Native Choice Costa Maya

[Jo-AnneH]

We are taking an NCL cruise June 17th and will be stopping in Costa Maya. We were thinking of booking a ruins tour with Native Choice. Has anyone used their services and we are wondering if Chacchoben Extreme Tour is good? Thanks!

[JT1962]

We did the Chacchoben Extreme Tour in Dec 2016 with them and loved it. The ruins were interesting, the lunch was good and the time at the lake resort was good. I would definitely use them again. Very professional and no worries in getting back to the port on time.

 

One note - the road to the lake resort is fairly bumpy. Nothing horrible, but may be something for anyone with back / neck issues to consider.

 

 

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[Jo-AnneH]

We did the Chacchoben Extreme Tour in Dec 2016 with them and loved it. The ruins were interesting, the lunch was good and the time at the lake resort was good. I would definitely use them again. Very professional and no worries in getting back to the port on time.

 

One note - the road to the lake resort is fairly bumpy. Nothing horrible, but may be something for anyone with back / neck issues to consider.

 

 

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Thanks!

[Justjrn]

We used Native Tours, and did Chachchoben, but not the extreme. I love the experience, the tour guide we had was excellent. We were in a fairly small group and were able to ask any question we had. The groups that booked through the cruise line were much larger and were rushed through. We had as much time as we wanted. We are going to Costa Maya again in November and will be booking a tour through Native tours again.

J

[RHDZ]

Will they drop you off in town after the tour?

[Justjrn]

We used Native Tours, and did Chachchoben, but not the extreme. I love the experience, the tour guide we had was excellent. We were in a fairly small group and were able to ask any question we had. The groups that booked through the cruise line were much larger and were rushed through. We had as much time as we wanted. We are going to Costa Maya again in November and will be booking a tour through Native tours again.

J

 

 

I don't know why I keep calling it Native tours, it is Native Choice I am actually referring to.

 

I don't know if they will drop you anywhere other than at the port. Sorry

 

j

[JT1962]

Will they drop you off in town after the tour?

 

 

I would check with them. It’s usually only $ 2-3 per person to get a taxi to / from town, so it’s not expensive even if the won’t drop you off.

 

 

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[tallyho8]

Yes, they will drop you off in town. Our last trip with them we got dropped off at Tropicante for a few drinks.

[emcelh]

We used Native Tours, and did Chachchoben, but not the extreme. I love the experience, the tour guide we had was excellent. We were in a fairly small group and were able to ask any question we had. The groups that booked through the cruise line were much larger and were rushed through. We had as much time as we wanted. We are going to Costa Maya again in November and will be booking a tour through Native tours again.

J

We're also booked on Epic 11/24 and interested in booking with Native Tours. We've done a little research and understand that you go to their office just outside the port. Is it an easy walk or is a taxi necessary?

[JT1962]

We're also booked on Epic 11/24 and interested in booking with Native Tours. We've done a little research and understand that you go to their office just outside the port. Is it an easy walk or is a taxi necessary?

 

 

Their office is about 1/4 - 1/3 of a mile from the port. If there are no mobility issues, you will be fine. You can also get a cab, if needed, outside the port.

 

Do note that there is quite a bit of walking on the ruins tour, some of it on uneven ground. There is also a fairly long walk to get from your ship, through the port and out to the street. There SOMETIMES are trams on the pier to take you from the ship to the port entrance. This seems to be inconsistent as to when they are running. It is also longer than you expect to get through and out of the port if they have the first 2 exits blocked to force you to walk past all of the shops in the port.

 

I still highly recommend using Native Choice, just be aware it will be a 20 minute or so walk for most people from your ship to get to their location.

 

 

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[yaletownboy]

I have not heard back from Native Choice. Either via direct email or via their website. Not a good start.

[JT1962]

I have not heard back from Native Choice. Either via direct email or via their website. Not a good start.

 

 

They are usually very responsive. It could be internet issues there as service can be a problem at times, I have heard. Have you tried calling them?

 

Also, check your spam folder. Some responses wind up there.

 

 

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[yaletownboy]

No we have not called them from Canada.

I emailed a competitor in Costa Maya and received a response immediately within 24 hrs.

This was 2 days after emailing Native Choice.

 

I will try emailing them via another email address.

[coolio]

]Their office is about 1/4 - 1/3 of a mile from the port. If there are no mobility issues, you will be fine. You can also get a cab, if needed, outside the port.

 

Do note that there is quite a bit of walking on the ruins tour, some of it on uneven ground. There is also a fairly long walk to get from your ship, through the port and out to the street. There SOMETIMES are trams on the pier to take you from the ship to the port entrance. This seems to be inconsistent as to when they are running. It is also longer than you expect to get through and out of the port if they have the first 2 exits blocked to force you to walk past all of the shops in the port.

 

I still highly recommend using Native Choice, just be aware it will be a 20 minute or so walk for most people from your ship to get to their location

[coolio]

When you make a reservation with Native Choice you are given a complimentary Costa Maya Port Shuttle e-ticket that you can present to the booth for public transportation to receive complimentary transportation from the Costa Maya Port to the Native Choice office.

We have done this many times

[JT1962]

When you make a reservation with Native Choice you are given a complimentary Costa Maya Port Shuttle e-ticket that you can present to the booth for public transportation to receive complimentary transportation from the Costa Maya Port to the Native Choice office.

We have done this many times

 

 

Good to know. I don’t recall receiving that when we used them in Dec 2015, but could have missed it.

 

 

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[kathy884]

Thanks all for posting about this. We just booked the ruins tour for

Chachchoben with them for our January cruise. We heard back from them immediately. Looks like a great option and this was considerably less expensive than the large group and smaller group tours to the ruins through the ship. We did the option just focusing on the ruins, but they had some interesting looking tours with add ons too..

[GUEST71919]

I have been looking at their excursions (Native Choice) and am impressed by the professionalism of the website and the trip adviser reviews. Question - does anyone know which company does the CHACCHOBEN MAYAN RUINS tour through NCL? I would like to at least compare but unfortunately they cruise lines are not exactly transparent about which tour companies they use! :mad:

 

On our last NCL cruise we found,the tours were too often over booked (from our perspective) but since we have $50 per port for offset of the NCL tours, it is necessary for us to try to look at all options.

 

Thank you :D

[GUEST71919]

When you make a reservation with Native Choice you are given a complimentary Costa Maya Port Shuttle e-ticket that you can present to the booth for public transportation to receive complimentary transportation from the Costa Maya Port to the Native Choice office.

We have done this many times

@coolio sounds like you have a lot of experience! We are considering the “experience” version of the Native Choice tours. Any idea who does the similar tour that is sold through NCL (or other cruise lines)?

[quiltymama]

How many people does native choice typically put per group?

[Justjrn]

How many people does native choice typically put per group?

The day we went it was just our family of 8 and a family of 3. They had other groups that were about 15 to 20 max. I don't know if they have a set limit tho.

[vacationlover16]

I have booked the ruins only tour with Native Choice but am starting to second guess this decision. My daughter will have just turned four (4 days before excursion) and I’m afraid the tour and ride to the ruins will be too much for someone her age. Has anyone done this tour with a child this young? If so, would you recommend? If not, based on your experience do you think you would?

 

 

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[KnightsFan]

I have booked the ruins only tour with Native Choice but am starting to second guess this decision. My daughter will have just turned four (4 days before excursion) and I’m afraid the tour and ride to the ruins will be too much for someone her age. Has anyone done this tour with a child this young? If so, would you recommend? If not, based on your experience do you think you would?

 

 

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Only you know your daughter, can she handle an hour long bus ride followed by walking around ruins? Some four year olds will be fine, others won't be.

 

Maybe keep her up late so she sleeps on the bus ride there. Let her walk by herself and run around when there's a break during the tour before the ride back.

[vacationlover16]

Only you know your daughter, can she handle an hour long bus ride followed by walking around ruins? Some four year olds will be fine, others won't be.

 

 

 

Maybe keep her up late so she sleeps on the bus ride there. Let her walk by herself and run around when there's a break during the tour before the ride back.

 

 

 

Thank you for the reply. We actually don’t arrive in port until 1:00 and won’t start the tour until 2:00. The more I contemplate, I think we will save this excursion until she’s a little older.

 

 

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[ksjayhawks]

Check out shore excursions. We booked our ruins/meal tour through them and it was handled by Native Choice. Great price.