15 City Tours on the Riviera Maya to Build a Day Around

1.Private Transfer Mexico City Airport MEX to Mexico City

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 87 reviews · 40 minutes (approx.) Our pick

A practical review of the $23.33 private MEX airport transfer, covering pickup instructions, luggage, timing, vehicle quality, and service risks.

“Don't use this service. There was no communication on where to meet and when we finally figured it out with the help of a cab driver we were approached by a young man with our name on a sign who took us to a cab line. We waited there for a half hour and ended up in a cab. We paid $25 for a car and driver and instead got a cab that would have cost $15, after a one hour delay. Felt like a total bait and switch.”

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2.E-bike cenote jungle city tour in Playa del Carmen

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 33 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $101Top rated

Ride 20 miles by e-bike from Playa del Carmen to a jungle cenote, with snorkeling, a dock jump, small groups, and a practical guide.

“This was a great experience. Mateo has very knowledgeable and passionate about the local ecosystem. The bikes were very fun and the cenote was very cool.”

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3.Deluxe adventure! 2 Sacred Cenotes, Chichen Itza and Valladolid from Tulum City

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 16 reviews · 13 hours (approx.) · from $139

Review of a 13-hour Tulum tour combining Chichen Itza, Valladolid, two cenotes, buffet meals, bus drinks, and practical value tips.

“Tour guide hector aka “foca” was so fun and hilarious. It makes a BIG difference when the guide loves their job. And foca was great! Chichen was hot! Wish i had more water. The iced cold beer was a nice bonus coming back on the bus. It was fast paced but makes sense since there is so much to do. Cenotes were the most incredible from my whole trip that week. Absolutely gorgeous! 10/10 most memorable trip”

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4.PDC Walking Food and City Experience -Suitable 4 Veggies 2

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 10 reviews · 4 hours (approx.)

Taste tacos, ceviche, tamales, chocolate, and more while exploring Playa del Carmen with a local guide on this small-group food walk.

“Francisco was very informative about Playa Del Carmen and it's expansion and diverse population. We went to many different restaurants for a great variety of traditional Mexican dishes from several regions of Mexico. He was very gracious and friendly. It was the best food tour of Playa out of the 3 we have taken. It was a lot of walking, but it helped to make room for the next dish. We ended with chocolate! I would recommend this food tour above all others.”

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5.Full-day Tour of Chichen Itza, Cenote & Valladolid City

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 8 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $145

Review of a 12-hour Tulum tour to Chichen Itza, Cenote Nool Ha, and Valladolid, with lunch, transport, guide, and practical booking advice.

“The trip was adequate. Stops at Chichen Itza, Cenote and Valladolid was great. They should have used the time at the Mayan village (1.5h)and cut down Chichen Itza (2.5h) each by half an hour as we only had 40min for the cenote and 20min Valladolid. The busdriver left us twice standing for 10+Min outside in the blazing heat while he was sleeping in the aircon bus. Our bus arrived 30min late. The english speaking tour guide at Chichen Itza was useless and I got more info from google. Best would be to try a different tour as it was more sale of local produce than informative.”

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6.Iconic Chichen Itza Experience! Classic Tour from Tulum City

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 7 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $97

Review of the 12-hour Chichen Itza tour from Tulum, with guided ruins, cenote swim, buffet lunch, Valladolid, costs, and practical tips.

“Chichen Itza was great, wish we could have spent more time there. We arrived at the cenote at dark, and didn’t have much time there but it was beautiful nonetheless.”

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7.Luxury Chichen Itza Full-Day Adventure from Tulum City

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 6 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $53

Visit Chichen Itza, swim in Cenote Samaal, meet a Mayan community, and explore Valladolid on a full-day trip from Tulum.

“It's been a week since our daytrip to Chichen Itza with stops at Cenote at Saamal, the Mayan village at Kaua, and the Spanish Colonial city of Valladolid and we are still processing the wealth of information that our guides Victor and Nestor gave us. Victor is so knowledgeable about the Mayan history and is witty, articulate and a tremendous educator. Full marks to each of them, and our driver. Highly recommend this tour.”

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8.Full-Day Lagoon of Seven Colors at Bacalar from Tulum City

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 5 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $131

Review of the 12-hour Bacalar tour from Tulum, with a boat ride, Cenote Azul, meals, transport, practical tips, and honest value advice.

“Very basic tour. They do not pick you up from your hotel as advertised. Locations we were taken (restaurant and beach club) were very basic. Food was terrible. The guide was great. The views beautiful.”

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9.Mayan Adventure! Tulum Ruins, Coba, Cenote + from Tulum City

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 4 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $130

Explore Tulum and Coba ruins, swim in a cenote, and enjoy a buffet lunch on this full-day Mayan adventure from Tulum City.

“pickup was nearly thirty minutes late. we were not told that the bus would include a large group from cancun, which is fine but this booking made it seem like it’d only include folks from tulum. what we strongly disliked was all the additional fees throughout the trip. it would’ve been nice to have known this at the time of booking, because otherwise we wouldn’t have booked this. our guide, Jimmy, kept trying to sell us on a “diamond” package where he claimed it included all drinks. he tried to deny us from taking our own water into the first park, but it turns out you can bring reusable bottles…”

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10.The 7 Colors Of Beauty Lagoon, Bacalar Experience from Tulum City

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 4 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $145

Spend a full day from Tulum exploring Bacalar, Cenote Azul, Xul-Ha, and the Seven Colors Lagoon by boat with meals included.

“I love it. It was fun and interesting the guide very informative. The bus confortable It’s a must see”

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11.Chichen , Valladolid and Sacred Cenote Saamal from Tulum City ABP

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 4 reviews · 11 to 12 hours (approx.)

Explore Chichén Itzá, swim in Cenote Saamal, eat Yucatecan food, and stroll Valladolid on a full-day trip from Tulum.

“Tour was worth the money as you are able to see Chichén Itzá , a city stop, ann anuthentic Mayan lunch and an amazing cenotes. My guides/ bus drivers Fransisco , Fernando and Jesus were all great. Fransisco even went above and beyond to help me find my missing cell phone at Chichén Itzá )how embarrassing). The trip isn’t too long when going and coming back to tulum. It was about 10 hours. I recommend a swimsuit, money for a life vest and or locker and of course souvenirs. It’s HOT , so dress comfortable. And bring an umbrella or hat for Chichén Itzá (lots of walking , not much…”

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12.Adventure at Chichen Itza! Cenote and Valladolid from Tulum City

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 4 reviews · 12 hours (approx.) · from $98

Review of the 12-hour Chichen Itza, cenote, buffet, and Valladolid tour from Tulum, with costs, timing, transport, and practical booking advice.

“The following is my opinion of this tour, the tour schedule wasn’t as advertised in the ‘what to expect’ section. We went to the cenote first, then lunch and after that Chichén Itzá. If you’re looking for a tour which gets you to Chichén Itzá first when the weather is cooler and then to the cenote to cool off (like I was) then this is not the tour for you. Also be prepared for a lot of direct marketing on the bus and time allocated for you to buy souvenirs at the lunch stop while the restaurant ‘prepares the table’. The tour guide did a good job of explaining interesting…”

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13.Playa del Carmen Family and Kids Private City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $65

Explore Playa del Carmen’s murals, local history, snacks, and ice cream on a private two-hour family walking tour.

“Une magnifique visite avec une guide au top qui s'adapte à la demande, pleine de bienveillance et de connaissance !”

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14.Tulum Legends: A Self-Guided Audio Tour of the Ancient Mayan City

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 3 reviews · 40 minutes to 1 hour (approx.) · from $6Best value

Explore Tulum’s Maya ruins with a $6.99 VoiceMap audio tour, offline maps, and flexible pacing from the Educal bookstore to Aldea Canzul.

“We wound up hiring a private guide and did not use the audio however, I had listened to a sample of it when I downloaded it, and it was quite good when we returned to our hotel I thought we might listen to portions of it, but as it turned out, it said that we were 105 km from the starting point”

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15.Private Cancun Shopping and City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · 5 hours (approx.)

Review of Cancun’s private 5-hour city tour, with El Meco ruins, shopping, tequila tasting, Playa Delfines, and hotel pickup.

“Isla de mujeres one of the best beaches here In cancun.”

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