Cobá Sunset — Attraction in Quintana Roo

This company, Coba Sunset Tours, are one you really want to avoid. We booked this through our Air Canada rep, because we trusted our airline, and it was certainly a major mistake. I gather that there are much better companies in the area.

In a short summary: the trip is long, of poor quality and it's a big grift. It's all about selling you something. The way they do it is sneaky and underhanded. They put the product in your hands on the bus and then afterwards tell you the price, trying to make people feel bad if they don't buy it. And the tour guide showing their displeasure when you don't. It's a purposeful guilt tactic and one that I have never seen. I've been on tours across the world, including in Latin America, and never have I seen them non stop selling in this kind of way.

Longer detailed version:

first, we got up for 7:20, supposed to leave at 7:30, but they forgot us so they had to send another transfer vehicle to get us to the main bus an hour later. we begin the journey to "the" Mayan cultural centre. I say "the" because I thought that maybe this was a legitimate, state sanctioned centre to promote Mayan history. It is clearly not. On the way there the tour guide's information was scattered and his English was poor. He begins with some Mayan historical information, and then spends time with the first pitch to sell you a Mayan birth certificate. Which he says they will make while you eat lunch (which also happens at this centre). He puts the order papers in everyone's hands, and then says "the price is affordable" dithering around before finally telling you the price. Unfortunately this was just the beginning of the grift. we get to the centre and we are told to line up for a picture with Mayan dancers. We line up, the guide takes our picture with our own phones. But what I didn't realize until later, was that he had another guy also taking everyone's picture simultaneously with his phone. we are then encouraged to buy things at the centre which are all massively overpriced. Like beyond your typical gift shop pricing. lunch was fine, but not even water was included. we get back to the bus, go to chichen itza. It was so hot, and while several other tour guides on the site took their groups to shaded areas or had provided umbrellas, our guy Vik decided to bring us out to the hot sun, where we couldn't hear him properly because of the large group and we had no headsets unlike, again, other tour groups on the site. Many of us left the guided tour and went under the shade for reprieve before going back out to see the ruins on our own. we then go to a cenote, which was clearly just a local hangout. Very bizarre vibe. But on the way there, this other guy gets on board the bus. Tour guide Vik tells us he's from the area and wants to thank us for coming. He pours us up a shot of Mayan liqueur, which is licorice and honey flavoured. We do the shot and then, of course, there's a catch! He then passes out small flasks of this liqueur with a pixelated picture of our pictures with the Mayan performers from earlier! He passes them all down the bus, for folks to keep theirs and pass the others on. He dithers around saying it's "almost free" and then proceeds to tell us it's $25 US. This guy was an absolute clown. And it greatly irritated me because I hadn't even known they were taking my picture earlier. Very underhanded. we then proceed to this town called Valladolid, only about 10 minutes away from the Cenote. On the way there Vik gives some info on the town and then says "we're going to a shop so you can access free washrooms and a free tequila tasting. He kept making this pitch as we were stuck in traffic on the way to this town. Now it's funny, because we had a decent washroom on the bus.. it was clearly a deal they had rigged up with the shop. As we exited the bus, he tried to ferry us into the shop, but many of us went across the town square to see the nice church instead. -Find a company that will focus on the cultural components without the...

We booked a Chichen Itza day trip through Air Canada Vacations but weren’t informed of the tour company beforehand, which made research difficult. The day started with a 7:20 a.m. pick-up from our Riviera resort, followed by a long 1-hour process of picking up others from different resorts. We transferred to a larger coach bus at a Playa del Carmen gas station, which then took about 2.5 hours to reach the first stop.

The tour was led by four guides, with Vik taking the lead. While he seemed knowledgeable at first, the tour quickly felt more like a rehearsed sales pitch. He made fun of Quebecois guests, which was uncomfortable for everyone as it wasn't in good fun and went on throughout the day. The French guests could not understand much of anything said all day as the tour guides English was just OK. As part of the tour, we were given forms to fill out with our name and date of birth, which would later be used for a "Mayan birth certificate" that was optional to buy. This was presented as supporting a "non-governmental Mayan cultural center," but wasn’t listed as part of the tour. Upon arrival at the “Mayan Cultural Center” around 11 a.m., we were asked to take photos with Mayan dancers in body paint on our cell phones and then ushered into a shop filled with overpriced crystals, some of which were claimed to be handcrafted (though they were mass-produced). The prices were astronomical, and despite being told it was all handmade, we quickly realized this was a tourist trap.

After the uncomfortable shopping experience, we were told we had to pay for the "optional" Mayan birth certificates, as they had already been printed. This was followed by a buffet lunch, which cost extra for drinks and was subpar, with the only redeeming food being pineapple. After lunch, we were subjected to watching more rehearsed Mayan dances, and then pressured to tip. The tips were required separately from the food service, which was uncomfortable.

Later in the day, someone tried to add me on Facebook from a nearby Mexican town using the personal information we’d provided earlier for the birth certificates. It felt unsettling, and we recommend avoiding giving out personal details like this.

On the way to Chichen Itza, the tour guide warned about the risk of Zika virus and sold bug spray for 200 pesos. However, upon arrival, there were no mosquitoes, which seemed suspicious. Chichen Itza itself was impressive but crowded, and the tour guide’s commanding, often rude, tone didn’t make the experience enjoyable. After the tour, another guide tried to sell us a bottle of Mayan liquor, which had our pictures printed on the labels (so they secretly took everyone's photos in additional the cell phone photos). We declined, but others purchased the bottles. Keep in mind they now have your full name, DOB and picture... Slightly concerning.

We then visited the Oxman Cenote, which was overcrowded and not very enjoyable. We didn’t swim, as many others opted not to participate due to exhaustion and frustration. The final stop was in Valladolid, where we were pressured into visiting a tequila and jewelry shop. Fortunately, we managed to escape this sales pitch and had limited time to visit a convenience store. This was only a 20 min stop.

The return trip was long and tiring 2.5 hours to PDC and 1 hour dropping off people to resorts with us being the last stop, with a forced paper review with name and hotel name that felt uncomfortable. The guides ended the day by aggressively stating that tips weren’t included and must be given at the front of the bus. Returned to resort at 9:30 p.m.

Overall, the tour was far more about sales tactics than providing a genuine experience. We didn’t feel like we were treated respectfully, and it was disheartening to see other guests being manipulated into spending money at every stop. It was a long, tiring day with little to no opportunity for genuine exploration or enjoyment. Would not recommend this...

Our group did the Chichén Itzá tour. TL;DR I would not recommend. This is a tourist trap.

The day starts with pickup at 7:45 AM. They are on time, which was appreciated. A taxi will take you to the main tour bus. The tour guides give some Mayan history on the first ride, it’s a nice touch, but it leads into a sales pitch to buy a Mayan birth calendar. It is a 2-hour trip to the first stop, which is the “Mayan cultural center”…. It’s a gift shop. Extremely poor taste stopping at a gift shop before seeing Chichén Itzá. I was certainly not going to buy anything before even seeing Chichén Itzá. The stop there is over an hour just trying to sell you products.

The next stop is Chichén Itzá. It’s only a 2-hour stop. Certainly not enough time to see the whole site. It’s a guided tour and the tour guide was very animated, but they do not provide enough time on the site to actually see the sites and be on a slowly guided tour. Chichén Itzá is beautiful and was the best part of this experience.

After the short 2 hours, it’s lunch time. The bus ride back is when you get your “free drink”, which is a shot of overpriced weak liquor they’re trying to sell you. The “restaurant” is at the gift shop. They could have made this one stop and gave more time at Chichén Itzá, but like I said this is a tourist trap for your money. For the food, DO NOT EAT IT! 3/4 people in my group were sick after our trip when this was the only full meal we had that day. No drink is included, not even the complimentary water. The “restaurant” is visibly dirty, the food is mediocre, and it is not safe for COVID. It’s a self serve buffet.

This leads me into my next point, this trip is not safe for COVID. While the tour guide did bring up halfway through our trip to keep your mask on, it was not enforced at all on the bus. It was not safe and many passengers were not wearing their mask. They lied when they stated this would be enforced. If I knew this would occur, I would have never booked at all.

After lunch was the trip to the cenote. This stop was only an hour. So 8 hours into our trip we’ve only had 3 hours of actual activities. The cenote was small and crowded with other tours they conduct. It was enjoyable, but was only an hour of swimming and waiting on line to jump in.

The final stop is a town in Yucatán state. It’s only a 20 minute stop to buy something from street vendors. After this it’s the 2-hour drive back to Quintana Roo.

If you made it through this whole review, this is what is to be expected from the 12-hour day. 3.3 hours of activities and 8.7 hours of travel and sales pitches. Personally, not for me at all and I wish I just found a private way to get to Chichén Itzá. Not worth the time or money. If you like a guided tour and constantly being asked to buy products, this...