Chichén Itzá, el cenote Ik Kil y Cobá desde Playa del Carmen

So I'll start with the positives: Tours guides were on time to pick us up. English was very clear. Tour guide was very knowledgeable. Breakfast was provided (keebler cookies, banana, box juice). The van had a/c and plenty of water. Chichen Itza,(CI) cenote Ik Kil, and Coba were incredibly amazing!!! Negatives: communication prior to tour was difficult via media; We waited 45" for the next tour group because we were apparently early even though we confirmed the p/u time. The van seats were terribly uncomfortable! When we arrived to CI we spent the first 1.5 - 2 HOURS!!! listening to the tour guide 'lecture' us on the history of the Maya. We weren't allowed to walk around, take pictures or shop until she was finished. We had about 45" to walk around, take pictures, and shop a little before we had to be back at the van. This was very disappointing. The information might have been very fascinating and great, but she lost most of us after a half hour standing in the heat. I would definitely recommend she change her strategy or walk and talk while just listing MAYAN highlights. Because of this we did not get to see the cenote at CI due to time constraints. The Cenote at Ik Kil was absolutely amazing. We had the choice to eat and swim or swim and eat. I chose to swim and then eat. I STRONGLY recommend the life vests and a locker. There's a lot of people there and it can get crazy in the water. When we decided to eat, we weren't allowed to enter the restaurant with swimsuit cover ups. We had to go back and change our clothes. Oh, you're not allowed to take any beverages (i.e. water) into this place. Oh, and the meal DOES NOT include beverages. Yes, you can buy water. Ridiculous! The meal was o.k., tasty, but hard to keep cold things cold in that heat/humidity. I strongly encourage you to eat first then swim. Less hassle. Coba was amazing. Again, we had a lecture about how cool it is for the modern day Maya to still live in thatch roof huts built of wood and grass with dirt floors. I think if the Maya had a choice, they'd prefer a/c, running water, and a toilet, but that's just me. People are so poor I don't think they choose to live to that lifestyle or to the cater to the tourists if they had to. There are options to ride a bike (from circa 1950's) or to be in a rickshaw or walk. We walked and climbed Coba! Definitely recommend climbing. This was supposed to be a 10 hr tour - it was 14 HOURS!

The tour was Great but I was disappointed with the way things were NOT handled due to the rain. It began to rain periodically through out the tour. Later doing the tour there was a down pour. My husband and I did not have an umbrella nor poncho but our guide, Joel did have some sort of rain jacket to protect himself from the rain. I suggest they have umbrellas and/or ponchos available for their customers just in case of rain. Other than this incident the tour was GREAT. Thanks Joel and Brujo.