responsive when we messaged them, which we appreciated. Overall, it was a great shuttle and a great way to get to Monte Alban without needing to go with a whole tour group which in my opinion, you don’t need a whole tour to visit. Just watch some YouTube vids on the ruins or hire a guide on site.
This is the best way to get to Monte Alban from the city. Shuttles leave frequently, and they are on time, comfortable and very convenient. No hassle!
Very efficient service. We were very impressed when the bus left on schedule and there were no problems reporting in.
From $14.80
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Monte Alban Shuttle
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