Chichen Itzá, Cenote Ik Kil, Valladolid Premium Full-Day Tour All Fees Included

We had a mostly positive experience on our full-day tour to Chichen Itza, Cenote Ik Kil, and Valladolid. All three sites are great. Our primary issue with this tour was the logistics, which stems from the company's coordinators and planners. We were on a tour with 11 people total, and my fiancé and myself were the first pickup, which was at 5:20am. That meant we were up at 4:30am. While we were fine with that, we were guaranteed that we would arrive to Chichen Itza by its opening time (it should be noted that Chichen Itza is in Central time, while Riviera Maya is Eastern time). We booked this tour specifically because of the guarantee that we would arrive at opening. Unfortunately, the pickups took so long that we did not arrive to the parking area until 45 minutes after opening time, and did not enter the site until 9:15am - which doesn't seem like a huge deal except that the site gets so crowded and hot that it really does make a difference to arrive precisely when it opens. In addition to nearly two hours spent just on pickups (which included an hour-long detour through the streets of Playa del Carmen), we stopped for gas. It is really not OK that the van was not filled up prior to the tour. In addition, we seemed to have taken a very long route to the site - going from Riviera Maya through Tulum and then west to Chichen Itza. A tour guide from another company that we had used earlier in our trip suggested confirming which route the tour was going to take, as there is a much more direct route from Riviera Maya area hotels to Chichen Itza over a toll road. We did not confirm with Viator which route our tour would take, but next time, we would be sure to use a tour group that took the more direct route. The guided tour was under an hour and a half (the description of the tour lists the guided part as 2 hours) and the guide did not take us to the Observatory section. Finally, seemingly because of the long time it took to get there, we were only permitted 45 minutes of free time at Chichen Itza. Again, while not major, 15 extra minutes of free time means a lot when at a wonder of the world.

Our group of 13 (including one toddler) thoroughly enjoyed our excursion. The best part is that they pick you up early, which means you beat the heat and crowds at Chichen Itza. When we arrived, there was no line and the morning was still comfortable. When we left, the line to get in was long and it was starting to get incredibly warm. I can’t imagine all that walking in the heat of the day! On the way there, we stopped by a delicious little restaurant where we enjoyed homemade tortillas and yummy tacos. I recommend the carne asada! The cenote is breath taking and absolutely a must! You can rent towels and life jackets there and there are also lockers and a large changing room. A buffet lunch was provided at the cenote. The fried fish was delicious. Finally, we stopped by a town but it was too hot by then for us to really enjoy it. Our tour guide and driver were both very friendly and knowledgeable. We learned so much! Thank you for a perfect day!

We went on this tour last week. Edmundo Carvallo Joel was our English speaking tour guide, through trip advisor. It was a fantastic history lesson at Chichen Itza. The lunch at the Cenote Ik Kil was excellent and the Cenote was beautiful. We highly recommend this tour.