Ek Balam, Chichen Itza, Cenote & Buffet Lunch Tour: Explore Wonders of Ancient Mayan Culture

563 Ratings

Playa del Carmen

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Discover the wonders of the ancient Mayan culture on this tour to Ek Balam, Chichen Itza, and a cenote. Immerse yourself in history, climb pyramids, and enjoy a buffet lunch.

Duration: 12 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Ek Balam Village - Have a guided visit to Ek Balam. Then you’ll have free time to explore on your own
Chichen Itza - With this Viator Exclusive, your visit to Chichen Itza allows you to explore the site early in the day so you can enjoy the rest of your day on the beach.
Hotel Real del Mayab - Enjoy a delicious Mexican Buffet at a local restaurant
CENOTE CHICHIKAN - Swim in a sacred Cenote

What's Included

Admission to Cenote
Ticket to Ek Balam
Bilingual guide
Round transportation
Buffet Lunch
Ticket to Chichen Itza

What's Not Included

Life vest (mandatory)
Drinks
Archeological sites’ taxes (61 USD)

Additional Information

Experience a day touring Chichén Itzá, one of the globally recognized Seven Wonders of the World, explore Ek Balam, and immerse yourself in the refreshingly cool waters of a cenote!
Being among the initial explorers, you will get the opportunity to delve into the mysteries of Ek Balam, a significant landmark of the Tlalol empire. Ascend the pyramids to…

Location

Plaza las Perlas

Avenida Constituyentes

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings

4.3

(563 Ratings)

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Taylor_w

Feb 11, 2025

Excellent tour and guides - This tour was absolutely perfect. Our guide Frank was excellent at providing lots of history for us to learn about mayan culture, the ruins, wildlife and nature of the area. And a thanks for Jose getting us to and from all our destinations.

Review provided by Viator

Teena_h

Jan 30, 2025

Great excursion! - Tour was on time and guide, Marcella, was phenomenal. Friendly, fun, & very knowledgeable.(Driver, Salvador, was safe and friendly)

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David_c

Jan 26, 2025

Ek Balam is a must! Best tour guide ever! Sexy Marcella! - Marcella was absolutely amazing! Our driver was really good too. He drove safe, our van was nice, and comfortable. Sexy Marcella knew the history of the area, it's people, their customs, their story, as well as what each one of the buildings in the ruins were used for. She had no problem diving into the ground to get the most perfect photo for us. Sometimes she would tell someone "wait stand still!" And take a picture. She knew how to get all the best pictures. She was friends with all the locals too. Marcella gave us more than a tour through the area. We got back to the hotel and all of us said "wow" - It's Marcella's life. Her energy. Her humor. Her kindness. Throughout the tour she talked about letting go of negativity. As we looked back on the tour it made it a very special tour. She's an amazing person. It was a fantastic day. Make sure you find a money exchange and bring some pesos. 500-1000 will do. Bring a tip for the drivers at the end of the journey. I could have spent the entire day at Ek Balam. It was my favorite part of the journey. Chichen Itza, was of course, wonderful, but Ek Balam stands out as by far the best. The Cenote was good. Food was free, but drinks were not included and they were "Applebee's expensive" so be prepared for that. We came back, exhausted, with incredible knowledge of the temples and tombs, and amazing pictures. The people were so friendly. Don't be fooled by the media saying how dangerous these places are. It felt safer than my small Idaho town.

Review provided by Viator

Bobbx335ea

Dec 29, 2024

Great tour - This review is for a December 2024 chichen itza ek balam tour from amigo tours with Manuel "Tequila" as our guide. He speaks English well and is of Mayan decent. He is very knowledgable and shared his culture with us. They use a small, air-conditioned van so it is a small tour. The tour guide effectively used the travel times in the van to give interesting facts about the Mayan people , their religious beliefs and culture. He passed around photos and pictures about what he was discussing at the time. He personalized the tour by talking about his 100% Mayan grandmother and how she lives as a Mayan in today's world. He was very friendly and approachable when people had questions. It is a long, all day tour that starts before the crack of dawn in order to get to chichen itza before the big buses come and it becomes a mad house. Well worth beating the crowds. Glad the we didn't just do the chichen itza tour. Ek balam was more enjoyable than chichen itza because it is less crowded and you can climb the ruins and is way less touristy. The day: They pickup up people heading south to playa del carmen. Chichen itza, cenote/lunch/tequila tasting, ek balam, return via playa del carmen Tips: 1. bring some bottled water, hat and sun tan lotion. 2. The tour price does not include taxes; $500 mexican pesos per person ek balam; $35 us dollar per person at chichen itza. (2024 prices) You can use a money exchange service at chichen itza to get pesos for ek balam. 3. Free clean restrooms (not crowded) at both locations; and at the cenote/lunch/tequila tasting stop. 4. Plan on dinner around 10 pm if you are staying in the cancun hotel zone. 5. Swimming in the cenote is optional. If you don't do the swim you can still look at it from the top. 6. Drinks aren't included with lunch. 7. Wear comfortable walking shoes. 8. Bring your airplane neck pillow for the long van ride.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Divyakmahajan

Feb 20, 2025

Absolutely do this tour, worth the travel and time spent - This was our first tour in Mexico so our expectations were also very high ( as we had read only great things about Amigo tours). We loved the entire Chichen itza, Ek balam sites and the Cenote experience. The only reason for 4 stars and not five was due to our guide not being enthusiastic enough to teach us first timers about the history of the place.

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Mmekendrick

Feb 19, 2025

Good tour. Very busy! - Really good tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. It was an early start (5:30am) and a long day (13 hours) but it went by quickly. We picked this one specifically because of the early start: we arrived at Chichén Itzá when it opened and though it was hot and it was busy, it was nothing compared to when we left! Ek Balam was great and my kids enjoyed that more than Chichén Itzá. The cenote was good, the lunch was…fine. Be sure to pack lots of snacks and water because the lunch/cenote is the last stop and it’s a long time to go without eating.

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Cheryl_b

Feb 16, 2025

Excellent tour guide; More time needed for Chichen Itza - Our tour guide Marcella was excellent. She had lots of photography tips for us at the historical sites and she was very knowledgable. I am so glad we chose a tour that included Ek Balam. We were able to climb the temple, it was not crowded, and we had free time to explore. The cenote was an interesting experience. The water was cold! There are two reasons we couldn't give this tour 5 stars. Our first stop was Chichen Itza. The positive of arriving so early was that we beat the rush. When we were leaving, the entry area was wall-to-wall people. However, our time at this historical site was too short. We only saw the area of the site with the main pyramid. And, while the photography tips were good, the photos took up a lot of time. We had no time to explore on our own at Chichen Itza. I would have liked another hour at this site to explore. Second, lunch was included in this tour, however, lunch was not until our last stop at the Cenote. We were picked up at 4:55 AM in Cancun. We did not arrive at the Cenote until 2 PM, which was actually 3 PM Cancun time. Our tour guide suggested that we swim first because people usually don't want to go down 91 steps to the swimming hole on a full stomach. So, we ate lunch at 4 PM Cancun time. There were several opportunities for us to purchase snacks throughout the day, and we did bring some snacks with us. We did not realize that our meal would be so late in the day. Finally, be forewarned that if you get picked up in Cancun and you have to pick up people in Playa del Carmen, you are looking at a 14+ hour excursion. We were picked up at 4:55 AM and were dropped off at our hotel at 7:30 PM.

Review provided by Viator

Janew544

Dec 29, 2024

Great experience - It’s a long drive to Chichen itzá, lots of tourist s but definitely worth it for the uniqueness of Chichen itzá! Our guide gave us an overview and explained what the ruins were used for. We were then given enough time to walk round the site ourselves and walk to a cenote on the site. . We then went to Ek balam which is less touristy but you can climb to the top of the pyramid which has fantastic views from the top but no good for those with limited mobility or fear or heights. The cenote was the 3rd one we had visited and was one of the best as it had an opening to the surface and I enjoyed the fish exfoliating my skin when stood and seeing the cat fish swim about around me. It was a pleasant swim in the cenote too! I knocked one star off as the food in the buffet lunch was poor - little choice and the dessert option was a biscuit. This was in comparison to another buffet lunch we had when doing a trip to Tulum and coba (which was much better). However I would recommend this tour but hope the buffet provider make same improvements! Also the guide on this tour did not ask for tips ( which made a refreshing change compared to some other Mexican trips) however we were happy to tip anyway.

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Silvios124

Jan 10, 2025

Tourist is okay but fraud is a crime. - Our guide was Manuel, aka Tequila. Overall, he is doing a good job in terms of travel organization. The tour was also half interesting for us as tourists that it will be mega touristy, we knew beforehand. But there are many buts and also warnings: so Manuel bored us very much with his private life story, absolutely superfluous information that nobody cares about. In addition, some information about the Maya was pure fantasy and scientifically incomprehensible. Tell the truth and not just nice stories. Furthermore, it was extremely desperate that he begged all participants for good reviews. Worst of all, he needs to know about the fraud that takes place during the tequila tasting at Cenote Chichikan. They taste some good tequila there, but if you open the liquor you bought at home, the stretched cheap lint with dye. That's cheating and as a good guide he needs to know that or is a member of the criminals. Never again and clear warning to all.

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Christine