Chichén Itzá, Transport, Mittagessen, Cenote und Valladolid.

Perfect service and experience!!

In exchange for roughly $189 USD per person of tour fees, entry fees and mandatory life jackets rentals, and about 12 to 13 hours of your life, and whatever you can afford to buy in drinks at a 500% markup, you will get: 20 minutes inside the waters of a Cenote with a zip line and jump off platforms. 30 minutes watching a ridiculous Mayan reenactment. 1 hour eating highly mediocre buffet style food. 1 hour baking at Chichen Itzá during peak heat. 17 minutes sprinting through Valladolid. The remaining 10+ hours of this tour will be spent trapped inside a cramped van with non-existent air conditioning or being aggressively subjected to repeated sales presentations. Our Experience: The Detailed Breakdown: The Logistics & The "Sweat Box" - We had thought we were saving money by using a discount through a pre-paid tour package. However extra fees paid directly to the tour operator “Caribe MEX tours” resulted in us actually paying more than if we had simply done things without a tour guide. Scheduling via WhatsApp with Caribe MEX tours (who is the tour coordinator) was easy enough. We were staying at an Airbnb, so we were given a nearby hotel pickup point. We were told to be there by 7:10 AM; the bus arrived late at 7:25 AM. Not a huge deal, as we were excited. Then we saw the vehicle. If you are from the US, picture a Dodge Sprinter van. There were 13 passengers plus a driver and guide. The legroom is atrocious— no room between your knees and the seat in front of you. Worse yet, the air conditioning was a joke from the start, emitting a mere trickle of air from the overhead vents. Immediately upon hitting the road, the guide collected the Chichen Itzá entry fees. For my family of four, this was (Can’t say per review guidelines). The Itinerary Bait-and-Switch The discount tour website explicitly implies you will head to Chichen Itzá first to enjoy 2.5 hours of exploring before the crowds and heat descend. "You'll be picked up from your hotel and taken to Chichén Itzá where you'll have two and a half hours to wander around..." This is entirely false. You do not even go to Chichen Itza first..or even second, or third. When I pointed out to the guide that arriving after 11:00 AM means dealing with unbearable peak heat, massive crowds, and hundreds of aggressive vendors, he claimed he had "no control" over the route. Stop 1: The Rushed Cenote Instead of the ruins, we went to a Cenote first. Here, we discovered life jackets are mandatory and cost an extra (Can’t say per review guidelines) we only spent 15 minutes here, by the time life jackets were distributed and changing time was factored in, our kids had barely 30 minutes of total time, resulting in maybe 20 minutes in the actual water. This was tragic, as the Cenote was the only good part of the day. Stop 2: The High-Pressure Sales Floor The second stop wasn’t Chichen Itzá either. It was a second "cenote" property designed exclusively as an aggressive sales trap where we spent the bulk of our day. The "Shaman Blessing": Advertised as an important cultural ceremony, this was actually a young man passing wet leaves and a smoking bowl of rocks around in stifling, bug-infested heat. The Obsidian Scam: This immediately segued into a presentation on the "healing properties" of obsidian. The presenters used standard applied kinesiology/leverage tricks to fake a demonstration of physical strength, even falsely claiming that Johns Hopkins Medical Center uses these rocks for energy healing. (Fact check: They absolutely do not). The Rest of the Gauntlet: We were marched past teenagers doing a half-hearted Mayan ball game demonstration (and demanding tips), followed by being dumped in front of tables littered with Mayan related souvenirs, then offered a tequila tastings meant to force a purchase. Throughout this entire two-hour sales trap, we were never offered water fountains, or even a place to sit. Stop 3: Midday Lunch By 10:30 AM, it was apparently time for lunch. We were served a low-to-mid-grade buffet. No drinks are included—not even water. If you want a flavored beverage, expect to pay $5.50 USD with zero refills. When we got back into the van after lunch, the true nightmare began. The van had been baking in the sun. Pack 15 human bodies radiating heat into a metal container on wheels, and you get a rolling oven. Water began dripping from the broken overhead AC vents onto my head. Stop 4: Chichen Itzá at 1:00 PM (Peak Heat) We finally arrived at the ruins at 1:00 PM. The sun was blinding, the heat was dangerous, and we were entirely out of water because the tour never stopped at standard local stores (like OXXO) where water is cheap. The single refreshment kiosk at the ruins charged a 550% markup compared to normal Mexican prices. After being forced to pay those exorbitant prices just to keep my family hydrated, we walked down a path lined with hundreds of incredibly aggressive vendors shouting for our attention, time and money. Our actual guided tour lasted 40 minutes, leaving us with a mere 15 minutes of free time to actually look at the ruins before we had to sprint back to the parking lot to avoid being left behind. Stop 5: 17 Minutes in Valladolid & The Final Audacity The "Magical Town of Valladolid" was reduced to a rushed 17-minute stop. The tour guide explained that the police wouldn’t allow us to stay any longer. I suspect that it was actually because the tour guide and the driver just wanted to get home. No one really argued because everyone was miserable, dehydrated, and desperate to get home. We didn't view architecture; we ran to find fluids, ice cream, snacks and bathrooms (it cost money to use bathrooms). On the brutal drive back, I walked to the front of the van to ask the guide to turn up the air conditioning. I discovered that the driver and tour guide were basking in a blast of ice-cold air from the front vents while the guide played on his phone with his feet up. He promised to fix the air conditioning in back; he never did. To cap off a truly miserable 13-hour day, as we neared our drop-off point, the tour guide stood up and announced to the exhausted, sweating cabin that a tip was expected. The sheer audacity was mind-boggling. Final Verdict Do not waste your time, money, or sanity on this tour. It is a poorly air-conditioned sales gauntlet disguised as a cultural excursion. Save yourself the headache and book a private driver or a reputable alternative.

This was all day but we came prepared with extra snacks, water shoes, sunscreen, charges, towels, drinks etc which made all the difference. We brought cash and had fun haggling with vendors at each location. Sometimes it was hard to understand between the Mexican and English. The bus was comfortable for sleeping. We learned a lot about the Mayans and the chicen itsa was very cool. We felt super safe it did cost $150 more ($50 per peraon) or so than the $25 (per person) purchase price on Viator when we got on the bus I think the $25 is just for the transport to the meeting point and then you have to pay the actual tour folks for the tour chichen itsa entrance the life vests and extras etc they really want to share their culture and we got local honey and we learned and we had a good day. Yes it would’ve been easier to sit at the look all day and burn but I don’t think it’s as educational or productive the lunch buffet was fantastic o super amazing lunch - I would only say they need a Starlink on the tour bus service was non existent

The trip was great!!! The experience was amazing. The guide was friendly and fun but, the booking website faulty, it said transportation was included but it wasn’t true, i had to paid for transportation before boarding, I don’t mind paying for transportation but let me know up front so am not blindsided about the cost

Im sorry im so late doing this. A massive thank you to JORGE 38,,the driver Juan and the 3rd part of the trio who ensured things got done like keeping us all watered and looked after us. Jorge 38,the guide was just fantastic,im a tour guide myself so i know how things need to be and Jorge in his professionalism done a great job.I didnt know the Mexicans could be so funny,so thank you Jorge for making the tour what it was and is. Fantastic driving too,felt perfectly safe,happy and comfortble on the bus. the 3rd part of the trio,i forget his name,im sorry!, was the glue that kept it all together and i would hate for his massive contribution he made to the day went unsaid. All in all ths trio knew their stuff and it was because of those 3 i had a fabulous day. The food and stops were brilliant andi have to say this was one of the best tours i have ever been on and that includes my own! I really hope you get Jorge 38,because if you see Jorge 38 you are guaranteed to have a great day for a great price. Thank you so much. Kensi. From Ireland.

THE OFFICIAL GUIDES deceive you The guide who, surprisingly, was OFFICIAL (Luis Cima), deceived us; it was a scam. The visit... well... we arrived at full speed at the tallest structure of the complex "Temple of Kukulkán"; he stood in front and showed us images and photos on a tablet, then he got us tangled up at one of the stalls to show us the great powers of Maya obsidian... etc... and time ran out... (which was 2 hours); they closed the complex and we couldn't get close to the structures or anything... since the guide was more interested in the "craft" stalls than in the Chichen Itzá complex. He left us alone there and ran off... but ran off, a deception, but very sad, a deception. I do not understand how such an important place, which is not easy to access, can be deceived by an "OFFICIAL GUIDE." Of course... it is difficult for you to return, you are a Spanish tourist, EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED.

The best tour of my life in Cancun

The amount of taxes and contributions related to the facility (paid on the day) was more than double the amount paid to the travel agency. You should show the tour price from the beginning, including the amount.

Rodrigo, Luna, and Daniel were great, very friendly and lively with lots of information.

Fun tour. On time. Great information and good customer service.