Chichen Itza & Ek Balam Tour From Cancun
Description
Our Chichen Itza Cenote and Ek Balam tour from Cancun brings you on a unique journey of history, culture and stunning natural beauty. An expert guide will lead the way as you explore the two Mayan ruins sites and swim in a sacred cenote, round-trip transportation and lunch included!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Cenotes are unique to the Yucatan Peninsula, natural limestone sinkholes of incredible natural beauty that are perfect for a refreshing swim in a jungle oasis. Immerse yourself in the crystalline waters and admire the spectacular rock formations!
Step into Naayil Kú Maya Village for an immersive cultural encounter guided by the Maya themselves. You’ll be welcomed by a Maya warrior and a shaman before walking a sacred jungle path filled with stories and symbolism. Receive a traditional blessing and cleansing, then browse a small handicrafts shop showcasing locally made pieces. The highlight is a live Mayan Ball Game demonstration performed by authentic warriors, followed by a tequila tasting.
One of the most important archaeological sites in the world! Chichen Itza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, a “must do” tour when visiting Cancun. An expert guide will lead the way and share the exciting facts and folklore of Chichen Itza and the Mayan civilization. See the ball court, the Temple of a Thousand Columns and of course, the imposing Kukulkan Pyramid.
The Mayan ruins of Ek Balam may be less famous than Chichen Itza but they are spectacular! Climb the incredible Acropolis and admire the exceptional carvings and art of the ancient Maya that has been so well preserved and maintained and enjoy the view from the top.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We offer pick up service in most hotels. In the event that your hotel does not have a pick-up service, we will let you know the closest meeting point the afternoon before the tour by sending a message to your telephone or a notification to the email address indicated in your reservation.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- It is recommended that you bring Sports shoes, Sandals or flip flops, Swimsuit, towel, sunglasses, hat, Biodegradable sunscreen and mosquito repellent, a Camera and Mexican Pesos in cash for expenses and tips
Reviews(49)
Excellent experience. I recommend Xcaret premium service that gives you a parasol.
Our guide Antonio was excellent thanks to him we had a great day! He really takes the time to explain and in detail! We highly recommend this tour and Antonio!!👌🏼 10/10
Julio is a VERY PASSIONATE GUIDE an a good care taker too! Deep knowledge of the Mayan history! Both Sites are a MUST SEE!!!
Great outing. Very complete. Beautiful Ek Balam, spectacular Chichin Ithza and exciting bathing in the Samal cenote. That's our guide. Precise and prepared. Lunch at the typical restaurant in the good Mayan village. A day we will always remember. Super recommended.
Grazie mille per la tua bella recensione! Siamo felici che il viaggio ti sia piaciuto. Siamo lieti che la nostra guida fosse competente e preparata e che abbiate apprezzato il tradizionale pranzo Maya nel villaggio. È bello sapere che questo giorno rimarrà per te un ricordo speciale. Grazie per averlo consigliato così tanto!
We really enjoyed seeing both Ek Balam and Chichen Itza on the same day. There are limited tours that offer this option which is why we chose this. We were picked up at hotel (Cancun hotel zone) at 7:45 am. Picked up another group south of Cancun which significantly added to drive time. Went to Ek Balam first & had time to walk around and climb to top and see the carvings. Then we went to lunch at a tourist trap store and lunch. Lunch was buffet and good. Do not buy the added drink package as not worth it- 20$ for 2 drinks. After lunch drove to chichen itza which was truly amazing! Our guide did discuss the Mayan calendar, showed us photos of the snake. Then we had 45 minutes to explore the site. We walked to the cenote and also viewed the ball court. We could have spent hours here which is the downside of this tour option. The cenote was fun but a little chaotic to get the lockers, changed, into the cenote, changed and back to the van. We made it back to our hotel at 9pm. There were water bottles offered at the sites but no other drink options offered as advertised for your extra drink package. This was a lot of drive time but we really enjoyed seeing Ek Balam and Chichen Itza in the same day. I would have preferred a picnic lunch and more time at the sites.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed visiting both Ek Balam and Chichen Itza on the same day—it’s definitely a unique and ambitious itinerary, and we’re glad it gave you the opportunity to explore both incredible sites. We appreciate your honest feedback regarding the long drive time, lunch stop, and the drink package.We’re also glad you found the lunch buffet enjoyable and that your guide was informative and engaging during the Chichen Itza visit. It’s such a special place, and we completely understand wanting more time there! Thank you again for traveling with us and for helping us improve with your detailed review. We hope to welcome you back for another adventure soon!
Biggest issue was late pickup, and surprise fees. It took a few times reaching out to the tour operator or get a confirmed pickup location and time, and once it was confirmed, they were very nearly an hour late. Calling the three phone numbers provided got no answer, but after a while I did receive a text. We were told they'd be ten more minutes, but it was closer to 30, and the van arrived to pick us up at the hotel, where we waited close to five more while they called out the wrong name. Read the fine print carefully to not be surprised by "taxes" that nearly double the cost of the tour, after you've already paid through Viator. And then, be prepared for a surprise charge of $4 USD per person for life vests which are mandatory to swim at the cenote. Add in fees for lockers at the cenote, and tips at lunch (which servers are somewhat aggressive in seeking), and you should be prepared to spend much more than you thought. ...but. The tour itself was quite good. Knowledge guide, and incredible sites. It's a lot to do in one day, so you won't have enough time to really go in depth at either archaeological site, but that's the cost of hitting both in one go. Chichen Itza is a vast site, which goes WAY beyond the iconic pyramid temple. Take the opportunity to explore it. Ek Balam is less well known, but also less crowded and not at all overrun by Instagram tourists. It gives you the chance to feel more immersed in the historic experience. You can climb the main structure to see the incredible carvings and the view from the top, and enter smaller rooms in another structure. Parts of the site are unexcavated, with the jungle still covering the stone buildings. Highly recommend visiting either, or both ruins. I'd recommend shopping around before committing to this particular tour operator though.
This is such a great tour and experience. The whole day was filed with educational learning. The bus transportation was great. Thank you
We woke up the morning of the trip to find that, upon checking the website, our tour had been cancelled. I received no email or any type of message to alert me of the cancellation. We were not charged.
Hello logant531, thank you for sharing your observations with us. We understand your concerns and have noted your observations to improve our service and bring only the best experiences to our clients.
Might have been nice but they'll cancel on you without telling you. I had to reach out to them to confirm pickup since the tour was supposed to be tomorrow, they said they won't be doing the tour. They wouldn't cancel it, so Trip Advisor thought the tour was still going, which wouldn't let me cancel. I had to go through the headache of calling in just to get my money back.
Hello Connector03957538710, we are sorry to read that your experience with us was less than satisfactory. Please allow us to try to resolve the issues by sending us a message or email (info@yalku.tours) with details of your reservation: date, tour, name of guide, point of purchase and any other pertinent data that you wish to share with us. Please include a telephone number and email address for us to contact you. We look forward to hearing from you.
In my opinion we had the guide from hell. We received an email the day before our tour to bring mosquito repellent. I rushed out the morning of our tour and bought some. When the guide showed up he told us that they would prefer it if we didn't use mosquito repellant and that we wouldn't need it anyways. Our tour van was an 11-passenger van that had been reconfigured into a 14-passenger van (translation - less legroom than in an airplane). Our tour guide told us about all of the different governments, politicians and tourist groups that he hated. Then he told us about his medical problems. The tour description advised that you should be in good physical shape and that there would be a lot of walking. Our guide was in such poor physical shape that he couldn't climb stairs and had to cut his walking short. Our guide used a microphone and a chest mounted speaker. It was painfully loud and I asked him several times to turn it down. Personally, even if they paid my $500 I wouldn't go on this tour again. On the other hand, my wife really enjoyed it.
