Chichen Itza: Light and Sound

Cancun, Mexico

Visit the most important archaeological zone of the Mayan world, the ancient capital of the Mayan Empire on a full day guided tour. Witness the remnants of the once powerful Mayan people and visit the Sacred Cenote where sacrifices took place. You'll have the opportunity to see the Ball Court, where Mayan games of strength and skill were held, the Castle and Pyramid of Kukulkan. Recently declared as one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza is a must when visiting Mexico!

Upon arrival at Chichen Itza at 2:00pm, head directly to the archaeological site. Once inside, we'll divide into two groups, English and Spanish speaking. You'll be taken on a 1.5 hour tour with a certified guide who will introduce you to the secrets of the Mayans. Your guide will explain the historical significance of all the most important sites before leaving you to enjoy the ruins on your own.

After, you'll have the opportunity to visit an underwater grotto and admire its beauty and unique formation. Here, you can swim in the pure, crystal clear water and enjoy the beautiful nature. Then, you'll enjoy a delicious buffet dinner with fresh salads, soups, rice, meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and regional dishes. Included are two drinks.

After dark, you'll watch a projected light shadow over the architectural elements of the building. Witness a serpent descending to the ground (equinox show), Mayan warriors playing the ball game and the sounds of life and death. This is an exciting show full of history, awesome light effects and a brief glimpse into the ancestry of the once powerful Mayan people.

Chichen Itza has been declared a human heritage site and recently designated as one of the modern wonders of the world due to its extraordinary architectural beauty and its geographical location. The ancient history combined with the lush natural landscape make Chichen Itza one destination that you cannot afford to miss while in Mexico.

USD $78.99

Review by: Joseph M	February 2012
This was the second time I'd taken this tour after I lost my photos first time round. Very disappointing. The tour includes a visit to a cenote, but last year the tour went to an impressive wide open cenote only 5 minutes drive from the pyramids. This time it went to a very interior newly opened cenote more than an hour away (where we were unsurprisingly the only people there). What hadn't changed about the tour was the driver spending 30 minutes talking up a "local" craft work shop only for us to stop there for half an hour to look at heavily overpriced mass produced trinkets which are also sold later in the day at the pyramid (by hundreds of street sellers) for a fraction of the price. The pyramid remains very impressive and is definitely worth seeing, but be aware that the daylight opening time end at 16:30 so if you want to see the two cenotes on site, the other pyramids and the observatory, you will have to walk away from the heavily drawn-out guided tour and explore for yourself. I left the tour at 16:00 and just about saw everything, but in retrospect I should have left at 15:30. The light show is OK but repetitive. If you don’t speak Spanish you need headphones, and there are no actors or dancers. The buffet meal was disappointingly poor and the cost of the drinks cancelled out any notion of it being free. Still worth it to see the pyramid though.

Review by: AIDA C	September 2011
The trip was long but our narrator/guide was very good, knowledgeable and kept us entertained. It rained halfway towards end of guided tour inside and we did not get to see the light and sound feature of the trip. Our driver was very good and safely got us back to our hotel in the pouring rain.

Review by: Brandy H	July 2011
Excellent trip! Victor was the BEST!!!

Review by: Kathryn S	July 2011
Great! Great! Great! We had Victor as our guide and he was great! He was very knowledgable and answered all of our questions. The bus ride was comfortable, the time we had in the park was good (as well as the tour) and the food was good. The best part was Victor taking time after Lunch to give us more mayan history and culture info. Tip: Bring bug spray/sunblock, rent the english audio head phones for the light show so you can follow the story, and pack a good snack (lunch might not be until 5 pm).

Review by: Edward Ian P	April 2011
Great tour especially with our amazing tour guide! He made it feel like a science class field trip with his very helpful and informative explanation and demonstrations (while holding his binders full of pictures!). The included buffet in the evening was also very nice that came with an unexpected mini performance/show by the locals. However, the evening show at Chichen was a little too long (hence the 4 stars) or maybe we were just a little tired by then...

Review by: Justin W	March 2011
Chichen Itza is excellent, but the light and sound tour was not very good. The tour opperator was not well organised, with no English sound units prepaired, all other tour companies did.

Review by: Barry J M	February 2011
Very good trip, I wouldn't stay for the evening show it was not worth seeing

Review by: frankie	January 2011
The trip to Chichen Itza was fantastic. Well worth doing

Review by: Brian R	November 2010
Had a brilliant time at Chichen Itza. We ended up in a mini bus with just 14 people, so really personal. Guide was extremely knowledgeable and very enthusiastic. However, I would not bother with the light and sound show unless you are a really enthusiastic historian. Also, food not great.

Review by: George P, United States of America	March 2010
We were very happy with the whole trip. The tour guide was very informative and knew the history of the the Mayans. If you do it, you should get the headphones because the light show is in Spanish and the headphones translate so you know what is said. The dinner was very good.

Review by: Clare V, United States of America	February 2010
Our guide was extremely helpful. Everything was explained to us in detail. It was a great day thanks to him.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	January 2010
One of the few tours where we got more than we bargained for! Very pleasant day, the guide did a good job, and dinner was very good. Professional in all aspects.

Review by: Sherri P, United States of America	March 2009
Our guide was very informative. Enjoyed the full day excursion. The light show did not have enough chairs for all of the people, so we stood the entire 45 minutes. The translator devices were not guaranteed to work, so we did not rent them. Having an English version of the history would have enhanced the program, we just listened to the Spanish version on the speakers, which we didn't understand. The light show was interesting, but we could have had it shortened as we didn't understand the narrative. Dinner was good.

Review by: Rick M	March 2009
Our guide was very informative. Enjoyed the full day excursion. The light show did not have enough chairs for all of the people, so we stood the entire 45 minutes. The translator devices were not guaranteed to work, so we did not rent them. Having an English version of the history would have enhanced the program, we just listened to the Spanish version on the speakers, which we didn't understand. The light show was interesting, but we could have had it shortened as we didn't understand the narrative. Dinner was good.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	November 2008
Loved it.

Review by: Deborah J, United States of America	August 2008
Great full day trip from Cancun. Very interesting to see one of the modern day seven wonders of the world. The Light and Sound show was not worth it. There is forty five minutes of history that you will already hear on the tour. The audio rentals don't typically work during the show. The lights are interesting for about the first five minutes. The big advantage of this tour is that it leaves later in the morning. That was definitely worth it to us. One note, you can't walk on the ruins anymore.