Explore without Excursion?

[Bowlin618]

We will be there in a few weeks. We have a tour booked through the cruise ship to go see Chacchoben Ruins- part of me wishes we had the freedom to just explore on our own. Have people just taken taxis around to check out Chacchoben, maybe the blue lagoon and/or cenotes and then going to Mahahual. I'm just not sure how long we'll want to be at the ruins and thinking being able to spend time wherever we want could be nice.

[crewsweeper]

Taxi, if available would be fairly expensive.  These places aren't nearby. 

 

Check out Native Choice.  They have excursions to both and it will be a small party and possibly cheaper than the cruise ship.   also many reviews on this board.

https://thenativechoice.com/

[SheSailsFL]

The 7 colors lagoon is a 1.5 hour one-way drive from the port.  Not sure how long your ship is in port but it is unlikely you’ll have time to do all of that.  
I looked at an independent tour to the lagoon and decided we would only have a couple hours at the lagoon and the rest of the day would be in a vehicle.

 I would recommend you look at distances to the places you want to see and prioritize what are your must-see places to help plan your day.  Taxi from the port would be very expensive to go that far but there are good independent tour operators. 

[CntPAcruiser]

We used Native Choice to see the ruins at Chacchoben and felt it was an excellent excursion. You have to get yourself (on foot) to their office in the town, not difficult, and once there, you will be well taken care of. Transportation is  in large vans with a driver and guide, who will provide information about the history and culture and answer questions as you travel to the ruins. On our tour, we arrived before most of the buses, got our local guide, and were escorted around the ruins away from the large tour groups, so it felt like we were the only ones there. We were able to get great pictures without a bunch of people "in the way." Very highly recommended!