The beginning of the trip was a little rocky but worked
out overall. I booked tour for Tulum Express through
Viator. They were a third party. The tour company booked
was actually by Cancun Bay Tours. I received an email
receipt from Viator indicating tour pickup times, details,
number of people in my party etc. It was a good rate.
Overall for 3 adults and 1 child I paid 180. It confirmed
pickup at 8:40am at my hotel for all 4 of us. The company
tried calling me on my cell phone the day after I booked the
tour. I booked on a Tuesday for a Thursday tour. They
called me on Wednesday but since I did not recognize the
number I did not answer. Instead of leaving me a voicemail
or email they sent me a text through WhatsApp. I did not get
that message because I hardly ever use WhatsApp except to
talk to my mother from out of town. So on Thursday, the day
of the tour, we were walking to our hotel lobby at 8:18 for
a 8:40am pickup when my cell phone starts ringing. Since no
one was calling me on vacation in Mexico, I thought it might
be local so I answered and it was Raul the manager from
Cancun Bay Tours. He asked me if I had received his
WhatsApp message for pickup time at 8:20a at the security
entrance of our hotel out by the main road. I was confused
because our pickup was supposed to be 8:40am per my Viator
receipt and it didn't say anything about having to walk out
to the road. Our hotel has a good 10 minute walk or more to
the road so I told the manager that we would not make it on
time for the 8:20am pickup. He told us to start walking and
he would send another pickup. When we got tot he road and
security entrance we waited about 10 minutes and then a van
picked us up. The van operator was very nice. He was very
apologetic for the mix up. He was not our originally
scheduled driver but had gone out of his schedule to pick us
up since we had been left behind by the previous driver who
waited for us at 8:20 and left because we were late. So our
new driver was very nice and the van was super comfortable.
There were two other families in the car. The next stop was
not Tulum. We were taken to a central hub where several
different tours depart from. So it seems that Cancun Bay
tours arranges for several hotel pickups regardless of the
tour you choose Chichen, Tulum, Xel Ha, Cenote etc.. They
bring you to a small meeting area which is very makeshift
and has some handcrafts for sale. You go to a cashier that
confirms your tour choice and gives you a bracelet. You
have to walk through the shopping area both times. I get
it, I think almost everything in Mexico works this way so I
was not put off. Others might be put off by the seemingly
forceful buy from us atmosphere. But I get it and was
expecting it and not phased. They also weren't pushy. It
was just all there for you to walk past on the way both in
and out. Then after the cashier confirms your tour and
gives you your bracelet, you go back outside and join other
members that are doing the same tour with you. The driver
for your particular tour calls your name. We had tour guide
Alejandro and driver Jorge. We enjoyed our tour very much.
The driver provided a smooth and comfortable ride.
Alejandro the tour guide translated very well four the 4
families on board. He gave the tour in both Spanish and
English. He was informative, friendly and funny. There
were 5-6 kids ages 2-12 on the tour and he interacted well
with all of them. He allowed us to use an air conditioned
and clean bathroom before heading into Tulum ruins. At the
ruins he found shady spots to talk to us at. He told us
about Maya number systems, architecture, and other history.
I wished the tour was longer but we knew it would be short
since we chose the Tulum EXPRESS tour. But after hearing
what Alejandro had to say we wanted to hear more! The plaza
before entering Tulum had a lot of stuff. They had many
souvenirs, drinks, American candy, Hagen Daaz ice cream
stand and even a STARBUCKS. We had one hour to walk around
the ruins and visit in the plaza on our own. An hour would
have been plenty for ruins but would have liked another 30
minutes in the plaza and market. I would recommend Cancun
Bay Tours.
