Excursión a Chichén Itzá con Cenote Xunáan, Valladolid y almuerzo

The tour was mid. Started off 30 minutes late, but they had good communication when I reached out on WhatsApp. Went to cenote first it was beautiful, but spent more time trying to get sold on stuff in the gift shop than in the cenote. The cenote is private, and won’t even show up on Google Maps, so you can only go to this one through a tour bus event. Went to Chichen itza next, had to walk past 50 + booths yelling at you to try and sell you stuff, and if you dare even stop to take a look you get aggressively sold to. No manners or asking about my trip, and the booths all selling the same stuff start to compete with eachother so the intensity just gets raised. Terrible. Chichen itza structure itself was beautiful, but our walking tour was about 15 minutes with little to no information. Maybe the site is just not as well documented as some other tour guides I have had before. Then waited 30 minutes + for a new bus since ours had its AC break. I would have rather just got o the bus and left, it’s Mexico after all. I appreciate the gesture though. Then stopped at the city Valladolid, a brutal tourist stop, for 1 hour. At this point everyone would have preferred to just head straight home, but we participated in the complimentary “tequila tasting” which was maybe .1 Ox proceeded by aggressive sales, just because I said I liked it (out of kindness). Sales person refused to take no for an answer, and was trying to sell me on buy 3 bottles get 1 free, even though I didn’t have carry on or checked bags. I couldn’t have taken these home on my flight, but this man didn’t care to ask or listen. I simply would have bought a travel sized option but he was too rude and aggressive. Also commented on my phone and said that meant I had lots of money… no I am a broke university student who is in debt. Eventually had to escape this and sneak back onto the bus while the tour guide helped him search for me. Near the end of the trip, the tour guide hoped on the intercom and gave a sob story about how he doesn’t care where we come from and our culture but we are obligated to tip since that’s there culture, and that’s how he makes money… but I didn’t want to since I felt like the experience was mid af and he was just enabling us into all the tourist traps. I then got a death scare which made me nervous for my life. Eventually I got home several hours later than expected. And felt very bummed out. It’s been 2 months since and am still annoyed so that’s why I am leaving a review. Maybe it was because I was solo travelling, maybe it was because it was the low season and people were desperate, or maybe I am just Canadian and am to nice to the locals and they think I am easy pickens, but this event definitely didn’t impress me :/. I would say it’s okay to do if you really want to see Chichen itza on a budget, but be aware at this price point, it’s gonna be a rough time.

This was a wonderful excursion, I was a little bit confused about having to pay the entry fee to Chichen Itza separately since other people in our group didn't have to. I wish all the fees would have been included up-front. But other than that the staff was very nice and helpful, and they took care of us all day long from our hotel pickup to the hotel drop off at night. I would definitely recommend this tour to people visiting the region of Cancun !

Our guide and his whole group were excellent

Be warned this is a very long trip! We were picked up at 0650 and didn't get back to the hotel until 2100.  Keep this is mind because you're only provided lunch which we had at 1130. We were starving when we got back. Also be prepared to buy lots of water.  It didn't help that other guests on the trip were incredibly inconsiderate with keeping to timings set by the tour staff. This is no fault of the tour crew.  The tour itself was great. The cenote was great fun and beautiful. Chichen Itza is also awesome to see.  I don't think Valladoid was necessary for the trip. The team on board were also lovely. Thanks for a great (but very hot) day. 

I cannot recommend this excursion enough! If you are on the fence about booking a Chichen Itza and cenote tour, just do it. It is a long day, but it is incredibly well-organized and worth every penny.Our tour guides, Gustavo and can't remove the other guides name, sorry,were fantastic—funny, engaging, and deeply knowledgeable about Mayan history. Swimming in the cenote was the absolute highlight of the trip. The water is stunningly clear. A huge thank you to the team for taking such great care of us. If you want to dive deep into Mayan culture and see one of the wonders of the world, this is the tour to book! I highly recommend bringing cash in case cards don't work!!

Excellent staff and knowledge of the history and sights we saw coupled with good facilities and experience.

An absolute disgrace Unnecessary stops here there and everywhere The all you can drink and buffet is borderline a scam, as its part of your time at the centote. Spent 5 minutes in the cenote and just about had enough time for one plate of food and one small glass of beer. When you finally get to chichen itza after 7 hours they tell you to be back at the bus in 45 minutes. We Spent longer stopping at gift shops and toilets. I'd nearly dispute this charge on my credit card it was that bad. At the end they hand out feedback forms that presumably go in the bin, so that you dont go to the effort of leaving this review. Refund me and ill delete this. Wasters.

I went into this tour with low expectations, and we were still disappointed by a few things. First off, it took me 3 times to get in contact with the tour company to confirm my pick up time, which ended up being 7:50. They informed me that we had to be ready 10 minutes before at our hotel lobby. We waited half an hour for someone to finally get us, but then the tour company employee made us walk to a meeting point. Why offer the hotel pick-up option if you just made us go to a meeting point on Fifth Avenue? From this moment on, I knew the tour was going downhill. Our first stop ended up not being Chichén Itzá, but rather a quaint colonial town called Valladolid. I found the cathedral stunning; however, the stop was only 25 minutes long. They immediately brought us to a tequila shop for a tasting, and the workers there hounded my partner and I about buying tequila and silver. It tainted my experience, and it made me feel really uncomfortable. Once we left Valladolid, we headed towards Cenote Xunaan. Our tour guide, Manuel—though enthusiastic, nice, and funny—gave us a whole blurb about his Mayan culture, and how we'd get these Mayan birth calendars and horoscopes like him. It ended up being 550MXN each, and the final product looked so inauthentic. Plus, they got my birthday wrong. Once we got to Xunaan, the place was beautifully arranged. We got to see a shaman perform some ritual, which was interesting; but after we had 20 minutes to browse the gift shop. Right away, an employee tried to convince me to buy what was supposed to be a real obsidian bracelet for 1000MXN and, of course, more tequila. She was nice about it, but I just felt compelled to buy something overpriced. I got chocolate, earrings, and shot glasses... but again, it was too expensive. All the fees we had to pay made going to the cenote less entertaining. It was beautiful, but the time to swim was limited and again, you had to rent life jackets for 90MXN. At least, the weather was perfect for swimming. We then had the Mexican buffet we were promised in the itinerary, which was probably my least favourite part of this tour. I forgot drinks weren't included in the package, so after accidentally grabbing a water, one of the restaurant workers aggressively checked my bracelet and said it wasn't part of my package. After I left, he made sure that I paid (which I did in coins), and was so strict about it. I'm fine with paying, but at least be more polite about it. The food was also meh.... our resort had much BETTER Mexican food. After the cenote, we finally made way to what we were the most excited about: Chichén Itzá. Our tour guide gave us some solid tips, but then promoted bug spray for the mosquitos, which they sold for 200MXN. On the bus, they charged us $80USD for my partner and I for the entrance fee, but when I looked at the ticket at the heritage site, the actual cost ended up being $45 Canadian Dollars. So, again, we were fooled into paying more. I did enjoy Chichén Itzá the most. The tour guide was informative, but I honestly wanted more time there. We were only at the site for 2 hours, not 3 like the listing stated. Plus, entering the site was wild because all the vendors try to get your attention and sell, essentially, the same things. Maybe I would've purchased a souvenir there if I hadn't been hounded all morning and afternoon already by the tour guides and the cenote/Valladolid vendors. Anyway, my partner and I did enjoy this part of the tour the most despite everything. Another good thing was that our driver, Jorge, was super fast! We got to Playa Del Carmen under two hours, but this was the cherry on top because guess what?! We had to get off the bus with our tour guide to wait for ANOTHER bus to bring us to Fifth Avenue.... we were dropped off at some random street across a gas station, and we waited for 15 minutes. This left me even more stressed because we weren't familiar with the area, and we had a dinner reservation to get to at 9pm. It was 8 something when the bus finally got us. This was all after tipping the tour company generously. I'm honestly really upset by this experience because Chichen Itza was supposed to be a highlight from this trip. Although everyone was nice, I'm not happy with all the upselling and scams. I get everyone has to make a living in Mexico because I also come from a place facing the same conditions, but this was excessive. I definitely won't be doing this tour again, and if anything, book a private tour or maybe book an excursion with your resort.

We really enjoyed the guide in French. He explained the site very well. At the cenotes we ate well everything was well organized

What they do not share with you is how much extra money you need for this! They stop at expensive shops for you to use the bathroom, and the stores hound you to buy.! Then they do not tell you to bring bug replant, and you can buy from them to avoid malaria!!! Then they ask for feedback and look at response in front of you! They bring tip basket and stand by your seat until you make a deposit… very unprofessional in my opinion…