ITour Mexico Riviera Maya Tulum Eco Tours — Attraction in Quintana Roo

TLDR : I would say the regular and plus Chichen Itza packages arent worth it (75 & 90 USD respectively). But the more expensive tours that start early & end early MIGHT be good options but ONLY if you prefer taking a group tour instead of going by yourself. If you can go by yourself, then best bet is to rent a car and start as early as possible, go to Chichen Itza at opening time, then move on to Cenote and Valladolid as you please. Expensive but you get to do things you like at your own pace.

Booked the Chichen Itza Plus package for a Monday. We reached the office at 9.45am opposite Super Aki.We had paid 20USD as deposit via Wise the day before. Remaining 70USD was to be paid in person. Upon payment we were given golden wrist bands while regular package members were given silver wrist bands. One of their reps took us to Super Aki and handed us over to the guide from the actual tour company and after a roll call we were walked to the bus and asked to take seats (first come first served). Bus started at 10.30am and guide did the orientation. First stop (or rather a pass through) was at around 12pm at a small town called Tikuch where the guide explained a lot of what we saw wrt schools, houses, being a Mayan, their numbering etc. Second stop was at a restaurant MP Real Mayab (just before the town of Kaua) at around 12.30pm. The guide gathered us around a table and spoke about Mayan culture & Obsidian stone. Then we got 20 mins to shop (really overpriced). The lunch area was complete madness. Since we had the golden wrist bands we were seated in a different area where table service was provided but only for the 2 free drinks. We figured out things on our own and by asking others who were already there. Food options were limited and taste & quality were below average and the lines were huge. We left at around 2.30pm. Third stop was Chichen Itza at 3pm. Guide said we will get 2 hours here (1hr guided tour + 1hr on our own). He then split the groups into English & Spanish, gave entry passes and got us through. He then let the local guide take the Spanish group while he took the English group. The tour was fair with decent amt of history. The place was brimming with tourists so getting a picture with a clear unobstructed view of the main Kukulcan temple was impossible. We left Chichen Itza at 5.10pm. Fourth stop was Cenote Samaal at 6pm and we just had 1 hour there. Sun was already beginning to set and we were drained from the 2 hour Chichen itza tour so we just hung out at the cafe and had churros, marquesitas & coffees. We left at 7pm. Fourth and final stop was Valladolid main square. We reached here at 7.20pm and it was already dark. We were given 30mins here to get something to eat, buy cocoa/chocolates or just hang out in the park. Most of the bus was back by prescribed time but one group of 5-6 folks delayed the bus by 20mins and we left at 8.15pm. The bus reached Super Aki in Tulum at 9.40pm and everyone got and that was the end of the tour.

Good things : The guide & the driver were very courteous. Bus was really comfortable, clean & well maintained. As a Plus package customer, you get 1 boxed breakfast, 2 free drinks at the lunch place, 1 bottle of water when you go to Chichen Itza and beer/wine when you come back from Chichen Itza and Cenote Samaal.

Bad things : The regular & plus tours are designed to start and end late (10.30am - 9.40pm) so by the time you reach anywhere, hundreds (if not thousands) are already reached there. Due to this the place where we stopped for lunch was overflowing with people, Chichen itza was crowded, reached Cenote Samaal at sunset & Valladolid was completely in the dark. Even though the guide told us that the tour helps local mayan community, the place where we stopped for lunch & shopping (MP Real Mayab near Kaua) felt really commercial and the prices were inflated beyond reason. While leaving Valladolid one group was delayed by 20+ mins and the guide just sat there shrugging instead of asking them...

I booked the bus tour through my hotel to Chichen Itza with a Cenote stop. town Villadolid. We arrived on time for the bus pick up but didn't leave for another half hour, much than the 8:30 pick up time. The bus was dated, already loaded with 30 spanish speaking tourists from PdC. We were warned that the bathroom didn't work despite the over 25 female passengers on board. We drove 10 minutes so the first group who had alread been on the bus for over an hour and a half could releave themselves. After we finally got on our way. A hour an half from Chichen Itza, the air compressor or the transmission of the full bus failed! Another bus picked up the some of the passengers, but not all of us. We were on the side of the highway for another 2 hours, in the blazing sun as there was no AC. I asked our tour guide if we could have some of the large quantity of cold drinks & beer that were in the hold of the bus while we waited on the dusty and dirty highway. He said No because they were the driver's. I asked if situations like these, we would get a form of compensation and and he replied; No-Never, not with this company....and we will just get back to Tulum at around 21h30-22h00 (3 hours late!) A small van picked up the last of us, a small group of seven. We finally arrived at the Ek Balam Cenote at 13h10, were told we were were NOT allowed to bring in our water bottles and leave them in the van that had picked us up, and to be back in 1 hour. The 150 meter Cenote was beautiful & amazing for the first 15 minutes then got quickly packed with 14 other large tour buses invading the site and stairwell with hundreds of tourists. There were only 3 staff monitoring the hundreds of swimmers and hundreds on the landing and stairs. We arrived in the parking lot at 14h22 (12 minutes late). The replacement van (#27) and our water bottles had left without us, leaving both of us stranded hours away! Someone who spoke spanish and had cell coverage called the ITOUR/EASY TOUR number and NO ONE there knew the itinerary or location of their own company. It was 34C (94F) outside, didn't speak spanish, were never given an itinerary, had received no lunch and the guide and driver just left us stranded there a 2 hour drive away from our hotel! We were blessed to meet some travellers with a car who drove us directly to the next stop over an hour away, without knowing where the bus planned to stop for lunch. When we got to Chichen Itza, just before 16h00 we had only 1 hour to spend there at they close at 17h00 on Sunday. We met up with our tour guide who was only giving the tour in Spanish, as our bus was 90% from Argentina! We toured the site quickly on our own. There just wasn't enough time spent at Chichen Itza to appreciate it's beauty. We never had any lunch or made it to the town of Villadolid which I am so disappointed hadn't had chance to see. When I confronted the our tour guide in the parking lot, he blamed us for being late and said he waited for 25 minutes for us which was a lie! When demanded our money back he said vamanos, lets go on the bus we're very late and refused to speak to me turning his back, speaking to my 3 friends instead and was defering all the blame on us. ITOUR/EASY TOUR WAS A TOUR FROM HELL & LOST OUR TRUST! No toilets, stranding tourists on the side of the road with no ac, not offering us anything to drink, leaving 2 behind with no water for being 12 mins late, no lunch, no english tour, didn't see a colonial city, no itinerary or assitance, and offered no compensation for the $65 Cnd (1000 pesos) we paid in cash on our second to last day of vacation! EASYTOUR/ITour TULUM are not to be trusted. I highly suggest going with another company. This company demonstrated only greed & the utmost carelessness for our well...

Overall the tour was great, although organised by a 3pty also catering for guests from other hotels.

On Itour: We could have saved maybe $10pp going direct with that third party but the fact we didn’t have to do last minute payments or have the hassle other customers had may be worth going through Itour.

In the tour itself: We opted for the Chichen Itza PLUS tour. Unlike the basic one, this gave us free drinks and water which was esily worth the extra spending. The tour left later than planned (10:00 instead of 09:40) but first took us to a cenote where other bus tour would stop, going in December I cant comment whether this was considered a busy place but it didn’t feel overwhelmed with tourist. We then stopped at a “Mayan Community” -whether legit or not (most remaining Mayan or in the Southern part of Central America), the push for sales was present but not overwhelmingly pressurising as I’ve seem on other tours (feel free to spend your money as you wish but there is no way to tell if these items are legit or better quality than what you get at other tourist shops). The buffet food was good, not mind blowing but tasty regardless and truly buffet. Be wary that a basic package does not include drinks (50-70 pesos ea). We then went to Chichen Itza, the tour guide was knowledgeable and we learnt plenty not only at Chichen Itza but during the whole bus journey. We had two hours there, one of which was a guided tour. This is not a review of Chichen Itza but 2h felt sufficient and timed at a time if the day where fewer tourists (relative to peak time) would be there. The last stop was Vallaloid central, 30mins to enjoy the main square, street food and food court which was way too little. The drive back got us back at 9pm (30mins later than advertised) but that didn’t...