Has anyone done a Monarch butterfly tour in Mexico? Recommendations?

I spend winter in Ajijic, definitely worth a visit. From there you can get a butterfly tour with JP of
Magnificent TOURS. You stay right in the Centre of Morelia. That’s the one I did and it was amazing. You do ride horses up and down the mountain and it’s a bit rugged. Some people choose to walk.
Morelia is high altitude and you feel it. It’s another few hours up the mountain to the sanctuary. One of our tour members with emphysema had to stay in town.
Another great provider for a butterfly tour is
Mexico on the road. They also go to some craft towns like Pazcuro while you’re staying in Morelia.
Definitely a memorable trip.

Millie thank you. I am concerned about the hiking portion. I may have to rethink the whole idea

There's 4 main monarch sanctuaries halfway between Morelia and Mexico City (I went as part of a trip to Mexico City). Here's some of the info I copied/pasted into my notes for this trip :
Angangueo is a popular town to base out of.
Sierra Chincua is less crowded but unless you are associated with a tour is takes a bit more planning to get to and from the sanctuary.
If I had any recommendation about this trip and my reliance on travel by bus and taxi it would be that next time I would rent a car or suv and rely on myself and of course google map. If you are happy with purchasing tours and staying in Mexico City then there is no need to rent a car but if you are adventurous and want to see more than a canned tour consider renting a car. You could see multiple sanctuaries or other sites of interest.
We're trying to decide between staying 2 nights in Tlalpujahue or Angangueo or maybe Zitacuaro,
I'd stay in Tlalpujahua for 2 nights. Its a lovely town known for making glass Christmas ornaments plus the town itself is interesting. There's also a mine just outside of town to visit.
From Zitacuaro it is easy to hire a taxi or take a "combi" to one of the nearby towns that are the sites for the Monarchs.

1. Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Sierra Chincua
You do not need a guide for this sanctuary.
You should time your visit to coincide with the sun being high and full as the butterflies are quite dormant early
Can ride a horse up. Also need to hike.
More natural and authentic than El Rosario.

2. El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Reserve
Most touristy, paved walks, short distance
I took the direct bus at 6am to Angangeuo, approx 3.5hrs. Once in the beautiful town I found the perfect English speaking guide to assist me in getting to the reserve - Oscar Reyes Ramirez 715 127 23 08 -- [email protected]. He grew up in the area and is very passionate about the butterflies & conservation.
Everyone must be accompanied by a guide to insure the safety of the area. They are available at the ticket office.
They are less active as the afternoon progresses. I recommend going around noon.
They gave us two pieces of advice - take at least a 2 day tour and get Rodrigo Lopez owner of Travelian Tours as your guide. We did just that - it was excellent advice.

3. Cerro Pelon
I prefer the isolation of Cerro Pelon
Cerro Pelon area is accessible from the village of Macheros in the State of Mexico, about 30 minutes by taxi from Zitacuaro.
Long route. If you are happy on horseback use one! We enjoyed the walk but you have to be fit, it is steep, long and at high altitude. Although far from crowded there were more people there than at Sierra Chincua.
Least accessible, but can see them the closest.
I don't speak Spanish well but it seemed like each person needed a guide (not just one per group) but it was not expensive and I figure either way the money goes to the community and gives them ownership in protecting this gem of nature. The horses looked well taken care of, which was very important to me.

4. Piedra Herrada Sanctuary
We took a day trip out there leaving from Mexico City in the morning and traveled with Leo from Mexicity tours - whom I recommend as well.
It is a smaller sanctuary and two hours outside of the city.
Hike wasn't hard at all. In the end it was about a 45 minute hike.

Chris have trouble finding a link to Mexicity tours

Here's my map of where the sanctuaries are and the nearby towns:
https://tinyurl.com/57pnh5h7 (see the 4 butterfly icons)
I stayed at JM Butterfly BNB and went to Cerro Pelon. It looks like it still gets amazing reviews. I know that the owner recently left though. https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g3915663-d3915666...
Definitely do it if you can. It's certainly one of my favorite travel memories of all time. It's incredible just how many monarchs there are. Use a phone/camera that supports slow motion capture. Note that you need to be there at a certain time of year for peak population of the monarchs (Jan/Feb) although they start arriving in late Oct/mid-Nov.

Excellent info Chris! Thank you!

Wonderful info. Thanks. I'm just trying to find decent price on flights from calgary