Private Tour: Ek Balam, Pink Flamingos Sanctuary and Tequila Tasting Factory
Description
Ek Balam translated from the Mayan language as black jaguar, is a well-preserved Maya City which you'll get to visit on this private tour. See its main buildings and then see flocks of pink flamingos in their sanctuary in the Gulf Coast. Finally, go tequila tasting at a factory. Your tour includes transport and a guide.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will be picked up early in the morning and head to visit the famous archaeological site, lost in the jungle - Ek Balam (translated from the Mayan language "black jaguar"). Here, you will see the mysterious "angels" sculptures who guard the entrance to the "kingdom of the dead" in the form of the mouth of a rattlesnake. From the Preclassic until the Postclassic period, it was the seat of a Mayan kingdom. The site is noted for the preservation of the plaster on the tomb of Ukit-Kan-Lek-Tok, a king buried in the side of the largest pyramid.
Then, you will visit the Gulf Coast to ride in a small boat in one of the most beautiful nature reserves of the Yucatan Peninsula. Sailing mangroves, you'll watch a reserve of birds in their natural habitat. You will see the Cayman crocodiles, and you will watch flocks of pink flamingos in their sanctuary. After a walk around the park a natural spa will be waiting for you.
The culmination of the tour will be visiting of tequila factory where you can see the tequila production process and taste this wonderful drink. At the end of the tour you will be transferred back to your hotel.
Sailing mangroves, you'll watch a reserve of birds in their natural habitat. You will see the Cayman crocodiles, and you will watch flocks of pink flamingos in their sanctuary.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
all hotels
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Bring sunscreen, insect repellent and a hat
Reviews(4)
A varied tour with an excellent guide. Boat excursion was fantastic - managed to see crocodiles and flamingos
What a disappointment. This tour started off bad and only because worse. Our guide informed us upon leaving the hotel that the van had been sterilizd and there was no reason to wear a mask. I asked if he has been vaccinated against covid-19. He laughed, "No". I informed him that he was to wear the mask as my wife had not been vaccinated as yet. Ek Balan was ok. It does not compare to the less expensive tour of Chicken it's, however. As a photographer, I was most excited to visit the bird sanctuary billed as a Pink Flamingo Bird Sanctuary. Well, zero birds. The bird sanctuary is at a commercial salt mine. The only thing that was pink was water. We abandoned the tour at this point. My wife and I opted to have drinks at the hotel in Cancun rather than have anymore disappointment.
Dear guest, we are very sorry that you decided to end the tour in the middle and you didn’t take the boat trip to see the wonderful flamingos. The itinerary of this tour is as follows : First activity: visit to the archaeological site Ek Balam Second activity: visit to las Coloradas ( Pink Lake ) Third activity: boat trip tour to see flamingos and lagoon Fourth activity: tequila tasting in Mayapan Our guide informed us that when you arrived at Las Coloradas ( Pink lake), you complained because there was a lot of noise and there were no flamingos that you expected to see. The noise that was there is completely normal because of the salt machines mines in the area, and this is because they are working in the process of making salt. In Las Coloradas you can’t see flamingos. This is only possible taking the boat trip and going to the area of their habitat. There are a huge number of flamingos now. At all times our guide explained to you about that and suggested you not to abandon the tour and take the boat trip to see the flamingos. But for some reason you decided to end it and return to the hotel.
<p>We read other reviews and requested Raul for our tour and we are glad we did. He gave us flavor and history all in a believable down to earth way. He was truly a joy to talk with. Our tour was perfect and the added visit to the salt flats was interesting. The visit to Ek Balam was interesting and a nice addition to the other tours we've taken of the Mayan ruins around the Yucatan. One motivator for us taking this trip was the Pink Flamingos sanctuary. The driver on our boat whipped it around right away to get us close to an alligator wading around and went to extremes to try to get us close to the flamingos. It's never a sure bet if you will see them or get close enough so take a longer lens if you hope to capture them in photos. He took us close to shore to capture more wildlife and grabbed an interesting looking prehistoric creature from the water to show us. Lunch at a local restaurant was a nice addition. The side trip to the Tequila factory wasn't really the factory but stood in for it long ago but still fun to see. Be sure you take money to tip your tour driver, boat driver, guide and waiter at lunch.</p>
<p>This was a wonderful experience. Our guide, Raul, Trip to Mexico was so knowledgeable and so much fun. We thoroughly enjoyed our day with him. We not only learned so much about the experiences that were part of the tour but also about the Mexican culture and way of life. I strongly recommend this tour and ask for Raul, he was wonderful!</p>
