Unforgettable Chichen Itza: Early Access, Cenote & Tequila

Cannot fault the trip at all Very well organised. Pick up on time. Guide, Omar, ticked all the boxes: professional, knowledgeable ( I have been to Chichen Itza before and I am very well aware of the history of Mayans so can confirm) on top of that Omar was kind and had great sense of humour. Eric the driver was great: very kind and friendly. Tour was great and very well organised. Highly recommended!

Cannot fault the trip at all Very well organised. Pick up on time. Guide, Omar, ticked all the boxes: professional, knowledgeable ( I have been to Chichen Itza before and I am very well aware of the history of Mayans so can confirm) on top of that Omar was kind and had great sense of humour. Eric the driver was great: very kind and friendly. Tour was great and very well organised. Highly recommended!

This trip is absolutely worth it. You’ll be even luckier to receive Manuel “Tequila” as your tour guide and Jose as your driver. The early travel time makes up for it with the early access to Chichén Itza. Not only do you beat the crowds of people from all over. But you beat the vendors who all want your attention to sell you a mass produced item. Manuel is super knowledgeable. He shared things about Chichén Itza, the Mayans, and himself. This information was great and gave me new insights to not only the Mayan culture but to other similar cultures around the world. Jose got us there safely and quickly which is definitely a bonus in a travel zone as chaotic as Cancun, Playa Del Carmen and Yucatán. Manuel seemed to be well respected at the site and even where we stopped for lunch. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the whole trip. Thank you Manuel and Jose for not only making Chichén Itza a wonder of the world but this tour as well.

Manuel and Jose took great care of us. Manuel shared lots of information about the area with us. Lunch was very good also

Highly recommended. We were picked up on time, the guides are very knowledgable and funny. Learned a lot from this excursion. Paul, Ismail, and Francisco all deserve a big, fat Christmas bonus as they all did wonderful and very caring to all the guests.

Good: Early access - this meant we were at the site before it opened, so we got to see Chichen Itza in peace - before all the souvenir circus was set up, and before the day got hot. This was a big plus. Our guide Jorje was good - he explained things with enthusiasm and in detail. Not so good - - Even with my hotel being in downtown Cancun, I was asked to come to a different hotel for pick up - which was just 400m from my hotel - on the same road (and the vehicle did come from that direction for pick up) - which would not have been a big deal - except for the pick up being at 4.45am - and me being a solo female traveller. I would have hoped for some consideration on this. - Upon completion of our tour at Chichen Itza - we were supposed to meet at the bus at 10am. The driver was delayed by over 1.5 hours - because the van was fueled up with Petrol instead of Diesel and needed to be cleaned out and refueled. Accidents happen I suppose - but waiting 1.5 hours in the heat with nothing to do - i couldn't help but wonder if presence of mind could have helped avoid this issue. - The buffet lunch - was basic, we were told about 5 times that drinks were not included even before we got there and another 2 times after we reached there. Once we got there, after the long wait - extremely hungry and tired, we were ushered into the shop for a mandatory 15 min shopping break. Then finally - the 'buffet' was not self serve, and the people serving seemed least interested in serving us - they wouldnt ask what we wanted - gave tiny portions, skipped items without even asking. I was not planning on ordering a drink, but I was out of water myself, and decided to go for a mango smoothie, which cost me USD 10. Might as well charge us for the lunch and give good service - instead of providing the free lunch that looks like charity and drinks that are practically robbery? - On return - we were pointedly told that tips is needed - which in itself is pretty common, but with the way the day had shaped up - it just seemed like another way to fleece money off us on a tour - which I might add - was not cheap to begin with. - Cherry on top of the cake - I had confirmed on the previous day that the drop off point would be the same as the pick up point. But the guide / driver decided to drop us 400m further away from the pick up point - at a signal - saying 'it would be more convenient with more transport options available'. In my case, this just doubled my walk back to my hotel in the sun. Again - a 400m walk is not that big a deal - but after everything else during the day - it was extremely annoying. And this was not because of any road closures or anything, it was just because they didn't want to have to go down that road and take a long U turn and return - so just to take a short cut in driving / traffic. So yeah - no tip from me sorry, and no pleasant review either. All in all, I would look for other options with early access.

Good: Early access - this meant we were at the site before it opened, so we got to see Chichen Itza in peace - before all the souvenir circus was set up, and before the day got hot. This was a big plus. Our guide Jorje was good - he explained things with enthusiasm and in detail. Not so good - - Even with my hotel being in downtown Cancun, I was asked to come to a different hotel for pick up - which was just 400m from my hotel - on the same road (and the vehicle did come from that direction for pick up) - which would not have been a big deal - except for the pick up being at 4.45am - and me being a solo female traveller. I would have hoped for some consideration on this. - Upon completion of our tour at Chichen Itza - we were supposed to meet at the bus at 10am. The driver was delayed by over 1.5 hours - because the van was fueled up with Petrol instead of Diesel and needed to be cleaned out and refueled. Accidents happen I suppose - but waiting 1.5 hours in the heat with nothing to do - i couldn't help but wonder if presence of mind could have helped avoid this issue. - The buffet lunch - was basic, we were told about 5 times that drinks were not included even before we got there and another 2 times after we reached there. Once we got there, after the long wait - extremely hungry and tired, we were ushered into the shop for a mandatory 15 min shopping break. Then finally - the 'buffet' was not self serve, and the people serving seemed least interested in serving us - they wouldnt ask what we wanted - gave tiny portions, skipped items without even asking. I was not planning on ordering a drink, but I was out of water myself, and decided to go for a mango smoothie, which cost me USD 10. Might as well charge us for the lunch and give good service - instead of providing the free lunch that looks like charity and drinks that are practically robbery? - On return - we were pointedly told that tips is needed - which in itself is pretty common, but with the way the day had shaped up - it just seemed like another way to fleece money off us on a tour - which I might add - was not cheap to begin with. - Cherry on top of the cake - I had confirmed on the previous day that the drop off point would be the same as the pick up point. But the guide / driver decided to drop us 400m further away from the pick up point - at a signal - saying 'it would be more convenient with more transport options available'. In my case, this just doubled my walk back to my hotel in the sun. Again - a 400m walk is not that big a deal - but after everything else during the day - it was extremely annoying. And this was not because of any road closures or anything, it was just because they didn't want to have to go down that road and take a long U turn and return - so just to take a short cut in driving / traffic. So yeah - no tip from me sorry, and no pleasant review either. All in all, I would look for other options with early access.

We had a wonderful time! Our guide Ramiro was so knowledgeable about the historical details of Mayan culture and architecture. He really took us to the Mayan realm today with the detailed explanation of the Mayan calendar and its correlation with the temple structure. Great tour overall. Thank you!

The pick up time is definitely early in the morning between 430am and 6am. The tour guides we had were Alberto(Beto) and Manuel. They filled the day with great information and a true cultural exchange which made it truly enjoyable. The buffet lunch was ok but the small shops around it were nice to check out local artisans and their art. Keep in mind its a full day with the 2.5hr bus ride each way but also a decent amount of time to explore and take pictures.

Beto is a fantastic travel guide! So fun and knowledgable! The lunch is also pretty fine - you are helping a local community so it was nice to eat there! We had a small bus which was nice!