Chichén Itzá, Ik Kil Cenote & Valladolid All-Inclusive Tour

Brace yourself guys, this is a full on day (approx 13-14 hours round trip from Akumel area), but well worth it. Our guides Sophie and Gabriel were very knowledgeable, but more importantly charismatic and engaging at all times. You will have many unforgettable experiences, but due to the packed itinerary there will be classic bus tour moments where it is a little rush rush. As well as the usual monumental sites you will book the tour in first place for, you will also enjoy the Mayan village we visited, which was also the lunch stop. The arts and crafts you can purchase will amaze you and mean so much more with the knowledge you gain of the Mayan culture from the tour guides.

The one to book if you're looking for culture. This is almost too good to be true, such good value for the amount you get to see and experience. The coaches have air con and are comfortable and the tour guides are knowledgeable and super friendly. It is quite a long day but it is 100% worth it, we had such a great day. Thank you so much!

Our guide was very professional, knowledgeable and animated. Only thing is he would go back and forth (from English to Spanish) in the middle of a sentence so there are a couple times when we didn't really understand what he was saying. When we went to Chichen Itza, they separated the English from the Spanish tourists. Although our guide can converse in English, she is not fluent. She would stop in the middle of the sentence at a loss for words and would ask somebody to translate in English. She really is a sweetheart but when you're there to learn about history, etc. and she cannot express herself, that's a problem. The places we visited were amazing! Wish we had more time in Valladolid and Cenote Ik Kil! I think that it would have been better if you separate English and Spanish tourists for the entire tour.

This was an excellent excursion tour. Our Tour Leaders Miguel (Bus Driver), Gustavo (Attentive Host) and Samuel (Tour Guide and Presenter) were great. Samuel gave history and details in both English and Spanish, and it was great to hear the translations go back and forth flawlessly. The Travel was smooth... LONG Day on the luxury bus, but truly worth it. The snacks and drinks provided were very good, and plentiful. I had my 3 college youth with me, and we all enjoyed our time. The history of the Mayan culture and the Chichen Itza area was fully enjoyable.

We booked this tour a month in advance for a long birthday weekend, hoping Chichen Itza would be the highlight. Chichen Itza was worth having a look. Nothing else about this organized tour was worth getting there. 1) We thought (perhaps we misunderstood), our small-group tour bus arrived 15 minutes late and was full and had no a/c. Good thing, because we had a surprise transfer to a very large, fully cramped tour bus - it did have a/c that could not drown out the SCREAMING child in front of us for the entire 2.5 hours each way. The tour guide, Marco, didn't have any interest in quieting the child. There was only one infant (check the manifest). 2) Regarding Marco: He never shut UP for 8 of the 12 hour day. He gave some valuable info regarding Chichen Itza and much more information regarding how womens menstruation related to the Mayan Culture! That was a surprise, definitely TMI. 3) At each stop, we were asked for more money . One for a "Mayan" calendar that, funny enough, was the same price as the additional fee for the "tax" at Chichen Itza, two, and most offensive, was having to PAY for water/any other drink during the included lunch. Lunch is a sad buffet of limp potatoes, luke-warm rice, room temp chicken and other unknown dishes. However, the demonstration of making tortillas was welcome as the tortillas were very fresh and warm from a hot stone. Before leaving "lunch," the absolute insult was a wave of previously not seen staff, dropping large fish bowls on all table for tips. I don't know anyone in our vicinity who gave one tip - it was all do-it-yourself with no service of any kind. 4) Before the lunch, at the same stop, we were "herded" into an Original Mayan Good shop. We were given a micro shot of a honey liquor and then followed and HOUNDED for all 30 minutes to buy some. We didn't bite. Then, the staff followed us around the entire store trying to make a sale of authentic Mayan goods. i looked at a little statue and found the "Made in China" box just beneath! 5) The last stop on this day from hell, was the Il Kil Cenote. On arrival, we were notified that a locker and/or life vest is an "additional charge." SURPRISE! Not a lot of money; but, not expected. Finally, I asked Marco 3 times for help in finding a/c, stay on bus, or suggestions for getting out of heat, bugs, activity due to knee/wrist surgery. He ignored me every time. Thanks a lot!

Great tours Carlos, luis and Not forgetting Jose the driver where excellent. The knowledge was spot on. Defiantly recommend doing this tour. Great guides and great locations. Thank you!

From the moment we were picked up, we could tell this was a very well run and organised trip. The guides and drivers were great, and seemed very knowledgeable. The day however is EXTREMELY long, I wouldn't recommend this for young children. We started the morning with a 1 hour 45 minute drive to the town of Valladolid, which is beautiful, but a bit of a pointless stop on the tour as we were only allowed 25 minutes there. The next stop, I feel it was a little unexpected, as I believed that the lunch was at Chichen Itza. But we stopped in this Mayan Village and had like 40 minutes in a gift shop, where we were followed around by staff trying to convince us to buy things, there was some truly beautiful things in this shop, but a very long time, especially considering we didn't bring much money with us as the outline doesn't say there'll be any souvenir shopping. After this we were brought outside for a very drawn out cooking demonstration, that was just wrapping a piece of pork in a leaf. We were also given a green juice (delicious) and a taco. We were then brought for lunch, which was in a large canteen filled with people and a buffet. This was another place for your money, as not even water was included. Lunch was nice, but crowded. The next stop was Chichen Itza, arriving here is absolutely chaotic, you need to battle through people trying to sell you hats and umbrellas, the pathway lined with more souvenirs. This we felt really took away from the beauty of the attraction, it's one thing for souvenirs in the gift shop or outside the place, but with people coming up to you while you're trying to see this ancient construction it's quite off putting. There was FAR too much time allowed here also, as we were brought around by one of the guides it seemed to drag, we were there for about two hours, and were hot and fed up by the time we were leaving. Our highlight was the Ik Kil Cenote, the location for this and the way it's set up is great, and the cenote itself is breathtaking. It was so unfortunate we were only given an hour here, as there were queues for the changing facilities, and lockers, so by the time you actually get down to the swimming hole you're half an hour into your time slot, so you feel under pressure to get in and out as soon as possible. Could definitely do with two hours here.

Tour was awesome, never a dull moment, plenty to see and and very entertaining. Moises was the best great sense of humor and very knowledgeable.

We booked this excursion without really knowing what to expect, but it was the best choice we could have made! The tour company offered very professional service and our guides, Luis and Carlos, were attentive at all times, super friendly and fun, and very knowledgeable. It's a long tour but you do and learn so much that there really isn't time to get bored. Definitely recommend it!