Cancun Bay Tours

Cancun Bay Tours

One would think that a massive tour bus, gorgeous on the outside, huge to walk beside, would be equally impressive on the inside. Not so!
   If you take a tour on the Yucatán Peninsula, you might be tempted to choose Cancun Bay company. If so, you might want to first do your homework.
   The first leg of our trip to visit the Mayan Ruins offered seating in the second row, reserved for handicap seating. Debby’s seat back was broken, allowing the seat back to recline all the way into the lap of the passenger behind. This irritated the lady behind us.
   Back on the bus following our breakfast drop, we were not really disappointed to find our seats had been taken by a transfer passenger. So we ended up in a row with no clear view through the window. I was not bothered about this because I have limited vision anyway.
   The main problem with this tour company was they redesigned coach seating to cram everything together. It appeared to us that by crowding the rows together, they were able to add 4 to 8 more seats, thus able to increase revenue at the expense of passenger comfort.
   Simply sitting upright. Our knees rubbed the back of the seat in front. The rough fabric caused "rug burns" on the bare knees. We were very uncomfortable!
To make things worse, a two hour ride to Chichenitza took 3 1/2 hours one way because Cancun Bay detoured from the highway route, taking us first into a dusty wayside to herd us into a conveniently placed souvenir shop and into a crowded room where we enjoyed a cold breakfast for an hour.
   The second detour took us into a poor Mayan village created by these tour companies to help the poor Mayans make a living. I’m certain the tour companies also line their pockets from this venue. After routing us through the local souvenir shop twice, a visit to an underground swimming hole and a crowded cafeteria for lunch, we were back on the bus for the final hour and a half ride to Chichenitza.
   We ended up having limited time to explore the ruins buses made the best of it even though the tour guides told us to hang together as a group.
   Souvenir shops and sellers lined the pathway that meandered through the complex. We had already been carefully programmed to not talk to or buy from these vendors. Their fake products, shortchanging practices and buyer be aware of potential counterfeit change. One thing was for certain; the prices I heard called out were cheaper than the first two stops we were taken to.

   Back on the bus in a couple of hours, we faced another 3-1/2 hour ride home because of 2 detours.  First we took a side trip into a small city where we wandered around the town square.  This was a good stop.  Much better than any other stop we made!  Too bad we only got 30 minutes!  The final stop was to drop off some passengers.
   The final two hours of our journey was made I even more miserable. The Cancun Bay company began serving tequila, beer and margaritas to the passengers, without limitations. The two guys right behind us became obnoxious and were plastered. Our two Cancun Bay guides, Hector and Daniel continued to bring them rink after drink. Drunken passenger probably tip more. However, at this point I was determined to considerably reduce their tip! Which I did.
   Considering the one hundred plus dollars the four of us spent on this trip, we might have done much more with a taxi and a good tour book