Which Native Choice tour?

[Dannie138]

Any recommendations or insight?

[ndfaninal]

I've not been on one yet - but my research seems to suggest the Chaccoben (sp?) ruins are good for 1st time ruins visitors. We booked the one that combines these ruins with the lagoon/lake visit for March 18. I saw reviewers that raved over all the tours, so sounds like we can't really go wrong.

[gargoyle999]

We are doing the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins next month. Considered adding the Lagoon portion mentioned above but decided against it just to not have to worry about rushing back to the ship. Plus we will be snorkeling at 3 other ports so there will be plenty of water time for us. Maybe will wonder around town after the tour.

 

The other locations I felt were too far away. Didn't want to risk any travel issues being on an independent excursion.

[Grannycb]

We did the Chacchoben Ruins tour with Ivan. It was a very nice tour - lots of information and great photo opportunities. We got out at Mahahual, had lunch at Cappy's, walked around and caught a taxi back to the ship. It was a good day for us. You need to pick the tour that interests you. Ivan and David both seemed to be good guides.

[Dannie138]

Anyone try the extreme tour?

[littledipper]

We took the Mayan experience tour with Ivan back in 2006. We had a great time and he is a great guide.

[nybumpkin]

We did the Mayan Experience tour as well - we really appreciated the opportunity to visit Chacchoben village and meet the people there. The food was great, and we enjoyed our tortilla-making lesson (they're the best tortillas you'll ever have). I have pictures posted at http://travel.webshots.com/album/558933896aVbpxD?start=24.

[Boo's Mom]

Do the Mayan Experience !

The Ruins are amazing....

and lunch with a Mayan Family is Awesome !

[Jackrjc]

Any recommendations or insight?

 

I'm also putting this here because my thread may be pulled because of the title

 

On 21 Jan, we used Native Choice to see Chacchoben Mayan ruins and Azul lagoon. Tanya was our guide. She was very knowledgeable and a very pleasant person. It ended up being a wonderful day. However it did not start that way. We walked to their office about ten minutes from the dock. We waited for 45-60 minutes before beginning. (With our Belize experience fresh in our minds we were not happy campers at this point. We were late getting to port in Belize.) As it turned out we had plenty of time and returned to port with time to shop and look around. The ruins were interesting and enjoyable, and it was good being in a small group of nine for Tanya’s narration. We then went to Azul lagoon which was beautiful and truly blue and clear. We rested, kayaked and canoed. We had a great lunch and the beer was flowing. The rustic resort/cabins we used are owned and operated by a German family. The nine of us were the only ones there. I did not realize that the food and beer were included in the price. This was a wonderful day and well worth the money.

[Host Karen]

I'm also putting this here because my thread may be pulled because of the title

 

Your threads are being pulled because you are violating the Community Guidelines by starting a thread with a review rather than posting a recommendation in direct response to a request for information. Please review the posting information on this board (the Stickies) as well as the Community Guidlines for more information.

 

Karen

HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com

[blestmom3]

I am also looking into taking a ruins tour with native choice. I am trying to decide whether or not to add the lagoon portion onto the tour or not. It sounds wonderful, but want to be sure we wouldn't be rushing back to get on the ship in time. For those of you who have done the "chochoben extreme" tour, did you have ample time to get back? Did you feel rushed at the ruins or at the lagoon? Is it possible to do it all? We dock at 7 am and leave port at 5 pm. Thanks!

[blestmom3]

Okay, we have booked the extreme tour that includes the trip to Lagoona Azure after the ruins. I can't wait! I will post a review when I return in 2 weeks!

[murphalina]

Okay, we have booked the extreme tour that includes the trip to Lagoona Azure after the ruins. I can't wait! I will post a review when I return in 2 weeks!

 

Please do! I'd love to know:

 

• whether the tour guide talks to you during the bus ride
  
• if you could climb to the top of any ruins
  
• whether the tour departs exactly 1 hour after the ship docked
  

 

Thanks!

[jessed]

We had Ivan and he talked most of the way to the ruins. It was especially nice since I sat next to him in the van.

One ruin you can't walk up to the top and the other one you can. You can look down to where Ivan lived, which is burned out.

It was appox. a hour after the ship docked that we left.

[oreomycat]

We also used Native Choice. We were the first to arrive, but had to wait until every one arrived (2 van loads) I would say 3/4 of an hour. Had I know what I know now, I would have shopped before the tour left but I guess they do not know how long the wait will be for everyone to arrive. As it turned out we spent a lot of time at the ruins (think at this point we were behind schedule) The drive in to the village was very slow as the roads were in bad shape. To make a long story short we arrived back to the port at 3:35 p.m. and the ship sailed at 4 p.m. !!!! We quickly bought a few tee's

(no shopping around for better prices or different items)

than had to litterly run out the length of the pier (we were not the only ones rushing , thank heavens) they were taking up the mats as we boarded. So I problably would not recommend combining (2) things on a tour.

Just my experience. Hated the feeling of watching my watch and knowing what time the ship left and not knowing what time we would be back .

[zoeyzooka]

We used Native Choice and just did the ruins. You cannot past about the 10th step or so. We learned so many things from David. We went in a van and had Tanya sitting in the front of the van giving information about Costa Maya on the entire ride there. Afterwards, you can shop in the little area at the ruins. It was a really nice tour. Our tour departed right around the time it was supposed to. If they stop to get pineapples make sure to buy them, they are delicious.

[05mak05]

We did the Chacchoben Ruins tour with Ivan. It was a very nice tour - lots of information and great photo opportunities. We got out at Mahahual, had lunch at Cappy's, walked around and caught a taxi back to the ship. It was a good day for us. You need to pick the tour that interests you. Ivan and David both seemed to be good guides.

Hi, we'd like to book a tour with Ivan and David. Do they have a website? Do you mind sharing their email address? Thanks!

[cheezwhiz]

Ivan and David are great and this is a great tour.

[RocCruisers]

thenativechoice dot com. We did the Mayan Experience last week with Ivan and he the most wonderful person to listen too about Mayan culture and the future of the Costa Maya area.

Wonderful tour of the Ruins. We were in a group of 10, which was much more enjoyable than the tour buses. Quite a few people tried to listen in on what Ivan was talking about.

And we had a great meal too in the local village!

[HesitantCruiser]

Fabulous excursion. We did this in 2007. I'm so happy to read the post that indicates Fritz is still around - I always wondered after the hurricane.

 

Here are a few pics from that tour:

I'll embed one here to whet your appetite:

[sunny07]

We went on the Native Choice Tour to see the ruins at Chaccoben(sp?) and took the 4 hour tour including travel time. We brought our children ranging from 5-9. We waited for about a hour before we boarded the bus. Our tour director was VERY knowledgeable about the ruins. It was over our kids heads but it was neat for them to see the ruins. They actually absorbed more knowledge than we thought they did. It is a good place to visit. There are a lot of shady places to get out of the sun and different ruins to see. You are not able to climb up very far on the ruins. The worst part of the trip was when we reboarded the bus and noticed cockroaches on food that had dropped on the floor. There were probably atleast 30 that I saw. We had left our bag on the bus while we were were sightseeing-BIG MISTAKE! We searched our bag when we got back on the ship and inside one of my son's toys there were 6 roaches. Very gross and upsetting. This could be a problem with all of the buses there. I don't believe that Native Choice owned this bus. Native Choice did an excellent job educating us on the Mayan ruins. I do not want this to be a negative towards them but I would of liked a little forewarning about the roaches. Hold your bags and take them with you.

[M&M Mousers]

We went to Costa Maya 2 weeks ago and toured with Ivan of The Native Choice. I am happy to recommend him 150%.:D We have been to Talum, Coba, Muyil, Lamanai, native American ruins in the USA and native ruins in Hawaii. Ivan's tour of Dzibanche and Chacchoben was the most informative, expansive, beautiful and educational of all the tours we've ever taken, anywhere. Ivan had a dry erase board and markers that he used to explain the significance of the buildings, their direction, the Mayan religious belief system, customs and so much more. A lot of what he talked to us about were things he learned from his Mayan family members, not stuff he learned out of books. We learned more from him than any other tour guide we've ever had.

 

I had read all of the posts here on cruise critic before I began communicating with Ivan via email. I was surprised when he responded within 24 hours - using perfect English. Now that our family spent a day with him, I am no longer surprised, I am amazed. Ivan was the last person born at the ruins. If you read the website, you will see that before the government appropriated all of the coutry's land from all of its citizens, Ivan's family owned the ruins where he grew up; his father discovered them. He is college educated, multi-lingual, a paramedic, as well as a licensed tour guide. :) He was obviously well known and respected by every other tour leader we met along the way.

 

I was concerned about what would happen if his van broke down, thinking it would be a rickety job like we've been on in the past. :o First, the vans are new, airconditioned, and obviously well maintained. Second, he has cellular contact with his partner and others during the tour, which would allow for a quick rescue if necessary. We felt 100% confident with him.

 

Costa Maya is only accessible from the sea and one road. Security is everywhere, for our protection. The problems in Mexico, with the drug cartels and such, are not in the Costa Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel area, but even so, the Mexican government takes tourist's safety very seriously in that part of the country. We felt safer there than we did in New Orleans.

 

The ruins are magnificent. We came home excited about pursuing more information about their history. We've started reading online and looking for books in our library. Our family is planning on going back and contracting with Ivan for a week - at least. :D We want to volunteer to help with excavating or exploring or something. You can see that Ivan provided us with more than a tour, he fired our enthusiasm and imaginations. Here is a link to his site:

http://thenativechoice.com/

They offer a myriad of tours. He gave us a group discount (our tour group consisted of six) and picked us up right outside the gate of the shopping compound built for cruisers. I'm sure he'll be as accomodating to your group as he was to ours. Ivan offered to take us to local restaurants where we could sample safe indigenous foods, but because of my diabetes we took ship food with us in backpacks. Ivan provided complimentary bottled water and juice. Ivan returned us to the shopping area with an hour to spare. He was very consciencious about the time throughout out tour. The drive time - 2 hours each way - was long, but well worth it.

[05mak05]

We went on the Native Choice Tour to see the ruins at Chaccoben(sp?) and took the 4 hour tour including travel time. We brought our children ranging from 5-9. We waited for about a hour before we boarded the bus. Our tour director was VERY knowledgeable about the ruins. It was over our kids heads but it was neat for them to see the ruins. They actually absorbed more knowledge than we thought they did. It is a good place to visit. There are a lot of shady places to get out of the sun and different ruins to see. You are not able to climb up very far on the ruins. The worst part of the trip was when we reboarded the bus and noticed cockroaches on food that had dropped on the floor. There were probably atleast 30 that I saw. We had left our bag on the bus while we were were sightseeing-BIG MISTAKE! We searched our bag when we got back on the ship and inside one of my son's toys there were 6 roaches. Very gross and upsetting. This could be a problem with all of the buses there. I don't believe that Native Choice owned this bus. Native Choice did an excellent job educating us on the Mayan ruins. I do not want this to be a negative towards them but I would of liked a little forewarning about the roaches. Hold your bags and take them with you.

Gosh, did you report this to the tour desk on your ship and also to Native Choice? You're not being negative ... just stating the facts. Those buses need to be pestfogged.

[ndfaninal]

We returned Saturday from our cruise. We took the "Extreme" tour with Native Choice, which included a tour of Chaccoben and a trip to Laguna Azul. This was absolutely the highlight of our trip.

 

There were 7 people on our ruins tour - we had to wait about 20 minutes for everyone to show up, but we were early. We left 2 minutes after the posted time. David got us all onto the van, and was very communicative and helpful. Bottled water was offered, but we had our own. When we arrived we found out that our group of 3 were the only ones taking the "extreme" option and going to the Lagoon. David said that they would arrange a taxi to take us from the ruins to the lagoon while the van returned the other 4 to the port. This made me a bit nervous, but I decided to roll with it thinking I could just go back on the van if I still felt nervous at the time.

 

Our tour guide was a contractor named Tanya. She was great and did a wonderful job showing us around. I was a bit disappointed not to have Ivan or David after reading so many great things about them, but Tanya was certainly very good and my DH and DD thought she couldn't have been better. Tanya reassured us about going to the lagoon during our tour and by the time we reached that point all was fine. The van was nice enough, and our driver Tacho was quite competent - nothing scary there at all.

 

The ruins were very interesting. My only previous experience was at Tulum. Chaccoben was a much bigger site, and we got to climb on parts of it which was fun. There is a very tall set of steps that you climb up to a plateau that contains one of the larger building. This was a lot of fun and the view from up there was great!

 

David had arranged a taxi that took us to the lagoon. Federico, our taxi driver, spoke very limited English. But he was a great guy and we managed to use our limited Spanish together with his limited English to communicate just fine. The drive to the lagoon went out into the rural areas, and seemed long on the way there. The lagoon was a paradise! Other than about 3 people who were camping there we had the place totally to ourselves. The area we went to is owned by a German couple (didn't get their names). They spoke perfect English. The wife met us at the cab and showed us around, and arranged to have our lunch ready in 30 minutes. The lake (only freshwater lake in Quintana Roo - 40 miles in circumference - limestone bottom, totally clear!) was lovely and the water was the expected temp for mid March (cool going in, great once you were in!). My only caution is that limestone makes items in the water get pretty slippery - exercise care going down underwater steps! We swam for the 30 minutes before lunch. Lunch was the best meal we had in port- served in a tiny 4 table restaurance with screened walls! We had homemade fajitas and chips - and an assortment of beverages (including beer and margaritas) were offered. After stuffing ourselves on lunch we kayaked for the remaining time (about 45 minutes) we were at the lake. Altogether we were there for about 1 hr 45 minutes. The facilities also included bath rooms (not plush, but better than most others I've seen in Mexico) that had showers so that you could change, hammocks, canoes, and lounge chairs. It was so relaxing and beautiful there.

 

Federico waited for us and then drove us back to the port. The drive back out from the lagoon seemed much shorter, and we enjoyed seeing the orange groves along the side of the road (not something we see much at home).

 

This was altogether our favorite part of the cruise. If we are in Costa Maya we would have no hesitation in using Native Choice again.

[PamIam]

We did the Chaccoben Ruin Express tour about 1-1/2 years ago with David. David was great and the ruins were impressive...but we waited over an hour to get on a large coach bus...same size as the cruise ships...only to have the air conditioning break down...it was steamy. David is also very soft spoken...so when outdoors stay towards the front of the group so you can hear. For an independent tour...I guess I was expecting a smaller group. We could of left with the cruiseship tour right away in airconditioning. If you arrange a Native Tour ask about GROUP SIZE!:confused: