The Native Choice Tours

[NCTribeFan]

I did book it.  Love seeing the ruins.

[BiloxiBeachDude]

On 3/23/2019 at 7:25 PM, sueandtimj said:

We just went on the Chacchoben  Ruin extreme excursion and had a fabulous time.  I would highly recommend them.  We left on time, got back with plenty of time to see the port.  The drive was about 50 minutes in a modern new van.  After touring the ruins we went to a private resort for lunch, swimming and kayaking.  On the way back to port, we stopped for a fresh pineapple treat.  Our guide was a fantastic and the driver was very safe!

Hi Sue & Tim - is the tour you did the one that includes the Chacchoben  Ruins as well as a stop at Lagoon of 7 colors??  That is the tour we are most wanting to do but are in port only from 0700 with departure of 1500.   Not sure if we will have enough time.

[StCroixCruiser]

I enjoyed my Native Choice excursion with my mother (who still raves about it) in October 2019.  We went to a small village where we were guests in a local home (Mayan people) for a tour of the gardens, made tortillas, and then a delicious lunch.  I'd go back just for the lunch!  We stopped at a roadside stand to buy local sugar pineapple and dragonfruit and then had a couple hours at the 7 color lagoon at an eco resort with an open bar (local beer and basic mixed drinks/wine) with kayaking available and beach chairs.  The place was deserted other than our group and one other tour that left soon after we arrived.  The tour guide was a young kid (said he was 22 but looked maybe 15, lol) who was incredibly knowledgeable and interesting.  We all learned Mayan math during the drive.  My mother travels with a collapsible mobility scooter and this wasn't a problem.  The guys helped push it through some gravel pathway at the 7 color lagoon.  The A/C in the vans worked great.  Bottled water and insect repellent was provided.  I usually choose more active excursions when I travel on my own or with friends my own age, but this was a cultural experience as well as a beach/open bar/meal excursion.  Native Choice had 3-4 other excursions leave shortly before ours, so there are multiple excursion options to suit your group's preferences.  They were a positive experience for a tour provider.

[mgrace56]

On 9/8/2019 at 3:07 PM, BiloxiBeachDude said:

Hi Sue & Tim - is the tour you did the one that includes the Chacchoben  Ruins as well as a stop at Lagoon of 7 colors??  That is the tour we are most wanting to do but are in port only from 0700 with departure of 1500.   Not sure if we will have enough time.

BiloxiBeachDude - did you all end up doing this? I was looking at the same but also have short port time of 0700-1500. Thanks for any info!

[BiloxiBeachDude]

Yes - we did end up doing this excursion through Native Choice and were very happy with the tour and not too strapped for time.  

[BuckeyeMark]

I did NC in Nov 2019 and it was great.  full review in here:

 

 

[pat714]

Excellent experience with Native Choice.  We did the Mayan Ruins Tour with an authentic Mayan lunch. Great food, it was fun making the tortillas and very informative.

 

I highly recommend this company and the experience. Vehicles were air-conditioned and comfortable. Tour guides very friendly and knowledgeable.

 

Just follow the map provided. Their location is just a short walkable distance from Port. The day we arrived they had helpers along the route to assist with pointing folks in the right directions.

 

 

[saget1]

I signed up for Native choice on the basis of this thread, but was very disappointed and wanted to offer an update. This was my Dec 2022 experience:

The moment my husband and I arrived, managers told us that the tour we signed up for was not possible due to wet roads. Even if this was true, they should have given us advance notice. Second, the ride to the site was awful. The van was dark and cramped: I barely got half a seat to myself. There was almost no information given to distract from the discomfort. The “guide’s” English was very difficult to understand and not informative anyway. She also left us halfway through the drive, so we had no guide. The site was then incredibly overcrowded and our small van of people was lumped into a group of 60-70 people (with one very quiet guide). After we reached the ruins, we split into 3 groups, but it seemed like our new tour guide had very little guiding experience. He didn’t seem to know much history about the ruins. However, even the main guide (who we were split off from) didn’t seem to know much either. He made lots of grand generalizations about all ancient civilizations, but not specific, evidence-based inferences based on the actual site we were visiting. We wanted a native perspective on the ruins, not just a native person giving personal opinions. Also, unlike tours with natives we did in Belize, our tour guide had very little control over our group. For example, he let other guests damage ancient ruins and break off branches of trees without saying anything about how to behave in an ancient site. Finally, the long bus-ride home was completely quiet, with the guide reading his phone instead of talking to guests. If you want to support locals with your business, try to find a company that puts more effort into giving you a good, educational experience. 

[tallyho8]

Having cruised very many times and read thousands of forums, I have learned to see how many posts a person has made and read some of them before I determine if they are a regular poster or a spammer. When I see a person writing a very negative post, and it is the only post they have written,  when many others have made positive posts, I tend to think that person may be working for the competition.

[Ellaleah]

this is the review I posted on trip advisor yesterday.  We had a great experience with Native Choice and I would definitely use them again.  It made for a great day!

 

See The Chacchoben Ruinsthe Right Way!

Review of The Native Choice

Reviewed yesterday 

There were 5 of us, the youngest was my 13 year old grandson, who possibly enjoyed the tour the most. Eddy (closest I could get to his real name)was our outstanding guide. His knowledge of the ruins and the Mayan people was most impressive to say the least. Our tour was extensive and well worth the price. We enjoyed it and could not have been more please. I would not hesitate to book with Native Choice rather than the cruise line as cruise line excursions have always felt like a ripoff to me. It made for a great day in Costa Maya!

Date of experience: December 2022

 

Ask Janice M about The Native Choice

 

 

[gcruse7]

Has anyone had trouble getting on the www.thenativechoice.com website recently?  I looked at tours back at the end of December, but today (Jan 15, 2023) Chrome can't load the website.  It says 

 

This page isn’t working

www.thenativechoice.com redirected you too many times.

 

[paceyswife]

3 hours ago, gcruse7 said:

Has anyone had trouble getting on the www.thenativechoice.com website recently?  I looked at tours back at the end of December, but today (Jan 15, 2023) Chrome can't load the website.  It says 

 

This page isn’t working

www.thenativechoice.com redirected you too many times.

 

We just did a booking on their website the other day with ease for next month. Maybe it’s just a glitch. 

[gcruse7]

I had no problems booking this evening.  The website just must have been down on Sunday.

 

[LHARTWICK]

Is their pickup point just outside the port?

[tallyho8]

According to Google Maps, it's a shorter distance to Native Choice from the port than it is from the ship to the port.

[SueMo]

We used Native Choice to Chacchoben in 2020 and had an excellent experience.  Our guide was Mayan, and knew his stuff!  We had no problem finding their office.  As we passed through the port, taxi drivers would ask us if we needed a taxi, and when we said, "Native Choice", they would point us in the right direction.  We plan to try their Mayan family and Seven Colors Lagoon tour for our March 2023 trip.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 12/15/2019 at 8:12 PM, StCroixCruiser said:

I enjoyed my Native Choice excursion with my mother (who still raves about it) in October 2019.  We went to a small village where we were guests in a local home (Mayan people) for a tour of the gardens, made tortillas, and then a delicious lunch.  I'd go back just for the lunch!  We stopped at a roadside stand to buy local sugar pineapple and dragonfruit and then had a couple hours at the 7 color lagoon at an eco resort with an open bar (local beer and basic mixed drinks/wine) with kayaking available and beach chairs.  The place was deserted other than our group and one other tour that left soon after we arrived.  The tour guide was a young kid (said he was 22 but looked maybe 15, lol) who was incredibly knowledgeable and interesting.  We all learned Mayan math during the drive.  My mother travels with a collapsible mobility scooter and this wasn't a problem.  The guys helped push it through some gravel pathway at the 7 color lagoon.  The A/C in the vans worked great.  Bottled water and insect repellent was provided.  I usually choose more active excursions when I travel on my own or with friends my own age, but this was a cultural experience as well as a beach/open bar/meal excursion.  Native Choice had 3-4 other excursions leave shortly before ours, so there are multiple excursion options to suit your group's preferences.  They were a positive experience for a tour provider.

This is one of their options we’re looking at. Thank you!

 

On 1/1/2023 at 2:46 PM, saget1 said:

I signed up for Native choice on the basis of this thread, but was very disappointed and wanted to offer an update. This was my Dec 2022 experience:

The moment my husband and I arrived, managers told us that the tour we signed up for was not possible due to wet roads. Even if this was true, they should have given us advance notice. Second, the ride to the site was awful. The van was dark and cramped: I barely got half a seat to myself. There was almost no information given to distract from the discomfort. The “guide’s” English was very difficult to understand and not informative anyway. She also left us halfway through the drive, so we had no guide. The site was then incredibly overcrowded and our small van of people was lumped into a group of 60-70 people (with one very quiet guide). After we reached the ruins, we split into 3 groups, but it seemed like our new tour guide had very little guiding experience. He didn’t seem to know much history about the ruins. However, even the main guide (who we were split off from) didn’t seem to know much either. He made lots of grand generalizations about all ancient civilizations, but not specific, evidence-based inferences based on the actual site we were visiting. We wanted a native perspective on the ruins, not just a native person giving personal opinions. Also, unlike tours with natives we did in Belize, our tour guide had very little control over our group. For example, he let other guests damage ancient ruins and break off branches of trees without saying anything about how to behave in an ancient site. Finally, the long bus-ride home was completely quiet, with the guide reading his phone instead of talking to guests. If you want to support locals with your business, try to find a company that puts more effort into giving you a good, educational experience. 

This makes me hesitant. Dh wants to just stay on the ship. Maybe we will. 
 

On 1/6/2023 at 5:38 PM, Ellaleah said:

this is the review I posted on trip advisor yesterday.  We had a great experience with Native Choice and I would definitely use them again.  It made for a great day!

 

See The Chacchoben Ruinsthe Right Way!

Review of The Native Choice

Reviewed yesterday 

There were 5 of us, the youngest was my 13 year old grandson, who possibly enjoyed the tour the most. Eddy (closest I could get to his real name)was our outstanding guide. His knowledge of the ruins and the Mayan people was most impressive to say the least. Our tour was extensive and well worth the price. We enjoyed it and could not have been more please. I would not hesitate to book with Native Choice rather than the cruise line as cruise line excursions have always felt like a ripoff to me. It made for a great day in Costa Maya!

Date of experience: December 2022

 

Ask Janice M about The Native Choice

 

 

 

We’ve been there some that seeing ruins other places. Anything special about these?  
 

On 1/21/2023 at 4:19 PM, SueMo said:

We used Native Choice to Chacchoben in 2020 and had an excellent experience.  Our guide was Mayan, and knew his stuff!  We had no problem finding their office.  As we passed through the port, taxi drivers would ask us if we needed a taxi, and when we said, "Native Choice", they would point us in the right direction.  We plan to try their Mayan family and Seven Colors Lagoon tour for our March 2023 trip.

Is Seven Colors Lagoon spectacular?

[SueMo]

1 minute ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

Is Seven Colors Lagoon spectacular?

Unfortunately I was sick that day so we didn’t go.  Maybe somebody else has been there and can comment?