Bonampak & Yaxchilan: Hidden Maya Ruins in the Chiapas Jungle
Badge of Excellence
Palenque, Mexico
- 14 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Visit the ruins of Yaxchilan and Bonampak on this small-group full-day tour from Palenque. Start early and have breakfast en route to the Yaxchilan Archaeological Site, which is located deep in the Lacandon Jungle, and can only be reached by boat on the Usumacinta River. Upon arrival, your guide shows you around the extensive Mayan ruins. Then stop for lunch before continuing to Bonampak, a smaller site with vibrant Mayan murals that date to 800 AD. Your tour includes guide, air-conditioned minivan, breakfast and lunch, and hotel pickup and drop-off.
- Look for monkeys and other wildlife in the Lacandon jungle
- Learn about life for the ancient Mayans while walking around the ruins at Yaxchilan
- Small-group tour limited to 15 people provides a more personalized experience
- Includes guide, breakfast and lunch, entrance fees, transportation, and hotel pickup and drop-off
What's Included
- Local guide on archeological sites (in the selected option)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Breakfast
- Lunch (in the selected option)
- Entrance fee
- Gratuties
- Drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
We pick up in any hotel located in Palenque downtown, if you can not see your hotel please contact us to verify your pickup
Arranged start time
Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
Select your preferred tour option to see hours.
Itinerary
1
Zona Arqueologica de Yaxchilan
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Zona Arqueologica de Bonampak
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.4
based on 41 reviews
Elizabeth_C, Jan 2026
It is a long day but entirely worth it! Mildred is the most wonderful guide. Very informative and friendly.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hi Elizabeth, thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re happy to hear that, even though it’s a long day, the experience was worth it for you.
Mildred will be very happy to know you enjoyed her guiding. Thank you for traveling with us and we hope to see you again on another adventure in Chiapas! 🌿✨
Mike_C, Jun 2025
The length of the day is very long. The restaurants are "in the middle of nowhere". Nevertheless the food was good! Our guide/Deiver Pablo was quite a gentleman and knowledgable concerning most inquiries.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for your feedback. We're glad you enjoyed the food and appreciated Pablo's knowledge and professionalism.
I hope you enjoyed the local touch from our restaurants.
Isabella_U, Jun 2025
Overall 150 US $ for this tour is overpriced. The place is beautiful but I booked the one which also had a guided tour and learnt very little, as a matter of fact the tour guide barely spoke to us about the temples. I think the place is worth it but if you can find a way to gets you there for cheaper than it’s worth it. 80$ is a reasonable price.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear the tour did not meet your expectations. While we're glad you enjoyed the site itself, we take your comments about the guided portion seriously and will review this with our team to ensure improvements. We aim to offer a meaningful and informative experience, and we're committed to adjusting where needed. We appreciate your input on pricing and will take it into consideration.
Anonymous, Dec 2024
This tour is over price, you can find the same tour for half price and this tour doesn't include the tourist guide you have to pay for them.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
We’re sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate your feedback. We’d like to look into this matter further. Could you please share your booking information with us? This will help us verify the details and ensure everything was communicated correctly. Your input is valuable to us, and we’re committed to improving wherever possible.
Alysa_C, Nov 2024
While this experience got me where I wanted to go and provided ample opportunities to eat and use the restroom, the description is a little misleading. There is no guide provided (in English or Spanish) for either of the archeological sites. At each site, a guide could be hired for an additional cost (the local guide at Yaxchilan quoted a cost of 200 pesos for our group of 5). Also, be aware if you do not speak Spanish that the driver does not speak English. There is limited to no cell signal for the majority of the day so google translate will only take you so far if you don’t speak Spanish. Keeping these things in mind, these sites are difficult to access and worth making the trip to see.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for sharing your experience and feedback. We’re glad you found the sites worth visiting and appreciated the logistics of the trip. We’ll review the tour description to ensure expectations are clear. Your insights will help future travelers prepare better!
EFTYCHIA_A, Oct 2024
It was one of the most interesting experience during our trip to mexico. Nit only for the Mayan ruins, but also for the nature, the monkeys, travelling between mexico and Guatemala, the different communities you pass through on the way. Basically everything! Highly recommended. Xol, the guide is very experienced with deep knowledge, very friendly as well. Top!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you for your wonderful review! We're delighted you enjoyed the diverse experiences, from the Mayan ruins to the wildlife and local communities. Xol will be thrilled to hear your kind words. We hope to host you again soon!
Collin_S, Jan 2024
I had a wonderful experience with Joyce and Gabriella! In the weeks leading up to my trip, I heard from the tour operator that the archaeological zone of Yaxchilan was closed and the very night before they called me to inform me that the Bonampak site was also closed. I was really disappointed at first, as those sites were certainly a draw to the area, however I was so glad I did not cancel the tour! We ended up going to the archaeological zone of Moral-Reforma, archaeological zone of Pomoná as well as El Salto. We were the only visitors at all three of the places we visited, which is shocking given how incredible the day was. After summiting pyramids in the hot sun and hiking in the jungle, the swim at the waterfall was much needed. Joyce was extremely knowledgeable, and I can’t wait to return to see him again!
Note: they are building a museum at Moral-Reforma, which tells me this will be a fixture for future tours. Pomoná is a bit smaller of a site, but the museum complimented it well. El Salto was a hidden gem and far better than Misol Há or Agua Azul in my opinion.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your amazing experience with us, we really appreciated it! ♥️
Im so glad you enjoy this tour with us! hope to see you back soon.
Marcel_K, Aug 2023
Pro: Ruines and boat trip super nice.
Cons: Van super uncomfortable, booked tour in English but only last of three guides spoke English. The main guide didn’t speak any English which was sad because he explained a lot. We had asked 2 times beforehand if the tour was in English and they confirmed twice… super sad that we couldn’t learn a lot during the tour.
When we had the guide speak in English he spoke half of the time in English and half of the time in Spanish because some people didn’t speak English. As the explanation took double the time, we saw fewer things than expected…
Food pretty basic: the breakfast is fruits, rice, beans and eggs, the vegan option is rice and beans.
Response from Host, Aug 2023
Hello Marcel
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us, I am sorry for the inconvenience, I sent your comments to our operator to improve in this area.
About food please be aware is a local restaurant.
Melissa_D, Mar 2023
Amazing tour, the local guide was brilliant and had excellent English. The sites are stunning and the boat ride was great fun. Veggie food was available.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Hello Melissa,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!
We are very happy you had a great time with us! ♥
Hope to see you back soon!
Muchas gracias!
Wanda_D, Feb 2023
After seeing a number of different archeological sites around Mexico, Yaxchilan and Bonampak remain our favourites! Situated in the jungle along the border with Guatemala, Yaxchilan is only accessible via a scenic boat ride. The ruins themselves are within the jungle and it feels like you are discovering them for the first time ‐ a very different experience to the crowds of Chitzen Itza! The murals of Bonampak are stunning and well worth viewing for a greater understanding of Mayan art and culture. The stories behind these sites were brought to life by our excellent guide Jesús who shared his wealth of knowledge about their Mayan inhabitants. This tour was a highlight of our trip to Mexico ‐ we highly recommend it!
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Hello Wanda
Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us! We are happy you had a great time with us and enjoyed this sites!
Hope to see you soon
All best
Siobhan_R, Feb 2023
This was a truely excellent experience. If I had gone to these sites without a guide i would have missed out on so much information, not just about the history but also about some of the plants and animals around the ruins. The food was good and the bus was comfortable. If you get motion sickness in cars I would recommend taking some medicine before you go because the roads a quite bumpy.
Response from Host, Feb 2023
Hello Siobhan
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us and all your recommendations about it!
We are very pleased you had a great time with us! I´m really happy you enjoyed your tour!
Hope to see you back soon!
Muchas gracias!
Eric_L, Jan 2023
Pros: Great Mayan guide (Jesus), gorgeous archeological sites, fun boat ride, decent breakfast
Cons: Unsafe driving, uncomfortable van, no English spoken by driver, average lunch
Caveats:
- Everyone must switch vehicles to reach Bonampak ZA due to Lacandon rules.
- In order to drop off other passengers, our van first had to go to Bonampak, then trace back to Frontera Corozal to catch a boat to Yaxchilan and then go to Bonampak again to visit the site before returning to Palenque... a big waste of time.
- We reached Bonampak at the end of the day so we could not even go to the top of the temples since the Lacandon keepers were already clearing everybody out. A bit disappointing to spend so much time traveling and not even have the time to fully enjoy the site.
Response from Host, Jan 2023
Hello Eric,
Thank you for taking the time to send us your comments, I will verify with the operator why you went to Bonampak at the beginning and at the end, about Landon rules, unfortunately, is out of our hands.
Besides all, I hope you enjoyed the sites
All best
PENELOPEF_L, Oct 2022
Lovely but lengthy tour. Food and bathroom stops were frequent and the food was good. I recommend it completely.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Hello Penelope,
We are glad you had a great day and enjoyed the tour. I will share your feedback with our operator.
Hope to see you soon
All best
Mike_J, Aug 2022
The tour is a recommendation for everyone who wants to see Maya ruins that are not restored for the public.
We had an amazing tour guide called Jesus. He told us a lot about Mayan culture, the murals and answered our questions.
Some points that could be improved are: communication about the trip, pick-up times (we had to wait an extra 30 minutes) and our bus driver drove very-very fast.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Hello Mike,
We are glad you had a great day and enjoyed the tour. I will share your feedback with our operator, and give your comments to Jesus the guide.
Hope to see you soon
All best
Sara_C, Jul 2022
Fantastic experience, our guide was great. Well worth the money. We had a group of only 5 so he had a lot of time to share his knowledge with us and it made the tour worthwhile. Would recommend to anyone.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Hello Sara,
We are glad you had a great day and enjoyed the tour. I will share your feedback with our operator.
Hope to see you soon
All best
Eric_C, May 2022
This tour is an absolute must do. It was so much fun and educational. It was so cool to walk in the footsteps of ancient civilizations. Hector the Director, our guide, was super cool and led a super great tour. It was such an enjoyable experience. Remember to watch out for ant hills though! You may just spring a booby trap!
Response from Host, May 2022
Hello Eric_C!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!
I´m really happy you enjoyed your tour, I will send your comments to Hector!
Hope to see you back soon!
Muchas gracias!
Tim_B, Apr 2022
Don’t let the price scare you; it’s worth it. These two sites are a must see. The boat ride down the River and back is a blast. The food was excellent and the guide did a super job. Long day, 14 hours, but very worthwhile.
Response from Host, May 2022
Dear Tim_B
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!
I´m really happy you enjoyed your tour.
Hope to see you soon!
Muchas gracias!
Agnes_B, Apr 2022
The trip is interesting but it's a long day, all together it was 15h so if you don't have that much time it's better to choose a trip to Palenque ruins, which are also bigger and more interesting. Yaxchilan was interesting and the boat trip was a nice bonus, Bonampak is basically just about the three murals so unless you are a super enthusiast of the Mayan culture you can easily skip it and just focus on the Palenque ruins.
The trip was very well organized with a local breakfast and pre ordered lunch (don't expect very sophisticated cuisine or you'll be disappointed, it's dimensioned to quickly serve a lot of tourists so the quality is good but nothing fancy, still very well organized). The bus drivers are very well coordinated and organized when it comes to tourists coming from one destination and then going to another, change of minivans is not a problem and you are well taken care of. The english guide was a bit too general and didn't go into details in Yaxchilan, he was much better in Bonampak when I told him to do the tour completely in Spanish.
Response from Host, May 2022
Dear Agnes,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all your experience with us!
I´m really happy you enjoyed your tour.
Hope to see you soon!
Muchas gracias!
Cecile_M, Apr 2022
A great day trip to what feels like some of the most hidden pre-Hispanic cities in the jungle. Yaxchilan is particularly wonderful! Get ready for a really intense day (14-hours from pick-up to drop-off).
One improvement point: the van was full (12 customers) and I was sat at the very back, shoulder-to-shoulder with three other people and with very little space for legs. The four of us would really have welcome more space, especially for such long journeys there and back.
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Hello Cecile,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us! I apologized for the lack of space in the van I will send this comment to improve our service,.
I'm very happy you had a great time!
Thank you so much and hope to see you back soon!
Joseph_H, Apr 2022
The two sites visited were impressive. Guide very knowledgeable. However a 15 hour day was just too long for these two people in their 70s. The climate is so oppressive that the discomfort of the heat and humidity usurped the general experience. Try in somewhat cooler months. Not early April. Boat trip and lunch great. But Viator charges too much. Others on the trip paid much less than we did for the same experience.
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Dear Joseph,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us, I'm sorry you didn't have the most incredible experience, unfortunately, it is a long tour but I hope the places visited were worth it.
Hope to see you soon.
John_L, Mar 2020
We couldn't understand, after seeing these amazing sites, why folks don't know about them. They are fantastic! Bonampak has brightly colored frescoes that, while damaged, are still beautiful. Yaxchilan has amazing intact carvings. Both involved some climbing, and in order to get to Yaxchilan you have to take a motorized canoe upriver. That was fantastic! Our guide was terrific, and they fed us both breakfast and lunch in local restaurants. It's a long day but was spectacular. We went on a whim but are so glad we did!
Michael_R, Feb 2020
This was a long day but a tremendous experience and adventure. Our guide Hector was amazing in his knowledge of the sites as well as Mayan history in general. His English was exceptional. We learned about Mexican culture current and recent and historically. Highly recommend!
Andre_Nacov, Aug 2019
The tour of Yaxchilan and Bonampak was an early start, being the first 2 of 8 to be picked up. Hector was our tour guide and driver and also served those duties the day before to Palenque and Misol-Ha and Aqua Azul. Hector was very friendly and knowledgable and made both days fun. We started heading for Yaxchilan first and stopped for a good breakfast after about an hour and a half and made it to Frontera Corazal easily and got on the powered canoe for the 28km ride to Yaxchilan on the Usumacinta River. We heard and saw howler monkeys and a crocodile basking on the riverbank. The site was large and interesting. After exploring for 1 1/2 hours, we took the canoe back for lunch. Then off to Bonampak which was a much smaller site but with beautiful paintings and hieroglyphs. After a brief downpour, we headed back on interesting (and at times exciting) 3 hr ride to Palenque. All in all well worth the cost for this tour!
Response from Host, Aug 2019
Andre_Nacov Thank you very much for your comments, we are happy you enjoyed both tours.
we will be happy to see you on your next visit to Mexico!
Have a great day!
reisgenoten, Nov 2018
The trip was very well organized and we enjoyed ourselves very much. It is a very good way to get to these two places, because even with modern transportation and roads, they are still remote. You could do this trip on your own, but it would take far more time and you just don’t have that to waste on a day like this. It was very nice to have stops for breakfast and lunch and a break on the way back, so that the day did not feel rushed at all. Our driver and guide were experienced and they worked together well. We did have a 30 minute delay in our pick-up time in the morning, but we still were able to see everything and have a very enjoyable day. I would recommend this trip to those who have a real strong interest in Maya culture. Just know: there is some intermediate strenuous climbing of stairs if you are up for it. Otherwise, you can go around most of that as well. The boat trip to Yixchalan was very pleasant as well: we even saw a gigantice crocodile sunning on the river bank! Be prepared for rain, sun, musquitos, and bring water. I have taken day trips with Viator before and I have enjoyed them!
Riccardo_D, Jul 2022
In esperienza assolutamente indimenticabile. Un posto nascosto da tutto e da tutti con una storia incredibile. Chi va a Palenque deve visitare questo sito!
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Dear Riccardo
I'm very happy you enjoyed your tour day :D
Hope to see you again soon!
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