This was the 2nd of 8 tours that I did with Raúl and I enjoyed every moment. Because we were coming from Mérida rather than Progreso, I felt fortunate that we were also able to stop in the Pueblo Mágico of Motul, which is famous as the birthplace of both huevos motuleños and of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, the former governor of Yucatán. Of course, we had the huevos for breakfast and it was one of the best meals of my trip. And we visited the small museum dedicated to Felipe Carrillo Puerto, who is an essential and inspiring figure for understanding the history of the state. The rest of the day was a fascinating exploration of coastal Yucatán, including the small but interesting archeological site of Xcambó, sightings of flamingos in the Laguna Rosada, exploration of the salt flats at Salinera Xtampú, and - for the main attraction - a boat tour of the mangrove forest at San Crisanto, which concludes with a refreshing swim in a tranquil spring deep within the mangroves. Raúl made the experience seamless and relaxing. And he has a great sense of when to take a photo, which I appreciated as a solo traveler! It's an excellent excursion, sure to be appreciated by all - the day absolutely flew by.
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Private tour in Merida Raul G
Enjoy The Best of the Coast of Yucatan (Mayan pyramids, pink lakes and a spring) Private Tour
5.0
(4) reviews
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5 hours
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5 hours
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Raul G.
5.0
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302
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Hi, my name is Raul, I am a native of the Yucatan and I am married with 2 kids. Since I was a young kid I have always loved history, languages and I think of myself as a very service oriented person. It is working as a tour guide that I feel fulfilled. I have a bachelor degree in hospitality and business management and I have been working in the tourism industry since I was in high-school. I am a certified tour guide since 2009 and I guide tours in Spanish, English and French in the whole of the southeast of Mexico. During my training to become a licensed guide I was guided around all the Mayan archeological sites of the Yucatan state by the archeologists who were on those years in charge of the restoration of those sites, I am also a member of a continuous education program focused on Mayan archeological sites of Mexico which is provided by the University of Yucatan (UADY) in agreement with the Tourism Bureau of the state (SEFOTUR). In 2018 I was awarded as the tour guide with the best reviews from clients by one of the best mexican travel companies and I have 10 year experience working for high-end british travel companies. Among the subjects I master and I am passionate about are: the ancient Maya civilization (I am a Mayan person myself), the unique natural formations of the Yucatan called "cenotes", the old colonial architecture of Mexico, the old sisal fiber plantations of the Yucatan and the common habits of the most common birds that come to the Yucatan peninsula to nest or to rest during their migrations from the north of the Americas to the south of the Americas. If you come to Progreso in a cruise ship I cannot pick you up at the cruise ramp but I can meet you at the LIGHTHOUSE of Progreso which is located right outside of where the cruiseship shuttle drops you off.
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Mayan site of Xcambo, Salt flats of Xtampu and a fresh water spring - Shore Excursion
Overview of your Merida tour
We will start our day driving to the fresh water spring of San Crisanto for a 90 min experience into one of the best preserved mangrove forests of Mexico. And there, in the middle of the forest we will take a refreshing swim in one of the many fresh water springs located along the coast of the Yucatan. After our swim we will drive to the beautiful and petit Mayan archeological site of Xcambo making stops along the way to see flamingoes and other birds. Xcambo is a small archeological site that has everything we need to see to understand the sophisticated life of the ancient Mayas. Here we will see religious pyramids, ancient steam baths, sacrificial stones and remains of ancient Mayan palaces among other buildings. After climbing the pyramids and walking around the site we will drive to the ancient but still active salt flats of Xtampu where we will learn about the Mayan tradition of harvesting pink sea salt from the ancient flats, here we will see the different pinkish colors of the salt flats.
Recent Reviews
Raul pick us up where we agreed and a unique experience just begun. He was very patient with all my family questions, looking after we were comfortable at all times. The Xcambo ruins are truly one of a kind, quiet and well preserved. He even show us around Merida on the way back. Excellent Guide, excellent service. Thank you Raul!
We just had a most wonderful tour with Raul. He was punctual, friendly, knowledgeable and gracious with our special requests. We did the Best of the Yucaton Coast and it was a wonderful adventure through a mangrove and to an Archeological site. I would give a 6☆ rating if I could.
I highly recommend Raul as your tour guide, he is truly amazing. We were very impressed with his knowledge on all the sites and history. He is a very friendly and caring person, he goes out of his way to accommodate your needs. Vehicle is spotless and very comfortable with great air conditioning which is very needed in Merida :) We actually hired him for 2 days on 2 separate tours which he customized for us. If you are looking for a great experience in Merida, look no further and hire Raul!
Your Merida tour itinerary
Departure from meeting point at an agreed time to go to the small fishing village of San Crisanto where we will take a 1 hour and 30 minute ride into the mangrove forest to see the different types of mangrove trees and swim in the fresh water spring. If we start this tour in Progreso it is a one hour drive on a scenic road (from Merida the drive takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes). After our swim we will drive 30 minutes to the archeological site of Xcambo, we will make a couple of stops along the way to see the different areas where pink flamingoes and other wading birds feed themselves. Once at Xcambo I will show you and explain you all the different buildings we will see in the site and I will present you the ways of life of the ancient Mayans at this site, this walking tour of Xcambo lasts about 1 hour. Before driving back we will stop at an ancient salt flat where modern Mayas are still harvesting salt in the same way and at the same place ancient Mayas did, this stop typically takes us 30 to 40 minutes.
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Transport details
Type: Private Transportation / Category: Suv
We will get to our destinations in an air conditioned Suzuki XL-7 model 2022 with capacity for up to 4 people without bags.
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Meeting location
Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico
Hotel or accomodation, airport, train station or lighthouse in Progreso
- You can request a specific meeting location (for example, your hotel) during the checkout.
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English
Spanish
FrenchActivity level
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