In shortPachuca sits 117 km from Grutas Tolantongo, about 2 hours 28 minutes by road via the Actopan–Ixmiquilpan highway and the Libramiento a Cardonal. Without a car, PAI, AVM and CONEXION buses cover Pachuca to Ixmiquilpan in roughly 1 hour 38 minutes for MXN 42 to 61, and the cooperative's shuttle takes the last 42.9 km at MXN 80 per person per trip.
117 km / 2 h 28 minPachuca to the park
42.9 km / 1 h 11 minIxmiquilpan to the park
MXN 42–61Pachuca–Ixmiquilpan bus
MXN 80shuttle, per person per trip
Choosing your starting point
Ixmiquilpan is much the closer of the two. The cooperative's distance table gives 42.9 km and about 1 hour 11 minutes for that last stretch, and the town is where buses from the rest of Hidalgo terminate. Pachuca, the state capital, appears on the same table at 117 km and about 2 hours 28 minutes.
With a car, either town works as a base and the only real question is how early you are willing to set an alarm. On buses, plan to sleep in Ixmiquilpan: the cooperative's published returns stop in the late afternoon, while the thermal river runs until 21:00.
The park's address is San Cristóbal, Municipio de Cardonal, postal code 42370, and the official directions page has nothing that carries you from Pachuca into the canyon in a single vehicle. Unless you drive the whole way or hand the transport over to an organised departure, your day includes a change.
- Driving from Pachuca: 117 km, about 2 h 28 min, plus MXN 50 per vehicle per day for a space at the park, with no custody provided
- Driving from Ixmiquilpan: 42.9 km, about 1 h 11 min, the last part descending into the barranca
- Arriving by bus: change in Ixmiquilpan and continue on the cooperative's shuttle or a collective microbus
- Transport handled for you: both departures we list start in Mexico City, with pick-up points there
Tolantongo from Pachuca: the road and the buses
Drivers leaving the Hidalgo capital join the same corridor as traffic coming up from Mexico City. Out of Pachuca you run on the México–Pachuca highway, pick up the Actopan–Ixmiquilpan road and stay with it until Ixmiquilpan, where the official directions have you turn right onto the Libramiento a Cardonal. The mountain section starts at that junction, and the official 1 hour 11 minutes for 42.9 km begins to make sense.
Skip the Santiago de Anaya–El Cardonal shortcut you will hear about locally. The most recent primary reporting on it, from January 2026, found the work unfinished, parts of the surface in poor condition and no completion date announced by the municipality or the state. The cooperative's own directions still send everyone through Ixmiquilpan.
Buses leave from the Central de Autobuses "Carlos Martínez Balmori" on Blvd. Javier Rojo Gómez, Col. Cuesco. The park's directions name PAI, AVM and CONEXION on the Pachuca–Ixmiquilpan route, quoted at about 1 hour 38 minutes when direct, MXN 42 to 61 one way. Conexión publishes roughly 18 departures between 05:15 and 19:15 and about 15 returns; PAI and AVM post no timetable you can read in advance, so ask at the counter the day before.
| Leg | Distance or time | Cost | Where it starts |
|---|
| Pachuca to Ixmiquilpan by bus (PAI, AVM, CONEXION) | about 1 h 38 min direct | MXN 42–61 one way | Central de Autobuses "Carlos Martínez Balmori", Blvd. Javier Rojo Gómez, Col. Cuesco |
|---|
| Ixmiquilpan to the park on the cooperative's shuttle | the final 42.9 km, around 1 h 11 min | MXN 80 per person per trip | Parking area beside the San Antonio church, north Ixmiquilpan |
|---|
| Molanguito to the park on the second shuttle | 8 km | MXN 30 per person | Molanguito, outside the park |
|---|
| Pachuca to the park by car | 117 km in one run, around 2 h 28 min | MXN 50 a day for the vehicle space | México–Pachuca highway, then the Actopan–Ixmiquilpan road and the Libramiento a Cardonal |
|---|
In the terrace pools when they open
Thirteen hours from $137 with the park tickets and an air-conditioned vehicle covered, and a 4:30 am meet that gets you to the water hours ahead of the 09:30 shuttle out of Ixmiquilpan.
★ 4.9/5 · 679 reviews
Ixmiquilpan to Tolantongo on the cooperative's shuttle
The pick-up is not at the bus station. Vehicles go from the parking area next to the San Antonio church in the north of Ixmiquilpan, and the collective microbuses towards Cardonal and the caves use the same lot. The official English price page puts the fare at MXN 80 per person per trip, paid in cash, as with everything else on this trip.
Departure times come from the park's own shuttle page, and on the way down they change with the day of the week. Monday to Thursday there are five fixed runs; from Friday the service goes on the hour through the middle of the day. Timetables on a cooperative service do get revised, so confirm the next departure when you buy your ticket at the lot.
Which run you take decides the shape of your day. The first one down puts you at the gate late morning, and the cave, tunnel, waterfalls and swimming pools all close at 17:00. Take the 15:30 or the 17:30 only if you have a bed inside the park or in Molanguito, where the cheapest room on the cooperative's list is found and where the second shuttle runs 06:00 to 22:00 Monday to Thursday and 05:00 to 23:00 Friday to Sunday.
- Down from Ixmiquilpan, Monday to Thursday: 09:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30
- Down from Ixmiquilpan, Friday to Sunday: hourly from 09:30 to 17:30
- Back from Tolantongo: 7:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30, published without a weekday split
- Fare either direction: MXN 80 per person per trip; Molanguito to the park, MXN 30 per person
Where to take out money before you head down
The official information page is plain about this: there is no cash machine at the park or anywhere near it, and the nearest one is in Ixmiquilpan, an hour away by road. Cards are refused everywhere inside, at the ticket window, the restaurant, the shop and the lodging desks. Reach the Libramiento a Cardonal with an empty wallet and your choices are to turn back or do without.
Do the arithmetic in town, in pesos, and ask for small notes. Deposits are taken in cash as well, so the float you carry needs to be larger than what you expect to spend.
- MXN 230 a head at the ticket window, paid again for every single day of your stay and no use the morning after
- Another MXN 50 a day on top if you arrived in your own car
- MXN 15–20 each time one of you rides between sections, or MXN 150 a leg to have the vehicle for up to five people
- Locker MXN 150, with MXN 50 returned when you hand the key back, available 8:00–17:00
- Four-person tent MXN 250 a night plus a refundable deposit, pitched by staff
- Zipline MXN 300 per person for the complete circuit, over-10s only and a 93 kg maximum
- Rooms from MXN 650 to MXN 2,800, with most doubles between MXN 1,300 and MXN 2,400
Why regional visitors often still book a transfer
The hours inside the park are what make the independent chain awkward. The ticket office works from 6:00 until 23:00, but the cave, the tunnel, the waterfalls and the swimming pools run only from 8:00 to 17:00, and just the river and part of the terrace bank stay open to 21:00. A bus from Pachuca, a wait at the church lot and a shuttle that first goes down at 09:30 take a bite out of the hours worth having.
Both departures we list are organised round trips from Mexico City, which suits regional travellers passing through the capital or anyone who would rather give up the connections than the time in the water. Neither lists guiding in English. If your week shifts, cancelling either one at least 24 hours ahead of its departure time gets your money back in full.
The Full-Day Tour Exploring the Waters of Tolantongo runs 14 to 16 hours, from $134, rated 4.8 across 1,569 reviews, with private air-conditioned transport, a Mexican breakfast buffet including veggie options, a loan kit covering headlamp, sport towel, waterproof phone cover, sunscreen, soap, shampoo and a dry bath towel, plus a snack for the way home. Lunch is pre-ordered from a menu and settled at the end of the day. You make your own way to the rotunda facing the Angel of Independence monument, nearest the Sheraton María Isabel, between 5:35 and 5:50 am.
Thirteen hours makes the Early & Express Tolantongo Hot Springs the tighter of the two options, priced from $137, with 679 reviews averaging 4.9; the fare covers park tickets and an air-conditioned vehicle, while lunch is yours to sort out. If your address falls outside the pick-up zone, they confirm a spot the previous day, generally in Roma or by the Angel de la Independencia, with 4:30 am as the hour you have to be standing there.
Make the call in this order. With a car, drive from Pachuca or Ixmiquilpan and be through the gate by 8:00. On buses, book a night in Ixmiquilpan or inside the park and take the first shuttle down. If neither fits your week, book a departure with the transport included; those meet between 4:30 and 5:50 am.
Questions people ask
Is there a direct bus from Pachuca to Tolantongo?
No line is named for the whole route. The park's official directions list PAI, AVM and CONEXION only as far as Ixmiquilpan, and the remaining 42.9 km go by the cooperative's external shuttle or a collective microbus from the parking area beside the San Antonio church. Budget for two vehicles and two separate fares.
Can I do Tolantongo from Pachuca and back in one day by bus?
It is tight enough to spoil the day. The published returns from Tolantongo finish at 17:30, so you would be leaving while the river and some terrace pools still have hours to run before they close at 21:00. Add a night in Ixmiquilpan or inside the park and it works.
How early should I set off to be inside when things open?
The attractions start at 8:00, while the ticket window is already selling from 6:00. Pachuca is about 2 hours 28 minutes away by car and Ixmiquilpan about 1 hour 11 minutes on the official table, so an 8:00 arrival means leaving in the dark from either town. That is precisely why the organised departures ask you at the meeting point somewhere between 4:30 and 5:50 am.
Is Ixmiquilpan worth a night, and is there anything to do there?
It is the practical place to sleep, refuel and withdraw money before the canyon. Two water parks sit on the México–Laredo highway nearby: El Tephé at km 152, open 8:00 to 20:00, MXN 150 Monday to Friday and MXN 170 at weekends and holidays, and Dios Padre at km 156, open every day of the year from 6:00 to 20:00, MXN 220 general and MXN 160 Monday to Friday.
Does the park still get busy if I come midweek from Hidalgo?
Far less. A park co-owner has put ordinary weekend occupancy at 20 to 30 per cent, roughly 75 per cent on long holiday weekends and 100 per cent on the main days of Semana Santa. The park runs 365 days a year from 7 am to 8 pm, so a Tuesday to Thursday visit is easy to arrange and the cliff pools are much quieter.
Read also
