Adventure

From Riviera Maya: Ek Balam and Cenote Maya Full-Day Tour

4.9 / 5

12 reviews

Activity provider: Alltournative
Adventure

From Riviera Maya: Ek Balam and Cenote Maya Full-Day Tour

Activity provider: Alltournative

From US$ 159 per person

Take a tour of the archaeological site of Ek-Balam, a Mayan city older than Chichen Itza. Visit the Cenote Maya, and enjoy a swim in the large natural pool. Sample traditional Mayan foods at a buffet and add on some optional activities as well.

About this activity

Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Reserve now & pay later
Keep your travel plans flexible — book your spot and pay nothing today.
Covid-19 precautions
Special health and safety measures are in place. Check your activity voucher once you book for full details.
Duration 10 hours
Check availability to see starting times.
Skip the ticket line
Live tour guide
Spanish, English
Pickup included
Pickup is available at most hotels in Riviera Maya and a meeting point in Tulum.
Small group
Limited to 15 participants

Experience

Highlights
  • Explore the archeological site of Ek Balam, an impressive Mayan ceremonial center
  • Enjoy a swim in the Cenote Maya, a natural pool with beautiful rock formation
  • Visit a colorful handicraft market, where your purchases benefit local artisans
  • Sample traditional dishes at a Mayan buffet
Full description
Explore the archaeological site of Ek Balam, a top regional attraction that has been recently restored. You’ll also visit the mysterious Cenote Maya, a natural pool that features beautiful rock formations. Your full-day tour begins at the Cenote Maya Park, where you’ll descend into the region’s most impressive cenote by a large wooden staircase built using ancient Maya techniques. Experience a range of optional adventures at the park, such as swimming in the cenote, diving, rappelling, swinging on a Tarzan vine, and more. Visit a small, colorful handicraft market, where your purchases of locally made items benefit Maya artisans. See a Mayan ritual, and be part of an authentic blessing ceremony performed by a shaman. Enjoy a Mayan buffet of traditional dishes such as lime soup, chaya tamales, beans, vegetables, rice, chicken, handmade tortillas, fruits, and flavored water. Next on the itinerary is visit to the Ek Balam site. Dating from the 11th century, this is one of the most impressive ceremonial centers of the Yucatan peninsula. Admire the temples and plazas and unique high-relief sculptures.
Includes
  • Private transportation
  • Traditional lunch and beverages
  • Entrance fee to Ek-Balam
  • Bilingual archaeological guide
  • Equipment required for activities
  • Towel
  • Locker
  • Alcoholic drinks
  • Photographs
  • Gratuities
Not suitable for
  • Children under 6 years
  • Pregnant women
  • People with mobility impairments
  • People over 264 lbs (120 kg)
  • People under 3 ft 9 in (120 cm)

Select participants and date

Participants

Date

Important information

What to bring

  • Comfortable shoes
  • Swimwear
  • Change of clothes
  • Credit card
  • Cash

Not allowed

  • Pets
  • Cameras
  • Intoxication
  • Alcohol and drugs
  • Open-toed shoes
  • Video recording
  • Audio recording

Know before you go

  • For safety reasons, hands should be kept free, the use of cameras and recording devices of any kind (including cell phones, or tablets) is not allowed, except for "action cam" (Go Pro) style, only if it is assembled on a chest or head mount during the excursion
Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.9 /5

based on 12 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    4.5/5
  • Transportation
    3.7/5
  • Value for money
    4/5
  • Service
    5/5

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A truly incredible trip. Our guide Dolores was wonderful, giving us insight into local history and culture at every point in the trip. We went to Cenote Maya first, and essentially had it to ourselves as a group of five, until one other group showed up. Highly recommend the rappell entrance. And Ek Balam was astonishing to see, loved the local guide on hand to tell us all about it.

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March 16, 2023

We were first in EkBalam - where we looked at the Maya temples and were also allowed to go up (which is no longer a matter of course) - great view from the top too. After that we went to the cenote, where we had a ritual with a kind of "shaman" and then we could either walk into the cenote or rappel down from above. In the cenote itself there was also a zipline - so all in all a unique experience that we can only recommend. Then there was a great lunch on site before we started our way back.

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January 10, 2023

The excursion was great. We stopped at the Maya Cenote. We first experienced a sacred ritual ceremony before continuing to the Maya Cenote, where we were able to repel into the water. It was a once in a life time experience. We then had a wonderful lunch before proceeding to the Ek Balam Ruins. The guide walked us through the entire experience explaining all of the sites and what life would have been like when it was a city. We had a amazing driver who answered all of our questions and made sure our vacation excursion memoriable. The only problem we had was we had a 2 hour pick up delay due to our driver having a flat tire. It was a Sunday morning and he had trouble getting it repaired. However he made up for the time throughout the day.

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April 5, 2022

Product ID: 38931