Chichen Itza & Cenote: Sacred Mayan Mystery & Jungle Oasis

We were told the onsite Chichen Itza vendors sell Chinese crap. Fair enough, BUT taking us to a village for lunch ( was included and food was good ) and shopping turned out to be tourist trap. Obsidian, for example was OUTRAGEOUSLY priced there. Like $85 usd for an obsidian bracelet. I got the same for $20 usd in Valladolid.

What an incredible experience! Recardo and his team are not only fabulous guides but absolutely knowledgeable, super charismatic, and just really good humans who love to share their knowledge and take care of people. You won’t want to miss this outstanding excursion. It is an all day experience but so worth it!

Our tour guide was so passionate and informative about the Mayan culture and history. He has first hand knowledge of the current progress of the site. Absolutely, a must see when visiting this part of the country.

Overall, this trip was a little disappointing! I will start with the good things. Pros: our tour guide, Francisco, was very informative and nice. The food at the Mayan reservation was pretty good. The three destinations were beautiful and great experiences. Cons: the day is 14 hours long, not 12. We were picked up at 7:30 and did not get into the bus until at least 9:30. It was a waste of time and not very organized. You spend the majority of the day on the bus. The first leg of the trip was over 2.5 hours long. The itinerary of the trip on Viator also did not match the order in which we did things. First, we went to Valladolid with only 30 min to get out. We were advised not to buy anything because the crafts/food at the Mayan reservation will be better (don’t listen to that!). Then it was 30 minutes to the Mayan reservation. We were told we would have 20 minutes to shop and then eat, but it took more like 45 minutes to get food. Then we were told it would be 20ish minutes to Chichén Itza but with the traffic, it took over an hour. On the bus they tried selling us Mayan liquor. Then lastly we went to the cenote but it was DARK outside. We arrived to the cenote at 5:45 pm despite the place saying it was closed at 5:00. We were extremely rushed and all of the restaurants/bars were closed. It was so dark that you couldn’t see anything or take photos of the cenote. Overall, I was disappointed in the organization and order of the trip. The cenote should not have been last and less time should have been spent at the Mayan reservation.

You get up at 7 only to wait 2 hours for everyone to check in. Other than that it was good. Good tour guide.

Although the website said two bottles of water will be provided, it never happened. I asked a guide about it, but he insisted this tour does not include any water. I was always dehydrated through the tour.

I'd like to thank all the people involved. You guys provide an amazing, unforgettable experience. I am so glad to have taken this trip and that I used you to be my tour guide. I had a blast, cannot thank you guys enough for all you have done. May god repay you

Ricardo was a great and knowledgeable tour guide!!! Definitely recommend him As a guide! He shared his knowledge and was able to keep a group of people engaged thought the whole tour!

We booked our trip from the hotel lobby Amstar rep who contracted it out to ‘Cancun Passion’ tours. The pick up was in a mini bus and we collected a few other people from different hotels before transferring to a coach. It’s a long drive but the 4 staff were great dishing out coffee, snacks and entertaining stories. After a quick stop at a souvenir shop for a comfort break it’s off to Chichen Itza’s historic site. You collect your ticket and tour tag and you’re in the site, the guide was very informative and interesting and tries to keep you in the shape although umbrellas are provided..cos it’s hot! We had almost an hour on our own to explore this awesome place which is about right, the only thing that let’s it down is all the vendors in the shade around the site selling souvenirs, their not pushy but it spoils the atmosphere. There’s no restrooms in the historic area, at the entrance has them plus plenty of places to eat and shop. Back at the bus and the staff greeted us with a lovely cold beer! It’s back to the same place as we stopped earlier for a buffet lunch which was pretty good and some traditional dancers to entertain us. Again, not much time and it’s off to the Selva Maya cenote, entrance is included but if you wanna swim you need to rent a compulsory life vest, 2 vests and a locker was £8.50. Again the cenote is beautiful, well worth it, a waterfall comes in and there’s a platform to jump in, must be 12-15ft high, also steps to walk in if you want. We only had 15 minutes in the water before we’re back on the bus, we drove through Valladolid and 2 hours later we’re back. It’s a long day and the staff were brilliant however the tour coaches are stacked up at the ruins, lunch and cenote so there’s not much free time to relax, you’re constantly looking at your watch! All in all it was good fun and we enjoyed our day although for US $350 for 2 adults it’s the most expensive excursion we’ve ever done!

An amazing trip, with excellent knowledgeable guides Tomas and Alfredo. They both spoke with knowledge and passion about the Myan culture throughout the day and kept us well informed of what was happening and what we needed to do. my one (minor) issue would be the trip order was changed from that advertised, with the swim first. Swim would have been more appreciated after going round Chichen Itza