Tulum Coba & Cenote desde Playa del Carmen

First and foremost, Tulum and Coba are definitely worth visiting. They are great sites to get to know Mayan history. What did not blow us away: - All stops were too short. Stated were 90 minutes per site and 60 minutes for the Cenote not including lunch; we got 75 minutes in Tulum, 50 minutes in Coba and 60 minutes at the Cenote including lunch. The sites, however, are rich in history and natural beauty around, so each visit felt too short (which it was) and we barely covered all the basics. It felt like missing out. - The full tour was also too short; stated are 12 hours; we got (if we’re being generous) about 10.5 hours between pick-up and drop-off; this 10.5 hours included a 60 minute wait at a gas station to wait for our main vehicle to arrive, in the morning, instead of seeing or learning about anything. - We booked the plus option which was worth it for the drinks on board, we got 3 waters each. However, the snack was a gas station sandwich with no juice or fruit in sight (stated was a sandwich, juice, fruit and sweet). - Each participant of the tour had a different booking with a different fare and extras to pay; so it took about 1-1.5 hours of driving time just to get all payments in order instead of learning about Mayan history. Our booking stated an extra payment of 35 USD + 4 USD in the van. Aboard the vehicle, the 4 USD turned into 5, and a “service fee” of 1.6 USD was added per person, so each of us was asked to pay a total of 41.6 USD. However, if you choose to may in MXN, the exchange rate applied is 1 USD : 20 MXN (the real exchange rate being around 1:17 at the time with most shops charging 1:18), so the fee was even higher in MXN. - Our guide “Mundo” was generally friendly-ish, he created a persona for himself where he removes himself from any problems “the company” has created in the tour, which is smart. Whenever things weren’t going his way, he got impatient. On board of the van, he sold three souvenirs of Mayan history printed on tree bark paper for extra cash (the tree of life, the codex Dresdensis and a personal moon calendar); the items were interesting but we’re not sure how appropriate the selling was. We hope the manufacturers get a fair share of the 30-40 USD each item was for sale for. The details he gave in Tulum were okay but quite specific and anecdotal; we would have appreciated a more comprehensive view into the history of the Mayans or the site itself. This way, we read up on it after the tour. - The lunch had Mexican options which were generally nice in taste; the agua fresca with hibiscus flavour was included in the plus option and very nice. There was an option to purchase dessert (Marquesitas) which we didn’t try. - The Cenote Kuxtal was okay; not the best, not the worst. There are changing rooms and showers but the showers didn’t yield any water. There was a rope to climb from the water and a swing, but the best was to swim or float in the water and observe the life within the Cenote. We didn’t have time to fully enjoy that. Other aspects for visitors of Tulum and Coba to know: - Tulum is generally sunny with few options for shade; we were only told on the van that disposable water bottles are not allowed to be brought in. Permanent water bottles are allowed. - Coba is in the jungle; there are options to walk, take a bicycle or be taken in a tricycle to explore. If you are able to walk 2 kilometres and have the time, we suggest the walking option because it gives you most freedom to explore the site. There are signs to read at different places. All in all, Tulum and Coba are amazing sites to visit and we suggest everybody to take a tour or rent a car to do so. However, do not take THIS tour. There are surely better ways to spend a day on the sites than we were given.

Edmundo gave a great tour and was very friendly. I would recommend this activity for fit people, but it does get very hot, so more time to eat and more time to swim would be nice.

We had an excellent time seeing Tulum, Cobá and a cenote! Our guide Pablo was fantastic. He seamlessly lead the tour in both English and Spanish. He was knowledgeable and passionate about Mayan culture.

Great tour, went with our 14 year olds. Everyone enjoyed the ruins, food, and jumping into the Cenote!

My husband and I had traveled to Tulum and Coba 15 years ago without a tour guide and kids but this time, since we wanted our kids to have the experience we went with the Viator tour. It was one of the only tours that combined the two locations plus a cenote and was affordable. Our tour guide was Herlan. He was an amazing teacher and storyteller and made the experience even better than our first trip there because we learned so much! Tulum was beautiful, Coba was really interesting and the kids liked being able to bike to the sites. The cenote was an added bonus. My daughter loved jumping in from the 10-15 foot above. Thank your Herlan for making this a very special and memorable trip!

The tour is very nice, but the logistics organization left to be desired, we received a voucher informing pick up time was 7h10, we arrived at 7h and the operator did not appear, I contacted Viator who could not speak c operator and passed me contact wzapp, who after a few moments informed that the pick up time would be 9h15, then stopped at a point p to change a car and on the sidewalk to pay the fees, that is, we lost a good time with it because they could charge inside the car, when we arrived Coba we had to wait for the bracelets, that tbem could already be ready. The guide was very good, the tour in Coba interesting is beautiful photos, Simple meal in Cenote, but ok,

Such a fab day! Our guide Zeferino was wonderful … so much fun and knowledgeable and clearly very passionate. Such a varied day with some history, rituals, swimming, biking. A really nice mix. It is a long day though with a lots of travel in a bus on Mexican roads to get to places we needed so just be prepared for that 😃

Found this tour chaotic. There was a lot of confusion amongst the passengers at the start of the tour over tax, with everyone being told different amounts (assuming they’d booked through their hotels). The tour guide didn’t have a clue what was going on. He simply said it was all done through an app and out of his hands. We didn’t reach Tulum until gone 11am, and there was a lot of waiting around. Information about the site was sparse. Most people simply wondered off on their own. And that was the sum of information we got from our tour guide. At Coba, we were just told to go off and meet him in an hour. The timings of the tour were really off. We have three kids and by the end of the tour at Tulum, they were starving. But dinner wasn’t factored into until much later in the day. A sandwich was provided, but we did have to ask. Tulum and Coba are great places to visit, but because the tour was running so late, by the time we got to the cenote, we had to rush eating in order to have time for a quick swim. The tour guide was nice enough, but he didn’t seem to be a man who liked his job much. I don’t even know his name - there was little interaction. My husband and I did a similar tour 15 years ago before we had children, and it was infinitely better. It simply needed to be much better organised. Also, it would’ve been helpful if the tax was included in the cost of the trip. It would’ve save a lot of confusion and time. Overall, it was an expensive trip and not worth the money.

Mundo was extremely knowledgeable! It is an all day event. Great experience. We had a lot of fun. I would highly recommend.

The most important thing: Don't forget mosquito spray:) The tour was very interesting and exciting - our guide Tony very nice. He shared a lot of details about the Mayans and the drive to Tulum and Coba was not boring. Gracias a Tony :)