Chichen Itza & Ek Balam Tour From Cancun

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!

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Chichen Itza - 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.

  • Cenote Saamal - 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!

  • Zona Arqueológica de Ek Balam - 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.

What's Included
  • Chichen Itza, Ekbalam, and Cenote Saamal admissions included.
  • Complimentary hotel pickup and drop-off.
  • Box Lunch with sandwich, fruit, juice, and sweet (Plus option only).
  • Standard lunch provided.
  • Bottled water available.
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information
  • 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
Location
Smart Cancun by Oasis
Avenida Tulum
7:00 AM
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.4
(40 Ratings)
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David_m
Apr 22, 2024
Change in tour, but was wonderful - Sadly the Chichen Itza, Elbalam tour ended up not being available, notified by the tour company the night before. Given a choice of refund or a Wonderful Tour of Chichen Itza, Cenote and Vollidad with a buffet. We changed to the new tour. The Tour Guide was top notch. Everything was wonderful and would absolutly use them again.
Review provided by Viator
Mot_d
Apr 20, 2024
Chichen Itza and Ek Balam, nuff sed - Nisa was the guide and Aron was the driver -- Nisa very knowledgeable, and seemed to have a deep connection to his ancestors and their ways of life. Additionally, he treated us to BBQ pork ribs on the way to the cenote from Ek Balam, and they were AWESOME. Obviously, we'll likely never get those ribs ever again, even assuming we could even find them the town again. Loved the whole experience, even though it was a long day (7am to 8 pm); very clean van, and they picked up from Live Aqua, which was a great plus, since some of the other tours would have required us to get to the center of Cancun city itself to get picked up.
Review provided by Viator
Jessica_k
Feb 15, 2024
Pick this tour!! - The cenote was the best part! It was beautiful! It was located inside a cute hacienda with shower, bathroom, locker, and other amenities. Our tour guide Patricio and our driver Eric (if I remember his name correctly) were super friendly. Patricio was very knowledgeable on Mayan history and culture. We learned a bunch on this trip. Ek Balam was also very cool. It was waaaaay less crowded than Chichén Itzá and we got to climb the pyramid! The only downside to this tour was that the mini bus’s seats didn’t have a lot of legroom. But I do want to point out that the group size is much smaller than other tours 👍
Review provided by Viator
Julie_b
Oct 27, 2023
10 out of 10 - Great tour. Thomas taught us so much about the Mayan culture and we saw so many things. The driver was great too!
Review provided by Viator
Jessica_s
Oct 2, 2023
Best tour guide I've ever met - Gabriel was the best tour guide I've met in my many years of exploring Mexico. He was informative, fluent in English and was very kind to everyone. I will be suggesting his tour to everyone who visits Cancun! 10/10 service. Excellent guide, wonderful day and I would go over and over again!
Review provided by Viator
Edward_h
Sep 27, 2019
Chichen Itza, Cenote, Ek Balam, full day Excusion. was fantastic - We were picked up in the hotel zone of Cancun around 6 am, our driver Jose was professional and prompt. We had two more stops before we were on our way took about an hour. Our Guide was Aldredo {freddy} who began with some information and background about Chichen Itza while we were underway. When we arrived at Chichen Itza we had a few minutes for bathrooms etc then our tour began. Alfredo really knew a great deal about this site I got the impression he was a Mayan Academic as he knew a great deal but knew all of the answer to an assortment of questions from our group about the site and the daily workings and its inhabitants. He informed us and he dispelled many misconceptions about Mayan history. we were there for about 2.5 hours with about 30 minutes at the end to explore on our own. Then we were off to Hubiku Cenote which was a fascinating natural wonder. there for about an hour and able to swim if you wanted. The off to Ek Balam. This site was by far my most favorite. we had already been to Tulum, Muyil and Coba ruins the day before but Ek Balam was magical. Our Guide really shone here, Alfredo went above and beyond with not only the normal history and what structures purposes were but the general idea of what Ek balam was and how that differed from the other places we had been. He explained in detail how the astronomy sciences were heavily taught here and showed us how the Ancient Myans used a math form to do complex computations to not only build the fascinating structures but to chart the heavens as well. I will never forget the place and what we learned. I can't compliment Alfredo enough, his passion for and knowledge of these places was very apparent and we all benefited from it.
Review provided by Viator
Angieb2437
Dec 10, 2019
Great sights, bad organization - We were picked up 40 minutes late, which is not cool considering it was 6 in the morning. The tour operator took us all the way down to Playa del Carmen to pick up other tourists for this tour, although the way from Cancun to Chichén Itza would have been about an hour shorter. The driver didn't have a clue where to return people in the evening. The sights were spectacular and the guide was quite good. There was enough water and the included food was not bad. Although our trip was unnecessarily long, we reached Chichén Itza early enough to see it before the masses came. Hubiku Cenote is a highlight, since it was not crowded. Ek Balam is interesting, breath taking and fun, since you can still climb the ruins there. To conclude: if you want to see most on one day, this tour is perfect. However, we'd never again book with a tour operator from Playa del Carmen when staying in Cancun, because we paid it with over 2 unnecessary hours on a bus.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Connector03957538710
Jun 30, 2024
They cancelled without notice. - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mike_w
May 4, 2024
Wouldn't do it again even if they paid me. - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Christy_p
Jan 30, 2024
Operator changed the time with insufficient notice so we missed the trip and they offered no redress - The tour operators changed my departure time twelve hours ahead of the excursion, and we did not know to look for an email, so we missed the email and the pickup. I booked the 8:20am pickup, received a ticket that confirmed 8:20am pickup, got a confirmation text message the day before the trip that stated 8:20am pickup. None of the communication suggested that I also needed to log into my email the night before the trip to check and see if the times had changed after the morning confirmation text. Since I did not see the email telling me the new time, I did not acknowledge receipt or acceptance of the time change. The pickup time changed from 8:20am to 7:00am. When the operators arrived at my hotel, they did not attempt to call our room or my cell phone before declaring us a no-show to the pickup that we had not been informed was happening an hour and a half earlier than we expected. Would not recommend this company because of the poor communication.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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