Chichen Itza & Cenote: Yucatán's Hidden Gems

Immerse yourself in the ancient Maya civilization with a full-day tour of Chichen Itza and Valladolid. Explore the impressive archaeological site, swim in a cenote, and indulge in a traditional lunch.

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Kaua - Begin your journey with a cultural experience before visiting Chichen Itza. Immerse yourself in Maya traditions, observe artisans crafting stone works, enjoy handmade corn tortillas, and taste Xtabentun, a local beverage. Receive a blessing from a Maya shaman. To maximize your visit, special bracelets will be provided for entry to Chichen…
What's Included
  • Lunch (regional buffet)
  • Pick up & drop-off, transport by air-conditioned vehicle
  • Professional certificated bilingual guide
  • All Taxes & Fees, no extra or hidden charges
  • Guided visit to Chichen-Itza & free time there
  • Lifejackets in the cenote
  • Swimming in the stunning Oxman cenote, located near the old Hacienda
What's Not Included
  • Drinks, unless specified
Additional Information

Prepare for an unforgettable adventure as you explore two of the Yucatán’s most remarkable treasures! The journey starts at Chichen Itza, one of the New7Wonders of the World. As you explore this ancient Maya city, be captivated by the iconic Kukulkan Pyramid, a true wonder of architecture and astronomy, and the impressive Temple of Warriors, adorned…

Location
Smart Cancun by Oasis
Avenida Tulum
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(484 Ratings)
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Jorge_j
May 2, 2025
Family had a great... - Family had a great experience and the tour was great, wish we had more time in the pool area but everything was awesome
Review provided by Viator
Charity_r
Apr 1, 2025
Good Long Day - We loved the tour & the Mayan lunch was delicious. It was a long day. We were picked up around 8 AM & returned to our resort after 9 PM. Angel, Estrella & Mario were knowledgeable & kept things moving & entertaining.
Review provided by Viator
Tara_m
Mar 31, 2025
Great experience! - Amazing tour guide, Ricardo! He was knowledgeable and kept our group together and moving to all the great spots. A day full of fun and experience!
Review provided by Viator
Jun_m
Jan 10, 2025
The tour guide provided... - The tour guide provided good introduction on the history and culture of Chichen Itza. This made the trip not only about seeing a world known monument, but also an understanding of Mexican people.
Review provided by Viator
Samjl2879iz
Jan 5, 2025
Great experience - Angel, Diego and Ever (driver) were great tour guides. Everything was well explained. Pick up was on time. Learned a lot about Mexican history and culture. Angel's sexy speaking voice while explaining in Spanish is a ++. Nos vamos de nuevo!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rob
Dec 30, 2024
Great visit and tour! - Our guide Abel and driver Kiko were awesome! Chichen Itza: Bring a hat, big spray, and sunscreen! There was a 60 pesos (I forget the extract amount) camera fee per Camera/GoPro you bring; I brought my GoPro and Insta360 so I had to pay it twice. They do a very quick bag check as you get your ticket checked and enter the site, but I kinda wish I had just left my GoPro buried at the bottom of my bag or in the hotel since I didn’t use it, haha. Phones do NOT count as a camera (no fee for using your phones). Our tour of Chichen Itza took us around about 80% of the site, including the Ossuary, the Observatory, the Nunnery, the Ball Court, places between, and of course the main highlight: Temple de Kukulkan! At each stop Abel told us a little more about the history of the Maya, about their construction process, and about their technology. We stopped specifically for pictures a few times and took extra long picture time at Kukulkan. We had time to take pictures at most the structures but it required some split attention to not miss out on Abel’s information. There are tons of people trying to sell souvenirs at the site, but Abel warned of the poor quality and the pace of the tour helped keep us from getting swept into vendor hands. Cenote Ik Kil: Cenote Ik Kil was beautiful. It has a small ledge you can jump from, maybe 2 meters high and a waterfall you can swim through. The Cenote is very deep and you need to wear a life vest to swim in it. Don’t drop anything because posted signs say you won’t get it back, haha. You need to walk down 90 stairs to get to the cenote’s crystal clear waters. When we were there the water was fairly cool, but our bodies adjusted to it pretty quickly. There were lockers provided for storing your things and the life vests are provided. The Cenote is 1 large pool, no caverns to explore. Even with the tour groups there was space for everyone once you got away from the “shore”. It took a while for us to get changed, get our vests, and start swimming so I really would have liked more time here. Still I’m grateful for the time we had :) Lunch Buffet in Maya village: Tacos buffet with hand made tortillas featuring local foods such as Cochinita Pibil aka Mayan Pork. Cochinita Pibil is pork wrapped in a banana leaf and buried above heated ground to slow cook for 8 hours. It was salty and tender! There was a dance performance during lunch by an excited band of Mayan Dancers and a tour of the village teaching about the modern Mayan way of life. There is a gift shop with crafted obsidian from the artisans in the village, as well as some other cool things. They made fresh tortillas in front of us and offered them with a bit of salt. SO TASTY! Valladolid: The stop at Valladolid is only 20 minuets, which felt a little rushed. I would have enjoyed more time at Chichen Itza for photos or more for swimming in Cenote Ik Kil and skipped Valladolid all together. That said, I enjoyed the churro I was able to get at the local stand and there was a Maya dance performance in the city center which was really cool to see. I enjoyed the performers wa saw in Valladolid compared to those we saw in the Maya village during lunch. Lastly, there were so many birds in the trees flying and cawing about which was kinda stunning. Overall we loved our experience and would highly recommend it to friends visiting Cancun!
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Martijn_v
Dec 28, 2024
Great tour to Chichen-Itza and more! - It is an all inclusive tour with an excellent guide, Mario and excellent driver Carlos. Very punctual and a luxurious buss. The different sites are very nice and diverse.
Review provided by Viator
Madabhushi_c
Dec 25, 2024
Very knowledgeable guide made for a very informative trip. - The tour was subcontracted to OIMar Travels which was again probably again subcontracted to Ekinox Tours. I say probably because the very knowledgeable tour guide was wearing Ekinox Tours cap and T-shirt. The pick up from the hotel was efficient and on time. Drop off was a bit messed up, because once we reached Playa del Carmen, some of us staying in the Playacar area were sent into another vehicle. This driver was clueless about the entrance gate to Playacar complex. Took us 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen to our hotel in Playcar !!!! Apart from the drop off , everything else on the trip was great. Chichen-itza and Ik-kil Cenote were worth watching. Valledolid not so much.
Review provided by Viator
711clairew
Apr 26, 2025
Some services can be improved. Stop selling me stuff - I was put into another tour company. I am not sure why. Olmar tour company did not notify me about that at all. The pickup is on time. Bus is fine. Space is good on the seat. But the tour guide while on bus keeping telling us about art products that he will being us to purchase. He said not to buy anything at chichen itza. Instead he will take us to a shop that sells authentic souvenir. However the shop is way over priced. That caused us not getting some souvenir from chichen itza. Also we did not have enough time exploring chichen itza. He kept saying real mayan lunch while on bus. At lucnh, it is just cheap tacos. Nothing different than you can get from OXXO. plus seating at lunch is arranged weird. I had to sit with others in front of me. Plus they said they dont have soft drink while i see them serving to others. The only good thing is cenote. The cenote they brought us to is clean. Not crowded. It had zipline as well. That is the only place throughout the whe tour that my daughters actually enjoyed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Holly_c
Apr 21, 2025
Tourist trap - The tour guide Ullista was very knowledgeable and very friendly, along with all the other tour people involved. I have no complaints about the staff, only the trip and the tourist trap aspect. Constantly on the tour you are offered and guilted into paying for extras, we did not pay for any extras/ tourist traps but please be aware of this before booking. The first stop was a ‘traditional’ Mayan town, which was really just a complex built completely for tourists with nothing traditional about it, you are first led to a gift shop with about 20 sales people trying to get you to buy their “handmade” souvenirs which are really just all imported items, they were charging 40 dollars for a small Chichen Itza pyramid, which later on in the tour at other stops, merchants were selling for 1-5 dollars!!! The first stop was very disappointing and felt very tourist trap like, the food included was very limited and not great. Please do not think there is anything traditional about this Mayan stop. The second stop was Chichen itza which was an incredible experience, the tour guide was great and no complaints about this stop. The 3rd stop again was amazing the town was a great spot and lots to do, however you are encouraged to go to ‘free tequila tasting’ which in the end is more sales people trying to get you to buy their “homemade” tequila. Also on the tour you are offered Mayan certificates and a local liquor made by one of the tour guides families, which actually has your photo on the label, again it does come across very tourist trap like and pressured into buying. The last stop was the cenote which was also amazing, you do only get an hour at the cenote which does make the time short, however for us we were truly exhausted and ready to call it a day! Overall we enjoyed the trip and glad we went, but were disappointed with how much ‘selling’ was included in the tour and the tricks of the authentic Mayan culture. During some of the knowledge talks there was a lot of information which was sometimes hard to follow and understand as well. Just something to be aware of before going on the trip!
Review provided by Viator
From $129
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).