Chichen Itza Classic Tour: Explore the Unique History of the Mayan Culture in Mexico

Immerse yourself in the unique history of the Mayan culture on the Chichen Itza Classic Tour in Mexico. Explore ruins, swim in a cenote, and visit an authentic colonial town. Book now!

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Chichen Itza - Explore the majestic Chichen Itza fortress and delve into the fascinating history of this ancient Mayan metropolis, which stands as a pivotal site in Mayan civilization.
  • Cenote Saamal - Visitors will encounter the region’s most breathtaking cenote, known as Saamal, an ancient Mayan water well. Guests have the option to swim or simply capture stunning photographs. A delightful buffet is also available.

*The Cenote’s availability may change.

  • Valladolid - Experience the charm of a distinctive colonial city and its picturesque scenery. Be enthralled by the exquisite Mexican garments, and seize the chance to acquire a traditional Mayan ‘hipil’ dress or savor the unique taste of genuine Mexican ice cream in the heart of the town.
What's Included
  • Admission to sacred cenote
  • Quick visit to Valladolid
  • Admission to Chichen Itza
  • Lunch included
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Guidance from a certified guide
What's Not Included
  • Taxes for professional or GoPro cameras in Chichén Itzá
  • Vests and lockers
  • Drinks and box lunch breakfast (Only in Plus option)
Additional Information

YOU MUST BE HERE! This is one of the most enigmatic activities in Mexico.

Chichen- Itza is unique in the world since there is no such thing anywhere. This activity is cataloged as mandatory for all travelers who visit Mexico. The food is prepared with the highest standards of hygiene.

We recommend to bring towel, swimming suit and comfortable shoes like tennis or sneakers. It is important to mention that you need to use biodegradable sunblock and products, due to our commitment to nature.

The experience is so incredible that it takes you to live the unique history of the Mayan culture. Explore the ruins, discover interesting facts of Mayan civilization, swim in the incredible cenote and visit an authentic colonial town

*The cenote may vary depending on availability and COVID restrictions. Available Now: Cenote Saamal, Selva Maya.

Location
Chichen Itza
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.1
(46 Ratings)
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Cristinas
Aug 28, 2024
Informative - Able to see this world heritage site located in Mexico. The tour guides (Spanish/english) were very informative. The rain did not dampen our excitement.
Review provided by Viator
Ayalgx
Apr 24, 2024
Chicken itza Adventure. - Our guide was very knowledgeable and made it very interesting. Our only negative was the length of the trip which took 14 hours.
Review provided by Viator
417guenters
Mar 18, 2024
Sun and shadow - Good value for money. We waited 30 minutes without any information that that the pick-up service is delayed. The registration process was not at the bus, we had to walk through a shopping center. The bus journey and support team was capable and supportive
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mariluz
Jan 22, 2024
Regular - The tour is good, the journeys are very long, the food is horrible, not even lunch, the time is very limited to carry out the activities.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Albert_d
Nov 29, 2023
Fun Tour/Amazing Sites/Informative Guide (But Bring Your Pesos B/c They Are Definitely Going To Try To Sell You Stuff!) - We spent the day with Julio (tour guide) and Andres (driver), and they took great care of us. Everybody had a great time, and I would definitely recommend this tour (even with its flaws), because it’s a safe, reliable and easy way to see these sites. However, the tour isn’t exactly as advertised, since yes, we left a little after 7 a.m., but we didn’t get to Chichen Itza until about 12:30 p.m. Before we got there, we had to “check in” for the tour at the back of a gift shop in a mall, and then hang out outside of that gift shop for about 20-30 minutes until they called our tour’s name. Our first stop? Another souvenir shop about 20 minutes outside of Chichen Itza. They disguised this particular selling stop as our “lunch,” but really, you’ve got to endure an entire presentation of alleged Mayan rituals (really, it was a way to sell you stones and other stuff you don’t really need), and about another 20 minutes of hanging out in the souvenir shop with your tour guide’s name on your shirt (clearly, these folks make a commission from all these sales), before they’ll even call your lunch group into the dining area. No complaints about the buffet-style food, though, as it was all delicious. After this stop, we finally headed toward the star of the tour — the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza — and how do the locals respect these sacred temples? By turning its outer rim into an area where you can purchase everything from luchador masks to animal-noise-making blow toys to probably anything and everything else. All the selling of things was a little overblown the entire tour, but we did eventually get to all the advertised sites, and they were all amazingly beautiful locales. We had two hours in Chichen Itza (one hour guided, one hour not guided), then one hour at the perfectly-temperatured and absolutely picturesque Cenote Saamal (Selva Maya) in Merida (you will need to purchase a life jacket and possibly a locker if you plan on swimming in the Cenote), and lastly, 30 minutes in the main park at Valladolid (just enough time to catch a portion of the show going on around the fountain and to grab yourself some Mexican street food — in our case, elote). By the time we got home, it was about 9 or 10 at night, but we did get dropped off back at our hotel, which was ideal because we were exhausted by then. LOL! All in all, I’d say the sites were astonishingly beautiful, the tour itself was interesting at times but focused waaay too much on math, the food was good, the driving was safe, but the sales hustle was definitely real and overdone. And for what it’s worth, our tour guide Julio seemed nice. Do with this info what you will, but I just wanted everybody to know what they were signing up for — you’ll be away for an entire day on a tour that could’ve really been done in three and a half hours plus driving and eating time, so bring your pesos, but don’t bring your drones, tripods, selfie sticks or children’s toys since none of those will be allowed in the ancient ruins. Have fun!
Review provided by Viator
Tracey_j
Jul 22, 2024
The tour did not start... - The tour did not start off on the right foot for us. Unfortunately there was a lot of confusion about our pick up time. I originally booked with a start time of 7:30am, which we wanted and preferred. Then we were contacted by the tour operator that our pick up time would be 9:15am. However, we kept getting emails with BOTH pick-up times and that was confusing. So my husband chatted with Viator on their Whats App the night before and that Viator representative said there must have been a mistake and to be at the pick up spot at 7:30am. We were there and 7:30am came and went. Then the time changed from 9:15am to 9:30am. We were picked up by a Van that then transported us to our bus. We did the upgraded Breakfast box, but the bread was stale and it was a ham sandwich so we did not eat it. Also, we were told that we wouldn't be picked up at the Main Lobby, that we needed to make our way to the front gate. We were at an ocean front resort and the gate is a long way away. I was surprised that they didn't come to get us at the lobby. I will say Thankfully they did drop us off at the lobby. The highlights of the tour was the tour guide Victor, he and his group did do a great job of educating us and they were friendly. There was a lot of talking on the bus but if you want to sleep I recommend using your headphones, earbuds. If you like knowing the history then you will love the info. The Saamal Cenote was beautiful and I would have preferred to have eaten there. I was not pleased with the buffet that we ate at though. The main event of seeing Chichen Itza was wonderful and we enjoyed seeing all of the historical ruins. I would recommend to my friends and family to book a shorter tour or to rent a car and go there themselves. Now that we know what we know that is what we will do next time. I was happy that we did get the unlimited beverages though as we drank a ton of water and they did provide us with that as well as offering beer, soda and even some tequila at the end of the night.
Review provided by Viator
Luz_d
Jul 16, 2024
Spent more time on the bus than experiencing the locations. - WIe were picked up then dropped off at a store to make a long line then wait for another bus. We thought we started our trip but then made about 4-5 more stops to pick up additional people. It was allot of driving that did not only include the drive to the locations. Not very organized. The locations were beautiful and one of our tour guides was very knowledgeable
Review provided by Viator
Amel_a
Jan 3, 2024
So-so - Victor our tour guide on the bus was amazing, he deserves 100 stars! But overall the process was long and required lots of driving and waiting. The initial time I thought it would take was much longer and the stops were very touristy. We didn't get to stop in the town either. Overall, was not impressed based on the price.
Review provided by Viator
Danny_w
Dec 9, 2023
Too much sales pitching! - Tour was good. Loved the time given at the pyramids and the information provided. I'm used to tour groups giving a sales pitch, but this was particularly long and brutal. 45 minute speech selling modern day Obsidian stones (read: snake oil) when rubbed on your head will cure your insomnia and headaches. Then on the bus there was a second sales pitch for liquor. The hard and persistent sales pitches really detracted from a the tour.
Review provided by Viator
Josh_f
Jul 6, 2024
13 hours of vacation wasted for 2 great hours in Chichen Itza - This tour is a complete rip-off and waste of most of a day. We only had 2 hours at Chichen Itza because we wasted 2 hours in a shanty town hearing BS about local culture and obsidian, eating a marginal buffet and standing around in a horrible gift shop. The stop in Valladolid was also a waste of time b/c we circled the square 2 times before we got off, then had less than 20 minutes to do anything before right back on the bus. We got picked up at 7:05a and then wasted over an hour sitting in a Starbucks waiting for everyone else....we didn't get on the road until close to 9am. Also a huge waste of my time on vacation. Chichen Itza is amazing and we had a great guide there. The Cenote was fun. It would be nice if you could find a Chichen Itza trip that maximized the time there and didn't waste half the day on other stops that offer no value whatsoever.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
October 2024
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