Bacalar Private Charter Shore Excursion

Posted By : Jay_C
Originally, this excursion was supposed to have 3 stops of near equal time at each. Unfortunately, our cruise ship (Mariner of the Seas - RCI) docked an hour late. The lagoon was incredible. We spent about an hour there. The water was some of the most beautiful we'd ever seen! Our cruise guides even took us to a local pineapple store for fresh fruit and to Taco Loco for regional cuisine! Since we were running short on time, our guides took us briefly to see the old fort and the cenote. We know we want to explore more of Costa Maya on our next visit! Side note - our daughter requires the assistance of an electric wheelchair. The guides picked this 300 lb chair up and down into the van at each site! Incredible! We were concerned about time and might become pier runners, but they ensured we would make it (in the nick of time!) Would highly recommend it! A+++
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Posted On : 2024-06-07 16:55:00

Posted By : Cody_S
The drive was longer than both the stops combined. By the time we got to each location, we had only 20-30 minutes to actually swim. The lake and the cenote were both nice, but probably not worth the drive. Stay in the port, where there’s plenty to do and freshwater pools.
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Posted On : 2024-04-29 17:01:18

Posted By : Nikki
We loved this private tour. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. We loved hearing about the history and stories from local people. Would highly recommend this tour.
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Posted On : 2024-04-15 10:33:18

Posted By : Claire_S
We were a group of 12 with 3 children(4, 3, 1). Carole was very knowledgeable about the area and history. You could tell she loved the area. We had a great driver (Dani)! They took us to a wonderful restaurant for lunch which was delicious! They were both very accommodating as it can be difficult travelling with young children. We had plenty of water and a cooler with ice which made the heat tolerable. Check in and location of tour was easy to find. We would definitely use them again.
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Posted On : 2024-04-09 13:36:34

Posted By : Nomad00767785392
My group of 10 just returned from our shore excursion, Bacalar Private Charter Shore Excursion. I am very sad and disappointed that I suggested this excursion to the group of 10 I was escorting and am glad the others in our group went elsewhere.

The map and instructions were great.

We were offered water and that was nice, but no snacks were ever offered. We got on the van, which was dirty because there was dirty tissues, hair things, and wrappers were left in the back of the seat pockets. The young lady that was our tour guide, Cinemara/Sinemara or something, barely spoke to us. We learned nothing about the Bacalar Lagoon and why it is called the Lake of 7 Colors and never heard about the Fuerte San Felipe Bacalar - we drove past it - not what did it signify, why was it built and who built it. We had some history teachers with us and they would have loved that. Then we went and ate lunch at the Cenote Azul, but know nothing about it - how it was formed, where the caves are, nothing! For the science teachers with me, they were so unhappy.

The driver was very nice and I could usually find him when I needed something, but the guide was often not around. Coming off of two other tours where the guides were VERY interactive, this was really a let down. I feel like we know nothing about your area and we would have liked to learn.

I sent a message to the vendor as soon as we returned to our ship and have heard nothing in two weeks. I don't want others to be disappointed.
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Posted On : 2024-01-18 11:01:57

Posted By : Z6621QKbrittanyb
The swimming was absolutely amazing!!! Bryan was so knowledgeable and accommodating to everything we wanted to do. The whole family had a great time. Only down fall is it’s about an hour and 20 min drive from cruise port however the kids napped and it worked out amazing!
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Posted On : 2024-01-14 11:21:30

Posted By : Marsha_Y
We had a wonderful time on our tour with call me CMTours. Ishmael was our tour guide and was excellent the entire trip. He made sure we were comfortable and took great care of us.
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Posted On : 2024-01-09 21:42:06

Posted By : Krista_R
We didn’t realize what we were getting when we signed up for this excursion but we had a blast. The drive to and from is much further than we expected so the time at each location was short. We opted to skip the fort and really could have just gone straight to the cenotes. The food there was amazing and we could have spent all day just eating and swimming in tranquility.
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Posted On : 2024-01-08 12:18:54

Posted By : tamberlya2023
Of all the excursions I've done over the years from cruise ports, this was the worst experience. It's a bit of a walk to get to the pick up point, which was fine but when we got there we were bounced back and forth between people since no one knew who was supposed to be taking us. The "guide" didn't speak to us the entire route. We were dropped off on a cold and rainy day, the lagoon was.. rustic...we were the only tourists and they all stared. It was rocky and we quickly left due to the cold (obviously not the fault of the excursion). Next we stopped at a fort in the middle of a city. There was an admission of about $2 that was covered by this excursion. Didn't take more than a few minutes to walk around and then let the kids play at a nearby playground. Next went to a cenote azul which I clearly misunderstood. I thought it said underground river and I was picturing going in a cave ( I could swear there were pics that showed that). Nope. Just a large pond. Freezing cold because the WATER comes from underground. Back to the port early. Again zero conversation from the guide. Biggest waste of money and time. I hate to waste a day on a seven day cruise and this was a waste. Next time I'd stay in port Costa Maya and just relax at a pool. The excursion said it included drinks and fruit from a farm stand. There was bottled water, not cooled. No other food.
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Posted On : 2024-01-06 11:58:51

Posted By : Brittany_L
Our extended family of 12 took this private charter through Bacalar and we all loved it! We had our own van and personal driver for our entire group. We loved seeing some of the local attractions that were not commercialized or over populated…beautiful swimming areas. Our personal driver even stopped at a few local stores for us to shop. Great experience! Highly recommend!
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Posted On : 2023-12-26 12:20:37