Long day but really... - Long day but really interesting. Our guide gave us a real insight into Mayan culture and the history of it, and how it is integrated into a lot of other cultures. Ek Balam was fabulous, not so busy as other ruins and being able to climb to the top of the royal palace gave a whole new perspective. The lunch stop and shopping experience, although pretty busy and chaotic was a good opportunity to support the local Mayans and buy authentic Mexican gifts. The Cenote was fine, like most other cenotes you can visit. Villadilodid was a busy but authentic city with shops and churches to look at. Overall a fantastic day with lots to learn and lots to do.

Ek Balam an Cenote Maya - the highest mark - The trip, which took place on July 27, was provided by a team - the driver (sorry, I forgot his name), Mario Rodrigues (Gato) and Cesar - from Riviera Maya Adventures. The team worked 100%. Everything was perfectly organized from the very beginning to the end of the trip. A small group (6 tourists), a skillful driver and a neat minibus ensured proper mobility. Since we started early, the team provided us with snacks. Cold water and other drinks were offered throughout the trip. After climbing to the main temple of the Ek Balam complex, it was nice to use the cool wet towels that the team took care of. Mario was excellent: he successfully combined his deep knowledge of historical and cultural material with interesting examples. I would also like to mention his great sense of humor. Cesar skillfully handled the logistics of the group and helped with useful advice. As for the Ek Balam complex itself, it is second only to Chichen Itza in my rating. When you climb the stairs (both going up and down is a challenge) to the very top of the main temple, you will have a magnificent panorama of the entire complex and the surrounding jungle. Wow! Visiting Cenote Maya refreshed our strength and added new impressions. So I give the team the highest marks and highly recommend this trip.

Beautiful ruins and cenote - Our guide (I think Ekh) was informative and amazing! Be prepared to climb the stairs of the ruins. The cenote was very cool, and they had good professional photographers (at a charge).

A Must See - This tour is a must. There were a few hiccups that were completely out of the operators control but they handled it well and kept us on track. Our guide was very helpful and informative. This is a very long day so come prepared.

A great tour - We had a wonderful time on this tour!! Francesco our guide grew up here is of mayan decent and gave great explanation of everything!! The walking thru ruins was a wonderful experience with reaching the acropolis as the grand finale!! Ek Balam is not crowded and so interesting!!! The centote was beautiful and fun so refreshing on a hot day too!! Lunch was served as a buffet and was very good. There are crafter that toy can buy from there too Diego was our driver her got us there safely and stayed with the van and our things

Ek Balam ruins and cenote- a must see! - Ek Balam and the cenote! Unforgettable experience! Highly recommend this tour from Cancun Adventures. Thank you guide, Nestor and driver Javi.

Very Educational - This tour was very educational and I learned a lot. The only bad part is that wheb you visit a Cenote after the ruins, that they dont let you take pictures or videos in the Cenote

Mixed Feelings - Our guide, Felix, was great, and we enjoyed the listed sites of Ek Balam and the cenote. The lunch was also amazing. I would have rated the tour higher, however we were unhappy with the additional stop Vallodolid where the guide encouraged us to go into a shop for a tequila tasting. The shop was heavily pressuring people for sales and scammed two of my friends by giving them one price but charging much more. Be careful here.

Mixed feelings on day trip to Ek Balam - great itinerary, poor execution. - I have mixed feelings regarding this trip to Ek Balam.  If you are deciding to go to Chichen Itza vs Ek Balam, then 100% go to Chichen Itza.  I chose to go to both sites (on separate tours), because from my research Ek Balam is one of the last Mayan ruins in which you are still allowed to climb the pyramid.  Because this tour did allow me to have this experience, I am giving it two stars rather than one. On paper, the itinerary for this day trip is solid.  You visit Ek Balam, then go to a small town to learn more about Mayan culture and have lunch (which is included in the price of the tour, but you have to pay for drinks), and get to go to a cenote.  This was a really nice cenote too.  You choose how you get down to the water - either walking down some wooden stairs or repelling down.  Down in the cenote, there are two zip lines - a lower one and a higher one.  So adventure seekers will enjoy this part. Where this day trip really fell short was in how little this tour company, Wisest Travels, cares about its guests and their time.  This is already a long day trip (planned for 10 hours), but ours took over 13 hours because of the poor decisions and logistics made by Wisest Travels. My girlfriend and I were originally told to meet our bus driver outside of our resort at 7:30am.  Then, the night before, Wisest Travel changed this to 7am.  So we waited and waited.  We texted with Wisest Travel's customer service through WhatsApp, but they were useless.  They just kept on saying, "the bus driver will be there in 10 minutes."  Then 10 minutes more, then 10 minutes more, etc.  We were picked up at 8am. What we did not know is that Wisest Travels decided to combine their Cancun tour with their Playa del Carmen tour.  So while we waited for our bus to pick us up, there were other guests from Playa del Carmen that were waiting for us to arrive to them (which made everyone late). This would have repercussions on the rest of the day trip.  Because we were running late, Wisest Travel decided to cut the amount of time we spent at Ek Balam.  My girlfriend actually decided not to climb the pyramid because of how steep it was and she was worried she would not be able to climb all the way up and back down again in the abbreviated time that we were given.  This upset me greatly. We next went to the small town and had lunch, actually driving past the cenote, to later have to backtrack to get to the cenote.  This only wasted more time.  I think on a normal tour that they would go from Ek Balam to the cenote and end in the small town for lunch, so as not to back track. The biggest disappointment of all was how Wisest Travel decided to drop us back off at our resort.  They decided to drive the bus to Playa del Carmen, then drop every other guest off at their resorts, and have a separate car meet us at the last resort in Playa del Carmen to drive us back to Cancun.  If they were sending a separate car to drive us to Cancun, then why could they have not met us at the cenote or even at the first resort in Playa del Carmen.  This wasted at least a good hour of our time!  We arrived back at our resort around 8pm, meaning we missed having dinner with our friends that night who we had traveled to Cancun with. Then there was our tour guide.  He did the very minimum to fulfill his job.  But he was so uninterested and unengaging.  While he was giving the tour at the Ek Balam site, he actually yelled at guests for walking too slow or lingering too long to take pictures because he was on a tighter schedule he needed to keep us on.  And on the entire tour he was chain smoking. The point I am trying to make is that I was not expecting to pay good money to have my time on vacation wasted riding for hours in a bus or car.  Did I get to visit Ek Balam and climb their Mayan pyramid?  Yes.  Was I safe on the entire day trip?  Yes.  But did I also have my time wasted?  Yes.  And did I feel like a valued guest of Wisest Travels?  Absolutely not! The bottom line is that if you have your heart set on climbing a Mayan pyramid while you are still able, then this is probably the day trip you will have to select since it was one of the few I found on Viator that was reasonably priced.  Will Wisest Travel provide you everything on their itinerary? Yes.  But you should go into it knowing that you might spend more of your valuable time on this day trip than you had planned and it might be led by a tour guide who is only going through the motions rather than caring if you have a good experience.

Dont do it. Amazing Site, Long Drive, Terribly Run Tour. - If you want to waste an entire day in Mexico, then this is the trip for you! 🙌 Spend an entire day in a van! 🤩 Eat a terrible meal at a tourist trap! ❤️ Pay too much to get half of what you were told you would receive! 🤑 If you can't tell, that's sarcasm: DON'T BOOK! For each part, I'll explain the pros and cons. The pros have everything to do with Mexico's beauty and the INAH, the cons have everything to do with the tour management company. Pros The Arky Site: I have previously been to Ek Balam, the site itself is amazing. If you've been to larger sites like Tulum or Chichen Itza, Ek Balam is a great change of pace. Having been to more than 10 sites here, in my opinion, it's one of the best in the Yucatan Peninsula. You can climb and enter many structures, there is stucco work that has withstood time and weather, there are areas still yet to be uncovered, and the site is not so large that you feel you can't see it all in a day. I really wanted to share that experience with my family, especially my sibling who is an archeologist, and my partner who had never visited Mexico. The INAH tour guide we had was fantastic, (thanks William!), but to be clear, you can purchase pay for a guide at the site directly. They are federally regulated, extremely knowledgeable, and worth every peso! The Cenote: Beautiful. Warm. Well maintained. The group managing this cenote ensured that people were respecting the water, land, flora, fauna, etc. There were a few sales people selling wares and massages. They were kind and respectful, not pushy. Great experience. Valladolid: An interesting colonial town, built upon a raised Maya site. Very busy, but clearly a hub for many groups experiencing Mexico. Cons The "Ek Balam Majestic Mayan Ruins and Cenote Tour" stated inclusions such as -A 10 hour duration. Starting at 7am -Transportation -Live Bilingual guide -Swimming in a cenote with a rappelling descent -life jackets and lockers -Buffet-style regional meal (no drinks included) 1 - pickup 2- 2 hours at ekbalam 3 -2 hours at Cenote Maya Park 4- lunch 5-drop off My group was 8 adults. The majority of our tour group (9 out of 11) were located in Playa Del Carmen. 8 of us were about 15 minutes drive away from the pick up point given. (Even though it was said that they pickup from many hotels, ours was not on the list. ) We all taxied to the location and were picked up at 7:45am. We then drove an hour to Cancun. We were very confused as Ek Balam is a 2 hour drive from Playa Del Carmen- the other direction. The driver had limited English, (although this was listed as a bilingual tour) but we got the message that we were headed to Cancun to grab more people. We made one stop at a gas station in Cancun, where we picked up our guide, and 2 other passengers. Here we could use a paid washroom, and pay for snacks or coffee at the gas station. Our tour guide was not the INAH guide. He gave us a little information about what to expect: we will go to ek balam, then cenote, then head to valladolid and get a traditional Maya-style lunch, then go back to playa del carmen. We headed to the site, but with the detour, we were in the van for over 3 hours. At one point, we pulled to the side of the road so the driver could go into the bushes to urinate- which is fine by me, when you gotta go, you gotta go! However, we weren't told why we stopped. And we were all holding it! When we got back to driving, we were 30 minutes from the site. Finally getting some relief when we arrived. We met with our INAH guide, and left our bus driver and tour guide. The INAH guide was ONLY provided at Ek Balam. He does not accompany you on the remainder of the tour. We spent an hour on the tour, and were then given 30 minutes to explore the site. Not nearly enough time. I personally think even two hours is too little, but knew what I signed up for. Still, we didn't stay for 2 hours! only 1.5. We could have really used that extra time. When we arrived at the Cenote, we were told we had an hour here and a time to be back. As well, we were told life jackets are included but lockers were a charge. When I pulled up the booking and showed that lockers were supposed to be included, we were then told we could just keep our stuff on the bus. Many of us walked back and forth barefoot across the rocks to get from the change rooms and the van. As well, there was no tour at the cenote. We got a five minute quick run about cenotes as we were driving- extremely hard to hear (and I was in the front of the van) and very short. Not an in-depth explanation about the cultural and historical significance of cenotes as a portal to the underworld, or how they are formed. I ended up answering many of my groups questions. We then got to swim in the cenote for a little while. It was only as we were leaving that I checked the website again to confirm that we were SUPPOSED to have 2 hours at the cenote. Why only an hour? We were now very hungry. We then drove past Valladolid. Confusing, as I thought that was supposed to be our lunch spot. During the drive our tour guide began to explain a bit about how the Maya used precious stones and made buildings to track astrological events. He passed around paper, and an obsidian disk, so we could look at the sun. Except we were in the moving van- so half the group couldn't see the sun. He said he'd show us again when we stopped (He did not). We arrived at a Maya park, the tour guide showing us all his friends- dapping them us as we go. A man did a smoke cleansing, we saw tortillas being made, and the same stones shown on the bus, being turned into a mask. Somewhat interesting, but we were all starving. Then we were plopped into a gift shop- suddenly it all made sense. Here is where you could buy a 100 dollar obsidian disk. Or a thousand dollar mask. People followed us around trying to get us to buy their items. Told us how important it was to get a "Mayan name"- purchase a paper! We were all confused. Nobody wanted to buy things, and we thought we were getting lunch. After waiting around for our guide, he finally returned and walked us to a giant room with a buffet. - Remember drinks and tip are not included, as stated in the tour description. We here a spiel about a traditional Maya green drink. Then we are asked who wants it. It was extremely uncomfortable. My partner and I don't drink alcohol or soda. The waiter kept asking and asking about what we will drink. We said we didn't want anything and he seemed frustrated. Some of my family just relented and ordered a drink so we could eat! FINALLY we were able to go get food. Spaghetti... battered fish (hard & cold) ... Yeah. "Traditional" Maya lunch. While we ate dancers came into the room to perform. I'm sure it was cool, but I wasn;t watching. I was trying to eat, but it was so LOUD! You can't talk, or even think. And of course, everyone wants a tip as you leave. I know tipping culture is different in Mexico, but I feel like I'm held hostage sometimes. I didn't ask for the dancers. And it's a buffet!? We get up and feed ourselves. Grabbed our own plates, stole extra napkins and cutlery from a different table! What are we giving the tip for? Finally we leave, we head to Valladolid. Our guide talks about how this is maybe the second most important site to Maya people (doesn't explain why though!). He says the Spanish knocked down a temple and built a church. We get off the bus and are told that are meeting spot is a tequila shop- again the tour guide fist bumps his friends at the shop. We have 30 minutes to spend here and meet back at the tequila ship! Immediately, we're surrounded by 5 people trying to get us to come in and taste tequila, have a drink, buy something. It takes 5 minutes just to get away from them and cross to the center plaza. An extremely busy area, we did one loop around the park and it was time to head back. Back on the bus, and again, instead of going to Playa Del Carmen, we go back to Cancun. Adding another 2 hours to the trip. Here we leave our guide and 2 guests. Tip the driver and guide! We finally got to Play Del Carmen at around 8:30pm. We we're all tired and hungry and disappointed. I contacted the tour group "Wisest Tour" about the discrepancies. They said times listed are approximate, because of traffic etc. (there was none) so there's nothing to be done. But, they could give us 5$ usd each (40usd total), since we didn't get to do the repelling decent. We spent more than $1800CAD. Not including tips. ($1350 usd) Approximate is a 5-10 minute difference. Not hours. I told them for me it wasn't even a money issue, I'm angry that the listing didn't accurately reflect inclusions. They insisted it was all there. I again pointed out how it was misleading, and asked them to either refund me 30%, as that is the amount of time we missed at the sites (even though it was more like 40%), or refund us 15% and update their listing to accurately reflect what is provided, so other people can have expectations like a useless added 3 hour drive. (We would have split the costs for 2 more people if it meant more time at the sites!) They said they would not give 30%, and that the description was already accurate. So here we are! Avoid or Cancel if you still can! TLDR: My biggest issue with the tour is that we were supposed to have at least 4 hours of time at the cenote and site. We got 2-2.5 hours. We were supposed to rappel into the cenote. We did not. You think you'll spend 4-5 hours in a car because the destination is far, but really you spend 7 hours, and you get to waste time in a trinket store 🤩. They don't completely lie to you about the tour, but they don't tell you the whole truth. Just pay a driver privately to take you to the sites. Your money and time is better spent.