YOUR OWN PRIVATE ADVENTURE

Chichen Itza and Cenote Tour

326 tour reviews
PRIVATE TOUR: Explore Chichen Itza with a personal certified guide, take a refreshing dip in a cenote, and savor a delicious lunch at a local restaurant in Valladolid.
  • Exclusive Experience: Just you, your personal local guide, and driver!
  • Private Transportation: Convenient pick-up from your hotel or rental.
  • Escape the Crowds & Beat the Heat: Skip the lines & enjoy a relaxed, stress-free guided tour.
  • Breathtaking Cenotes! Pick from Oxman, Samula or Xkeken - You’ll love the adventure!
  • Lunch in the colonial city of Valladolid: Savor authentic Mexican flavors, à la carte menu, not a buffet!
  • Set Your Own Pace: Stay longer or move on, the choice is entirely yours.
  • All-Inclusive at the Best Price: Transport, guide, entrance fees, lunch & more

Early bird discountBook 60+ days ahead and save 10%.

Multi-tour discountBook 2+ tours and save 10%.

Offers cannot be combined. Holiday exclusions apply. See terms and conditions.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

The details of your private day.

Chichen Itza and Cenote Tour – Private & All-Inclusive

 

Dreaming of visiting one of the New Seven Wonders of the World? Our all-inclusive Chichen Itza and cenote tour is the perfect Riviera Maya day trip for travelers who love history, culture, and nature. Designed exclusively for your group, this private experience blends world-famous Mayan ruins, a refreshing cenote swim, and authentic Yucatec flavors—at your pace and without the crowds.

  1. Skip the Crowds at Chichen Itza with Your Private Guide

    Upon arrival, your entrance tickets are ready so you can skip the lines and begin exploring right away. With your certified private guide, you’ll discover Chichen Itza at a comfortable pace and enjoy commentary tailored to your interests.

    Stand before the legendary El Castillo (Temple of Kukulcán), walk the vast Great Ball Court, and learn the symbolism etched into sacred temples and ceremonial platforms. Your guide brings the site to life with insights on Mayan astronomy, architecture, and traditions that shaped this ancient city.

  2. Refreshing Swim in a Stunning Cenote

    After your journey through history, cool off in one of Yucatán’s most beautiful cenotes—either Cenote Oxman, Cenote Xkeken or Cenote Samula. These crystal-clear freshwater pools lie within dramatic limestone caverns, creating a magical setting for swimming, floating, and relaxing.

    We provide life vests for comfort and safety, and your guide shares the geological and cultural importance of cenotes in Mayan life. Whether you take a dip or simply admire the view, this stop is often a highlight of the day.

  3. Traditional Lunch & Free Time in Valladolid

    To round out the experience, we’ll visit the colonial city of Valladolid, one of the most charming towns in Yucatán. Enjoy a delicious lunch featuring regional dishes such as cochinita pibil, sopa de lima, and handmade tortillas.

    After lunch, enjoy free time to stroll colorful streets, browse local shops for handicrafts, or relax in the main square before returning to your hotel.

  4. Why Travelers Love This Chichen Itza Cenote Tour

    Private & all-inclusive: just your group and your guide, with logistics handled for a seamless day.

    Flexible pace: explore comfortably, avoid crowds, and focus on what interests you most.

    Award-winning service: trusted local team with thousands of 5-star reviews.

    Join us for an unforgettable Chichen Itza and cenote tour and see why it’s our most popular private day trip in the Riviera Maya.

     

     

Price includes

  • Pick up and drop off at your hotel with private air-conditioned transportation (Booster car seat and baby car seat available on request)
  • Experienced certified private guide
  • Toll road when pick up from Playa del Carmen and Cancun
  • Chichen Itza entrance fees and state tax
  • Cenote entrance fee and life vests
  • Coffee and snacks in the vans
  • Cool drinks in the van (waters, soda)
  • Lunch in a restaurant with one main course a la carte

Price excludes

  • Drinks at the restaurant
  • Ruins: If you bring a GoPro, video camera, or phone with a selfie stick, a fee of 60 pesos (about USD 3) per device is charged at the entrance to each archaeological site and must be paid in pesos (INAH fee). Drones and camera/video tripods are prohibited.
  • Tips

General Info

Private Tour:
Only you, the guide and the driver, nobody else!
Duration:
 11-12 hours
Physicality:
 Easy
Age:
 All ages
Swimming:
 Basic swimming skills required. This excursion suits everyone from novices to experts.
Which cenote will you visit? 
The day of your tour, you can choose between Cenote Oxman, Xkeken or Samula.
What’s on the menu?
Selection of best specialities from Yucatan Cuisime… with vegetarian, fish, chicken & meat options. With corn or flour tortillas. We can accommodate special diets and allergies, just let us know!

Itinerary options

Times at each stop are estimates. Driving and your exact pickup location affect the schedule.

Chichen Itza, cenote & Valladolid

  1. Chichen Itza — 210 min
  2. Cenote swim — 75 min
  3. Lunch in Valladolid — 75 min
  4. Free time in Valladolid — 60 min

The recommended early pick-up time helps you avoid traffic, crowds, and heat at Chichen Itza, but you can opt for a later pick-up when booking.
Discover the 3 benefits of early departure to visit Chichen Itza.
Timing may vary based on traffic and your exact location.
We can spend more or less time at Chichen Itza, the cenote, and Valladolid, moving at your own pace.

Transportation takes less than 3 hours, and there is a one-hour time difference between Cancun/Playa del Carmen/Tulum and Chichen Itza/Valladolid.

What to Bring

  • Beach Towels
  • Swimsuit (We recommend wearing it in the morning and feel free to change after snorkeling activities)
  • Comfortable shoes for the ruins (We recommend tennis shoes)
  • Flip flops or sandals for water activities (Water shoes are optional but can be worn for added comfort)
  • Hat and sunglasses
  • Sunscreen and we recommend wearing a rash-guard/UV-Shirt for water activities*
  • Mosquito repellent*
  • Cash (for tour payment, tips, souvenirs…)
  • Camera/Underwater camera/Waterproof case for your phone

FROM OUR GUESTS

A day worth remembering.

5.00/5 · 326 tour reviews

Showing reviews 235–243 of 326

Juan was an amazing tour guide. He was considerate, knowledgeable, friendly, and very fun! He helped us beat the crowds of ppl and provided us an easy and awesome experience. Would 100% book with him again.

Brady · Dec 2023

Amazing and Memorable tour of Chichen Itza My husband and I booked a private tour to Chichen Itza and what an amazing experience it was! We had the pleasure of having Alex as our guide, who is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but also very interesting with a wonderful personality. We learned so much from him! The tour itself is timed perfectly, allowing for sufficient time…

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Amazing and Memorable tour of Chichen Itza
My husband and I booked a private tour to Chichen Itza and what an amazing experience it was! We had the pleasure of having Alex as our guide, who is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but also very interesting with a wonderful personality. We learned so much from him! The tour itself is timed perfectly, allowing for sufficient time at all of our destinations. Additionally, our driver Omar is amazing and made us feel safe the entire trip.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Claire for being super timely and responsive to all the questions I had prior to booking. We will definitely be scheduling all future tours with Absolute Adventure!

Bonnie · Dec 2023

Great tour of Chichen Itza, local cenote and restaurant/town. Tour guide and driver were incredible, would definitely recommend!

Jake · Dec 2023

Incredible experiences! We had Alex (Alejandro) as our tour guide for two days and Omar as our driver. Alex knew exactly how to get us to all the sites when no one else was there and was able to work with us to pick the best cenotes to visit. The food at both the Valladolid restaruant (for Chichen) and the jungle (for Tulum/Akumal/cenotes) was AMAZING!…

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Incredible experiences! We had Alex (Alejandro) as our tour guide for two days and Omar as our driver. Alex knew exactly how to get us to all the sites when no one else was there and was able to work with us to pick the best cenotes to visit. The food at both the Valladolid restaruant (for Chichen) and the jungle (for Tulum/Akumal/cenotes) was AMAZING! Seriously cannot say enough about how attentive Claire was with needs like a booster seat/drinks, etc.. and how amazing our experiences were. Getting up early and having your own private van (so we could stop for snacks, etc..) and the RIGHT GUIDE is everything.

Bryon · Nov 2023

Great trip beautifully orchestrated We had a superb experience. We were staying at a lovely resort in Riviera Maya. We booked this trip via TripAdvisor because of the superb reviews. I had some concerns in advance because we were devoting a full day to this and needed it to be worthwhile. It was great. The tour operator (and this was run by owners, not just…

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Great trip beautifully orchestrated
We had a superb experience. We were staying at a lovely resort in Riviera Maya. We booked this trip via TripAdvisor because of the superb reviews. I had some concerns in advance because we were devoting a full day to this and needed it to be worthwhile. It was great. The tour operator (and this was run by owners, not just a broker) did a great job communicating with us in advance. We were picked up at their recommendation at 6:45 which was a great idea because we stayed just ahead of throngs of tourists on Thanksgiving Day - they were pouring in as we were leaving both Chichén Itza and the Cenote. Our guide, Carlos, was a joy. He was super knowledgeable and a great communicator (impeccable English in our case). He’d been to CI thousands of times but there was nothing rote about how he guided us during the day. CI was about 2.5 hours from our resort, so it was a long day, but it was worth it. CI is breathtaking and the Cenote experience was easy and a lot of fun. The lunch was quite good. The whole day was paced just right. Great value, great guide, great day.

Doug · Nov 2023

Do things that take your breath away…. The tour from the start was great … Pick up was on time … No language barrier !…. The drive was great, nice roads… JAYJAY (Juan) was great… My family loves history and he answered all questions … I hope he enjoyed us as much as we did him! Alexander loved his job on the tour! 😉 When…

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Do things that take your breath away….
The tour from the start was great …
Pick up was on time …
No language barrier !….
The drive was great, nice roads…
JAYJAY (Juan) was great…
My family loves history and he answered all questions … I hope he enjoyed us as much as we did him!
Alexander loved his job on the tour! 😉
When we come back we will not hesitate and book with them again…

Wendy · Nov 2023

Glad we booked you! Great day out learning about Mayan culture. Artura our guide and Carlos our driver were fabulous. Artura’s tour of Chichen Itza was informative and combined stories, questions and many interesting pieces of information including some basic Mayan words which were met with joy from the many stall sellers. The whole day was seamless with entry to all sites smooth and pleasant.…

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Glad we booked you!
Great day out learning about Mayan culture. Artura our guide and Carlos our driver were fabulous. Artura’s tour of Chichen Itza was informative and combined stories, questions and many interesting pieces of information including some basic Mayan words which were met with joy from the many stall sellers. The whole day was seamless with entry to all sites smooth and pleasant. The connote was spectacular and we had the whole experience to ourselves with one other couple… Amazing.
You get what you pay for, a personalised experience with fabulous and talented staff. We are so glad we chose to visit with you.. thank you

Annie H · Oct 2023

One of a kind private tour This was our second time using Absolute Adventure Mexico. We were so impressed the first time we toured with them in Tulum, we wanted to book with them for our tour to Chichen Itza. We are so happy we did! We arrived first thing in the morning, before any of the other tours, so we had Chichen Itza all…

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One of a kind private tour
This was our second time using Absolute Adventure Mexico. We were so impressed the first time we toured with them in Tulum, we wanted to book with them for our tour to Chichen Itza. We are so happy we did! We arrived first thing in the morning, before any of the other tours, so we had Chichen Itza all to ourselves with the exception of a local dog! Our guide Arturo was great! Very knowledgeable and told us about the historical and cultural aspects of the sacred grounds, all while keeping us as hydrated and shaded as possible. Once our tour conclude, we passed thousands of other folks pouring in from the larger tours as we were exiting. Our driver Carlos stayed with the van and our belongings the entirety of our trip, while was awesome and helps ease any concerns you may have about storing your belongings. We then made our way to X'keken cenote which was underground in what would typically be considered a cave, but was actually a cenote due to the small opening at the center of the cavern. It was a bit dark and mysterious, but still a delightful swim. After we change into dry clothes, we stopped at Valladolid where we learned about the cultural significance of the city and enjoyed a delicious authentic lunch with a view of the majestic church. We walked around the city and then had free time to explore the shopping square. Once we were ready, we headed back to our hotel. It was an amazing adventure and I highly recommend Absolute Adventure Mexico if you're considering a tour. You will not be disappointed that you chose a private tour where you beat all the crowds!

Emily · Oct 2023

Alex and Omar - Fantastic Day in Chichen Itza! We can't say enough about how much we enjoyed our day trip with Alex and Omar! Alex's knowledge of the Mayan culture and Chichen Itza was amazing. He made the 2 plus hour van ride from Puerto Juarez to Chichen Itza fly by. CI was pretty busy on the day of our visit, but Alex kept…

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Alex and Omar - Fantastic Day in Chichen Itza! We can't say enough about how much we enjoyed our day trip with Alex and Omar! Alex's knowledge of the Mayan culture and Chichen Itza was amazing. He made the 2 plus hour van ride from Puerto Juarez to Chichen Itza fly by. CI was pretty busy on the day of our visit, but Alex kept us moving and knew how to avoid the crowds, without missing any of the things we wanted to see up close. Our visit to the cenote after was just what we had hoped for, with plenty of time to swim and appreciate the beauty of the place. We stopped for a delicious lunch in a quaint restaurant followed by the ride back to the ferry landing. Alex and Omar were the utmost professionals. We are a mother and young adult daughter traveling together and we felt completely safe on this tour. It was a special day and given the opportunity we would take another tour with Absolute Adventure without hesitation! Thank you Alex and Omar!

Stacy · Sep 2023

A FEW THINGS TO KNOW

Your tour questions, answered.

Tour basics

Is the Chichen Itza Cenote tour private or shared?

This is a private tour, just for you and your group.

You’ll have a dedicated guide and vehicle all to yourselves—no crowds, no waiting, just a smooth and personalized experience.

Is the driver also the guide?

No. The driver and guide are two different professionals.

All our tours include a dedicated driver and a separate certified guide. 

While some companies offer a guide-driver, we believe this is not safe. Having a driver focused solely on the road and a guide fully dedicated to our guests ensures a safer and higher-quality experience.

How long is the drive to Chichen Itza?

The drive to Chichen Itza from the coast takes approximately 2 hours and 30 to 40 minutes.

Our professional drivers always respect speed limits to ensure a safe and comfortable journey for everyone.

Pickup & transport

Is transportation included from my hotel or Airbnb?

Yes, round-trip transportation is included from Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal and Tulum. We’ll pick you up right from your hotel, resort, or Airbnb for a stress-free start to your day.

Please note: we don’t offer pick up from Cancun Playa Mujeres hotels unless your group has 6 or more adults.

What vehicles do you use for your tours?

We offer a range of modern, air-conditioned vans to suit the size of your group and ensure a safe and comfortable journey.

Visit our fleet page for more details.

Can I change the pick up time?

Yes, you’re welcome to choose your preferred pick-up time when booking.

That said, we recommend an early morning start to help you beat the crowds, skip the traffic, and enjoy cooler temperatures—it really makes a difference!

Activities & facilities

Can we make bathroom stops on the way?

Yes, absolutely! There are 1 or 2 bathroom stops available along the way at gas stations and convenience stores, where you can take a break whenever needed.

How much walking is there at the Chichen Itza ruins?

During the guided visit at Chichen Itza, we typically spend about 2 to 2 hours and 15 minutes exploring the site.

We go at your own pace, taking breaks whenever needed to ensure your comfort.

If you wish, we can also adjust the visit to be shorter or longer depending on your preferences.

Our goal is to make the experience as enjoyable and flexible as possible for you.

Which cenote do we visit on this tour?

You can view the list of cenotes available for this tour under the ‘Tour Description and General Info’ tab, where you'll also find links to full descriptions of each cenote.

Unless you've already made your choice, you can decide which cenote to visit together with your tour guide on the day of your tour.

Is swimming experience required for this tour?

No previous swimming experience is required.

We provide mandatory life vests, and our guide ensures a safe and comfortable experience for everyone.

Are there showers or changing rooms at the cenote?

Yes. Facilities include clean showers, restrooms, and changing areas at both locations.

Planning & booking

What should I bring for the tour? Where can I leave my belongings?

Check the "What to bring" tab on the tour page for the full packing list.

Essentials include swimwear, a towel and comfortable shoes.

You can safely leave your belongings in the van—our driver stays with it the entire time while you're out enjoying the activities.

Are vegetarian or special dietary meals available?

Yes, we’re happy to accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and other dietary needs or allergies.

After booking, you can let us know your needs by filling out the check-in form—just follow the link in your booking confirmation email.

What is the cancellation policy?

Go ahead and plan with confidence—your booking is fully flexible!

You can cancel free of charge or reschedule (subject to availability) up to 24 hours before your tour.

We’re a small team and often fully booked 1–2 weeks in advance, so we recommend booking early to secure your spot.

Bonus: if you book at least 2 months in advance (60 days), you’ll qualify for our early bird discount*!

For full details, check out our booking policy page.

More questions?

Visit our main FAQ page or contact us by email, WhatsApp or via chat, we're happy to help!

Come explore the Riviera Maya with us.

Private adventures, thoughtfully planned by our local team.

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Coupon terms & conditions

EARLY2MONTHS — 10% off
Book at least 60 days before your tour date.

MULTITOUR — 10% off
Book at least 2 tours in one transaction.

If part of a multi-tour booking is canceled and only one tour remains, the discount becomes void and the remaining balance will be adjusted.

Enter your coupon code at checkout.

Tour photos

MAKE IT YOUR DAY

Book with Confidence

Chichen Itza and Cenote Tour

Choose your date, number of guests and pickup location to see your exact price.

Enjoy free cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour.