This was the 4th of 8 tours that I did with Raúl. As with our excursion to Chichén Itzá, Raúl recommended that we start early in order to avoid crowds. Make sure to heed his suggestion - it really paid off! The visit to the three cenotes was simply awesome. The journey is part of the fun - as you travel via horse-drawn cart along the tracks of a former henequen hacienda to visit the cenotes. Each one is unique and beautiful - and because we had started our day early enough, Raúl had guaranteed that we were the first ones in, and I was able to enjoy each cenote by myself. Sheer delight. And we had many folks coming in after us, so I was very grateful that Rául had made sure that we had arrived before them. As for Izamal, it definitely lives up to its Pueblo Mágico billing; it was a pleasure to tour the yellow city with Raúl. And trust him on his restaurant recommendations - he is always right! This was a truly memorable day for me.
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Private tour in Merida Raul G
From the Edge of the Crater to the Top of a Pyramid, Private Tour
5.0
(11) reviews
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9 hours
1
Tour date
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9 hours
1
Raul G.
5.0
Guide rating
302
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6 hrs
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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.
Have a question or want to customize this tour? Message Raul G.
Crystal clear water cenotes and picturesque colonial town of Izamal - Full Day Private Tour from Merida
Overview of your Merida tour
We will visit 3 of the most beautiful cenotes we have in the Yucatan. These beautiful cenotes can only be reached in a horse and buggy! Swimming in a cenote is considered one of those things we have to do in our life time according to the list "The one hundred things we have to do before we die" Izamal is considered a magical town of Mexico (in the whole of Mexico we have a list of a little more than 100 "magical towns"), this list only includes small towns which have lots of history, well preserved architecture and iconic gastronomy among other things. In Izamal we will visit the monastery which was built on the base of an ancient Mayan pyramid. We will walk and take pictures around the yellow streets of the town until we get to Mexico's third biggest pyramid which we can still climb to see the view. This pyramid is only one of the over 80 ancient Mayan pyramids located in downtown Izamal!
Recent Reviews
Our day tour with Raul ended up being the highlight of our trip to Merida. Raul was prompt and thorough with communications via the ToursByLocals website and WhatsApp, and when picking us up in his modern and spacious vehicle. He had no issue with accommodating our request for a later start time. Each of the three cenotes he took us to were unique and beautiful with few to no other people there. His English is excellent, yet after he discovered each of us spoke Spanish to varying degrees, he switched languages while speaking very clearly and slower than usual which was great practice for us. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, a very hospitable host, and offered us optional side trips during the day. He even offered and provided advice afterwards on specific things to do and places to visit during the rest of our time in Merida. Thanks Raul for making our trip to Yucatan so special!
A wonderful tour with a great guide! Swimming in the cenotes was a magical experience. We rode out to the cenotes on a horse and buggy and because we went early in the morning we had the cenotes to ourselves. Raul was a great guide, he taught us so much about the history of the area and made sure we were having a wonderful time.
Beautiful tour with a knowledgeable, flexible and kind guide. Couldn't ask for a better experience for our family.
Raul is absolutely the best guide out there. We have been on several tours with him and would book him again. He is knowledgeable, kind, and witty. I highly recommend Raul.
Amazing. Can’t recommend Raúl enough. We told him our adventure level and let him take us on an incredible day
Your Merida tour itinerary
7 am departure from your hotel in Merida 8:30 am arrival to the cenotes to go for a swim 12 pm departure from cenotes to go to Izamal 1 pm arrival to Izamal to see the town or have an optional lunch 3 pm departure from Izamal to go back to Merida 4:15 pm drop off at the hotel or house in Merida I will be happy to customize this tour to your needs
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Transport details
Type: Private Transportation / Category: Suv
We will get to the destinations in a 2022 SUV Suzuki XL7 with capacity for up to 4 people.
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Meeting location
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Hotel/Accomodation, airport, train station, AirB&B
- 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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