When visiting Mexico and booking excursions you may be skeptical or wonder exactly what you are you're getting. Desperately wanting to visit Chichen Itza and Cenotes while on my November trip, I was on the hunt for the best company to take myself and 5 others off the resort. After reaching out to several tour companies Happy Shuttle Cancun was easy to book, communicated through email very well, and the price was on point! We booked a private shuttle with Dieter, the CMO for the company. As soon as our email confirmation was sent I was confident this was going to be a wonderful tour (click to check out tours).
Hapy shuttle Cancun picked our group up at our hotel, the beautiful Moon Palace resort, located in Cancun, Mexico. We were ready to see what the Yucatan Peninsula had to offer. There were 6 friends touring, so we chose the private tour, which would fit around 9 comfortably. Alejandro (Alex) pulled up promptly at 7:30 am in the Happy Shuttle was professional. He greeted the crew and helped us into the clean and air conditioned van. Alejandro was an excellent guide; providing us with a cooler of water and information about the surrounding areas as we headed to our 3 stops:
Mayapan Traditional Agave Distillery
Libramiento Norte No 264, Valladolid 97780, Mexico
+52 985 856 1727
Walking up to the rustic establishment I was excited when I immediately saw rows of agave plants. Ready to experience this authentic distillery, we got our own personal and private tour for 50 pesos each (around $4 US). Our guide spoke little English, but I was still able to understand little bits of what she was saying. She showed us the agave fields surrounding the property and then took us inside the building where the agave plant was cultivated and transformed into the agave alcohol. She explained the entire process and all of the steps involved. The agave is crushed using a horse pulling a stone wheel around in a circle. The distillery processes and bottles the agave on-site, stores it in wooden barrels to age and then sells it to the public in their attached gift shop. Following the tour and tasting, we were invited to browse through the large gift store attached to the distillery. They had a nice selection of agave, as well as a large variety of other tequilas and alcohol. The shop also sold typical tourist souvenirs, and various agave products. My favorite part of the distillery was walking through and taking photos of the expansive agave plant fields after browsing the gift shop. It was a perfect way to end this first stop.Walking up to the rustic establishment I was excited when I immediately saw rows of agave plants. Ready to experience this authentic distillery, we got our own personal and private tour for 50 pesos each (around $4 US). Our guide spoke little English, but I was still able to understand little bits of what she was saying. She showed us the agave fields surrounding the property and then took us inside the building where the agave plant was cultivated and transformed into the agave alcohol. She explained the entire process and all of the steps involved. The agave is crushed using a horse pulling a stone wheel around in a circle. The distillery processes and bottles the agave on-site, stores it in wooden barrels to age and then sells it to the public in their attached gift shop. After the tour, which lasted around 15 minutes, we were able to taste five different kinds of agave. We tried all different ages from 3 months to 8 years. The staff really enhanced our experience and outfitted our group with sombreros while we took shots of agave and pictures! Following the tour and tasting, we were invited to browse through the large gift store attached to the distillery. They had a nice selection of agave, as well as a large variety of other tequilas and alcohol. The shop also sold typical tourist souvenirs, and various agave products. My favorite part of the distillery was walking through and taking photos of the expansive agave plant fields after browsing the gift shop. It was a perfect way to end this first stop.
Chichen Itza
Address: Yucatan, Mexico
Hours: 8AM–4:30PM
Tour Guide: Henry
After we left the distillery, we were on our way to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the magical Chichen Itza, which was just a short drive up the road. It is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico with millions of visitors each year. This mystical site was located about 2 hrs, total from Cancun. Henry, our tour guide, got our passes which allowed us to skip the line, and saved us a ton of time. Unfortunately for us the weather was not cooperating and it was raining on and off as Henry tried to educate us about the massive ruins. He was extremely informative and made the best with the weather situation. Our group enjoyed his pictures and legends of the Mayans. However, the neatest part is when you stand and clap in front of the pyramid of Kukulcan, the echo of your clap is identical to the cry of the quetzal, a Central American bird that ancient Mayan people; who was believed to be the messenger of the gods. It was amazing when Henry showed us a hard hand clap at the base of Kukulcan's staircase generating a chirping echo.
Just before we went to the Ik Kil Cenote, we stopped for lunch one minute down the road for an authentic Mexican cuisine at Pueblo Maya. At about $15 all you can it, the food was amazing with great atmosphere. Click the logo for more information.
IK KIL Cenote
Our last stop on our adventure was the most famous Ik Kil Cenote, which is about 7 minutes from Chichen Itza. I heard that it can be very crowded, especially with tour buses arriving with tourists. It was suggested by a friend to arrive early, however we got there around 1 pm and there were only about 30-40 people in the Cenote. Even with a crowd, I recommend not skipping Ik Kil because this was an experience like no other. It’s 150 feet deep, not too chilly and amazing to be dipping in one of Mexico's most beautiful natural creation.
Alex grabbed our tickets and inside the Cenote our group went with no wait. He escorted us to the changing rooms and then to the bathroom/locker area. We decided to bring our belongings with us and place them on the side as we went down to the water. Patrons have to take a quick shower then you travel to the first viewing area. This first view overlooked the whole Cenote and was the home to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in 2010, 2011, and 2014. As you walk down some flights of wet, stone stairs, there are multiple viewing areas. It is dimly lit along the way, so be careful! Once you are down at the bottom, everything was just so surreal. There's also an area where you can line up to jump from different heights into the Cenote. The whole group swam around, took pictures and was amazed by this experience.
This private tour from Happy Shuttle Cancun was absolutely wonderful and one of the best tours I have been on. From the original booking, to getting picked up, to skipping the lines; I cannot thank Dieter, Alejandro, and Henry enough! They were extremely organized, prompt and well informed the entire day! Upon returning to Cancun I will be using the Happy Shuttle team again for another tour and I suggest you do the same when traveling to Mexico!
Schedule is from 8am to 10pm Eastern Daylight Time
Toll Free USA/Canada - 1-800-818-9821
When in Mexico (998)-887-4242
CLICK TO BOOK NOW: HAPPY SHUTTLE CANCUN
email: reservation@happyshuttlecancun.com
Photography Taken By: Kelly MacDonald @KmacKelly and Curtis Yates @CurtisYates
