Campeche World Heritage City and Becal Day Trip from Merida - Gray Line Yucatan

This was our second day trip using the combo of Mayaland Tours and Gray Line. Our driver was great. Our guia very nice, polite, knowledgeable. The transport was comfortable. Big van for just four. That was nice. Our primary guia was bi-lingual and was patient with our limited Spanish. Plenty of ice cold water was available and much needed on a muy caliente dia. Our first stop was the town of Bekal. That was the highlight of the trip. We were treated to a personal demonstration of the ancient process if making sombreros by hand using a special palm leaf. Everything from stripping the leaf, the natural dyes for color and down into the cave where the sombreros are made. Fascinating. A real treat. It would have been nice if the rest of the trip was equally intriguing. As we entered Campeche, we stopped several times for the guia to explain this it that. It really didn’t add to my experience. A few ok photo ops. Nothing with a wow factor. They drove the perimeter of the walled portion of the city explaining what it would have been like in the 1500’s. Insightful. Provided context. We parked outside the city walls. Walked through a little mercardo of tourist stuff. We did get treated to a local fruit much like leche fruit. That was a nice treat. We entered the walled portion of the city. It was determined by the guia we would go to the Mayan museum first and then have lunch and then time to explore. Despite there being only four of us, that proved very time consuming. We ended up getting only about 75 minutes of free time. We felt very rushed and it took away from the overall experience. My preference would have been lunch, then we get to manage our own time, including visiting the museum at our pace and preference. Lunch was included. However, despite informing them well in advance of my vegetarianism, they came up woefully short. We did go to a restaurant in a boutique hotel. Instead of one of the many local places with tipico cuisine. Since arriving in Merida I had been able to get plenty of veg options with Mayan and Yucatan cuisine. This trip had a prix fixed menu that we picked in advance. While I did get the sopa de Chaya (delicious) my Main was pasta. Meh. Disappointed. We had to pay for bebidas. I do recommend a visit to Campeche. It might be better if you figure out the transfer on your own and then go at your pace. No matter, figure out how to get to Bekal for the sombreros!

My guide, Rosendo, was very knowledgeable about Campeche and its founding. It was a wonderful tour

A most wonderful experience at a most fascinating city, learning about its fascinating history, in particular in relation to their battles with the pirates, as well as the Mayan history. The stop on the way in Becal was also fascinating, a little town where they make those Mexican hats, it was amazing to see how those hats were made. The lunch at Campeche in the historical area was very tasty Mexican foods, this for one who usually prefers western-style foods and avoids Mexican where possible!! Guide was very knowledgeable, and being very challenged when it came to Spanish, having a bilingual guide who spoke English was very much appreciated!! Highly recommended for a day visit to a fascinating place on the Gulf coast just two hours drive from Merida.

I wound up with a private tour the day I went to Campeche. The tour guides were great. The lunch was very good. I really enjoyed the tour around the old city and the fortress. Becal was also very interesting. Josua and Rosendo were extremely good, accommodating guides. A very good day trip!

Campeche is a very interesting town in a beautiful and historic spot. The colonial center of town is extremely well-preserved. At the same time, it's not what I would regard as a must see attraction in the region. Guide was friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating.

We had a wonderful day trip to Campeche and Becal, from Merida! It was a long drive, but our guide, Josue, and driver, Rosendo offered lots of information about the region, and kept the conversation going with humour and suggestions of places to visit. The stop in Becal for a demonstration of the hat making process was really interesting, and there was absolutely no pressure to purchase anything. Josue was very receptive to the group, and gave us options as to what to see and do while in Campeche. I think we had a good compromise of walking the walled part of the city, visiting museums, and stopping wherever we saw something interesting. Our lunch was delicious, and it was a pleasure to have a lively and interesting chat amongst all of us, as we ate. Rosendo was an excellent driver, and both Josue and Rosendo made for an interesting and informative day....with lots of laughs too!

We were very happy with our tour. Our guide, Josue was not only knowledgeable, but warm and friendly. We enjoyed visiting both places and especially seeing how the hand made hats were made in Becal. On top of all the good things on the tour it was only the two of us!