Good morning everyone!
It is 06:30 a.m. in the morning while I am starting to write this post. This is exact the same time we would like to pick you up at your hotel lobby when you booked a private tour to Coba with us and you are staying in Playa del Carmen.
You might think: "Are you out of your mind? I am on vacation and I deserve to sleep in, not getting up as early as I have to go to work!" We are sure, you or at least one of your family members, friends or partner think like that and we would like to give you some reasons to reconsider.
Before we start, I'd like to let you know, we do not insist in these early pick up times. All we do is giving you suggestions, so you can get the best out of your day. We are always striving to make your day with us the best day of your vacation. So it is all about your priorities and preferences. If you, or someone of your travel companion prefer to sleep longer, we totally respect that and will pick you up at the time you tell us. Just keep in mind you will miss the following advantages.
1. Early bird bonus at our first location!
Since you are on your exclusive private tour, you are the only one we are going to pick up from your hotel and that's it. Common tour operators do several pick ups in the morning and in the worst case you are the first and still have to go to an average of 4 more hotels in order to fill the bus to its maximum capacity. At the end of the tour you will be last to get dropped off.
This might take up to another 2 hours before you even start your journey to your first destination. Your pick up time might be the same, or even earlier, but you will arrive 2 hours later. In other words, we arrive at our first location the moment it opens and we are the first to enter, avoiding any waiting in cues or mass tourism. In other words we are done with our first activity when the other arrive after their pick up odyssey.
Why don't you try to find a picture of the main structure "Nohoch Mul" in Coba in a google image search, where the stairs are empty, without anyone on it? Many times our guest may claim to be the first on top of this impressive temple.
2. Stay cool
The annual temperature average in Playa del Carmen is 26ºC / 79ºF. May is the hottest month in Playa del Carmen with an average temperature of 28°C / 83°F and January is the coldest at 23°C / 74°F with the most daily sunshine hours at 11 in May.
These are average temperatures. Midday the temperature reaches at least 28°C / 83°F every single day. During the summer easily 38ºC / 100ºF and 95% humidity.
Trust me when I am telling you, you don't want to be climbing 120 steps of "Nohoch Mul", Ekbalam or walking through the archaeological sites of Tulum or Chichen Itza. Except Coba, all these areas are hardly having any shaded areas, so you want to be done before the sun is up.
Well, you only avoid the heat by finishing at the archaeological site by 10:00 a.m. Now it is time to move on and get some action like zip-lines, snorkeling or refreshing dips in a cenote.
3. Get things done
One of the most sold tours in the Riviera Maya is "Akumal + Cenotes", which gets you to encounter sea turtles in their natural habitat and experience some cenotes. Doing that with the common tour operator you are going to spend easily 8.5 hours from your pick up until your drop off. Out of that time you will be a maximum of 45 minutes snorkeling in Akumal and 90 minutes at the cenotes.
In the same time we cover at least an archaeological site and have an excellent lunch next to the turtle encounter and the cenotes. No big groups and only one pick up / drop off is saving a lot of time we can use to get more out of your exclusive tour.
Especially when you are only looking for a half day tour, because you would like to be back at your beautiful resort for lunch, we get you back on time.
4. Stay ahead of the crowds
By getting up that early and heading directly to your first destination, without any other pick ups at other hotels, you literally get a head-start. We arrive in average 1.5 hours before the common tour operators and big buses.
We know the schedule of most of them. Having the advantage of being a small group and being ahead of them gives us the opportunity to avoid the crowds not at all places, but at most of them.
5. Time for a coffee
Are you a coffee junkie? No problem! Just let us know and we will stop at one of our favorite coffee places, so you can get your day started.
There is always enough time to get a quick coffee and some pastry to go and still being on time to arrive at our first location when it opens.
I would like to repeat what I stated at the beginning of this post:
"...it is all about your priorities and preferences."
You decide if you rather sleep in, or benefit of these 5 reasons.
What do you think, are these reasons convincing? Feel free to share your opinion, or your own experience with us.
Now I will get another coffee and some things done.
Enjoy your day!