Tour Reviews

Erin & Anthony
Atlanta, GA
Kohunlich-Dzibanche
Carnival Dream

Absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime experience

This was absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we will NEVER forget. We really agonized over which ruins to see, so let me make it easy for you: go to Dzibanche or Kohunlich!! We booked Dzibanche, but were the only 2 people to do so. One couple booked Kohunlich, so they combined our tours and we were able to see both - which actually worked out better than I could have imagined. We ended up being the ONLY people at the Dzibanche site, and were among only a handful at Kohunlich. That alone makes the longer drive worth it, I promise!!
Francisco, our guide, was so knowledgeable - he knew exactly where to take us at both sites, so we never felt rushed or like we'd missed anything important at either site. He was able to point out fascinating details that we wouldn't have even noticed, let alone understood had we been on our own.
I can't recommend the Dzibanche and/or Kohunlich tours strongly enough - as far as we're concerned, this one tour was worth the cost of our entire cruise! There aren't many places left where you can see ruins of this magnitude without a sea of people and ropes keeping you 15 feet away from all the structures. You won't be disappointed.

Kim Wall
Greensboro, NC
Chacchoben Ruins
Carnival Dream

It did not disappoint.

We booked this excursion before our cruise because the price was great (much less than through the cruise line) and the reviews were great. It did not disappoint. The Native Choice is a great company with very helpful and informed guides. Getting to the office and the ruins site was easy. Our guide on the bus was Louisa and she told us a lot about the area and culture before we arrived at the site.

Renee was our guide at the site and she was fantastic-she really knows her stuff! On the way back, Louisa had the bus stop so we could purchase local pineapple with spices. It was delicious, what a fun little treat. We were dropped off at the pier with plenty of time to spare.

Thank you for a smooth, fun, professional experience!

Teri Geitner
Galesburg, Il.
Chacchoben Extreme
Norwegian Spirit

Great times,don't miss out

Very good excursion with Isreal as our leader. The ruins was very informative, and the lagoon afterwards was very refreshing.

This was the best excursion we had on our cruise.

We would do it again.
Great times,don't miss out

Lee-Ann Ah Sam
Salt Lake City, UT
Mayan Experience
Norwegian Spirit

We had such a lovely day.

I booked this tour online for my husband and I and prepaid it. We had no problems finding the public transport bus that took us to the native choice office in Costa Maya. It was our first excursion not booked through the cruiseline, but had read so many great reviews on trip advisor and here on their website, that we decided to try it.
Our Van driver was Rudy and Louisa was our guide. There was a few us doing this tour, so we had two van loads of people. Louisa gave us a brief explanation of the Mayan people on the way to the Chachhoban Ruins Site. On the way, we stopped at a stand along the roadside selling pineapple with a little bag of seasoning that you could top your pineapple with. It was a little like salt and pepper, not too spicy though. The pineapple was absolutely sweet. You cannot beat local tropical fruit for taste.
When we got to Chacchoben, my husband and I ended up meeting up with his grand Aunt and Uncle, and their children who happened to be on the same cruise, so it was a lovely surprise to see them. The world really is a small place. Our guide at the ruins was Eliu, and he was very knowledgable about the ruins, the Mayan way of life, and his information style of drawing on a portable white board to illustrate his information was very good. It made the information easier to remember. We got there before the big ship tours, and went to the bigger ruin first so that we would have to battle with the crowds once they got started.
After the ruins, we went to Chacchoben village and had lunch at a Mayan woman's house, whose name I can't remember. She gave a tortilla making lesson, and didn't speak much english, but Elu and Louisa were great in translating whatever we needed to know. Elu explained what we would be eating, the spices used in the meal, and then we were served a very delicious home made meal of chicken tamales, marinated chicken in the spices shown to us, rice and beans, veges, and of course the hand made tortillas. We drank hibiscus tea and had a coconut type of pudding for dessert. Everything was so delicious. We returned to the ship port with 1 hour to spare and ended up shopping on the pier before returning to the ship. We had such a lovely day, and the trip was well worth it. My husband and I paid $70 each, and I have no hesitation in recommending The Native Choice Tours. They were organized, welcoming and knowledgable.

Thank you for a wonderful day!

Cindy
South Carolina
Chacchoben Extreme
Carnival Dream

What a surprise

We booked a group of 29 teenagers and adults for the Native Choice Chacchoben Extreme tour. Our tour guides were very organized, friendly, and interesting. The vans were clean and comfortable, everybody really enjoyed the Mayan site, and the Bacalar Lagoon resort was magnificent! What a surprise -- we were expecting something simple and instead were treated to an absolutely gorgeous lagoon resort where the kids kayaked and the adults relaxed with plentiful beverages, followed by an excellent lunch of chicken fajitas and rice. We were returned very promptly to the cruise port, and our guide, Catherine, even stopped and got us fresh pineapple snacks on the way. Both of my boys said this was their favorite shore excursion of the entire week. The price was significantly less than the official cruise ship excursion as well.

Highly recommend!!!

Stephen
Greenville, SC
Chacchoben Ruins
Carnival Dream

By far the best excursion of my cruise.

This was by far the best excursion of my cruise. After a quick check-in at their office, we loaded into a comfortable bus and were on our way to the ruins. David, our tour guide, had great excitement and knowledge about the ruins. At every stop/pause of the walking tour, he had interesting stories/history of the people, structures, and plants.

Would definitely book this tour again or other with Native Choice! Well worth the cost.

Thank you David!

Marla
Orlando, Florida
Chacchoben Ruins
Royal Caribbean - Radiance of

A must have experience

This is a must have experience, go to Dzibanche and get Francisco as a guide!!! There were only 8 of us and you can climb all the ruins. The setting is in the jungle and it is much cooler than Tulum. There are Howler monkeys in the jungle around the site and their calls enhance the visit, This is a 2 hour ride each way from Costa Maya but you get to see a lot of the southern Yucatan peninsula and the people in this region. The vans are comfortable and air conditioned. The guides provide water, restroom breaks, and snack breaks.

It is a fantastic journey and is cheaper through Native Choice than through the cruise ships. The groups are smaller and the guides are excellent! April 19, 2011

You Tube links to some video clips of the Dzibanche ruins.

Large temple historic background:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwxUirVijxU

Howler Monkeys at Dzibanche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZufaW_qq04

Artifacts from Dzibanche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeVUoWeGbRA

More artifacts from Dzibanche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1_oZC296VI

Jeannie Carraro
Canada
Chacchoben Ruins
NCL Pearl

Go with The Native Choice

We had a wonderful tour with David as our guide. Also, Catherine was there to help us. This tour is well worth taking. Small group, and we were not rushed at all. Plenty of water was given to everyone. I would definitely advise anyone to go with Native Choice rather than the ship's tours.