Heavenly Divine Uxmal

You could not go to see a Mayan archeological site with a more qualified guide. Andrej did not regurgitate a “tourist script” of this is the temple, this is the aviary, this is x meters high, this is x meters wide and this is the biggest/smallest whatever, the way guides usually do, with an air of authority. He showed us the site the way a proper historian sees it – all that we understand, and all we don’t understand. What is an assumption and a guess vs. hard evidence. How that assumption was made. What has been reconstructed vs. found and why it was reconstructed the way it was. He really opened our eyes on how much we understand about the Mayans and their culture and how much there is still to learn. It was a real pleasure to be able to engage with him as a real expert. At the same time Andrej was a guide and just made our life easy. He organized transport. He made good suggestions on when to start to avoid the heat/busy time at a site, what to wear. He was extremely flexible throughout the day and when we asked for a change he moved an activity from another day to this day to accommodate changes on our side. Andrej, whilst not a Mexican himself, clearly loves and understands Mexico. He has a Mexican family, has lived here for a long time and he also really loves Yucatan, its food, its people and immerses himself in the local culture. We had plenty of time to also discuss those aspects with him and learned a lot from him. In fact, after 4 days with Andrej doing different trips, he built our confidence in the country and understanding the country so much, that in Tulum we rented our own car and did the rest of the trip by ourselves.

Andrej was a fantastic guide and gave our family (parents and two children ages 15 and 13) a truly memorable experience. He picked us up in a very comfortable tour van with plenty of space for everyone and belongings. We had not eaten breakfast, yet, so he suggested and led us walking to a local market to pick up some fresh fruit and eat cochinita pibil and sopa de lima at Taquería La Lupita. As we were traveling to Uxmal, he expertly asked questions to probe our knowledge of the Maya and then filled in blanks and gave context to what we knew. When we arrived to Uxmal, he wisely suggested we buy more insect repellent and apply it before beginning - the mosquitoes were enjoying the rainy season. As we were walking through the site, Andrej knew exactly where to see the majesty of the site, where to take great pictures for our family, and gauge how to keep two teenagers engaged in archaeology and Mayan history. After the tour, he took us to a local cenote to cool off and relax. Thank you, Andrej!

My family of three loved our time with Andrej exploring Uxmal and surrounding attractions. As a trained archeologist, Andrej combines in-depth knowledge of Mayan sites and culture with a deep appreciation for the continuity between ancient and contemporary Mayan communities. His expertise is well balanced with humility regarding what we don’t and may never know about these sites. As a guide, Andrej was flexible and accommodating, focusing on the topics and activities that most interested us. His love and passion for the history of this region is infectious. We spent two days with Andrej. We toured Uxmal our first day and added on a visit to the chocolate museum across from the park entrance and an incredibly fun and relaxing visit to a cenote. Can’t recommend highly enough. Thank you Andrej!

Your trip to Merida is not complete until you book a tour with Andrej. We booked the tour of Uxmal with him that included a visit to a cenote, but also wanted to add on a visit to Sayil which he happily accommodated. Andrej met us at our hotel with coffee, brought us to Uxmal explaining the broad history of the Maya along the way and then diving into great detail at the site - far beyond what you could expect from a tour guide who lacked Andrej’s archaeological background. He shared both information about the history of the site and the archaeological efforts to study and understand the Maya dating back to the site’s discovery. At Sayil he expertly explained its unique characteristics from Uxmal, nicely tying together the two sites. Finally he took us to a beautiful small cenote in a local neighborhood — it was not at all touristy but instead a natural cenote run by the local community. It was an incredible serene experience and something we could have never found on our own. Beyond the tour Andrej gave us many amazing recommendations for our remaining time in Merida including restaurants and activities we didn’t see on other guides to the city! A superb experience all around.

This tour was outstanding. Our guide Andrej picked us up at our hotel right on time and from the start he was knowledgeable, personable, and helpful. We drove to Uxmal and toured this remarkable site at an unhurried pace, carrying waters Andrej had provided. We took photos and learned a lot and had many questions answered. Then he graciously allowed us plenty of time to grab a bite and look around the gift shops. We had asked to possibly visit the cacao museum across the street, and this too turned into a learned, unhurried (and delicious) delight. I thought our time must be up by then but Andrej suggested visiting a local cenote for a swim, and as we had brought out bathing suits at his suggestion, we were able to have this magical experience as well. By then almost the whole day had gone by, as we made our leisurely way (by a different route - even the drives were fascinating) back to our hotel, contented and impressed.

Andrej conducted a thorough, scholarly tour of Uxmal. If your goal is to learn about the pre-Columbian history of the Yucatan region as reflected in Mayan ruins, you can't pick a better guide.