Chacchoben Ruins tour

[ajpack]

We just got back last night from our cruise and we took David and Ivan's tour. Don't worry about anything...they have a brand new van and are very organized. The day we were there David had a meeting about the tours originating at the pier. It was officially approved. In the very near future they will be able to meet you at the pier.

 

They have to drive an hour to get on the internet so they might not get back to you right away. The computers are in a public center in Ivan's village and he pays a few pesos so they stay open longer so he can conduct his business. Their tour was the highlight of the cruise.

[kelmac]

We just got back last night from our cruise and we took David and Ivan's tour. Don't worry about anything...they have a brand new van and are very organized. The day we were there David had a meeting about the tours originating at the pier. It was officially approved. In the very near future they will be able to meet you at the pier.

 

They have to drive an hour to get on the internet so they might not get back to you right away. The computers are in a public center in Ivan's village and he pays a few pesos so they stay open longer so he can conduct his business. Their tour was the highlight of the cruise.

 

ajpack,

 

That's great news! Thanks for posting this information. We will be on David and Ivan's tour March 31st and it sure would be nice to meet them outside the pier area. I will email them in a couple of weeks and see if everything has been finalized.

 

Kel:)

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks everyone for your help. It would ease my mind if he can arrange to pick up close to the pier area. I have my reservations confirmed and I am all set.

[Sheffie]

Thanks everyone for your help. It would ease my mind if he can arrange to pick up close to the pier area. I have my reservations confirmed and I am all set.

 

Linda, even if he doesn't pick you up at the pier, it isn't hard to get to Majahual and find him. Don't stress. You will be fine. :)

[megsterl]

This tour was the absolute highlight of my cruise (next to cavetubing in belize) The guide we had was wonderful, but I cant remember his name and if anyone knows please let me know his name. We had soo much fun, he was very infomative and gave us time to shop. HE even dropped us off at the pier and saved us the money of having to pay to get back to the terminal from Majuahaul.

[martdm]

I'm a little confused about the timing of the tour. Their website says it's a 3.5 to 4 hour tour and while some state they had plenty of time to visit Mahahual afterward, some report they were short on time.

 

We're in port at 10am and booked for the tour at 11am. Our ship doesn't depart until 6pm...we should have some time to shop/get a bite in Mahahual afterward, right?

[Sheffie]

I'm a little confused about the timing of the tour. Their website says it's a 3.5 to 4 hour tour and while some state they had plenty of time to visit Mahahual afterward, some report they were short on time.

 

We're in port at 10am and booked for the tour at 11am. Our ship doesn't depart until 6pm...we should have some time to shop/get a bite in Mahahual afterward, right?

 

We were in port for the same hours that you will be in port, and we had plenty of time to eat, relax, and do some shopping at Majahual after our tour with David.

 

Have a wonderful time!

[martdm]

Thanks Sheffie...great to know!

[vms]

I'm absolutely thrilled to have gotten a confirmation from Ivan and have my reservation for Chacchoben for April 7! Thank you to all of you who have provided your insights on this tour- it clearly was a must see from all the positive feedback.

 

For others who had experienced difficulty in receiving e-mail responses, the e-mail from Ivan was originally judged by my e-mail program to be potential SPAM, and so was placed into that folder instead of my inbox. Thankfully I was checking that folder and found the response w/in the 48 hour confirmation deadline. Hopefully this will help others of you as well!

 

I promise to post a review when I return.:cool:

[Linda the Book Lover]

Anyone else checking this thread going on April 11th?

[martdm]

Nope...we're a few days behind you - April 13.

[hope7]

We just arrived back from our cruise this past weekend and went on a tour with Ivan last week. He is an excellent guide. He has so much information to share about the Mayan culture, history and his own life. We enjoyed every minute of our tour, including the ride to and from the ruins, in which Ivan indulged us with lots of information about the villages we passed through. I would strongly recommend booking the Mayan ruins tour through Ivan and David. It was a highlight of our vacation! :)

 

One word of warning, people at the port may try to steer you in the wrong direction or delay you, just make sure you go directly to the Cat's Meow Restaurant as your reservation will tell you, no matter what anyone at the port tells you! In our case, we were told to step aside and just wait. Apparently, the company that has the transportation contract at the port seems to be working against Ivan and David - perhaps they don't like a little healthy competition. However, in the end, Ivan came directly to the port to pick us up and we went directly on our way. Don't let this deter you at all! - The trip with Ivan and David is well worth it.

[lnew1gd1]

Take this tour and relax....the most awesome day of all our cruises!!

 

Don't worry about getting to the tour...just make sure you leave the tourist area right at the pier, grab a cab $3.00 pp and tell them to take you to the Cat's Meow. Only 2 miles and is a short ride. At the end of the tour Ivan dropped off some of our group right at the pier area and the rest of us wanted to go back to Mahjaual. No problem at all!

 

We had lot's of time to shop and eat when the tour ended.

 

Ivan is great, very knowledgeable an caring about his "history and his people". Ivan has a brand new van and most of the road is paved and safe. Only a rough spot on one section getting to the ruins.

 

Make sure to ask Ivan to show you the remnants of his home. He grew up on this land.

 

Go with Ivan and David and ENJOY, ENJOY. The ruins and David and Ivan are awesome! Make sure to give them a good tip at the end of your tour....they really deserve it.

 

I would highly recommend his tour to everyone I speak to.

[bjtmict]

We did the tour on 2-21-06 with David. There was a little confusion as he said that was the first day of them picking up the group at the taxi stand at the pier. Once we were all together, off we went. David was a fantastic guide! We had several big groups catch up and pass us at the ruins getting very limited information, while David taught us about trees and plants, history and legend, rites and rituals. We were in port from 7:30-3:00, had plenty of time for the trip, the tour, and then to The Cat's Meow for lunch (David asked if we wanted to go to the pier or to town for lunch, the majority voted for lunch, so he called ahead t.o reserve us a table). While we were eating lunch, Barbara (the owner of The Cat's Meow) came out to make sure everything was going OK. Lunch was great and they have THE BEST MARGURITAS!! Truely, until you experience this tour you won't appreciate what is written about it.

[martdm]

Hope7 - how did they know you were trying to get to Ivan & David's tour? Can't we just tell them we want a cab to Mahahual?

 

bjtmict - my confirmation email from Ivan stated to meet at the Cat's Meow. Were you given different instructions? How did you know you'd be meeting at the port?

[mark1]

martdm

 

See you at the Cat's Meow before 8 on April 13th. Our reservations were confirmed by Ivan within a day.

 

mark and gretchen

[bjtmict]

Hope7 - how did they know you were trying to get to Ivan & David's tour? Can't we just tell them we want a cab to Mahahual?

 

bjtmict - my confirmation email from Ivan stated to meet at the Cat's Meow. Were you given different instructions? How did you know you'd be meeting at the port?

 

We were told to meet at the Cat's Meow but after we bought our taxi ticket we were told to wait over to the side with the others waiting for

"the Ivan and David tour".

[martdm]

I don't know if we'll see each other Mark...we aren't scheduled to meet until 11am that day (we're on Liberty)

 

bjtmict-who told you to wait at the pier...someone from Native Choice?

[Johnny Cruiser]

I know much has already been said but I wanted to add my voice to the chorus of praises for these two fine gentlemen. Their tour - and Costa Maya in general - was absolutely the highlight of our cruise as well. If you are even the least bit interested in Mayan history and culture it is a must (if you just want pictures of a temple, buy a post card).

 

Yes, Ivan was BORN on the ruins property. His family was the last residents before the government took over the land. Their knowledge, passion and sincerity is simply unmatched. Popular culture lists the Mayan people as extinct, but it's simply not true. David and Ivan are two of them.

 

But no one likes a winner. To emphasize earlier posts, their competition knows they cannot compete with David and Ivan on quality so they do often resort to underhanded tactics. David and Ivan have the best product but they can't afford to set up inside the pier area. When you pass through there, some of them may try to stop you, ask to see your confirmation, and mislead you. Ignore them and KEEP WALKING. Buy your $3 cab ticket and go to the Cat's Meow in the Village of Majahual (5 minutes). David and Ivan will meet you there. They have clean, new, reliable vans and will drop you at the pier or back in the village after.

 

After the tour, definitely take the opportunity to return to Majahual. Barbara, the owner of the Cat's Meow, is an ex-pat Canadian and you can be assured of excellent food, drink ($10 for a bucket of Corona's and the best Margaritas anywhere!!) and service in a beautiful, unspoiled and safe environment. Great shopping at half (or less) the prices at the pier (haggle with them for about half the original price - they expect it).

 

Also, don't pass up on a wonderful 30 minute massage for only $20 plus tip - right on the beach! A perfect end to the day.

 

Just one more thing. I would encourage you to go SOON. Today Costa Maya is a beautiful, unspoiled region. In 5 years it will probably be another Cancun, with McDonalds on the corner. Go now, before it's gone.

 

Again, I cannot say enough about the quality, professionalism and value provided by David and Ivan. I have visited many interesting locations in the world and theirs is truly a unique experience. If anyone has any specific questions I would be happy to answer: jbaker0909@rogers.com

 

Cheers and happy sailing!

[Zeno]

We were met at the taxi stand at the pier by "Pablo" who works for David and Ivan. He organized a taxi van that dropped us at The Cat's Meow and was one of the escorts to the ruins.

The group at the taxi stand seemed to be behaving a lot better than in the past. We were politely directed to Pablo. Ivan led our tour and was excellent.

[JudyOh]

:) We did David and Ivan's tour on Feb 22 and it is without a doubt one of the best tours we have ever taken. Ivan was our tour guide and he was wonderful. His knowledge about the area is overwhelming. I would go again without hesitation. They both have a love of their heritage and want to share it with others. The vans we were in were brand new. Until a few years ago they did not even have electric on the island and their cell service only covers a small area. In 5 years it will be covered with hotels and restaurants I'm sure, go now to see the unspoiled beauty of it .

[martdm]

We were met at the taxi stand at the pier by "Pablo" who works for David and Ivan. He organized a taxi van that dropped us at The Cat's Meow and was one of the escorts to the ruins.

The group at the taxi stand seemed to be behaving a lot better than in the past. We were politely directed to Pablo. Ivan led our tour and was excellent.

 

Zeno, how did you know he was really working for Ivan & David/Native Choice? It seems there are a lot of people engaging in misdirection at the pier and strong recommendations to ignore everyone at the pier & just head to the Cat's Meow. How would we be able to tell we've been properly directed to an actual employee of Native Choice?

[D4]

I just received my confirmation email from Ivan yesterday and it gave directions to meet at the Cat's Meow. It didn't say anything about meeting a driver near the pier.

[neufie]

We went on the tour on Feb 17, 2006. At the taxi pickup area there was a person with a Native Choice David/Ivan Tours who directed us to a taxi that took us directly to the Cat's Meow for $3 each. We did not see Ivan or David until we came to the Mayan site itself. Our guide in the van to and from the site was Carolina. She is from the Mexico City area and spend about 10 years living in Toronto (her 2 sons live there). She was a fountain of valuable info. We did the extended tour and had lunch with a Mayan family. The extended tour is VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! The food is good and not highly spiced (there is a very hot sauce for those who want it).

[JudyOh]

We had Caroline in our van last week, she was a wealth of information about the area and the Mayan culture. She is half Mayan. Wonderful tour!!:)