Chichen Itza, Cenote Oxman & Valladolid: Private Day Trip

5.00

(139 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We were already rolling down the highway out of Mérida before sunrise, windows cracked just enough to let in that sticky Yucatán air. Our driver, Javier, handed back cold water bottles and grinned when I tried my rusty Spanish. By the time we reached Chichen Itza—just as the gates opened—it was still quiet except for birds and a couple vendors setting up. Our guide Ana pointed out the shadow along El Castillo’s steps (she called it “the snake,” which made sense once you saw it). I didn’t expect to feel so small standing there, honestly.

After wandering through the ruins (and snapping about a hundred photos because there was barely anyone else around), we piled back into the van. The drive to Cenote Oxman took maybe forty minutes? I lost track because I kept staring at all those tangled trees outside. At Oxman, you walk down this spiral staircase carved into stone—humid and echoey—and suddenly you’re looking up at roots dangling from above. The water was colder than I thought; my skin prickled but it felt good after all that sun. Some local kids showed us how to swing off the rope—my first try was… not graceful. They laughed with me though.

Lunch in Valladolid came next—a sleepy colonial town with pastel walls and slow-moving fans inside the restaurant. We ordered cochinita pibil (Ana insisted) and I still think about those pickled onions. There’s something about eating food that’s been cooked the same way for centuries—makes you pay attention, you know? Afterward we wandered the plaza for a bit, watching old men play dominoes under a tree. The whole day felt both fast and slow at once.