Chichen Itza Deluxe from Cancun to Playa del Carmen

We paid for a family of 4 to do this deluxe tour. Wish we had gone with another company, there was nothing deluxe about what happened. Picked up at 7:50 from our hotel. We sat on the side of the road for 40 minutes because the bus was late. Boarded the bus at 9 o’clock. During this time, there was a chainsmokers next to me and a family was screaming children on the other side. The screaming children continued to be a problem throughout the whole tour to the point where we couldn’t hear the tour guide. So many sales pitches to the point where I got frustrated. We had a tour guide on the microphone, trying to get us to buy things for an hour.. We were taking the first stop and the bus was locked and we had 40 minutes inside of a store. I asked to get back on the bus and was told that the bus driver needed a nap. Basically stuck in the store where the sales people were following us around nonstop. By the time we got to the temples, the screaming children were worse. Parents weren’t doing anything about it. I asked Carlos the tour guide if he could address the problem and he said no there is nothing he could.. I said I didn’t pay all this money to hear their screaming kids. I paid this money to hear the tour. Didn’t return to our hotel till 9 o’clock at night. That means it took us four hours to get back.. which it really didn’t take four hours to get back we were the last people to be returned to our hotel. This was not worth the money.

We had an excellent day with Felipe, Carlos, Freddie our driver and the Professor. They were extremely accommodating throughout the whole day. We enjoyed the tour of Chitchen Itza, the stop for food was absolutely delicious, and swimming in the cenote was very fun. Only point of feedback is we wished to have more free time at the ruins themselves. Our time there was mostly taken up by the tour. All in all a great day!

Honestly, the whole tour is a scam. You are taken to a ‘local’ shop about 5 minutes before getting to Chichen Itza, forced to stay for about 45 minutes. The toilets are right at the back of a long maze of shops where you are constantly pestered and chased to buy something. It is VERY clear your tour guides know everyone here. Before getting off the bus you are given a name tag with the tour guides name on it I suspect so they know who to give commission to sales to. Everywhere in this shop is 5-10x more expensive than at Chichen Itza. Next we made it to Chichen Itza we were given a tour by the guide which was okay, some nice facts. We were promised an hour to an hour and a half of ‘free time’ to explore. We got about 20-30 minutes at most and they had pre-warned us before getting off the bus that if we are late we will be left behind. Coincidentally they had also at the end of the ‘tour’ left us at the furthest point from the entrance. Next we went back to the ‘local shop’ for a buffet lunch. The food was nice and actually it was good to try some truly local food prepared by local people. Then come the acts… we had ‘Mayan’ dancers come and dance all around us then beg for tips. Then we had two flamenco women with bottles balanced on their heads walk around the tables a little and ask for tips. Then we had to walk out to the bus and had more ‘Mayans’ harass us for tips. Finally back on the bus, we went to the Cenote. We got an hour here, which in reality is about 20-30 minutes by the time you have got in, paid for the Life Jacket and Locker (which they fail to mention at any point that it is not included in your ticket) this was the most relaxing part of the day, but extremely short lived. Also full of scammers wanting hundreds of dollars for a bottle of tequila. Finally we had the visit to a small town, promised to get out and look about. They claimed there were too many ‘protesters’ in the town so the bus has been told it cannot stop due to danger. My partner and I saw no protesters even when they ‘pointed them out’. Also if they KNEW there were ‘Protesters’ why not give us more time at the cenote? Ah, because they’re liars. Finally we drove back to Playa Del Carmen and the 10-15 minute long speech we got from the guide about how much of a tip they deserved was honestly predatory. This is without mentioning the attitude we got from the staff for not opting for the ‘premium package’ which amounted to stale pastries and a few soft drinks. Chichen Itza is awesome, unsure you can get there cost effectively many other ways but my wanting is to you that if you book this tour it is a complete tourist trap. AVOID IF POSSIBLE.