Top Palenque Boat Tours

It is a long day but entirely worth it! Mildred is the most wonderful guide. Very informative and friendly.

Very worthwile trip from Palenque into the Lacandon selva to Yaxchilan and Bonampak, two beautiful and fascinating Maya ruins. The trip requires a lot of driving but also a fantastic boat trip on the Rio Usumacinta to/from Yaxchillan which is inaccessible by land. The murals at Bonampak are beautiful and impressive. We loved this day trip.

The tour is very well organized and are punctual in pickup. It is a very demanding tour because it is a long walk, so they go a little time to be able to meet the objectives, which are met 100%! Highly recommended both the visit and the agency that manages it.

This is by far the most amazing trip to see Mayan ruins I have ever taken in Mexico, if you are up for some climbing, lots of travel, and some absolutely breathtaking sites, go on this trip to Yaxchilan and Bonampak!I was solo, but made a ton of friends on the trip. It helped that I spoke spanish, as there are not so many US tourists in this part of Mexico. As a bonus, you get to do something few others from your home will have the opportunity to experience. Note that although the driver does not always speak english, the overall idea of the trip is very simple. You can hire an english speaking guide for either or both sites (note they do charge, this trip is for some meals, extensive transportation logistics and entry fees). Pay your guides well and tip the driver, they need and deserve that money.The trip is from Palenque and starts early in the day. You may not be able to sleep on the van due to road conditions and automatic transmission (no to topos!). After an hour and a half, you stop for breakfast which has eggs, meat, tortillas, beans, and fresh fruit and juices, along with a restroom break. Then another hour and a half to Frontera Corozal, the only access point to Yaxchilan, which is on a peninsula surrounded by the river and a forest reserve (no roads). You stop at the lunch place to make your order before heading to the harbor. That boat follows the river with Guatemala on the other side for about 30 minutes and is exhilarating.Yaxchilan is straight up Indiana Jones vibes, you enter the city through a maze labyrinth that has some friendly bats. Bring lots of bug spray, organic local versions are best but need to be reapplied every 45 minutes or so. The structures are incredible and feel very much like you stumbled upon a lost city in the dense jungle. They have a ball court, stelae, and great pyramids with unique design elements. Not sure I loved going up to the second acropolis, it was quite difficult climb in the heat and humidity and steep coming down. Maybe spend your time exploring the maze and other structures near the main plaza and climb the pyramid. Then it is back to the boats after two hours at the site (which fly by) and an amazing homecooked lunch at a local restaurant. Have the mole chiapaneco, the local mole variety that is outrageously good.Back in the van for not quite an hour and you are at Bonampak, which has the best preserved murals in the Mayan world. They are breathtakingly beautiful and intact. Pay for the local guide here, 1000% worth learning what is going on in each of the paintings and their significance. Amazing giant stelae, multiple layers of construction on the pyramid unveiled and the lintels are outstanding. The local Mayan guides are great. Try to support the community with a few pesos by buying bracelets and necklaces, they are inexpensive, made with local products, and help people who deserve it. Trip back to hotel is several hours, expect to be back around 8pm.

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.

The tour was super cute. Long van time but comfortable and with nice and punctual driver. Good food if you booked the tour with breakfast and lunch. The guide in Yaxchilán knew a lot and answered most of our questions (there foresee some cash as it is not included in the tour, but it is worth it). In addition, you feel the energy of the place, surrounded by pure nature. In Bonampak, I liked the experience a little less, because you are approached by the guides and they want to get on with you while you change vans to enter the place that is kept by the Maya. I had to demand to know the fare before to avoid bad surprises, because they want to give you the visit first and then see the price. Despite that, the guide was also super friendly and knew many things. Too bad we weren't in Bonampak any longer, it was a bit of a rush. I recommend this tour.

We had a great day on April 24, 2025. The drive is long but was interrupted by a nice breakfast. Then continue to Yaxcilan with a nice boat trip. We had a very good guide, (spoke well english ) who told us a lot of fascinating things about the mayas and Yacxzilan. Beautiful place! HhBeautiful nature and temples. Then n fine lunch and on to Bonampak. Again a great place and seen so much beauty!! What A special experience this excursion is. A lot of driving but you get one very special unforgettable experience in return

Everyone involved in this package tour were patient people with extremely positive outlooks- that includes the other members of the tour! Which, obviously, made for an optimal Chiapas experience!

A fantastic journey and a must visit historical site. Our driver is very experienced and professional, and the entire journey was perfect!

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!

The most amazing trip I did in 3 very busy weeks in Mexico. The very early start and hours of travel were absolutely worth it. The boat ride from Frontera Corazol to Yaxchilan along the Rio Usumacinta (which is the border between Mexico and Guatemala) was fabulous, and arriving at Yaxchilan, in the jungle, by boat as it cannot be reached by road, was incredibly special. It is a fabulous site, and the only sadness was that we could only have 2 hours there as we had such a lot of road (and water!) to cover. Then Bonampak - wow! A Mexican traveller in the group said he had heard it was like Michelangelo had been to Mexico - well, it was certainly as amazing, in my eyes at least. Unbelievable that we can see such well preserved wall painting in situ, right up close. The van was comfortable, and we ate an excellent breakfast and lunch en route. I can’t fault this unique trip. Worth every peso, and every hour of the long day.

Very informative. Costumer satisfaction is priority. The tour guide and captain were friendly and tried hard with their English, good try! Teresa at front desk was awesome 👏.

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.

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.

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!

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.