CHICHÉN ITZÁ │ MÉXICO. Day trip from Cancún to the archaeological site of Chichén Itzá.

Full-day excursion to Chichén Itzá, including a stop at local crafts and art market, a swim in a cenote, and a visit to the colonial town of Valladolid.

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Hello friends! In this video we share our experience visiting Chichén Itzá and some of the other tourist attractions in the area. While overall the trip was a good experience, it's also true that many things could have been a lot better.

The positive aspects of this trip can be seen in the video above. For the not so positive aspects of the trip, feel free to read our review below. Thank you.

So here are a few things you might want to keep in mind if you're planning a similar trip.
We decided to go with a company named EKNX (Ekinox Tours).
To begin with, they were late in the morning picking up guests from the different hotels in Cancún.
(Note that this is an ambitious plan, and you really need to start and stay on schedule all day long if you want to make it happen). So, right there it wasn't a great start, and the tour guides knew it.
Beware that as soon as you get into the bus, they start selling you stuff. I remember the first item was some sort of a Maya calendar with your name printed on it. Just a piece of paper for US$25, if you ask me. Most people passed. Very few ordered it.
It took over 2 hours to get to Chichén Itzá.
Upon arriving there, the two guides rushed us into the complex and said our time for the visit was very limited. We could feel the pressure from the first moment. We split in two groups and agreed to re-group at a certain time.
That's when the marathon begun. Our guide was walking as fast as he possibly could; only stopping for quick comments here and there. Everything was going so fast that finding a moment to take a picture became a challenge. At some point, part of the group was no longer able to keep the pace of the tour and we started to lose people along the way. Sure enough, the guide got pissed and begun to make some inappropriate comments, which included blaming our own group people for not following. The reality is that we were not enjoying the tour at all. Eventually, we managed to complete a super quick visit to the archeological site, just to realize that at the end of it we were still missing people. So we waited, and waited, and waited until everybody was found.
It's also worth noting that our guide deliberately made a number of incorrect statements. For example, he insisted that the land at Chichén Itzá is privately owned. The truth is that the ruins of Chichén Itzá are federal property, and the land under the monuments is owned by the State of Yucatán.
Anyway, after a long delay we were rushed back to the bus.
Second stop was at a local crafts and art market. You would expect the guide giving you just 15-20 minutes for a quick souvenir, and then moving on. Wrong. They want you to spent money there, so they'll give you all the time of the world. Honestly, it was a waste of time, and as a result, we went from being behind schedule to being waaayyy behind schedule.
Adjacent to the market, there is this place where locals are making tortillas and stuff. You get the chance to taste a taco and a drink, and then they take you to the restaurant for lunch. Not impressed. It was the mid-afternoon.
Back to the bus, next stop is at the cenote. This is a very nice place, except that we were so behind schedule that we were given exactly one hour from the moment we arrived to the moment we needed to be back on the bus. Not a lot of time, considering that the place is packed, and that you need to find a locker, change, take a shower, go down for a swim, come back up, change again, and rush to the bus.
Anyway, after the cenote experience we made one last stop in the town of Valladolid.
By the time we got there the sun was about to set. The bus driver found a spot in a parking lot about 3 blocks from the main square, and we quickly got off the bus. This is when we heard our guide giving us exactly 22 minutes to be back on the bus.
So we did, and then headed back to Cancún (another 2 hours) to arrive there late at night.

There is certainly a lot more to tell about this trip, but I don't want to go into the fine details now. If you have questions please free free to ask. We're always happy to share our experiences.
I'll just say one more thing: you can smell from miles away fake people who are more interested in your money than in making sure you have an enjoyable experience. This is an expensive tour and yet, you're under pressure to open your wallet all day long. Just so you know.

Yes, I do recommend the excursion. I do not necessarily recommend this company.
Thanks again, and we'll see you in the next video! Cheers :-)



Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, México, Maya, tourism, Equinox Tours, Mayan ruins, Cancún, Kukulcán pyramid, seven wonders

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