Explore the ruins at Chichen Itza and Ek Balam and get the chance to swim in a freshwater cenote with this private tour from Playa del Carmen. You'll head out to Chichen Itza bright and early to help you avoid the crowds, where you'll have a guided tour followed by free time. You'll also visit the Ek Balam ruins, climb its pyramid and the Oxman cenote, with a stop in Valladolid for an included lunch.
Posted By : Discover61457259193
Fantastic private tour with Oscar who was incredibly knowledgeable on all the historic and cultural facts. He was timely and considerate throughout the day. We started off first thing in the morning to beat the crowds and heat. Chichen Itza was excellent. Lunch in Valladolid was phenomenal and truly a highlight of our trip. Oscar ordered a dish and appetizer in advance while we tried a few other dishes. All of it was delicious! Oscar dined at the bar and left us to some privacy. Oxman Cenote was fairly quiet with beautiful and clean waters. He guided us to the cenote, pointed out the outdoor shower and dressing areas, and let us loose to privately explore. The 100-110 degree heat made Ek Balam grueling in the afternoon as it offered little to no shade and had a steep ascent to the top of the pyramid. Unless you climb Ek Balam, it’ll feel subpar and bleak in comparison to Chichen Itza. But Oscar was still chipper throughout the experience. The long drive was smooth with strong AC and plenty of ice-cold water. It was the little details that made Oscar’s service phenomenal.
For the cenote, we didn’t love it. I didn’t remove any stars from my rating because I think it’s tough to offer a cenote experience for non-swimmers. That said, prior to booking and during the tour, I inquired in length about the cenote because of our lack of swimming experience. Both times, I was thoroughly assured it would be a good experience even for non-swimmers. I think the part that surprised me most was that Oscar didn’t come down to the cenote with us. Having him there to be a helping hand would’ve made a world of difference. If there was an add-on fee for that option, I’d gladly have opted in for it.
When we did a private cenote and archeological site tour with Rio Secreto, our guide was in the water with us the entire time (for no additional fee). It was such a positive experience that basically canceled out our negative Oxman cenote experience.
Oxman Cenote Notes for Non-Swimmers:
- Oxman Cenote doesn’t allow you to just dip your feet anywhere without blocking the stairway and other visitors.
- Oxman Cenote has a rope across it to help stay afloat but the rope is connected to the stair’s hand rail around the height of the bottom 3rd/4th step of the stairs.
- To reach the rope, you will need to get around the hand rail and swim a few feet to grasp the rope.
- The part of the rope that is attached to the handrail actually curves upwards a few feet and isn’t easy to grasp and hold onto if you don’t have great upper body strength.
- The part of the rope you can grasp actually sits a bit below the water’s surface. As others dive into the water and create waves, all it’ll do is help prevent you from floating away rather than help you stay above water.
- Unless you know how to float or some swimming basics, I wouldn’t recommend Oxman Cenote. I had to jump in to barely reach the rope and needed all my strength to just stay afloat. In the end, I had to be rescued by other visitors just to get back to the stairs.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-07-02 09:41:22 
Posted By : justinbS2493HB
We took an all day tour, seeing Chichen Itza, a beautiful cenote, lunch in Valladolid, and finally Ek Balam. Stunning scenery, and Carlos provided fantastic historical coverage. Hes also a great guy and good driver. Can't recommend it enough.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-05-06 19:06:01
Posted By : redarrowfister
If I could could give a score of 11 out of 5 - I would.
Highly recommend the Chichen Itza and Ek Balam private tour. We paid a little extra for the luxury car, which was well worth the money. It wasn't the luxury, but the ability to get from site to site quicker than in a van. The comfortable ride in the backseat of a Mercedes was a plus.
Heber was our guide, ask for him if you're doing the tour. I can't imagine another guide doing a better job than Heber.
We made quick time to Chichen Itza....second car into the site. Heber did a great job of explaining what we were about to see on the way there, which made all the difference in taking in the entire context of what we were looking at.
The 2.5 hour car ride to Chichen Itza went quick, as we had conversation the entire way. I asked a ton of questions about the Mayans, and also modern day life in Mexico which Heber was proud to talk about.
Once done with Chichen Itza we quickly moved to Ek Balam and climbed to the top of the ruins. Heber again shined by explaining the differences between what we saw at Chichen Itza and at Ek Balam. He also provided information on all the other Mayan sites and how they were connected to one another.
From there we went into town and had lunch at a small restaurant off the beaten path. Food was authentic and the service was awesome. Heber did a great job of asking about our likes and dislikes, and ordered some items from the kitchen to meet our desires.
One last stop at a Cenote to cool off before heading back to the resort. The ride back to the resort was a chance to relax and catch our breath. Once again, the comfort of a luxury car made that relaxation much better.
Great job Heber - if we're back in the area we will definitely look you up!
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-04-19 13:45:37
Posted By : Diana_P
Interesting information from our tour guide Eddy Heriberto. Amazing Mexican lunch. He made our long day very enjoyable and comfortable!! 👍🏻
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-04-14 14:20:24 
Posted By : mbrags
Had an excellent experience with our guide Herberito. Everything was easy for us. Guide was on time, friendly, and very knowledgeable about the Mayan culture.
Once visited Chichen Itza with a large tour company and would not recommend that experience to anyone. This was the exact opposite. We did what my family and I wanted and on the time table we wanted.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-04-01 18:52:31
Posted By : Teri_J
Great trip! Chichen Itza is beautiful. Go early to beat the heat and crowds. Ek Balam was more natural feeling and less crowded. The cenote is a cool ending. Our guide, Isaac, was great and very knowledgeable.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-03-20 17:26:03
Posted By : 319rhysb
Herbe did an amazing job guiding us around the tour. He shared great information throughout the entire tour. As we stopped to eat he picked out really good tasteful dishes and made sure we all were having a good time.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-03-12 18:26:39
Posted By : Adventure637413
We had an amazing day on our private tour! Our guide Juan, who happens to be an archaeologist with extensive knowledge of the Mayans, made our time at both Chichen Itza and Ek Balam magical. We are not rich people and the tour is expensive but we did a group tour to Tulum and after that I decided I was going to spend the extra money for a private tour of Chechen Itza and it ended up being worth every penny. Highly recommend this company and Juan as your guide. Also, try and make sure you are at Chichen Itza right when they open so you can take pictures and experience how special the place is before the throngs of tourist arrive.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-03-10 15:53:24
Posted By : jhgfdsayr
The private tour with MyQuest Concierge was a fantastic family experience and Heber was an amazing tour guide! We learned so much about the historic sites and Mexico. Chichén Itzá was incredible to see but Ek Balam was a more accessible scale and the preserved portion at the top was very cool to see. Being able to climb the structures at Ek Balam was also more engaging and beautiful views. I would highly recommend seeing them both in the same day or same trip if you can.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-02-19 19:04:47
Posted By : 359emilyp
My wife has waited her whole life to see Chichén Itzá. So when planning this trip I knew we needed a tour. I looked into the other sites and settled on Ek Balam too. I chose My Quest Concierge based on the tour type, and ratings.
Our amazing guide showed up at 6:30am to whisk us away to Chichén Itzá. Talking as much or as little as we wanted. Once we arrived he guided us to the site and this is where Issac began to shine. He led us down a path through time. We learned so much about the Maya people and how they mixed with other Mesoamericsn peoples (Teotihuacan?). I wish I had a recording of his knowledge. When we learned he changed careers and went to school to immerse himself to share his knowledge through eco tourism it all made sense. While people were walking around clapping we were studying the carvings and eating up the amazing history.
We went onto Ek Balam and lunch in Valladolid. He ordered ahead the most amazing vegetarian feast for us. Just amazing food. From there to the cenote. I could go on and on about Isaac’s knowledge but more he was so excited to share and we had some really wonderful conversations.
I will say that if I have another opportunity to have him as a tour guide I 100% would. He made my wife’s lifelong dream a reality filled.
Rating :
Posted On : 2024-02-14 19:06:37
>
