Tour Reviews

Adrian P
Bluffton, SC, USA
Chacchoben + Mayan Family
Enchantment of the Seas

Authentic Experiences and People

We absolutely loved our excursion. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable. The Mayan family were so welcoming and prepared a fantastic lunch. We had such a nice time that we would be tempted to do this tour all over again. Highly recommended!

Andrea
Syracuse, NY USA
Mayan Experience
MSC Seashore

Fantastic Mayan Experience

Rosie and Elliott were wonderful tour guides for our Mayan Experience which involved touring ancient Mayan Ruins and experiencing a traditional Mayan meal. We felt so welcome in the home of our generous hosts who guided my family and I in creating traditional maize tortillas. The drive out to the ruins was very informational thanks to Elliott and we learned so much about the different states and cultures in Mexico. All in all it was an absolutely amazing day and I would recommend everyone to take part in this fantastic excursion by a top-notch outfit!

Aimee Levin Weiner
Cooper City, Florida
Mayan Family + Seven Color Lagoon
Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas

Wonderful Day!

My husband and I were on a Royal Caribbean cruise last week and we were So Glad we found this tour from the Costa Maya port! We spent a really Terrific, Informative, Fun, well organized, full day with Magali from The Native Choice. We booked the Mayan Family and Seven Color Lagoon tour directly from the company. (The company sends clear meeting directions, but it is important to note that once past the very long pier at this port, and the whole “village” of shops, restaurants, bars, and “beach” to be walked through and exited, there is still another 10-20 minute walk to get to the company kiosk; about a 25-40 minute walk in total). Once we found our way, we were taken in a small group (9 people) to a comfortable, air-conditioned mini-bus driven expertly by Edgar, for our ride to the Mayan family home. Magali (“Maggie”) was a Wonderful guide; so knowledgeable and entertaining, and she taught us so much about the area and the Mayan customs and culture along the way. Once at the family home, she toured us around the grounds and the home and introduced us to the family. It was so much fun to learn how to make empanadas and tortillas before tucking into a Delicious, traditional, farm to table buffet lunch. Completely full and happy, our next stop was at the Seven Color Lagoon where we were free to lounge and swim in the beautiful, clear water and enjoy two drinks of our choosing (don’t miss the sangria!). We loved every second but were only able to be at the lagoon for an hour in order to get back to the port for our cruise ship’s very early departure time. Edgar dropped us at the entrance to the port “village” so the walk back was shorter and we were on the ship long before all aboard time. This is the Perfect tour to pick at the Costa Maya port!

Brook
Illinois, USA
Chacchoben Ruins
MSC Seashore

Incredible Experience

This tour was fantastic!!! Our tour guide Edder was incredibly knowledgeable about the Chacchoben Ruins and Mayan history and culture. He taught us so much and left us fascinated and wanting to learn more! It’s amazing to see the structures and landscape once walked by the Mayans. What is really cool about The Native Choice is how much time we had to explore the ruins compared to other groups - we saw lots of structures and weren’t rushed. This was an experience I won’t forget. Our driver José was wonderful and friendly, and got us safely there and back! On the site, there is a small gift shop with cool Chacchoben items - so bring cash (USD) if you’re interested!

Carly Welty
Wilmington, NC
Chacchoben Extreme
MSC Seashore

Chacchoben Extreme

We had a wonderful time doing the Chacchoben Extreme tour! Rosie and Miguel were wonderful! They were so friendly and knowledgeable! They made sure we got everywhere safely as a group and learned so much! The ruins and lagoon were beautiful! The tacos and drinks at the lagoon were so good! Would definitely recommend Native Choice for excursions in Costa Maya!

Danny
Spring hill Tennessee
Chacchoben Ruins
Enchantment of the sea

Great experience

High recommend! Staff was friendly. Our guide eddir was very knowledgeable with a good sense of humor. Me and the family really enjoyed it

Lyn Conaughty
Harmony, Florida USA
Chacchoben Ruins
Enchanted Princess

Chacchoben Ruins Tour

This was by far the best excursion we got to experience on our 7 days cruise. The checked in process was easy and very organized. And they have nice AC transportations. Our tour guide Joel Bartolo Perez Alonzo was amazing. My family really had the best time and enjoyed this tour so much. The Mayan lunch experience was amazing . The ladies who prepped and made our food was super nice and friendly. What a great presentation. We loved it. The food was great and we were served with Hibiscus tea which I loved so much. Our 3 boys really had the best time and we would love to do this again great people, great service and all. We definitely commend this company 100%.

Brad P
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Mayan Family + Seven Color Lagoon
Enchanted Princess

Wonderful Experience!

This experience was really great and was definitely worth a little extra walk outside the cruise port area. After providing our bar code for the tour, and meeting up with our small tour group, we were led to a large passenger van with good air conditioning, and met our wonderful tour guide, Maggie. We were offered a bottle of water while waiting a few minutes for the rest of the group. We had a nice, small tour group of just 12 people. NOTE, one in our family had a child in a wheelchair, and the tour company, Maggie and our drivers were very helpful to accommodate his needs. I think that family was also very pleased.
Our drivers, Ramon & later Laura, did a very good job also.
In case you don't know, Costa Maya is not a real town, so it does take a good bit of driving for any excursion in this area. We drove to a small town to meet with a group of Mayan ladies who would help us prepare our lunch. As we had some time to pass on the way to this part of the tour, Maggie, our tour guide, explained that these women spoke one of several Mayan languages more than they spoke Spanish. So, Maggie taught us how to say "hello", "thank you", and "yum!/delicious!"; hint: "thank you", is not "gracias"!
When we arrived at the lunch site, another tour was finishing up and Maggie explained how the numerous trees and plants in a Mayan home's garden are used for cooking, and we got to smell and taste several different plants. We (just our small tour group) next met the Mayan ladies and were taught how to make our tamales. This was easy and fun! Everyone got to make a tamale. We took our tamale to another of the ladies to cook it on a wood stove. Afterward, we were directed to a nice, covered outdoor table and presented with chicken baked with traditional Mayan spices, rice, beans, our tamales (of course!), and a few other items. The food was very, very good. We also had hibiscus tea to drink; I'm not much for flavored teas, but this was very good and refreshing. We finished lunch with homemade flan that was excellent!
Next, we drove to the 7-colors lagoon. It took some time to get there, but we each were offered 2 alcoholic drinks, a nice beach chair, and a beautiful lagoon to swim or kayak in. At the lagoon, we were not the only tour group, but there was plenty of room, and maybe just another 10-20 people there; not crowded at all! It was cloudy, so we didn't see 7-colors, but was very nice, and very clear water. We didn't have very long here, of course based on the cruise ship schedule, but Maggie made sure we were back at the port an hour before we were required to be. This gave us just enough time to do a little shopping where the cruise company wants to you to shop. It was a very different experience from most excursions, and was very intimate and small. Overall, my wife and really, really enjoyed this experience and we would definitely do this again and recommend it to anyone.