Tour Reviews

Flora Bokma
Buhl, Idaho
Mayan Experience
Celebrity Mercury

The tour was great.

On a recent cruise, my husband and I booked the "mayan experience" tour through native choice's website. I was a little nervous, because it was the first time that we booked a tour that was offered locally, rather than from the ship. But the tour was great. It was nice to be in a smaller group, and we really enjoyed seeing the ruins, and we most especially enjoyed the beautiful lunch prepared by the locals.

The tour exceeded our expectations!

Troy
Jacksonville, Florida
Mayan Experience
Carnival Dream

Wow, what can I say.

Wow, what can I say.

Veronica is very knowledgeable, and passionate about the Mayans. We learned a huge amount from her about the history of both the site and the culture of the Mayans. The tour was incredible, and even with a packed site, Veronica managed to keep us away from the others. Our group was alone for most of the tour, and we were overjoyed about it.

Now the magic. We got to tour a modern Mayan home, and yard. They were interesting, fun, and gracious. We ate a normal Mayan meal, and it was wonderful. To see how much they can make out of so little. Overall, just a wonderful tour, and I would recommend it for anyone. Veronica was great.

Meg, Becky & Sandra
Atlanta, GA
Chacchoben Extreme
RCI Grandeur of the Seas

An absolutely fabulous Chacchoben Extreme Tour!

We had an absolutely fabulous Chacchoben Extreme Tour! It was so easy to find the transportation to the Native Choice office, everything went smoothly checking in and paying our balance. In minutes we were in the van and on the way to the Chacchoben Ruins.

Ivan was in our van and gave us lots of interesting facts & information on the nearly 50 minute ride to the ruins. It was not crowded at all when we arrived, we were fortunate to beat the crowds! I think there was about a couple dozen all together, which was just perfect. Before venturing to the ruins site, Ivan spent quite a bit of time telling us about the Mayans, which was so very interesting, esp. about their calendar & math system. The weather was wonderful - we were in a pavilion type area next to the shopping and although it was a warm day, it was also very breezy. Ivan waited till one tour group had gone past so that we wouldn't be right behind them. We really had a great tour of the ruins area and Ivan shared so many details about the site, as it is now plus as it was when he was growing up there! He is a wealth of information about the Mayan culture. We never felt rushed; we had plenty of time to browse around and take in the sights, take pictures and hear his stories.

After the ruins tour, the 3 of us had chose the Extreme tour to the lagoon and we were the only ones who had! Everyone else was on the Mayan village/lunch tour so off we went with Kathy, from Native Choice and the van driver, Christian. We went to Laguna Maya since Laguna Azul was closed. It was only about 15-20 min. away and the last section was on a very bumpy hard-packed dirt road. Kathy kept apologizing but it was no big deal. It felt like we were nearly in the jungle & not anywhere near a lagoon! Then we went down a driveway and we could see the resort & lagoon and it took our breath away! It was absolutely gorgeous. We were positive we had made the right choice. Lunch was delicious, the margaritas hit the spot, they were perfect, and afterwards we enjoyed kayaking in Bacalar Lagoon and swimming. The lagoon is amazing - the colors of the water are stunning. We easily could have spent the entire afternoon here. We also met Roberto the owner of Laguna Maya and he was very pleasant and friendly. We did stay a little longer than originally scheduled, which was great. It was not easy to leave this piece of paradise & we wouldn't hesitate to return. Roberto showed us one of the cabanas available to rent - hmmmm, maybe we can go back & spend more time! But we had to return to our ship and end our tour.

Both Kathy & Ivan gave us an absolutely wonderful tour. We wouldn't hesitate for a minute to book another tour with Native Choice!

Kaylou, Amy, Steve, Todd,
Ashland, Oregon
Mayan Experience
Norwegian Jewel

We had a great time and learned so much.

We had a great time and learned so much.

Veronica was our guide and she was utterly amazing. From the moment she got on the bus we knew we were in good hands. One of our party is 85 year old one time university professor who, while quite agile in body and mind, is a little slow getting around. I approached Veronica to let her know that on the tour he may be going a little slow. Say no more! Veronica took special care with our party and at no time did anyone feel rushed. This was good for everyone since it was a very hot day. If Veronica had to take more time, it was never time filled with silence. She was a wealth of information and one got the feeling she could go on all day. What a wonder!

The highlight of my whole cruise came on this tour - that was sitting down to lunch with a Maya family and eating their homemade tamales and our hand made tortillas. The food was delicious and it was great to have made that human connection with people of another culture.

Veronica did an amazing job sharing the Mayan culture and history with us. We all learned a great deal.

This tour is not to be missed.

Angie Zarate
Chicago IL
Mayan Experience
NCL. Spirit

We will definetly be going back.

We had the most amazing time. This was so worth it. The group was lead my Noel to the ruins and village and David was our expert guide. He was so full of information and gave us so much history. And while we were there we noticed that the other larger groups were being rushed. Which were were not.

The lunch at the village was amazing. I loved all of it and can not wait ot try to find the hibiscus tea here in Chicago or online.

We will definetly be going back someday. Even just to make sure we seen the family and ate the lovely lunch!!

Gordon & Ulrike Davis
Kamloops, BC, Canada
Mayan Experience
NCL Spirit

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour

We thoroughly enjoyed our Mayan Experience tour.

The Chaccoben ruins were well explained with the local guide and our visit and meal at the Mayan village were excellent. Our hosts were welcoming and most hospitable. Our guide, Noele (from Argentina) was very good. She looked after our group very well, was very knowledgeable, personable, and friendly. Definitely a worth while experience!

Gene Twaits
Chicago, Il
Chacchoben Ruins
Celebrity Solstice

Excellent tour

Your tour was excellent. We had Cathy as our tour guide on the bus to and from ruins.

Ivan took over at the ruins. He was very informative. We learned about the Mayan's culture. Where they came from, how they lived and what happened to them. He showed how their math worked and explain the Mayan calendar.

The best part for me was the Mayan meal. I learned what they cooked, what they used and how it was used. I was very impressed with their house and all the flowers.
The food was fantastic.

I would highly recommend this tour to any one.

Ann
Detroit, MI
Chacchoben Ruins
Norwegian Jewel

David was a fantastic guide!

David was a fantastic guide! He went out of his way to answer questions and show you things you just wouldn't experience on the typical cruise excursion.

I could not recommend this excursion more! Thanks David and the whole team for a great time!