Tour Chichen Itza - Cenote - Izamal vanuit Valladolid

Gilberto was a fun guide, speaking to languages at once is no mean feat! He was prompt and his talk about Chichen Itza was informative and interesting. We arrived at 8am while it as still comparatively cool and very few people so we were glad to not have the huge crowds until just as we were leaving. He had water for us all day, and we refilled out bottles many times. We had plenty of time at Chichen Itza to explore on our own, and then we went to a very nice cenote where our group were the only ones swimming and it was very beautiful and refreshing, The lunch was a very nice two course meal. The last stop was Izamal and the focus was the biggest Mayan temple which is HUGE and right in the middle of the town. This one you could climb the stairs to the top. Then he did a little walking tour around the main square and a small art museum that portrayed the historical making of basket weaving etc. We were back in Valladolid at 6:30pm - overall a great day.

Chitchen Itza is a must do if you are in the area. It is an impressive and large site. The tour was well organised, skip the line to get in etc. Guide was good, but we were left to explore a very large part of the site for one hour and half hours unguided. We went to a cenote for lunch, which was pleasant. The food was tasty but cold. We drove on to Izamal, nearly everything was closed, including the convent, which was a shame. I wanted to combine Chitchen Itza with Rio Lagartos, which sadly Mexigo don't offer. Ek Balaam, I found overprice, and while it wasn't touristy like Chitchen Itza, if you go there then you probably don't need to come here ( unless you have particular interest in archaeology). The tours are professional and well run. I wanted to do Rio lagartos with Chitchen Itza, and if I had my time again. I might stay in Tizimin, combine both in a day with a private tour as sadly, Mexigo don't combine the two. Otherwise a good day, with a good guide, Gilberto.

Onze geweldige gids kwam ons precies ophalen bij ons hotel toen de boeking zei dat hij dat zou doen, nam ons mee naar Chichen Itza toen het openging, hielp ons de drukte voor kaartjes te verslaan en leidde ons door de site, waardoor het veel leuker en verrijkender werd ervaring dan wanneer we alleen waren gegaan. Ik waardeerde een meer lokaal/inheems perspectief op de geschiedenis en betekenis achter de ruïnes, met een beetje humor in de mix! Hij had zijn officiële toeristenvergunning en was duidelijk een regelmatig gezicht op de camping (op basis van het aantal verkopers en andere erkende gidsen die hem kenden). Slechts 2 andere mensen waren op onze tour - 4 van ons in totaal - dus het voelde heel persoonlijk en het busje met airconditioning was comfortabel! De lunch en het zwemmen in de cenote na Chichen Itza waren een welkome afkoeling / pitstop, en de extra excursie naar Izamel om meer Maya-ruïnes te zien plus het prachtige klooster en plein was geweldig! Ik waardeerde dat de reisroute op elk van de 3 locaties in de tijd 'alleen' was gebouwd, en hoe soepel en professioneel de hele ervaring was. Probeer het maïsijs en geef je gidsen een fooi! 5 sterren!