Open The Gate to Chichen Itza & Mayan Planetarium from Merida

We booked our tour of Chichen Itza through Viator. We were encouraged to see the Mayaland Tour Company was affiliated with Gray Line. We received great support in advance of the tour through email and were well prepared going in to the trip. Our guide was spot on at 6am at the hotel. He was thorough, knowledgeable, well known and respected at Chichen Itza and just a joy to be around. He greeted us with a lovely breakfast for the drive. A sandwich, juice, water, apple, biscuit. He respected some quiet time on the early morning drive. It was just two of us in a comfy Mercedes Benz. His knowledge of the Mayan culture, Yucatan and Mexico overall is some of the best we ever had. The tour including a traditional Mayan blessing and a cool Mayan skies video presentation. We entered the grounds before the masses arrived. The walk through Chichen Itza was fascinating and awe inspiring. And muy caliente! Very enlightening thanks to our guia. For me, the shear number of vendors selling souvenirs does cheapen the experience a bit. They are everywhere. Stalls, tables, walking around. Not overly aggressive, just an eye sore on such sacred ground. Our tour was supposed to include lunch at the Mayaland Resort on-site, access to the hospitality suite and use of the pool with towels. The lunch was delicious. Plenty of Mayan and Yucatan options. As well as western foods like pizza, pasta and burgers. The service was great and they had a dance demonstration. After lunch our guia informed us we would be leaving soon. We had to request pool time. Which we did swim. Much needed to cool off. But no towels or hospitality suite. Net is we should receive everything outlined in the trip. It was all in writing and we should not have to ask. The few misses didn’t deter from the overall experience. Yes, Chichen Itza is a tourist trap. It is also one of the 8 Wonders of the Modern World. You have to go. It’s amazing.