Guided Tour to Chichén Itzá with Cenote, Lunch, and Transportation

Our guide was awesome and very knowledgeable.

It’s a long day, that’s for sure. That being said, it was SO fun. The stops at Chichikan and Chichen Itza were fascinating and pickup and drop off couldn’t have been easier. Juam is an absolutely perfect storyteller and he kept us entertained and engaged for longer than I thought possible. I couldn’t have asked for a better tour guide. His knowledge of Mayan history was thrilling and he did such a great job of engaging with us for like 10 hours. He makes you want to be his friend after the tour. Victor probably doesn’t get enough credit for all the work he puts in behind the scenes. Every single aspect of the trip went flawlessly thanks to his planning and execution. Lorenzo is a master behind the wheel. I never once felt unsafe with him driving and he maneuvered that massive bus through some really tight spaces with laser precision. I’d take this tour all over again if I got the chance.

The excursion began by picking us up at 6:00 in the morning and we didn't arrive at the hotel until 10 at night, so it was a 16-hour excursion, of which we spent 13 on a bus. The guide, the only thing he did was tell stories just to sell us things. The excursion is done because you have to see Chichén Itzá, but it is not worth it at all, without a doubt. The cenote was 25 minutes; changing and paying at the ticket office takes only 10, and changing back takes another 5, so you cannot enjoy it. They leave you in Valladolid in the middle of a downpour in the middle of a square, probably so you buy things. In a town, a buffet; the food was impossible to eat, 13 hours without being able to eat anything. I would not recommend it.

Pick up from out hotel was fine. The coach went to a bus meeting point and we were told to wait there for our actual coach. After 15 minutes of waiting on a hot day with no seating, we were moved to an area in the hot sun to wait another 10 minutes or so. We were placed on a bus that took us to a Cenote. 10 or 12 of us were told this is not our tour included 1 cenote visit and that we would join another bus for our tour. When we got off the bus there was no one there to tell us where to go or what to do. We stood by the bus for 10 minutes wondering where to go and what to do. Was this cenote part of our tour? Were we supposed to go inside somewhere? Where was the entrance? People started wandering around. This was a big venue with gift shops and snack bars. I went to the toilet and after this i found out that this was not out cenote and that a bus was coming to pick us up in 10 minutes. By this time, it had been over 2 hours since our initial pickup from our hotel and we have seen nothing on our tour. When we got on our correct tour bus, it took us to a bit of a tourist trap place where there was a large gift shop selling crystals and a shaman would activate it with a blessing if you bought one. An guy from the UK bought a crystal and he said that the shaman would give your crystal healing powers for a $400 USD donation. He declined the upgraded healing blessing! The cocoa tasting was nice but not many people bought any of it. The buffet was good and enjoyable but the drinks were very expensive--4 small (330 ml) bottles of water was $22 plus a tip. We spent 2 hours at Chitchen Itza. The tour guide gave us a good briefing on all the gift vendor scams and definitely scared everyone from buying anything there. We han a nice 1 hour visit at the cenote and then we ended the tour with 30 minutes in a nearby Mexican town square where we got some really good ice cream. Upon getting back on the coach, we were told that we would be driving to another meeting up poing to change busses to take us back to our hotel in Cancun. So that was 4 or 5 bus changes. We got back to our hotel around 10:30 pm--a 15.5 hour day with 3 visits (Chitchen Itza, cenote, & town) and lunch. We were exhausted by the time we got back. While we enjoyed the visits, the hours of bus shuffles and last-minute information and sometimes not knowing what we were supposed to do was irritating and unnecessary. I honestly don't think I would recommend this tour. However, I did appreciate the free water after each afternoon stop. I don't think I would have survived the mid-September heat and humidity without it and the cool bus air conditioning!

+2

A very long day in a very large group. The activities were enjoyable but there was a lot of additional costs which we hadn't anticipated. We booked this excursion as we speak very limited Spanish and were told it was an English speaking tour. The majority of the rest of the group all spoke fluent Spanish and our guide only told us a few things in English and gave majority of the communication in Spanish, so we missed out on a lot of the cultural education and information, which is what we were looking forward to. We had a separate guide in Chichen Itza, who gave a brilliant tour and we thoroughly enjoyed that. The open cenote swimming was fun. Generally everything felt very rushed. We didn't have enough time at each location and with the additional costs & not understanding what we were being told, overall we didn't enjoy this day. We'd recommend booking tours in smaller groups and with less activities in one go.

This was one of the highlights of our trip to Mexico! It will be a busy day but a very fun one. We had two amazing guides, Rodolfo and Gonzales. They were both very informative while being fun and entertaining. I was very impressed with how smoothly they switched between English and Spanish (completely fluent in both). We learned a lot of new things and they took very good care of us at each stop. Great people. Also thank you to Christian, their helper, and Eddie the driver. We were staying at a resort not on the pickup locations list, but were able to message the tour group on WhatsApp and arrange a pick-up and drop-off right at our actual resort. We appreciate you accommodating us! 1st stop: Mayan market and lunch We met some Mayans and learned a bit about their beliefs and culture. There are a lot of traditional goods for sale to support the Mayan community. It's pretty small and if you don't plan on buying many souvenirs this might be the least exciting part of the trip. However, the lunch was delicious and very filling. 2nd stop: Chichen Itza Absolutely incredible. First you get a quick tour of the main points and learn the history and fun facts of the area. After that, we had some free time to wander back to our favourite spots and explore more. Our guides gave us good tips on how to avoid scams and stay protected from the heat and sun. 3rd stop: Swimming in Cenote This was also amazing and so fun! The whole area is charming and I could have honestly spent a whole day just here. 4th stop: Valladolid I really liked this spot too. It's a vibrant city full of life. I only wish we could have had more time here as we only got 30 min which felt like barely enough time to rush through the main street and back. You basically have to choose between grabbing some food and not seeing anything, or checking out the town and going hungry. We didn't get back to the resort until past 8pm, so it was a while to go without food since the lunch we had with the Mayans. However, it was definitely still worth the stop, but bring snacks if you plan on exploring over eating. Overall wonderful people and an unforgettable experience well worth the time and cost! Thank you again to everyone!

+2

The absolute best experience worth every single dollar. Cat and his crew were amazing.

Extremely LONG day very tiring. Completely unaware of what to expect made far worse by so little translated into English by the guide. We felt completely left out of everything happening. Unnecessary “Money making” stops with no benefit to the traveller whatsoever. Would not book again

The agency was excellent! They were very professional, communicative, and responsive throughout the entire process. I really appreciated how easy they made everything and how quickly they answered any questions I had. I would definitely recommend them!

The attraction is a must, but a bit crowded. You should go early in the morning. Many souvenir vendors with the same selection. Cultural site, but top-notch.