Chacchoben Ruins Tour

Posted By : BigFish83
No guided tour was provided nor was the round-trip transportation as described. However, we were still charged the full amount. Unresponsive owner for getting refunded.
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Posted On : 2024-03-28 11:55:56

Posted By : Curious782779
pdated to add that we reached out to the owner who agreed that we did not receive what we paid for and said he would refund the difference between the private and group tour. It took a few days and some gentle reminding but we were sent the refund. However they continue to claim that we were given a private tour and that the only part that was included others was at the ruins themselves. This is not accurate and I have pictures of the van ride and the other visitors who were on it with us. I’m disappointed in how Chunky Monkey has decided to handle this.

Avoid Chunky Monkey Tours in Costa Maya. They got my money and then pulled a complete bait and switch! I paid for a private tour and instead was grouped with 11 members of an extended family and crammed all together on the same van. After being denied a refund of the overage charge by Viator despite extensive documentation and photos proving that I did not get what I paid for, I am disputing the charge with my credit card. I want people to know that Viator does not protect the customer when a vendor does not provide what was promised. I also contacted Chunky Monkey Tours and was promised a refund for what was not provided but I have yet to receive it. I’ve attached the description of the different tour options. I paid for option 1 but was given option 2. So crappy!!!
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Posted On : 2022-10-05 12:15:56

Posted By : Julie_W
I paid for a PRIVATE tour and instead was grouped with an extended family of 11 people. I was not able to cancel because the terms of the tour stated that it couldn't be cancelled within 24 hours of the tour and I also didn't have time to schedule anything else. The tour operator tried to convince me that a small group tour is what they meant by private, but per their website and the other family this was NOT TRUE. I don't appreciate being RIPPED OFF! I have disputed this with Viator and they refuse to refund the $80 that I was overcharged. BUYER BEWARE. I will NEVER book with Viator or Chunky Monkey again and I will warn everyone of these dishonest and fraudulent companies.
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Posted On : 2022-10-03 17:42:26

Posted By : Ajiron10
The number 1 guided tour I have ever been on! Our tour guide was Genesis and our driver was Jose. Genesis was funny and knew so much about Mayan culture -- he truly made this experience one of a kind. On our return to the port (which was on time!) Jose stopped by a honey pineapple stand and got all of us delicious pineapples! 10/10 would recommend this tour.
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Posted On : 2022-08-21 21:13:29

Posted By : Gregory_K
We booked a private tour for two. Fernando did a great job attending to our needs. We had a private air conditioned mini van and a wonderful driver Jose' who drove us anywhere we wanted to go. We stopped on the road and were treated with a large bag of cut honey pineapples. They were so sweet juicy and delicious, (never knew these pineapples existed),you need to try one.. Just wish we had them in our grocery store. We had an authentic Mayan lunch at the Chunky Monkey bar and restaurant only 100 feet from the beach. (All Included). We went to the ruins and were met by "Genesis," our designated tour guide. He was awesome. Told us all about the history of the Mayan ruins using drawings and photos as visual aids.. it really helped us understand the history.. His knowledge of all the different types of trees growing around the trail to the ruins was amazing. We learned so much. (I have taken this tour before with a different operator a few years back and didn't get half the information we learned from Genesis). Fernando, who manages the tours for the company, promised that we would get to do all we wanted. We wanted to go to a shopping area near the beach we heard about and Jose our driver not only drove us there he stood outside and waited for us so we could spot him and direct us back to the car. I only book private tours..or tours not offered by the cruise line. Nothing wrong with the cruise line tours, but they are mostly group tours and you are usually cramped in a van. We learn so much more on a private tour.. Our private tour was 30 dollars per person less than the cruise ship offered for the same group trip ... but we had a private vehicle and were able to add a shopping experience. This tour group works hard to please its customers. They are so FRIENDLY..so ATTENTIVE..and so INFORMATIVE. We had a wonderful experience. Special thanks to Fernando,Genessis, and Jose' You are the best! Highly recommend any tour they offer.
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Posted On : 2022-04-23 01:43:12

Posted By : W9773EAmichaels
Fernando is a great guide. We had an awesome time. The ruins are incredible. Then he took us back to Chunky Monkey where we had a great lunch. The chef there is amazing. The view is absolutely stunning.
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Posted On : 2022-04-20 15:29:01

Posted By : MistaClean
Where to begin...

The owner, Fernando, and his family/team will forever have a special memory in our seven night (and first Royal Caribbean) cruise. My SO and I booked our first cruise excursion together since we normally just explore whatever port town or go to the beaches. We took a chance looking outside of Royal Caribbean's overpriced options when booking this 3rd party excursion. Our destination was the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins because a) I'm a sucker for Mayan and mesoamerican culture/history and b) why not? Boy oh boy do we not regret that decision! This ended up being our favorite destination of the itinerary and of all itineraries so far from our previous cruises!

We booked this super last minute through our Chase Ultimate rewards portal WHILE our Wonder of the Seas ship was docked in Cozumel underneath some free, shaded WiFi (less than 24 hours before we landed at Costa Maya). Because this was so last minute, things may've started off a bit (in my partner's words) "sketchy" since we couldn't find the Chunky Monkey port office at the port (note, it's OUTSIDE of the port in a suite near the taxi pickups) not did anyone ever hear of them when we asked at the port. By fate, we ended up running into a friend of Fernando, Charlie, at the taxi pickups area and he led us to the Chunky Monkey port office. However, since the office was closed, so he called Fernando and got us a taxi to the spot. Fernando could've been the king of Siam for all we know since his name was never mentioned in our ticket itinerary from Chase, and taxi driver wasn't fluent in English (our Spanish was hella rusty to be fair too). Finally, we arrived at the Chunky Monkey Bar...

The beach in the back; the drinks; the friendly staff; the vibes were absolutely immaculate. We were greeted with a free Tamarind margarita and tequila shot--a hell of a way to start the morning! Fernando and his team made us feel at home while they prepared the Chunky Monkey van for our trip to Chacchoben. Since our booking was so last minute, I couldn't fault them for later start to the journey. The trip to the ruins was long, but Fernando made sure we were as comfortable as possible. We made a few pitstops for gas and the bathroom and my SO even got to have some fresh cut up mangos that she was looking forward to getting from the real streets of Mexico (we're not talking about the tourist trap vendors). This was courtesy of Fernando and his native pesos that she could get those mangos.

Once we got to Chacchoben, Fernando armed us with the proper currency and dollars to purchase our tickets to the ruins and to be able to take pictures onsite. We agreed to spend about 1 hour before he picked us up. One thing to note is that since Fernando's business is relatively new, the "powers that be" have not given him the proper "credentials" to be an actual tour guide, meaning he had to drop us off and bake in the van while we made the trip our own. I wouldn't even call this con since we loved every minute self touring the ancient Mayan city and we could just watch a YouTube video to get any relevant history if we wanted to anyway. We spent intimate time together climbing the ruins and took a million pictures, so what's not to love?

Now for the last arc of this trip, which was by far my favorite part of our visit: Fernando picked us up (we actually ran into good ol' Charlie again who let us know he was waiting) and we began our journey back to Chunky Monkey. This time, we talked Fernando's ear off and got to learn more about him, his family and Maya roots, his dog, and a little bit of the culture in the surrounding area. We even got to meet his lovely wife, Hilda, and make a few pitstops with her, and see more of the outskirts of Mahahual. Did I mention his absolutely fearless, if not a lil batshit dog, Tigre?? That mutt fought an alligator, lived to tell the tale, and isn't even six months old! Somehow, that was only one of the crazies stories Fernando had of him!

Anyway, since this trip was a package deal of the Chacchoben tour and tasting authentic Maya cuisine, we had the pleasure of eating some of the best food we've had in Mexico! Fernando treated us to some freshly made tortillas with a native Maya dish, Pollo Pibil. We were blown away by how beautiful it looked, with the rose-shaped tomato and lime being the marquee aesthetic piece here while the juicy red-pasted chicken, and rice and bean sauce made for a mouthwatering invitation. Looks weren't the only thing that were great about this dish! The flavors were so delicious and the additional spicy habanero sauce seriously completed the dish when all was wrapped into that fresh corn tortilla!

Unfortunately, we were cutting it close to our disembarkation time, so we could only spend less than 30 minutes savoring every last bite and dipping our feet into to beautiful beach behind the bar. Like I mentioned, this was easily our favorite port of all our cruises so far and has definitely warranted a longer stay in the future just to support this awesome family business alone! With the great food, service, and complimentary drinks, the price almost felt like a steal--especially since we only paid with Chase UR points only (minus the handsome tipping I made sure to do). This will definitely be our go-to the next time make it this way to Mexico again!
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Posted On : 2022-04-06 17:24:17