Chichén Itzá Early Access, Ek Balam & Cenote Small Group Tour

We took this tour with our two younger kids (ages 8 and 6). Chichen Itza was a bucket list item for the adults and the kids wanted to be able to touch some ruins, which isn't possible at Chichen Itza. After lots of internet research, we settled on this tour that included Ek Balam. My kids practiced climbing 106 steps for weeks before we left and were determined to get to the top of the pyramid. When the van arrived to pick us up at our hotel in Cancun, our tour guide let us know that her English is limited, even though we had booked an English tour. She was very nice and clearly trying very hard to accommodate us. Even though the language was a barrier, she was great and I have only nice things to say about her. That said, when we got to Chichen Itza at around 9:30am, she didn't have the credentials to enter the park so a different tour guide was hired. He was an older gentleman who did speak English and conducted our tour in both English and Spanish. We were told the tour would be about 40 minutes and we'd have an hour or so to wander around. The tour took the entire 2 hours we were at Chichen Itza and included explanations and photos of the way the Mayans used the calendar to build, and he did keep us mostly in the shade. It was also, and I can't overstate this, VERY HOT. Like, a whole level of hot that I've never experienced before. Someone said it was 110 degrees and also very humid . Be prepared with frozen water bottles and towels to cover your head. After Chichen Itza we went to lunch and were given time to look at the wares being sold in a building attached to the restaurant. The food was great and we bought a souvenir. Then it was off to the cenote. The cenote was gorgeous and very nice and cool. That said, there were no clocks anywhere and we were on a tight schedule. Keep that in mind when you jump in - keep track of the time somehow. My only issue with the cenote was that it was quite far from our route to Ek Balam. If they'd have taken us to a cenote that was closer, it would've been nice to spend less time in the car. BUT, it was spa-like and clearly a higher end cenote. Then onto Ek Balam, the part we were most excited about. The drive there took us through some of the more rugged and realistic Mexico. It seemed quite poor and I was glad we could contribute to the local economy with our visit. When we finally arrived a little after 4pm the tour guide went to speak to the gate admission and came back a few minutes later to explain that they'd closed early and we couldn't go in. It was a huge disappointment. In hindsight, we're kicking ourselves because we should've just pitched in some American money and bribed the gatekeeper to let us in. I would've gladly spent another $20 to get in, even if only for a few minutes. Keep this in mind if you arrive and they say they're closed - I almost think they were angling for a bribe and we, with a new tour guide who didn't know, coupled with a bunch of American naiveté, didn't figure it out. I filed for a partial refund from Amigo and am told I should have it in a few days, though I'd much rather have visited Ek Balam. Like many other reviews have said, this was a long day in the car. We left at 6am and got back at around 7pm. It was fun though, and the van was comfortable enough to nap in. Our tour guide was very, very nice and tried very hard to give us a great time. If it weren't for her wonderful attitude, we would be much more disappointed.

I'm generally a laid back person, and don't write reviews because, "hey, sometimes things happen and we just go with the flow." But this trip was so horribly managed that I had to write something. I decided to splurge on this trip for two reasons: (1) it advertises 3 hours at Chitzen Itza and (2) it includes a visit to Ek Balam. But the trip was terribly managed; I cannot figure out what justified the costs. Details: 1) When we arrive to Chitzen Itza, were informed we have 2 hours. And that's from the van parking in the lot to the time we have to be back, so realistically about 1.5 hours at the archaeological site itself. We are told that there will be a tour and then some time to wander and explore the site. We only have time for the tour (and even that felt rushed). We didn't visit several of the sites the guide pointed out at the beginning of the tour, and so only saw a fraction of the complex. (yes, you could easily spend an entire day at Chitzen Itza, but from research I did online 3 hours is usually how long it takes to tour the site, hence the appeal of a trip that stayed that long at the site). 2) We were told by our guide that lunch was at a "Maya community," but it's really just a big shopping point. Buffet lunch was underwhelming and the signs outside the location said that the buffet cost 120 pesos (about $6 USD). 3) The trip advertises 1.5 hours at Ek Balam. But we never made it to Ek Balam. We drove all the way there, arrived at 4:20. The ticket office closes at 4pm (and last entry is at 4pm) and the site closes at 5pm. We drove an hour to the site and were not able to explore it. We were given the excuse that the archaeological society decided to close the site early, but clearly it was poor time management on the guide's part that caused us to be so late. 4) The trip advertises that entry tickets to the two sites are included, but that you have to pay additional "taxes" to enter. From online research and from looking at the prices listed at the point of entry, this is wrong. The "taxes" that you are asked to pay by the tour company are actually the full entry fee. In other words, the only ticket that's included is to the cenote (but it's a grand total of $80 pesos, and you still have to pay $50 pesos for a mandatory life jacket). 5) I came from Playa del Carmen and it was the most inefficient pick up/drop off. The pick up went smoothly enough, but they drive you like 85% of the way to Cancun to meet up with the rest of the tour bus. (If you look at a map, there are many other points where it would make more sense to meet up with the tour bus). Drop off meant driving most of the way back to Cancun (approximately 45-60. minutes past Playa del Carmen on your way back), to get dropped off at a gas station. It's unclear to me whether the plan was to wait with us the whole time or if they only did that because I got frustrated with the prospect of being dropped off in a random parking lot to wait for a car for which I had no contact information. Regardless, the van waited with us for the 30 minutes it took for the car to arrive. When it did, it was clearly someone's personal car, which would be fine, except that it was dirty (full of the person's personal items, used maskes on the floor), and the window on the passenger's seat was missing (instead the open window was covered in layers of plastic wrap). Plus the driver was texting while she drove. 6) Another couple on the tour mentioned that they were supposed to go the day before. They were notified two hours after their pick up was supposed to happen that their trip had been cancelled. Basically, I spent double for a 15 hour day where we got 1.5 hours at Chitzen Itza, a 30 minute swim in a cenote, and an underwhelming lunch. Would not recommend at all.

This was a long day but an incredible experience! We loves the different sites and the unique stops along the way. Daniel was a very knowledgeable guide and and so much information to give us. Timing was perfect as we seemed to be leaving each spot as the big crowds arrived. Lunch was fabulous and the gift shop was fun. We truly enjoyed being able to climb around at Ekk balam and how few people were there. The Cenote was magical and so refreshing The only cons: there were only 2 families on our transport coming from playacar but instead of coming to pick us up (our resorts were literally right next to each other) they had us meet at a sketchy hotel downtown that made us wait on the sidewalk AND transport showed up 40 minutes later than what all of our communication said (especially rough at 5am) Also, the bus was not comfortable nor was water provided which we were led to believe would be provided. If you can look over that the rest was fantastic!

Our tour guide, Daniel, and driver, Jorje, were amazing! Daniel is Mayan and his insights into Chichen Itza were fascinating! The mathematics and science were honey to needs like us. Chichen Itza was every bit memorable as it is said to be. II'm really glad we did the early entry to miss some of the crowds. Ek Balam is definitely a must-do as you can climb the stairs and get up close and personal to everything! And the ceynote was so refreshing! Will do this one again!!

We booked the early access tour so we could avoid the crowds. Our tour was cancelled on the Monday but rearranged for the following day. We were told to arrive at our pick up point at 5.40 am and told to arrive early as the driver would only wait five minutes. We got up at 4.30 am to ensure we were there in plenty of time. We were still waiting at 6.30 am when two other mini buses arrived full of passengers from Amigo tours , all of whom were transferred to another coach. It was absolute chaos and we were told that this transport was not for us and we would have to wait until 7am ( I assume we were forgotten about). We were eventually picked up but then told we would not be arriving at Chichen Itza until 1.30pm ( so much for paying for an early access tour ). There was no communication about what had happened and it was lucky for us that we were with another couple who spoke Spanish otherwise we would have not have had a clue about what was happening and would have returned to out hotel thinking that it was all cancelled again. When I complained to Amigo tours that a 90 min wait was unacceptable they just said sorry it was outside their control! To give a balanced review, that said, the tour guides were great and they did give us a really good experience and they managed the rest of the tour very well. The positive stars are for the guides only - I can’t give five stars because of the poor customer service of Amigo tours themselves.

Our guide Daniel was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the Mayans. He kept us well advised of what to expect at each stage of the trip. Lunch buffet was good quality. There is a lot of time on the road, but this is unavoidable given the number of places we visited. The only downside was the 'detour' on return trip to drop 2 people in Playa del Carmen (the rest of us were based in Cancun - this added c. 1 hour to the return.

Daniel was a wonderful guide to teach us about the Mayan culture. Be prepared for a long day and lots of driving. Worthwhile to enjoy some culture during your beach vacation.

I am the kind of person who wants DETAILS before I book a tour. So I am going to provide all the details! Note that I booked the Playa del Carmen meeting point tour. Be sure to check your email the night before. Our meeting time was changed from 6am to 625am. The van driver was right on time. Unfortunately if you are coming from Playa del Carmen on this tour, the van takes you all the way up to Cancun to meet the tour bus so a lot of time is wasted in the car. The van dropped us at a gas station and the bus arrived 10-15 minutes later. Then we began the drive to Chichen Itza. We arrived at 9am local time (it is 1 hour earlier there than on the coast). On the bus we had to pay around $50 more person for the Chichen Itza taxes and tickets. We were there for 2 hours. The first hour our guide Ruben gave an amazing tour. The second hour we could explore on our own, but it did feel rushed. I don't think walking to the cenote was worth the time it took as you can barely see into it. I was worried it would be so hot but there was lots of shade. But still bring lots of water! After that was lunch. When we got to where lunch is, we had to wait around 30 minutes to eat and were given time for shopping. We did eat around noon local time, which was 1pm our time, so we were very hungry. Don't forget to bring snacks! The food was OK, what you would expect from a buffet. Drinks are not included. Then we went to Cenote Saamal. You need 40 pesos to rent a life jacket. I am big (2x American size) and they had one that fit me. It was very refreshing and I loved it! There is a bar and places for people to hang out who don't want to swim. The last stop was Ek Balam. This cost around 500 pesos ($25) per person and was not included. I'm not sure if it was worth it. Some people chose to stay on the bus. You can climb on the ruins and there is a really steep and scary set of stairs you can climb to the top of the main structure. The ride back seemed really long and we were exhausted. We did not get back to Playa del Carmen until 8:30, so a 14 hour day! But overall we enjoyed it.

The visit to Chichen Itza, El Bakam and the cenotes was excellent. The lunch was lovely and Reuben was very informative and friendly! The only downsides were being informed the day before we'd be meeting at 5am (not 6 as described) and returning for 7pm which was both earlier and later than expected.

The company cancelled on me once and never showed up when they rescheduled. I guess they had transportation issues, but didn’t tell me until I called (after waiting an hour). That said, I did the itinerary on my own (well, with the two others that were left stranded). And it was great!!! Ek Balam is small but underrated. Not sure why other tours overlook it.