Tour Reviews

Patti & Larry
Florida
Chacchoben Ruins
NCL Getaway

Best excursion - Ivan and Al

Our hopes is that we can convey to all what an incredible, once in a life time excursion we experienced with Native Choice and Ivan Cohuo as our main guide. Accompanying us was “Al”, a lovely guide that was readily available to take pictures – Thanks Al! (Can’t remember her full name, but she also went by Al to make it easier for us all to remember). First of all, visiting the Mayan ruins was such a great adventure, but imagine having your personal tour guide whose father found and reoccupied the ruins of Chacchoben and was born at the ruins site and grew up having the temples of Chacchoben as his playground! Talk about first hand knowledge! He explained so much and answered all our questions no matter what the subject. He was information about his culture and about his country. Upon climbing one ruin he showed us a building that was his mothers outside kitchen and where his home was located. Can you imagine!! Being he continues his passion in archeology he was quick to locate pieces of ancient pottery pieces and explain what it was. There were several groups, but we were all divided into small groups and traveled to the ruins in a very modern and comfortable van. The girls at the counter when you first arrive are all very pleasant and helpful. Drivers hand out water and are very pleasant. I will add that I sent inquiry emails and was promptly replied to by Ivan before booking. So we had to walk about 4 blocks outside the port area, but it did not take very long and it was a pleasant walk. It’s a shame the cruise ships feel so threatened by local companies that they prevent them from coming close to the port for their customers – shame on you cruise companies!! People, this was our first cruise, first out of the country and first private excursion and please trust me, we were nervous and booked the other port excursions on the ship, but having read so many reviews on Native Choice we decided to go for it! Plus their excursions are much less than the ship, and I hardly believe you could find a better tour group!! Upon our way back they were allowed to drop us off at the port which was very nice. We can not highly recommend Native Choice and especially Ivan as our tour guide enough!!!!!!!! Thank You for a once in a life time adventure and hope we can make a return visit!!

Cathy L
Palm City, FL
Chacchoben Ruins
Oasis of the Seas

Great Experience!

Native Choice provided one of the best excursion experiences ever. From the clean van driven by Edgar, who provided water at the beginning and end of our trip along with individual cool washcloths, to our very knowledgeable guide, Kasi, whose love of her family's heritage helped us as we toured the ruins. This group does a great job showing the Mayan culture through their tour of Chacchoben ruins. Thank you Native Choice!

Marcy Dark
QUEENSBURY
Chacchoben Ruins
Anthem of Seas

Chacchoben Ruins

Our tour guide David was great. He talked with us all the way out and back as well as a wonderful tour of the ruins. We never felt rushed and David was very knowledgeable. He shared so much information and showed good spots for taking pictures. Thank you David from the 5 of us (Marcy, Jeff, Chris, Statia and Nataleigh) for a wonderful time. Would definitely go through Native Choice again. Everyone there was pleasant and helpful.

Sue Swan
Ames, IA, USA
Mayan Experience
Oasis of the Seas

A great company; great tour

This was such a delightful tour. Elena, our guide, was delightful and spoke English perfectly. The ruins were great and even more fun was making the tortillas and enjoying the wonderful meal that we had at a Mayan home after seeing the ruins.
My husband and I had been on one of the Native Choice tours in February and found Ivan (the owner) and Rose to be wonderful tour guides.
This time we were traveling with friends. We thought they had been to Costa Maya before and did not want to see the ruins again. We were also under the impression that our ship's arrival time would prevent us from being able to go on any of the tours. The night before we arrived in Costa Maya our group of 7 suddenly wanted to go our and see the ruins since none of them had seen them previously. We could have possibly still gotten on one of the very expensive ship's excursions, but I e-mailed Native Choice about 7:30 PM and quickly received a response back saying that they would be glad to accommodate us that very next day. They were so helpful and wonderful to work with.
My husband and I have now done both the Mayan Experience and the Extreme Adventure (February, 2016) excursions. Both were absolutely wonderful. The vehicles they use are comfortable, clean and fresh with excellent AC. Water is provided as you need it.
I'd highly recommend this company if you are in Costa Maya. Such *wonderful* folks to work with! And the prices are great!

Cliff Grimes
Missouri, USA
Kohunlich-Dzibanche
Royal Princess

Gotta Do this

One of the main reasons for choosing this cruise was to make my first visit to Mayan ruins. A little research got me to Native Choice, and while the cruise had the same tour I choose Native Choice hoping for a more real experience, I was a little concerned about getting back in time since it is a long excursion. I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE. They Native Choice team was professional, but very personable. One couple got wrong directions at on the way to the office(watch out for this - use the supplied directions) but they waited and we made up the time without feeling rushed at all. The driver (Miguel) was good, and Kasi was great as she explained the history of the area as well as the current culture. She answered all our questions about the Mayan society and how they interacted with other groups. We had time to visit the ruins and watched as the HUGE busload from the cruise were not getting the same detail she provided. Well organized and informative Tour. Well Done Native Choice!!

Ashley
U.S.A.
Chacchoben Ruins
Carnival Magic

Great tour by great people

We really enjoyed the tour. Very informative and interactive. Our guide was Erick. He and the bus driver (Abel, I think?) were very friendly and knowledgeable. They brought plenty of cold bottles of water for us, as well as frozen towels. If we had to find something to complain about, it would only be the long walk from the dock to the meeting point. If you get off the ship on time, and you follow the directions, you'll find it. Don't get intimidated if you find yourself walking down a lone road. We thought for a few minutes we might be lost, but there were a few folks scattered along the way who confirmed we were going in the right direction. You can do all your shopping and stuff after the tour, just make sure you get to the meeting point on time. Overall, it was great and we loved our tour guides. The bus was also very nice.

Dora
Ft Lauderdale, FL
Chacchoben Ruins
Norwegian Getaway

Excellent Experience!

The office was a bit of a walk from the ship, but they were well organized, the vans we rode in were Mercedes, in new condition, with plenty of AC. It takes about an hour to get there, but the ride was comfortable and our tour guide, spent half his time with us and half the time with a second bus, telling about the island. At the ruins, there was a restaurant, gift shop and bathrooms. Our tour guide told us about the history and we saw many areas of ruins. We even got to see wild monkeys in the tree above as our tour guide talked to us. He was very knowledgeable and spoke very good English. On the way back we stopped for some fresh pineapple with dried pepper powder, which was quite good. An enjoyable, and affordable tour at less than half of what the ship offered. Highly recommend!

Heather
Tenerife
Chacchoben Ruins
Norwegian Getaway

Great tour!

The meeting place was found quite easily, using the map and asking locals. Not too far to walk. Edder was our guide, and Merlin was our driver. Edder was very knowledgeable, and he made the tour interesting. My hubby walks with a stick, so was always last, but Merlin kept walking with him so he was accompanied throughout. Water was provide all through the trip, which was unexpected, and a nice gesture.