Are private Chichen Itza tours worth the extra money on your trip?

Mexico offers an incredible range of options for tourists visiting the country. The coasts boast some of the most amazing resorts in the world. Naturally, the food is incredible, the culture is vibrant, and there are seemingly endless opportunities to enjoy nature.

The vast archaeological resources Mexico has to offer are equally enticing. That includes Chichen Itza, a massive Mayan city built in the pre-Columbian era. It's located in the Yucatan Peninsula, putting the site close to the Gulf of Mexico.

Chichen Itza is a massive complex making it one of the largest Mayan cities ever constructed. Only a small portion of it has been excavated and an even smaller portion of that is open to the public. What visitors can see is still epic, which is why it attracts huge crowds.

On the road to Chichen Itza

More than 2.6 million people visited Chichen Itza in 2022. That works out to roughly 7,100 people per day on average, though that will vary greatly based on the season. During peak travel times, the site has been known to register more than 17,000 visitors in a day.

The most common way people get to Chichen Itza is on a tour. Being that it is possibly the most visited archaeological site in Mexico, there is a seemingly endless array of tour options to choose from. It makes sense since the tour can make many of the necessary arrangements for you.

The problem is that you're part of a large group and are subject to its timelines. There are few opportunities to customize the tour to your party's needs, if any. This isn't suggesting that going on a large scale would be a bad experience, just that there are other options.

Consider a private tour

Going on a private tour of Chichen Itza doesn't mean that you'll have the site to yourself, though that would be exceptionally cool. It means that you have your own guide who picks you up at your hotel or resort in the Yucatan and drives you in a smaller vehicle like a van.

The benefits to this are incredible, such as customizing timelines, getting a personalized tour of Chichen Itza, and potentially customizing other stops. There's something special about going on a tour that's just for you that moves at a pace that works for you.

Yes, private tours are generally more expensive than large-scale tours but the benefits that come with the flexibility they provide shouldn't be ignored. The majesty and history of Chichen Itza cannot be understated and a private tour offers visitors an amazing way to experience it.