Book the monarch butterfly visit for early morning on a weekday and arrange it through the hotel rather than figuring it out yourself the first day. The sanctuaries open early and the butterflies cluster in the trees during the cool morning hours before warming up and taking flight - that mid-morning window when millions of them are moving through the air simultaneously is the thing people come thousands of miles to see, and missing it by arriving too late is the most common mistake first-time visitors make.
Eat at the market. This sounds obvious but many visitors end up defaulting to restaurant meals and miss the specific pleasure of Michoacán market food - carnitas, corundas, atole, the kind of breakfast that costs almost nothing and tastes like it was made by someone who has been making it the same way for forty years. Ask staff to point you toward the good stalls rather than wandering randomly, because the market is large and the quality varies.
The elevation in Zitácuaro means the temperature drops more than you'd expect after sunset, even in what feels like warm months - a light jacket for evenings is genuinely necessary rather than optional, and guests who pack for tropical Mexico and then arrive at 1,900 meters tend to spend their first evening cold and surprised.
If you're visiting during peak butterfly season between December and February, book the hotel well in advance because the area fills up significantly around weekends and Mexican holidays. The reserve itself has visitor limits that are enforced, so having a confirmed plan for your sanctuary visit before you arrive saves real stress once you're there.
The courtyard at the hotel is best enjoyed in the morning before the day starts - fresh coffee, whatever's left from breakfast, nobody else around yet. It sounds like a small thing but it's the kind of quiet that most people haven't actually experienced in a while, and it sets a tone for the day that the rest of Zitácuaro is very good at maintaining.