Best tour company to see Chichen Itza?
 

Hi Fodorites! I will be staying in southern Cancun in March, my 2nd time there and my husband's first. We will be there 6 nights and want to spend one day exploring Mayan ruins. I've read around the posts here and seems like Chichen Itza might be best for a first time (I've seen Tikal in Guatemala, but 1st time for him). What are tour companies there you've used and liked? I prefer a smaller group, knowledgeable guide and limited (if no) prefabricated shopping stops . The stop at a cenote is not much of a priority. I'm hoping to spend less than $125 if possible. Thanks in advance!

Have always driven myself, but Yucatreks does small group tours of 12-16 people and gets very good reviews. Their tour to Chichen Itza is $124, but personally I would do Coba, much nicer ruin, not as crowded, and you can climb the pyramid there, tour is $110 for Coba.
Drawback is, they leave from Playa del Carmen so you would either have to meet up with them there, or pay extra for Cancun pickup.
Their tours include transport, guide, entrance fee, lunch (alcoholic drinks extra) and a cenote stop plus some other stops like a Mayan village.

I trust you realize that no tour is necessary? It is very easy to visit Chichen Itza on your own....

Thank you for the input. I was looking at Coba and it's still a possibility, but from reading around, it seemed as if most people suggested CI for a first "ruins" visit since it's so extensive. I did see Yucatreks and it looks great, but I'm a bit leery about adding more time and anxiety with getting to PDC early in the morning, and then having to trek back to Cancun from PDC at the end of a long day. I was hoping for a company that would pick up in Cancun. I know I could go on my own, but this time around would like to have a good tour guide and not have to worry about figuring things out. One company I was looking at is Alltournative. There are also a lot of tours listed on cancun-discounts.com but I'm not sure how good they are?

Although I've only done the trip to Chichen Itza on my own, my parents booked a tour there through USA Transfers and seemed to enjoy it. However, it does sound like it was a larger group. I have also heard great reviews from others about both Yukatreks and Alltournative.