How to have an vacation and a cultural experience at the same time - 100% worth the money! - We are so glad we spent the money to do a private tour with Special Mayan Tours - it made such a difference in the experience that the whole family had - I could spend the 2 hour drive to Cancun asking all my "what is life actually like in Mexico" questions, we got to go to exactly the cenote that I wanted (a quiet, closed in cave type experience with just a handful of other visitors), we spent exactly the amount of time we wanted at each site, with no extra minutes wasted, we ate/got coffee/went to the bathroom where and when it suited us, and thanks to that personalized approach, when we asked about local food, our guide Pepe and driver Eduardo took us to their favourite restaurant that served Cochinita Pibil - an experience that was so local and delicious 3 of out of our 5 family members rated it the best meal of the trip! I feel like my kids and spouse got their week of relaxing at an all inclusive, and in 1 day I managed to get so much local flavour and knowledge that I still got my cultural trip to Mexico. Our guide was very knowledgeable, with a Masters degree in History, but balanced the day beautifully, giving us a thorough description and guided tour of each site, and then giving us time to explore alone as a family. As a bonus, Pepe gave us tips on how to manage the vendors at Chichen Itza to get the best value, and how and what to order to get the tastiest lunch and was a super group photographer so we actually have family pictures with me in them! It was the perfect way for everyone to get what they wanted, and worth every penny!