Kayak Travel Guides: CARM Tours, Activities & Attractions

November 19, 2024 by

We are happy to announce that our tours are now featured on Kayak.com !

We are celebrating our 25th year in business this year! Since 1999, we have been your on-site specialist for all of your excursions whether you are staying in Cancun, Isla Mujeres, or anywhere in the Riviera Maya!

Have you ever wanted to see Mayan ruins, fly above the jungle on zip lines, explore underground cenotes, swim with sea turtles, or visit Pueblo Magicos (magical cities in Mexico)?…. Check out our private tours to Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, Coba, Tulum, cenotes and more….:

Private Tour to Chichen Itza Ruins with Cenote & Lunch: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/chichenitza-ikkil-private.asp

Private Tour to Tulum Ruins & Swim with Sea Turtles in Akumal: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/tulum-akumal.asp

Private Tour to Ek Balam ruins & Xcanche Cenote with Zipline: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/Tours/ekbalam-private.asp

Private Tour to Coba Ruins:                        https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/coba.asp

Private Tour to Chichen Itza & Ek Balam Ruins with Cenote & Lunch: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/chichenitza-ikkil-ekbalam.asp

Private Tour to Chichen Itza & Coba Ruins with Cenote & Lunch: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/chichenitza-ikkil-coba.asp

Private Tour to Tulum & Coba Ruins:          https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/Tours/tulum-coba.asp

Private Cenote Snorkel & Canopy Zipline Tour: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/Tours/aktun-chen.asp

And you can see more options for exploring the Mayan ruins & cenotes here: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/clasification.asp?code=RUINS

Or maybe you prefer activities on the water such as snorkeling, catamaran tours or swimming with whale sharks!…:

Best Reef Snorkel Tour:                       https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/snorkel.asp

Isla Mujeres Catamaran Day Trip (Public): https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/Catamaran.asp

Isla Mujeres Catamaran Day Trip (Private): https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/tours/Catamaran-Private.asp

Swim with the Whale Sharks on Isla Mujeres: https://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/Tours/whalesharkisla.asp

 

What are you waiting for? Start planning your vacation now! We love living in Cancun and Isla Mujeres, and helping visitors make the most of their vacation. Let CARM help you too!

Filed Under: About Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Stuff for Locals, Things to do in Cancun, Travel Info, Trip Reports Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Magical Private Ek Balam Ruins & Cenote Tour: Trip Report!

July 18, 2024 by

We took the private tour to Ek Balam & Xcanche cenote and had an incredible day!

Since we were on Isla Mujeres, we took the first ferry of the day at 6:00 AM. Our CARM driver Martin was waiting for us at 6:20 AM at the Gran Puerto Juarez Ultramar Ferry Dock, ready for the 2.5 hour drive.

Martin!

NOTE: Since the ruins are in a different state (Yucatan) than Cancun (Quintana Roo), the time there was 1 hour behind us. We arrived exactly at 8:00 AM, just as the ruins opened.

PRO TIP: Arriving early to the ruins beats some of the heat of the day but, most importantly: allows you bypass the surge of people arriving on huge public tour buses that don’t start arriving until 10:00 AM. So, the sites are not so crowded. On this day, we literally had the entire site to ourselves-there was not one other person until 8:30 AM – incredible!

You can choose to add on a certified tour guide during booking, and that guide will be with you the whole day. We opted for no tour guide. But, if we had changed our minds, there are also tour guides available in all languages at the entrance of the ruins.

When we entered, a cute mama dog came right out and led us to through the winding site. She waited as we stopped to take photos and admire the structures. Amazingly, she led us the Acropolis (the main pyramid) and started climbing up with us, all the way to the top! The site was so peaceful and the view was incredible! We were able to take amazing photos. What a bucket list item, climbing to the top of a pyramid!

Why visit Ek Balam? Ek Balam is the ONLY Mayan ruins site in the Yucatan where you can still climb to the top of the ruins.

Sites such as Chichen Itza & Coba no longer allow you to climb the ruins. Also, Ek Balam is a small site, and less crowded and hectic. Chichen Itza can get crowded with tour groups at every turn.

We really wanted a more tranquil site, with all the same magic and history. The only sounds were the birds and nature. It truly felt magical. We were NOT disappointed! (TIP: Bring lots of sunscreen and/or an umbrella if you are sun sensitive. We brought bug spray as well but, did not need to use it).

We were ready to cool off in the cenote after our adventure and Martin was waiting for us!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: About Cancun Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Road Trip to Mayan Ruins – Part 1

November 20, 2012 by

Recently I went on a Road Trip with three friends. We visited ten of the Yucatan’s most special locations.

In order, we visited the archaeological zones of Ek Balam, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, Xlapak, aka Xlapac, Labna, Izamal and Coba. We also visited the famous caverns of Grutas de Loltun (31 km after Labna).

Join us on our journey . . .

. . .  We began early on a Friday. Hopping on the toll road it was an easy 1:45, 150 km / 95 miles to the Tizimin exit. This is immediately before the loop exit to Valladolid. There is a toll of $241 pesos a bit before the exit.

Mayan Ruins at Ek Balam

Mayan Ruins at Ek Balam

Heading north, you take a right after about ten minutes.

This road is a slow drive with lots of [Read more…]

Filed Under: Travel Info, Trip Reports Tagged With: , ,