Full Day Tour to Palenque Archaeological Zone with Waterfalls

The trip is planned for today, time of picking me up at hotel is at 4 am, and the tour operator never came, I called and ooops they have us in the list for another date, what a bad experience!

The high points were Learning about Palenqué and seeing the cascada de azul. The driver was kind and accommodating. With that said, the road was really rough and long, and the food stops were questionable. I did end up with food poisoning. In hindsight I would not have gone. I think looking into a flight into Palenque or Villahermosa might be a better way to do this trip. The other issue was the high price for an English speaking guide at Palenque. $2000 pesos per person ($120)-we were lucky that we brought enough cash.

OVERVIEW: I would recommend this tour, but you need to know what you’re getting yourself in for. The car ride to Palenque is incredibly bumpy and takes approximately 5 hours. Not for the faint of heart! But that being said, Palenque is an incredibly special archaeological site, and this is really the best way to see it. If you’re nervous about the long driving day, your other options for seeing Palenque are to spend the night and drive back the next day, or take a public bus that is about 9 hours. For me, it was good to just have one really painful day and then get home and sleep. However! If you’re not willing to shell out for the official Palenque tour guide, this trip will not be worth your time. The drive is just too painful, and the self-guided materials at Palenque are limited. It’s worth it to get an official guide. DRIVER/TOUR GUIDE: The tour operator was really just a driver, not a tour guide. You will need to pay extra for a guide in Palenque. That being said, these guys are expert drivers and are really worth the money. The main highway through Ocosingo has many checkpoints and is periodically closed. We took a back road, which was likely less paved but safer. PALENQUE: We got the “long” tour in English for a group of 6, and we haggled it down to 400 pesos a person. Be aware that if your group is smaller you will pay more. The long tour is about 2 hours and will get you a guided tour of the main temples (Temple of Inscriptions, Temple of the Cross) as well as access to the outlying jungle. The long tour is the only way you will get access to the jungle trails, and in my opinion it was totally worth it. There will be more scrambling and climbing around roots, but if you’re in good physical shape it is not to be missed! You’ll feel like Indiana Jones for an hour, walking on top of ruins that have been overtaken by vines. MISCELLANEOUS: Bring toilet paper and hand sanitizer- it was about a 50/50 chance of finding stocked facilities. Earplugs are good if you want to snooze on the bus, because our driver blasted music the whole ride. Also watch for water bottles that have been refilled- do not buy if the seal around the cap is broken.