Costa Maya Shore Excursion: Chacchoben Ruins & Bacalar Lagoon

Great experience!!! The pantoon was awesome and the seven color Bacalar lagoon is amazing!! Jocelyn is so nice and informative Ankino (sorry about the spelling) was a fabulous driver and got us to and from on time. Note: only downfall was we couldn’t do the chacchoben ruins - however they were very upfront and gave us a refund.

Superb experience with a passionate guide; we only did the ruins due to a lack of participants for the two excursions and we were refunded the overpayment. This place is iconic and steeped in history.

We cannot say enough about how terrific our day was at Costa Maya thanks to our tour operator, Tours Naturaleza (Nature Tours). Before and up to the day of the excursion, the owner, Andres, reached out to us to ensure that we could have any questions or concerns answered. He was super responsive to our questions about the activities, travel times, etc. Our tour guide for the excursion, Xiomara, was fantastic! She was friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating, and very mindful of the timing of the activities and the early return to the ship. On our way to the Chachoben Mayan Ruins, she shared information and illustrations of the history and geography of the Costa Maya/Mahahual region, and the Mexican Riviera to the north, Costa Maya's culture, agriculture, wildlife, ect. We even stopped along the road to pick up a fresh pineapple. At the ruins, she was incredibly informative of the history and culture of the Mayan population, including class distinctions, and the purposes, uses, and manner of building and situating temples and houses evidenced by the ruins. Xiomara was just as informative about the natural formations and distinctions among the cenotes at the Bacalar fresh water lagoon, which contributed to the 7 colors of the lagoon. We rode a pantoon on the lake and over the cenotes. denotes. got a chance to go in the water and eat the fresh pineapple at the lagoon. We then were taken to an authentic Mexican restaurant, where we were expected and served promptly. The food and drinks were great! Overall, every activity was well planned/organized, safe, comfortable, informative, and remarkably enjoyable. We were well taken care of by all of the Naturaleza Tour staff.

Although I would have loved to swim for longer in the beautiful Bacalar Lagoon, I'm very glad we chose to also tour the Mayan Ruins. Great tour, amazing tour guide!

Siomara (our guide) and Isaac (driver) were both polite, engaging, and professional. Answered any questions we had and was always looking out for us, especially when we needed to be back at the port. Would highly recommend, just wished we had more time.

Great excursion for families! We all had a lovely time! Our driver Hakino and tour guide Saul we both amazing, friendly and very informative! Highly recommend this tour especially for families with little kids! The Lagoon is beautiful and shallow enough for my 5 year old! Make sure to wear swimwear underneath clothing.

We went to the meet up spot and were told we were not able to go to the ruins because of the time crunch with the cruise ship boarding time. We still did the lagoon which was incredible, and the taco lunch was fabulous. They did offer us a 10% refund.

The guides were super friendly and knowledgeable. The excursion delivered what it promised. Would do this again!

Honestly, one of the best tours we’ve had! Since we needed to get back to the cruise port early, things felt a bit rushed, but overall it was a great experience. Finding the pickup location was a bit of a hassle and somewhat frustrating, as it’s not close to the cruise port. Plan to give yourself at least 30 minutes to walk there, it’s outside the port. The Seven Colors Lagoon was absolutely beautiful, and the tour guide at the ruins was very helpful. I just wish we’d had more time, we only spent about 30 minutes there. I’d definitely go back and take my time to learn more about the history of the Mayan ruins. Also, keep in mind there are only two small restrooms for women and one for men at Pepitos. If you’re traveling with a large group, it’s best to use the restroom beforehand to avoid delays, it could easily take up 30 minutes of your tour. Other than that, our tour guide and our driver, Ricardo, were incredibly accommodating and kind. We made it back to the port on time!

We had another similar tour booked that got canceled last minute and booked this tour in its place. The only bad thing is that after booking, we were notified that we could only do 1 of the 2 activities included on this excursion. This was specifically why we booked this excursion and it was too late to book one of the other similar excursions that included the same 2 things. The tour operator really worked hard to make this happen for us and had figured out a way for us to do both activities. However, our cruise arrived later than expected and we got caught up on our way to the meeting point so due to being 20-30 minutes late, we were only able to do the Bacalar Lagoon portion. It was very fun though and the lagoon was gorgeous. It seemed like many of the different tour companies worked together so idk if it matters which company you go through. Our tour included food and drinks. They had a limited assortment of sodas (mostly coke), a bottle of tequila and one type of light Mexican beers for us all to enjoy as well as an assortment of snacks (mostly chips). On the boat, they served us fresh pineapple while we swam. Afterwards, we went to a nearby restaurant where we got to choose from our choice of 4 tacos or chicken fajitas. You do need to bring your own towels. We did get back to the boat on time. However, I do want to note that the driver drove extremely fast on the way back while it was raining and this was stressful for me. I'm used to the drivers in Mexico going fast but when it's raining like it was, I feel like more caution should have been taken and we weren't in a rush to get back on time either. Overall, I do recommend this excursion and this company and I appreciated the tour operators willingness and effort to accommodate us.