Guided Tour to Chichen Itza Cenote and Valladolid

Tour is ok but tour guider needs improve

Tour is ok. But two tour guides needs improve. They scared tourists to sell bug spray at a very expensive price. Also, they are dishonest at request international tourists pay higher tax when using credit card after booking the tour. They charge 25% more instead of 6%. My recommendation: dont buy their bug spray and pay optional tax when booking.

via Tripadvisor

Waste of time and money

We shouldn't have been allowed to go on this tour. We were too far away from all the other participants to make our day worth while. Picked up at 7:15 a.m. and last pickup was at 9:45 a.m. And that 2 1/2 hours in the bus was spent driving in circles, dropping people off, picking people up, it was crazy. Large bus which was eventually full of people. The 2 guides and driver were great, but it seemed like there were subcontractors and more subcontractors. I'm still not clear who was actually organizing the tour. There ended up being some major event in Valladolid so we couldn't stop there on the way out. Then we were taken to a blatantly commercial "cooperative" to peruse the wares and take part in a blatantly commercial "shaman" ceremony before our mexican lunch. Then we were finally driven to Chichen Itza for a 2 hour walk about. We stopped in Valladolid at 5:30 p.m., in the dark, on the way back. We were finally dropped off at our hotel at 10 p.m. Very long and exasperating day. ( and I had done a tour like this 5 years ago, small van about 12 people, very much more enjoyable).

Response from the operator: Hi RockyMJ. We're sorry the experience didn’t meet your expectations. We appreciate you mentioning the great work of the guides and driver. Please note that, as stated in the tour description, this is a shared excursion, which involves multiple pick-ups and stops. That said, we’ll be passing your feedback to the provider to continue improving. Thank you for sharing your review!

via Tripadvisor

It is a long day but it...

It is a long day but it is also a GREAT day! We had Jorge as our tour guide and Orlando as our driver. Jorge is super informative and great at switching back and forth between English and Spanish (which might be harder for folks who have English or Spanish as a second language). Orlando is also a fantastic driver and we all felt very comfortable on the bus. (Shoutouts to Jorge for making sure no one did number two on the bus!) Highlights include: - the salsas at the buffet and the carnitas tacos. The tortillas were phenomenal! - the Cenote swim: you don’t want to miss it! You’ll just need to pay for a lifejacket and a locker. - the Chichen Itza, of course: so much history and our other tour guide, Roberto, (for English) was excellent at explaining everything. He even gave us tips on how to take the best photos! - the Valladolid: honestly I would have loved to stay for dinner, such a cute square. We were lucky enough to also see a show with folks in traditional Mayan wear and fire!

Response from the operator: Thank you for sharing your experience. We're glad to hear it was a great day and that Jorge and Orlando did an excellent job. We also appreciate your comments about Roberto and will share them with the excursion provider. It's great to know you enjoyed the food, the cenote, and each stop of the tour. We hope you take unforgettable memories with you.

via Viator

Masterclass in selling add-ons and lies

This tour was a masterclass in selling lies and add-ons through the day. You will be picked up by a bus at your meeting point. There are many different operators doing the same tours at around the same times (7am), so make sure you get on the right bus. My bus showed up 30 minutes after the agreed meeting time. You will then be shuttled to another meeting point in the hotel zone, where you “register” and pay any undue fees you haven’t paid when booking. Here, you will be put on a second bus which will be your actual tour bus. This bus was quite cramped and I didn’t have much space - they made sure to fill all seats. This whole process added around 1.5 hour before we even took off for Chichen Itza. They start by saying there has been Dengue and many mosquitoes in Yucatan, so they’ll try to sell you additional mosquito spray. On the bus the tour guide (Carlos) shared a lot about Chichen Itza and Mayan culture. His speech was filled with inaccuracies and lies. For example he shared that the Shaman he knew took a photo with his family in front of the pyramid when a magical beam of light appeared, though in fact this was a tourist photo and the light beam was likely caused by camera glitch. He was very spiritual and sold the first stop as an authentic Mayan town where we would be greeted by the Shaman. When we arrived, there was a fake welcome ceremony by an obviously fake Shaman. They did some tricks with obsidian stones, and targeted a few people to sell additional “healing”. Carlos on the bus also said local school children create personalised Mayan calendars, which you could buy as an add-on, though at the stop there were no school children in sight and it was obviously an expensive print-out. He said the people in the town produced all the items in the gift shop, though they were obviously mass produced and sold and extortionate prices. We had to wait in this gift shop for a long time until the group before us finished eating. After the gift shop we were told they had to take individual photos of us for “control”, you couldn’t opt out of this. After the photo, we once again had to wait, but this time in a chocolate powder shop where they were trying to sell us chocolate powder. When we finally got there, the food was great and unlimited, you could go up as many times as you’d like. There weren’t any drinks included, not even water!, and they sold this at additional expensive prices. There were also some dancers who also wanted tips. When we got back on this bus, we were given small shots of a local liquor. When in the bus, they targeted some families to sell bottles of the liquor with the photos they took of them printed on the label - so the photos weren’t just for ‘control” purposes. This was yet another way they were trying to get money from more vulnerable visitors who find it hard to say no. The visit to Chichen Itza was great, where we were shown around by Ruth, the English speaking tour guide. She was by far the highlight of the whole day, and gave an incredible and informative tour. It was very hot, and we were given umbrellas. She did a great job in keeping us engaged and had great historic facts without going down the path of inaccuracies around spirituality, like the bus tour guide did. You are given some free time in Chichen Itza and I highly recommend walking around to see the other parts, especially the Cenote, as the tour didn’t cover everything. Don’t engage with the local market people as again it’s all a big scam. You can up cheap water at the Cenote though, which ended up being cheaper than the small bottles of water they sold on the bus for 20 MEX. After Chichen Itza we were taking to Cenote Saamal. This was inaccurate, as it was advertised we were going to Cenote Hibiku in the listing. At Saamal, you have to pay around 120 MEX for a life vest and a locker. We had about an hour here, and it was great to swim in the Cenote and the surroundings were beautiful. We then did a quick pit stop in Valladolid to get some snacks and walk around the main square, before heading back to Cancun where we were once again expected to tip upon leaving the bus. It really felt like a master class in selling add-ons, but given the tour access to Chichen Itza, the full lunch, and the Cenote and Valladolid visit, as well as the transport, I still think it’s really good value for money as it was a full day of activity. The highlight was a Ruth at Chichen Itza, she was brilliant.

Response from the operator: Hi Jeroen, thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed review of your experience. We’re truly sorry to hear that parts of the tour didn’t meet your expectations and that you felt there were too many add-on sales throughout the day. We completely understand how frustrating that can be during what should be a relaxing and enjoyable excursion. We’re glad to know that Ruth stood out and made your visit to Chichén Itzá informative and enjoyable —she’ll be happy to hear your kind words. We’ll make sure to pass your full feedback to the excursion provider so they can review every detail and continue improving the experience for future travelers. Your comments are very valuable to us, and we truly appreciate you sharing both the positives and areas that need attention. We hope your next adventure brings a smoother and more enjoyable experience. 🌿

via Tripadvisor

Great Experience

A shuttle for pickup was included. The small shuttle takes you to a souvenir shop in Cancun where you will check in and get sorted in lines for your larger bus. The ride is long but its not bad. First stop is for lunch, there is a lot of choices and the food is good, but not great. You do have to pay separately for your drinks unless you choose that option during booking. Chichen Itza was beautiful and the tour was informative. There are a lot of souvenir booths set up along all the walking paths which can be a pain. The Cenote was an awesome experience. Water was cold, clear and beautiful. The jumping platform was also fun.

Response from the operator: ¡Hola Alesha_K! ¡Muchísimas gracias por compartir tu experiencia con Quality Tours! Nos alegra saber que disfrutaste del traslado, la variedad de opciones en el almuerzo y, sobre todo, de la majestuosidad de Chichén Itzá y de las aguas cristalinas del cenote (¡esa plataforma de salto es todo un reto divertido!). Asimismo, nos complace que nuestro guía hiciera la visita tan informativa; enviaré tus comentarios al proveedor de la excursión para reconocer su labor. Esperamos tenerte pronto de nuevo en otra aventura inolvidable. ¡Hasta la próxima!

via Viator