Bacalar Fort and Blue Lagoon Boat Ride Combo Adventure

I went on this amazing Bacalar Boat Ride Tour during my cruise, and it was absolutely unforgettable! The Bacalar lagoon is stunning, with vibrant blue and green colors that took my breath away. The staff was so friendly and welcoming, making the whole experience feel special. The visit to the San Felipe Fort offered incredible views, and the boat ride was an adventure in itself. We explored the beautiful Cenote la Bruja, learned about pirates at Pirate’s Channel, and enjoyed a swim in the tranquil waters of Cocalitos. It was the perfect family day out – relaxing, fun, and filled with stunning natural beauty. Highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Costa Maya!

The Bacalar Lagoon is absolutely breathtaking! The colors are so vibrant and stunning, it's like nothing you've ever seen before. The staff was amazingly friendly, making the entire experience even better! We started our adventure with a visit to the incredible San Felipe Fort, which offered breathtaking views of the lagoon. Then, we boarded a boat for an unforgettable ride! We also had the chance to cruise through some incredible spots like Cenote la Bruja, with its crystal-clear waters, and Pirate's Channel, where we heard some really cool pirate stories! The second cenote, Cocalitos, was just as stunning as the first! It had a white sandy bottom and turquoise water. It was the perfect way to spend a day with my wife, soaking in the natural beauty and enjoying the peaceful waters. This was the perfect way to spend our cruise day onboard the Scarlet Lady! I highly recommend this adventure to anyone looking for a relaxing and beautiful escape!

To start, I'm not giving a poor rating to the tour itself as we didn't get to go on the tour. And this review has nothing to do with Viator. Viator is a fantastic company which I have used many times, and I have a number of activities booked in the future with Viator. My complaint is with the tour operator "Next Experience Travel" and especially the third party "The Native Choice" which runs the tour. I will state right now, if you ever see " The Native Choice" make the choice to find another company to deal with. Now I will share our experience with " The Native Choice" in Costa Maya. We arrived in Costa Maya on a Carnival ship along with a Royal Caribbean ship at 8:00am local time. We have the printed instructions that the tour operator emailed us that states in bold print the tour will leave "ONE HOUR AFTER YOUR CRUISE SHIP ARRIVES". The instructions further down on the page states again "PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE DEPART ONE HOUR AFTER YOUR CRUISE ARRIVES AT PORT". It's a 15-minute walk from the port to the Native Choice kiosk. When we arrived, we meet the manager of the Native Choice Eric. After we got checked in Eric told us they were waiting for people from the other ship. Eric also stated that we would be leaving in 20 minutes with or without them which would have been 9:00 the scheduled departure time. A little after 9:00 Eric sent someone over to us that we would be leaving an hour later. I went and found Eric and questioned him about the delay and he replied they were waiting for the other people. I explained to him that an hour delay would give us only about a 15-minute window to get back on the ship on time. Anyone who has been on a cruise before understands that if you are not back on the ship on time, they will leave without you. Eric then said to me they can send us now to where the Blue Lagoon boat ride departs from, but we would have to wait there for the other people to arrive before the boat could depart. I let Eric know that doesn't solve the problem about our time schedule. Eric then told me we could get a private boat, but it would cost us more money. I replied to him that this is his company's scheduling problem and that they should pay the extra charge. Eric said they wouldn't pay for the extra charge and walked away. I followed Eric and asked him if I write a bad review, do you think it could cost the company more than the extra charge for the private boat. Eric said he didn't care if I wrote a bad review and again walked away. At that point I knew we were not going on that tour and the day was ruined. We returned to the cruise ship and spent the day on board. In closing I don't know if anyone reads the reviews or if they do read them would they respond to it. We will be returning to Costa Maya 2 more times in November maybe someone will want to make this right and possibly I will be able to give a more positive review.