- Where
- Kawiil secret party, Xochimilco canals, Mexico City, CDMX
- @kawiil_
- Reviewed
- June 15, 2026 · updated September 17, 2026
Mexico City · experience
Kawiil secret party, Xochimilco
Kawiil, Xochimilco: the occasional island party you reach by boat through the Mexico City canals
A whole different side of Xochimilco: take a boat deep into the canals to a magical island turned into a glowing Mayan-inspired art world: sculptures, lights, and incredible artists. They don't run it regularly, just drop a date and it sells out, so follow the venue and watch for the next one.
A one-off art and music event staged on a chinampa island deep in the Xochimilco canals, with Mayan-inspired sculpture, lights and live artists, reached by trajinera rather than by road. Here is what it is, how a visit works, what tickets have cost, how to catch a date and how to get to the canals.
Quick facts
- What it is
- An occasional art and music party on an island in the Xochimilco canals
- Getting in
- By trajinera from an embarcadero · the boat ride is part of the event
- Price
- 460 to 9,000 MXN at the documented 2023 edition, tiers vary by event
- Dates
- Irregular. A date is announced, then it sells out
- Booking
- Instagram @kawiil_ · tickets through the platform named in each announcement
- Getting there
- Xochimilco, near the Pista Olímpica Virgilio Uribe rowing course
What the Kawiil party is
Kawiil, written K’awiil, is an event staged on an island in the Xochimilco canals, in the far south of Mexico City. You do not walk in. You board a trajinera, the flat-bottomed painted boat that Xochimilco is known for, and are taken through the waterways to a chinampa, one of the artificial farming islands that fill the canal system, which has been turned into an art environment for the night.
What is on the island is sculpture, lighting and installations with a Mayan-inspired look, plus live artists and music. K’awiil is a Maya deity connected to lightning, maize and abundance, and the event borrows that imagery for its design rather than staging anything historical.
This matters for planning: Kawiil is not a venue with opening hours. It runs occasionally. A date gets announced, tickets go on sale, and the edition sells out. Between dates there is nothing to visit. The address listed for K’awiil México on venue directories is at the Pista Olímpica Virgilio Uribe in Xochimilco, the Olympic rowing course next to the Cuemanco canal, which is the land side of the operation rather than the island itself.
Who runs it
Kawiil operates as its own venue and brand, with the Instagram account @kawiil_ as its only reliable public channel. It has also hosted events produced by outside promoters. The best documented of those is Open Air Sun Party, produced by Vivo Sessions under its founder Habacuc Guerrero, which used the Kawiil island for a fourteen-hour electronic music event with two stages, named Sol and Luna, plus rest areas, food, a market, a makeup stand and a meditation space, and an announced dress code described as ancient bohemian.
Because the programming changes from edition to edition, the promoter named in the announcement tells you more about what a given date will be like than the Kawiil name alone does.
How a visit works
The sequence is the same each time, even if the line-up is not.
- A date appears. It is posted on Instagram, with the ticket link and the boarding point.
- You buy for a tier. Editions have had multiple price levels, from general entry to premium packages.
- You arrive at an embarcadero in Xochimilco. The specific dock is named on the ticket, not fixed across events.
- You board a trajinera. Boats leave to a schedule. At Open Air Sun Party, boarding opened at 11:00 for a daytime start.
- You cross the canals. The ride is slow and is treated as part of the event rather than as transport.
- You are on an island until the boats go back. There is no leaving early on foot, which is the single most important thing to understand before buying a ticket.
What I found on the island
When I filmed in June 2026, this was a completely different side of Xochimilco to the daytime boat circuit: a ride deep into the canals to an island turned into a glowing, Mayan-inspired art world of sculptures and lights, with artists performing on site. The organisers do not run it on a regular calendar. They drop a date and it sells out, which is why following @kawiil_ is the only reliable way in.
What it costs
There is no standing price list, because there is no standing event. The figures below are from the best documented edition held at Kawiil and are a guide to the shape of the pricing rather than a current tariff.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| General entry, Open Air Sun Party edition | from about 460 MXN, about 25 USD |
| Higher tiers, same edition | up to 9,000 MXN, about 480 USD |
| Top tier extra | included a helicopter flight over the canals |
| Food and drinks on the island | sold separately |
| A standard Xochimilco trajinera, for comparison | a few hundred pesos per hour, hired at the dock |
Two practical notes. The spread between tiers is very wide, so read what each tier actually includes before buying. And because the island is a closed site, whatever you eat and drink there is priced at event rates, not neighbourhood rates.
How to book
- Instagram: @kawiil_ is where dates, line-ups and ticket links are published. The account is age restricted, so you need to be signed in to see it.
- Tickets: sold through whichever platform the announcement names for that edition. There is no permanent box office.
- Timing: buy on the day a date is announced. From what I saw, they drop a date and it sells out.
- No phone booking: there is no public reservations line for the island.
If a date does not exist when you are in the city, there is no alternative way to see the island. The rest of Xochimilco, however, is available any day.
Getting there
- Area: Xochimilco borough, in the far south of Mexico City, roughly 25 to 28 km from the historic centre.
- Listed address: Pista Olímpica Virgilio Uribe, Xochimilco, Mexico City 16034, beside the Cuemanco canal. Use the embarcadero named on your ticket instead if it differs.
- Public transport: Metro Line 2 to Tasqueña, then the Tren Ligero to Xochimilco, then a short taxi to the embarcadero. Allow ninety minutes from central Roma or Condesa.
- By car or taxi: 60 to 90 minutes from central Mexico City depending on traffic, and longer on a Friday evening.
- Getting back: arrange the return before you leave. Ride hail coverage around the embarcaderos thins out late at night, and the canals themselves stop being an option once the boats finish.
Before you go
- Read the ticket for the dock. Xochimilco has several embarcaderos and they are not close to one another. A map pin for the venue name is not the boarding point.
- You are committed once the boat leaves. There is no walking out. Plan the whole night, including the ride home.
- Bring cash. Card coverage at the embarcaderos and on the island is unreliable, and there are no ATMs on a chinampa.
- Dress for open water at night. The canals are cold and damp after dark even when the day was hot, and the ground on the islands is uneven. Bring a layer and wear shoes you can stand in for hours.
- Bring repellent. It is a wetland.
- Make a day of Xochimilco. The canals, the chinampa farms and the Saturday plant market at Cuemanco are worth the trip south on their own, and the borough is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Pair it with dinner in the city. Get back north and eat late at Voraz in Roma Sur, where the kitchen runs to 23:00 and the bar until 01:00.
- Check the hours before you go. The hours on this page come from the venue’s public listings, which drift, so confirm on Google Maps or the venue’s own channels before a special trip.
Watch the visit
The reel above is the short version of the crossing and the island at night. For the rest of the city, open my map or browse the Mexico City recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Kawiil party in Xochimilco?+
Kawiil is an event venue and party series staged on an island in the Xochimilco canals in southern Mexico City. Guests board a trajinera, the flat-bottomed painted canal boat, and are taken through the waterways to a chinampa island dressed with sculpture, lights and installations, with live music and artists on site. It is not a permanent bar or club you can walk into.
How do you get tickets to Kawiil?+
There is no fixed calendar. Kawiil announces a date on Instagram at @kawiil_ and sells through whichever ticketing platform that announcement names, and the dates go quickly. The practical approach is to follow the account and buy on the day a date is posted rather than planning a trip around it.
How much does the Kawiil Xochimilco party cost?+
Prices depend on the edition and Kawiil does not publish a standing price. The clearest documented example is the Open Air Sun Party held at Kawiil, where tickets ran from about 460 MXN to 9,000 MXN, with the top tier including a helicopter flight over the canals. Expect food and drinks to be sold separately on the island.
Where is Kawiil in Xochimilco?+
Listings place K'awiil México at the Pista Olímpica Virgilio Uribe in Xochimilco, Mexico City 16034, the Olympic rowing course beside the Cuemanco canal. The island itself has no street address, because you arrive by water. Each event names its own boarding embarcadero, so use the address in your ticket confirmation and not a map pin.
How long does the boat ride to Kawiil take?+
The trajinera ride is part of the event rather than a transfer, and it runs deep into the canals away from the tourist stretch. Plan for a slow journey each way, in the range of thirty minutes to an hour depending on the embarcadero used for that edition. Boats run to the event's schedule, so arriving after the last departure means not getting in.
What is there to do at Kawiil?+
The island is set up as an art environment: Mayan-inspired sculptures, lighting installations and live artists, with music as the spine of the event. The one edition with detailed public documentation, Open Air Sun Party, ran fourteen hours across two stages with rest areas, food and drink, a market and a meditation space. Each Kawiil date is programmed differently.
What does the name Kawiil mean?+
K'awiil is a Maya deity associated with lightning, maize and abundance, often shown with a torch or an axe in the forehead and a long snout. The Kawiil events in Xochimilco borrow that iconography for the sculpture and lighting rather than presenting anything historical. It explains the Mayan-inspired look of the island.
Is Kawiil the same as a normal Xochimilco trajinera party?+
No. The standard Xochimilco experience is a rented trajinera with beer, mariachi and floating vendors, bookable any day at the main embarcaderos for a few hundred pesos an hour. Kawiil is a ticketed one-off event at a private island destination, with production, art and a line-up. The boat is how you get there, not the party itself.