Chichen Itza
- Hours: Open daily 8am - 5pm
- Admission: Adults: 95 pesos, Children (12yrs and under): Free
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience,
Must-Do Experience,
UNESCO Heritage Site,
Monument - Historical
Chichen Itza Reviews
We've found 439 Chichen Itza reviews from Viator.com travelers and members: what they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved. It's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Review by Kevin F, May 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
This was an excellent day trip from Cancun! The first stop was an amazing underground well where the locals put on a show. The lunch and show at the restaurant were another pleasant surprize. I would have liked a little more time at Chichen Itza or an opportunity to get off the bus in Valladolid, and less time at the "Mayan village" which was just a market. The guide, Rueben, was excellent.
Review by STEFANIE S, May 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
What a nice trip! Picked up on time at Riviera Maya and taken to office to catch bus with others! Slight wait but when we were on the road, had to wait for possible "late family" on the roadside, so we lost 15 minutes at the cenote/Keyote, so unable to have time to take a swim. What a beautiful natural swimming hole. A lot of history on the rituals of the region. The drive to the Yucatan was wonderful, a very knowledgeable guide talked the entire route of the Mayan history and culture.Stopped at a Mayan village to shop and for lunch with some local dancers as entertainers. We were lucky to find a local Mayan woodworker on items at the time, so we bought a beautiful piece by the artist himself! Lunch was good and the entertainment fun. Plenty of local vendors to choose from. Off to the Chichen Itza and the holy ground. Our guide was very educated and knowledgeable of the history. Location was wonderful and historical and crowded. Plenty of vendors to choice from to bargain with from woodworking to pottery to carvings to silver and clothing and blankets. Many locals selling their wares. The ride home was quiet and peaceful and the tour service arranged for a shuttle to meet us enroute to cut our return back to Cancun and make it easier for us as the day was a 12 hour day for us. It was a worthy excursion and professionally done. We would highly recommend it.
Review by Sandra M, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza from Riviera Maya
The tour bus and guides were very well-informed and entertaining.
The continental breakfast was very good, and the snacks were good as well.
The restaurant where we had lunch was excellent!
I highly recommend this tour and tour company.
I must say though that I could not use the booking confirmation on my iPhone App - they wanted a hard copy, for future reference.
Review by Natalie s, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
Wonderful day experience, the tour is a few stops before Chichen Itza. The first stop is at a Cenote, a spectacular looking cavern with Mayans in full Mayan regalia- before descending into the Cenote there is a group with a Mayan "medicine woman" who perform a "smoke ritual" on all and anyone who wants their own blessing for a tip. The Cenote is very impressive and we swam in it. Another group of Mayans in regalia are performing in the middle of the Cenote on a rock island- again very wonderful sight and pictures can be had for a tip. The next stop was a lunch stop where a buffet style lunch was served. After that the next stop was a Mayan artisan area where you can purchase Mayan created wares. Then we made our way to Chichen Itza. It is a busy place, but an incredible experience to view the site with an on site guide.The on site tour guide was also a member of several of the recent excavations in the area so he was well versed on the Mayan society and the background on ChiChen Itza which is one of many Mayan ruins on the Peninsula. Outside and inside the site there are Mayans selling Mayan wares- a large number, so be prepared for sales pitches. One recommendation I would make is to bring money for tips and for souvenirs. The Mayans in traditional Mayan garb performing at the Cenote put on a great show and the tour guide is well versed and works mainly on tips, so an appropriate tip should be left. Our guide Ruben who accompanied us on the bus was superb and the on site guide was also superb, Jose. Well worth the experience.
Review by Nicole V, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Small-Group Tour with Private Entrance
Had a really great experience on this tour. Was picked up on time at the hotel, had a small group (we were under 10), had a great driver and a nice vehicle. The guide on site was very informative, the tour was comprehensive, and the lunch was very convenient. It was a nice amount of time to spend at the site. All in all, money very well spent and I would definitely recommend and use Viator other places.
Review by Malgorzata L, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
That was a great trip. Ruben was awesome. Overall, very educational and fun day.
Review by Rita B, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Small-Group Tour with Private Entrance
prompt pick up. friendly driver. excellent connections for fast site entry and ample time to view the site. not enough "shopping" time for local artisan area but good enough.
Review by Ernie, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Small-Group Tour with Private Entrance
Very long day but worth it. Bring water.
Review by MICHAEL F, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Small-Group Tour with Private Entrance
Viator does it again. They have affiliated with a local, top notch tour company. Our experience was outstanding. We were picked up at our hotel in a comfortable Mercedes passenger van. There was a driver and english speaking tour guide. The guide (Miguel) was very knowledgeable and there was no question he could not answer. During the 2 hour ride to Chichen Itza, we took some side roads to see current Mayan villages. Yes, there are those direct decendants of the Mayan's who live in straw huts with no electricity and no bathrooms. We arrived at Mayaland Hotel, (a resort adjacent to the ruins) took a quick break then headed in from a private entrance away from all the other tour groups. The inside tour was 2 hours and Miguel shared stories about the Mayan life, culture and how the pyramids and other structures were built. After the tour, we headed back to the hotel enjoyed a lunch buffet with choices of BBQ chicken, hamburgers, salads, Mayan and Mexican foods. We had an additional 1 1/2 hrs after lunch to relax at the hotel or return to the ruins for additional look and photos. Back to van and Miguel offered cold cervezas to cool down on the ride back to the hotel. This is a 11 hour tour (hotel to location and back to hotel). Chichen Itza is in the jungle and it's hot. The tour includes water but you will need more. Bring your own as the vendors scalp you for your dollars. We spoke to others at our hotel who went to Chichen Itza with another tour company Those were worthless compared to the the royal treatment we had thru Viator. You may save a little money going elsewhere.. but the experience will not be the same. Side Note: We used Viator for our France Trip last year. Same level of quality. Purchased Eiffel Tower tickets thru Viator.. walked past the long lines at the tower to get in..and saved money by buying before the trip.
Review by Johanna K, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
Absolutely gorgeous!
Review by Elizabeth H, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
Great trip with informative tour leaders who gave smooth commentary in Spanish and English. Good variety and experiences and time at Mayan ruins to explore.
Interesting cenote swimming time. Hotel pick up and drop off good.
Review by Julia C, USA, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza from Riviera Maya
FYI. If you book with Viator or Olympus tours while you are in Mexico make sure you contact the tour company prior to going or once you arrive at your hotel. I booked through Viator with Olympus tours. I wasn't told that I needed to contact the Olympus person at the resort once we arrived. We ended up missing the actual date I thought I had booked for. I was very disappointed.
As for the tour. You get picked up at your hotel, taken by van, pick up other people for the tour, then meet at a main meeting point and change to a tour bus. We got fruit, drinks, and a piece of fruit while on the bus. There is a water closet in the middle of the bus. Which is good, because it's a three hour bus ride. There were two tour guides who were both bilingual. I do wish we would have had more time at Chichen Itza. There is so much to see. It was super hot and sunny. Drink lots of water, put on sun screen, and take an umbrella. Our tour guide Eduardo was awesome.
We also went to a coop gift shop and restaurant after the tour at Chichen Itza. The food was good. There were ladies who did dancing for the patrons of the restaurant. We had about 30 minutes to go through the gift shop. Which for me wasn't enough. I bought a Mayan mask there. Which was nicer than any masks I saw in Play del Carmen or anywhere else.
Lastly we went to a Cenote at the end of the tour. Which was much needed after a long hot day. It is very humid. That was a great end to the tour.
Overall it was a great experience. The tour staff was awesome. I would just make sure that you finalize your tour arrangements prior to going or the day you arrive or you may miss out on the dates and times you want. Plus the contact person may only be at you location for limited times. Which can be frustrating and are not communicated. It was a good thing we were there for more than a couple of days.
Review by Hari S, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Small-Group Tour with Private Entrance
This is a great place to visit and this tour combined with Mayaland provides plenty of time to eat, relax or do whatever you feel like after the tour, Mike was our guide and did a great job explaining details and answering questions.
Review by Brett E, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
We had Reuben as our guide. He was great! He was passionate and extremely knowlegeable about the Mayan descendants. The only negative part of the day was the lunch buffet. It was dreadful!! The bus was clean, we enjoyed visiting the denote and our guide at Chichen Itza was great, as well. We would definitely recommend this tour!
Review by LeGrows Travel, Canada, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun
I was really happy with my tour. The pick up and drop off at the hotel was prompt and curtious. Both tour guides on the bus were great and knowledgable. Both of them spoke really good english and spanish , not sure why we needed 2 guides though. The swim in the cenote was amazing. Lunch was not good and nothing to drink was included, not even water. Basic rice, what looked to be chicken and very plan salad. We didn't expect lunch to be great so we were not upset about it. Chicken Itza was amazing. Everything and more than what I expected. There was a lot to see , so 2 1/2 hours there was perfect. It was great that the split the group into Spanish and English. The guide was good and knew his history. The day was long, pick up at the hotel was 715am and we got back to our hotel just after 8pm, but seeing Chichen Itza and some of the towns along the way was well worth it. Would definetely recommend this tour.
