Mayan Ceremonial Night: Temazcal, Cenote Swim and Dinner from Playa del Carmen

Cancun, Mexico

From $99.00

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

7 hours 30 minutes
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Experience a Maya 'temazcal' sauna, swim in a cenote, and try Maya home cooking on a 3-hour trip from the Riviera Maya that includes pickup and drop-off at your hotel. A temazcalero guide will introduce you to the cleansing ritual using natural herbs and copal resin, then you can cool off in the underground cenote before sitting down to a traditional dinner.

3-hour temazcal and dinner experience
Steam in a sauna with aromatic herbs
Swim in a fresh water cenote
Learn to make tortillas by hand
Eat a Maya dinner
Pickup and drop-off at Riviera Maya hotels

What's Included

Bottled water
Beverages
Driver/guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Dinner

Gratuities
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

What To Expect

Start the evening with 4pm pickup at your hotel on the Riviera Maya, then travel to the temazcal, a sauna whose name means “house of hot stones,” which has been used by the indigenous people of Mezoamerica since pre-Columbian times.

The temazcalero guide will introduce the cleansing ritual, and answer any questions before you enter the steamy sauna, which is aromatic with herbs and the copal resin that’s naturally harvested from tropical trees. You’ll have roughly 30 minutes in the temazcal, though you’re welcome to leave and return at any time during the ritual.

After leaving the temazcal, cool off the local way: in one of the Yucatán’s fresh water cenotes, natural swimming pools that are fed by crystal-clear, underground rivers. If desired, you can join the cooks in the kitchen to learn to make tortillas by hand before you sit down to a full dinner of traditional Maya foods. This tour concludes with return transfer to your Riviera Maya hotel.

Parque Dos Ojos

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Parque Dos Ojos

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Parque Dos Ojos

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Parque Dos Ojos

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Cenotes Dos Ojos

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Parque Dos Ojos

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Minimum age is 18 years
Dress code is smart casual

Not wheelchair accessible
Don't forget towel, change of clothes, mosquito repellent and money for tips or souvenirs
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

11 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-9 of 11 reviews

Not the best organization

Johanna_A, Oct 2023

While the actual Temazcal experience was great the disorganization of this event was really disappointing. We drove to town bc we were not staying in a hotel. I called them and they assured me we would be back by 10pm. We were told to meet the van at certain location at a specific time and they made us wait in the sun with no shade for over an hour. There was no answer at the agency’s number bc it was after hours. No other way of communicating with them. When they finally arrived to pick us up, we were their only second stop. Once we got the place, we had to wait around for another hour before all the other vans arrived. Once the entire experience was over, we had to wait another hour for people to “shop” in the very expensive store. they finally drove us back at around 11, by this time the parking lot was closed. We had to take a very expensive taxi back to our rental. I would only recommend this company if you don’t mind waiting around for a while and waisting time

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Thank you very much for your feedback, we are really glad to see you enjoy the temazcal experience. We are taking note of the points about the logistics in order to avoid unnecessary waiting and wasting time in the future.

Worth the trip but can get crowded

Pete_D, Sep 2023

It good. But was such a big group 50 . I do not do crowds well I wish I know that there was going to be a big group .it was ok

Worth it but not the small group promised

Rob_B, Dec 2022

The Mayan dinner, the cenotaph and the ceremony were all memorable. However this was advertised as a small group activity but was definitely not. We started as a small group and then joined other groups bringing total to over 30 people. Transportation was late and guide seemed to lack knowledge there were a number of times we did not know what was going on

Great tour

George_B, Dec 2021

The experience was great. From the ceremony, to the sweat lodge. The Mayan people were great. The traditional village was excellent as well.

Response from Host, Dec 2021

Hello George: Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us this amazing review. Best regards.

Stood up

Kathryn_Z, Jan 2021

We never got to go! We were never picked up from our hotel. Everything was confirmed but no one ever showed. We called multiple times and no one would answer.

Response from Host, Jan 2021

Thank you for the feedback, we do apologize due to all the inconveniences, we investigate this issue and this was due to a misunderstood on our end with the hotel information. We receive your refund request and we did proceed to accepted and this will be completed within 3 to 5 business days.

Beautiful spiritual experience!✨

Charlie_P, Aug 2020

In a nutshell, our experience was wonderful. I’ve left out much of the details as you MUST experience this incredible evening for yourself! Our guide was Louisa and she’s knowledgeable and very personable. My boyfriend and I went during the end of August 2020 (so the order of some events may change in the future) but we started off the evening by meeting the locals and exploring the land and the Dos Palmas cenote for photos. You can make your own tortilla with a Mayan local which is pretty fun and you get to eat your creation afterwards! The Mayan ceremony then followed where either together as a couple or solo, everyone receives a purification by one of the two shamans and afterwards you’re ready to enter the Temazcal (Mayan sauna). What an AWESOME experience this part of the journey was. Just a note for heat sensitive folks out there - inside the Temazcal, temperatures reach from 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit (50-60 Celsius). The cloth door is closed making things pitch black inside and you literally feel like your baking in an oven; it’s intense heat which makes it difficult to breath the first few minutes but the entire experience is so worth it if you’re able to endure. While soaking up the cleansing herbs amid the heat, you can participate in beautiful songs sung by the shaman. After about 20 or so minutes, the curtain door opens and the refreshing night air greets you where the shaman cools you off with a splash of ceremonial water. Then you head to Dos Palmas for a lovely night dip in the cenote. After a while enjoying the cold water, everyone drys off for a traditional humble Mayan dinner of chicken, rice and tortillas with Jamaica (hibiscus) water. You end the night with a stop at the little onsite shop with a mix of Mayan crafted items and other fun souvenirs with the opportunity to chat with the local Mayan family. Overall the entire experience was a beautiful and meaningful one and you even learn a few Mayan words along the way. We loved absolutely every single aspect of this ceremony! The only unfortunate downside is that later in the night after returning to our hotel several hours later, my boyfriend and I had a bout of food poisoning which left us fairly ill, especially me. I’m not sure if it’s the quality of the food/water or if it’s a food cleanliness/preparation matter or if it was just a bad batch of chicken (we are very healthy eaters with who live an active lifestyle so I’m not sure what caused it) but just a heads up to others out there to eat at your own risk. While we would definitely do this ceremony again, we won’t be partaking in dinner afterwards in the future. As I said, everything else was wonderful!

Response from Host, Aug 2020

Thank you for your feedback, we are glad you enjoyed the experience and gave some details of one of our most liked tours, I'm sorry to read about the food poisoning and we will check what happened with the food to avoid any other issues, regularly, we try to cook for people to enjoy the mexican flavors. Every comment we take it serious to improve our service. We hope we can have you back soon

Spiritual Retreat

Latrissa_F, Mar 2020

It was excellent! From the guide to the Shaman to the food. I’m going to do it every time I come back to Cancun.

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Thank you for review, it is nice to see you like this experience.

Beaucoup trop de monde

stephaniebarelli, Dec 2023

Cela aurait pu être une expérience incroyable mais gâchée par le nombre de personnes qui ont participé à la cérémonie… plus de 50… certains ont du s’asseoir à même le sol dans le temazcal … quel dommage pour ce qui devait être un beau moment de spiritualité. Dommage.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Thank you very much for your feedback, as you mentioned this must be a quiet experience, the crowd was mainly because it the highest season in the year. We will consider your comments to make this experience more enjoyable.

Absolut Empfehlenswert.

Tizian_M, Nov 2022

Ich wurde pünktlich abgeholt, danach ging es zu den Mayas. Wir wurden mit einem Getränkt(Aqua de Jamaica) empfangen. Uns wurde die Kultur näher gebracht und die Wohnformen der Mayas vorgestellt. Das Ritual war ein wahnsinnig eindrückliches Erlebnis! Die Hitze fühlte sich zum start etwas unangenehm an aber nur zum start danach war es sehr entspannend und toll. Zur Abkühlung durften wir in einer schönen Cenote schwimmen. Zum Abschluss gab es ein schönes gemeinsames Abendessen. Ich kann dieses Ritual nur weiterempfehlen.