Costa Maya-Landausflug: Chacchoben-Tagesausflug

One heads up I would give other travelers is to prepare for an extended walk and some climbing. It’s fairly hot so expect to sweat. Otherwise, be prepared to ask questions and enjoy the beautiful ruins. Our tour guide, Ismael was very informative and friendly. He picked us up from the port. On the way to Chacchoben, he stopped and got us some locally harvested pineapple which was the sweetest pineapple we’ve had. He gave us very detailed history and information on the ruins. Ismael was kind enough to take photos and wait on us while shopping, followed by a quick and smooth ride back to the port. I would absolutely recommend Ismael as your tour guide.

Octavio and his team were professional and knowledgeable. Added a local flair by stopping at a fruit stand for a chance to purchase mangoes, pineapple, carambola, etc. Fruit was fresh and the lady running the stand was very sweet. If you like history and time to do a little exploring taking in this amazing area with a small group, and learn a little in the process this is right up your alley. Transportation was fairly comfortable and air conditioned. Cold water provided as it is hot! Bring along some insect repellent too. If you’re coming from the cruise port be prepared for a little bit of a walk. However, very easy to find…just look for the replica ruin and just go past it to get to their office.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. He took his time with us and answered all our questions. We feel like we hit the jackpot!

We had such a wonderful time! Our tour guide and driver were excellent! Our tour really provided so much history. It was amazing seeing the ruins! The staff are friendly and always attended to anything we needed on the tour

Manuel and JC were great! JC knew a lot about the area and the ancient customs. Manuel was a great driver. Definitely recommend this excursion! We loved seeing the ruins. Take bug repellent if going in the summer. We got some fresh pineapple on the way back. It was really good!

The walk to get to the meetup was simple. Once there we were checked in given waters and shortly after got on our bus. The young lady guiding our tour had just graduated high school and was extremely knowledgeable. The driver got us there quickly. I learned way more than I would have grabbing a taxi. From the recent history of the location, to Mayan history she was able to share it all. We got waters halfway through and again water or soda for the ride back. We stopped at a roadside shop and they purchased local pineapple slices for everyone. We also got to try the hot pepper blend of coating on the pineapple which was incredible. I never felt rushed or unable to enjoy the landmarks and the spider monkeys. Considering my daughter and I took this trip for what it would have cost for one of us on a RC shore excursion you cant go wrong. Thank you for a wonderful day.

We had Ishmael as our guide and he was amazing! So knowledgeable! My husband is a history teacher and was totally nerding out with the guide, it was great! The meeting place was easy to find and they were super friendly and informative even while we waited for everyone to show up. They had water for us to drink, which was great because its June and its pretty warm and humid. We walked all around the ruins, learned so much and even saw some wild monkeys! Ishmael stopped by a local pineapple stand on the way back and we all got some fresh pineapple to snack on! We got back with more than enough time to walk around the town a bit and hit up a local convenient store for some snacks and drinks and still shop and get back to the boat early! We loved this experience!

Pretty easy to find the tour group. It is an interesting look at the Mayan culture. We took a leisurely pace, but there is a lot of walking. The temples showed a good understanding of celestial events, geometry, mathematics, and time measurement. We saw a lot of different and unusual plants, flowers, and fruit, and a spider monkey hanging upside down eating that fruit. Only a fraction of the ruins have been excavated and "repaired". That effort is ongoing. There was more shade than we thought; probably could have worn shorts.

We had the best tour guide Juan Carlos and driver Ismael. They were both so knowledgeable and fun. We learned so much ans had the best time.

JC and Ismael were wonderful, professional, knowledgeable, and taught us so much about the region. JC was able to fully answer all of my friend’s questions that were honestly pretty in the weeds. If you want to learn, see the ruins, and meet some pretty cool people I highly recommend this tour.