Tour Reviews

John B
Goldsboro, NC, USA
Dzibanche Ruins Premier
Carnival Pride

Awesome excursion!

Our experience with The Native Choice and its guides was excellent. The booking process was smooth and easy, their office outside the port was easy to find, and they were very organized when we arrived. Our guide, Edder, was super friendly, made us feel comfortable throughout the trip, and had a wealth of knowledge regarding the Mayan culture. "Tacho" was our driver and was also very friendly and accommodating. We enjoyed our drive through the country and a few small towns. On the way to the ruins, they stopped and picked up some local food for us to try on the way back which was excellent and gave us a little taste of the culture. We also took a few minutes on the way back to take pictures at the Laguna de Siete Colores. Dzibanché didn't disappoint either. The views were wonderful, and the structures were beautiful and fascinating. They still let you climb the ruins here. I went knowing very little about the Mayans, but left feeling I had learned a lot. We were lucky to see some howler monkeys sleeping in the trees as well! Our guides also were attentive to our ship time and made sure we got back in plenty of time. I highly recommend this excursion.

Maureen Basil/Grant Fletcher
Syracuse, NY
Mayan Experience
RC Adventure of the Seas

Excellent day

The bus ride to the ruins felt like 5 minutes as Joel gave us a very informative talk about the area, the Mayan people and the culture. He was excellent! Then our tour guide Edder was very friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating, taking us through the ruins, where despite him telling us he had nothing to do with the family of spider monkeys passing through in front of us, it was the icing on the cake for our experience at the ruins. He then took us to lunch with Victoria and Sophia in one of the Mayan communities. What a great meal, best flan we ever had! It was a great day with great tour guides! PS... we were very appreciative of the water provided to us on the tour!

Richard
Fort Worth, TX
Chacchoben Ruins
Royal Caribbean "Adventure of the Seas"

Well Structured Tour

The staff was very friendly, professional, and organized. The tour was informative and engaging with plenty of incidental information from the guide. The only thing I wish they could improve would be to be allowed to pick up their guests at the port where the taxis wait. Walking to the office (which could use better signage) was a bit disconcerting, but I recommend this service.

Tara Tumbleson‐Welch
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Chacchoben Ruins
Carnival Ecstasy

Phenomenal Tour

David gave us a very informative archeological and cultural tour of Chaahoben village. His knowledge and his pure interest in Mayan and World history made for a fantastic day.
Our driver, Edward, was a very safe driver. He also made sure everyone stayed hydrated on the tour, and even made sure that the van was chilled before heading back to Costa Maya.
We are so glad we decided to choose this tour instead of the cruise lines tour. We were in a small group of 16 instead of a bus with 50 others.

Jenny Harris
Utah
Private Chacchoben Extreme
Liberty of the Seas

Highly Recommend!

We had a great experience with the Native Choice tour company. It gave me peace of mind that they have such a great cancellation policy and they were easy to work with when we had questions and concerns and needed minor changes before we left. Great customer service!

Be prepared for a long walk off the cruise ship. The company has to be outside the privately-owned pier area. But it's worth it.

The tour buses were large, air-conditioned, comfortable and super clean. Our driver, Abel, was a great driver and very friendly. He had a cooler full of cold water bottles to hand out as needed.

Our tour guide, Edder, was incredibly knowledgeable and very friendly. He was willing and able to answer every question we threw at him. I was impressed by his depth of knowledge.

Our visit to the ruins included three massive temples. It was shorter than I expected. Then we were off to the lake.

At the lake we were at a very nice resort where there were changing rooms and restrooms. (I'd worn my swim suit to the ruins but that wasn't necessary).

The ambiance of the resort near the water was even better in real life than in the pictures. I was in heaven!

They fed us street tacos with delicious salsa and sauce toppings. And we had access to all the drinks we wanted. I had hibiscus tea and two pina coladas. They were incredibly delicious.

We kayaked and swam then sat in the sun before we had to go. It was a hot day so it felt great to get in the fresh water. I was glad I wore my water shoes because the lake bottom had tree roots etc that I wouldn't want to step on with bare feet. I didn't see the seven layers of blue--it looked more like a uniform gray-green color--but that didn't bother me. I'd read beforehand that the increased tourism and use of the lake can change how blue it appears.

I loved our tour and would do it again. My only complaint was how short it was. 5.5 hours seems long but we were driving for about 2.5 hours. We got back to our cruise ship at like 3:00 and it didn't leave until 5:30. I would have loved to have seen at least one more site at the ruins and had more time at the lake. But during the long drives, we took advantage of that time to mine the knowledge of our guide and learn as much as we could. Overall I'd highly recommend this tour.

Katie Marimon
USA
Mayan Family + Seven Color Lagoon
Oasis of the sea

In Love

Had the best time on this tour. Diego (with the mustache) our guide was absolutely perfect and just made the day wonderful in every way! Such a great experience learning about the Mayan ways and relaxing at the lagoon. Wish I could have stayed forever. Highly recommend this tour, company and Diego! Thank you for a great day.

Cara
Toledo, Ohio, USA
Mayan Experience
Royal Caribbean

WOW! Do this excursion!

This excursion was the best part of my whole cruise! Yoel is an amazing tour guide, his knowledge and passion for his rich history comes through during the tour. Yoel welcomed our questions and goofiness with a warm smile. Visiting the Mayan family was AMAZING! The food the ladies prepared was so delicious. Easily the best meal of the trip.

Thank you so much! I haven't stopped talking about the excursion and showing my friends and family pictures.

Holly Anderson
Aurora, CO
Blue Lagoon Adventure
Carnival Pride

Wonderful Day

We had an awesome day with Adan. We went kayaking in the 7 color lagoon and then hung out at their sea side facilities. Lunch was pork and chicken tacos and was fabulous and all of their salsa choices were fun to try! They kept the drinks full and our group of ten enjoyed hanging out. Our kayak tour was a little rough as we had a lot of wind that day so half of us turned back early but Adan kept leading the other half as far as we wanted to go. Our van ride was comfortable and Adan was a great guide. They were very responsive to all of my questions prior and even let me bring my own (inflatable) paddleboard to use instead of a kayak. I would highly recommend this company and won't hesitate to book with them again next time we are in Costa Maya.