Ralf, from Lawsons Original Yucatan Excursions, and I have been emailing each other on and off for a couple of years, looking for the right adventure and the right timing. We finally found it. We started off our day at the Punta Laguna Monkey Reserve where we wandered along numerous jungle trails trying to locate some of the elusive spider monkeys after participating in a traditional Mayan ceremony, asking for permission and protection to enter the jungle. Our guide, Julio, finally managed to locate a few mammas and babies high in the trees having a morning siesta. Even if we hadn't seen any the hike thru the jungle was lovely. We didn't rappel into the cenote - access in and out was via a rope ladder and neither of us have that kind of upper body strength! Next up, we headed to the lagoon and a lovely cooling breeze. The plan was to canoe - we ARE Canadian after all - but both my mother and I were exhausted. However, someone was looking out for us - when we arrived, a local Mayan family were at the docs and a couple were getting baptized. It was beautiful to witness their faith and be allowed to share in their experience. A huge orange butterfly also flew around the gentleman as he was baptized. After a rest and a Coke to bump up our sugar, we headed even deeper into the jungle for an afternoon visit and lunch with a different local family. This experience... it didn't hit me until after we left and I was back at our resort alone in my room but I came very close to crying. Not with sadness but with joy. Located beside a lagoon with no electricity, no plumbing, they seemed so perfectly happy. They were genuinely pleased to share their way of life, their history, their home and their food with these random strangers. We chatted about the family (immediate and extended), day to day life, shared laughs about our differences and I think, bonded over similarities regardless of culture. Then it was lunch time! We were invited to try making our own tortillas before sitting down to probably the most enjoyable meal I can remember (pollo pabil). Kept company by their beautiful children and their adorable dog, Tobacco, this family made us feel incredibly welcome and it was our honour to meet them. As a sweet treat to end our visit, we got to see their beehives where they harvest their own honey made by the local, stinger-less (and oh so tiny) Mayan bees. FYI, its delicious. A HUGE thank you to Ralf for putting together this incredible, life changing day for us. Finally getting to meet you was like getting together with an old friend. read more

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Our family enjoyed a tour with Lawson's Original Yucatan Excursions on May 22. We were picked up at our Airbnb in Chuburna by Ralf and our driver, Jose. By the end of the day, they both felt like old friends! Early in the day, we went to a market to shop for food with Inez. She then instructed us on what to do to prepare an authentic Mexican lunch, giving each of us jobs. Once the prep was done, the chicken needed to cook (underground!), so we headed to our next stop - Uxmal. We had a very knowledgeable guide at Uxmal, and we enjoyed it very much. Next, we stopped at Choco-Story, where we fed monkeys, watched a Mayan cacao ceremony, and sampled drinking chocolate. After Choco-Story, we traveled back to our foodie experience with Inez. The food was delicious, and we were ready for our next adventure - a cenote. It was a beautiful day for the cool water and the perfect way to end the day. Ralf was the ideal guide. He made stops along the way, was engaging, and full of fun stories/information. If we wanted to talk, he did if we wanted quiet, he sensed that as well. There were little touches throughout, like providing cold drinks in the cooler and making sure we tried ice cream and smoothies after the heat at Uxmal. Ralf heard us talking about the birthday of our son-in-law on the ride to meet up with Inez. She and her helpers provided a cake complete with a candle and sang 'Happy Birthday' at our beautifully set lunch table. It was a magical, memorable day, and one our family will always treasure. Thank you, Ralf! 5 stars only because there isn't an option for more read more

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Our tour with Lawsons was the highlight of our Disney cruise with one port stop in Progreso. Our driver picked us up in the town and gave us an incredibly unique tour of Merida based on our interests. We loved every minute! He also took us to a local taco place where the food was made right in front of you and we all are in agreement - the pork tacos were THE single best food we had during our 4 night cruise. We ate so many because they were that good! Then another stop for sweet treats as well which were incredible. Our driver was wonderful, very knowledgeable and personable and has worked for the company for 8 years. We felt like locals walking around with a friend - never any concerns with safety even with 3 children in our tour group. Booking online with Ralf was incredibly easy - we would highly recommend this tour group for a great safe, easy, fun experience. read more

AMAZING PEOPLE and were incredible Knowledgeable! Our family of 19 went on the Uxmal Tour (stopped by a market, went to the ruins, and ate at a hacienda). Diego was incredibly knowledgeable and answered all our questions! Our cruise came in late, but they were incredibly patient and waited for us and were flexible on the tour (we had to exclude the cenote part which was fine considering time). They also dropped us off at the port and we made it on time to the ship. They provided all the snacks and food we needed (delicious Mexican snacks)! I would gladly tour with them again and highly recommend Lawson's! read more

The boyfriend and I recently took a cruise that stopped in Progreso. We were really interested in seeing some Mayan ruins and the Merida area, but weren't interested in taking one of the crowded tours organized by the ship. I took a look around the internet for a private tour company and came across Lawsons. I booked our tour a couple weeks in advance. A lady named Adri helped me set it up via email, and she was very helpful. We chose the Uxmal ruins & Cenote tour, which was around $300 for the two of us. Steep, but you get what you pay for. The car we rode in was clean and pretty new. The trunk was stocked with a cooler of cold water and soda, which was lovely since it was pretty warm that day. Our tour guide, Angel, was FANTASTIC. He spoke impeccable English, and was so friendly and informative. It's about a 1.75-2 hour drive from the cruise terminal to Uxmal, but he made the drive seem much shorter. He took us through the town of Uman on the way to the ruins, and arranged for us to take a ride in a motorcycle pedicab type thing. So fun! While we were doing that, he ran off and bought us some local candy, which was really nice. He also took us through the market and bought us some bananas. Neither of us speak Spanish, so it was really nice to have someone handle those things for us. The tour Angel gave of Uxmal was awesome! He knew so much about the history of the ruins and Mayan culture. He also took lots of photos of us in front of the ruins, which was great! No selfies for us. Also, the entrance fee to the ruins was included in the cost of the tour - I believe some other tour companies don't include that in their pricing, so FYI. We ended up opting to skip the cenote part of the tour, since we were tired and concerned about getting back to the ship on time. (And by on time, I mean like two hours early - Angel left plenty of time, we're just paranoid). On the way back to the ship, Angel pulled over and bought us some local ice cream treats as a surprise (one was corn flavored and one was rice pudding flavored - so different!). If I could give six stars to this company, I would. I really can't recommend them highly enough. Thanks Angel, for the super awesome tour! read more

Raulf is the best! Did two separate custom tours for me. As a solo female traveler looking for photo opportunities and culture, i was able to get off the tourist track safely, efficiently, and with a fun, knowledgeable guide. HIGHLY recommend. read more

Hands down the best way to explore the Uxmal ruins and cenotes in the area. The tour was personalized and our tour guide, Daniel, made sure that we were comfortable throughout the entire trip. He was extremely knowledgeable, professional, and warm. This authentic experience was worth it compared to a cruise package where we would be stuck with a large group and miss out on the rich history lesson and cultural experience. Can not express enough how great this was. Thank you Daniel and Raul!! read more

BEST TOUR EVER!! I learned so much about the Uxmal ruins, haciendas, and cenotes and had a blast while doing so!!!

I just recently got back from a 5 day cruise to Cozumel and Pregreso MX. In Pregreso, MX we used Lawsons Original Yucatan Excursions. Our tour guide was Guilmer and he was amazing with every stop. He went into detail about the Uxmal Mayan Temple and took the time to answer any and all questions. He made sure that I had everything i needed and made sure my smile never left my face. He took us to a really amazing authentic Yucatan resturant and told us all about the resturant. The last stop was the cenote and it was truly amazing. read more

I spent an amazing three days traveling around the Yucatan last week with Ralf Hollmann, who owns Lawson's Original Yucatan Excursions. I strongly recommend anyone willing to spend a little extra money to forego the canned tours to Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Ek Balam and elsewhere. With Ralf, you'll visit those sites and any others you want, but you can take things more leisurely, stopping at cenotes and small towns and meeting locals along the way. Whatever your specific interests (birds, cenotes, food, culture, etc.) Ralf can tailor the experience however you like. Traveling this way was a real eye-opener for me. How much are you going to learn riding around in a bus or van getting herded through these amazing Mayan ruins? Do it the right way! Ralf is extremely knowledgeable, intelligent and likable, the perfect companion for an outing. If I could give Ralf 10 stars I would! read more

After seeing all the great reviews we decided to book our excursion for 4 adults. Coming off of our cruise ship, it was very quick to get to where we were supposed to meet up. They even had a sign with my name on it. I ended up getting horrible motion sickness from the car ride to the ruins and they did an awesome job looking after me and making sure I was ok. I got better later thankfully. There were no huge crowds where we went and they gave us as much time as we wanted at the ruins and cenote. We went to a Myan community to have one of the best lunches ever after. It was a very humbling and wonderful experience, getting to hear and see the culture. We will absolutely do this again! read more