Learn Mayan Cooking & Make Chocolate in Placencia

Cook a Mayan meal and craft chocolate from cacao beans

A seven-hour hands-on class from Placencia where you learn to cook tortillas and tamales in a traditional Mayan kitchen, visit a cacao farm to see how beans are grown and dried, then make your own chocolate bar at a small factory. The experience includes transportation from Placencia Village, lunch prepared during the class, park fees and a live guide in English or Spanish.

Step-by-step itinerary

Mayan cooking and chocolate making

• Depart Placencia at 8:30 am
• Drive along Placencia Peninsula road
• Learn to cook Mayan meal on fire hearth
• Make tortillas and tamales from scratch
• Ask questions about Mayan culture
• Enjoy the lunch you cooked
• Visit cacao farm to see cacao growing
• Tour chocolate factory and make chocolate bar
• Eat your own chocolate bar

The experience

The day starts with a scenic drive from Placencia along the peninsula road between the Caribbean Sea and Placencia Lagoon to reach a real Mayan kitchen. There you'll learn to make tortillas and tamales from scratch over a fire hearth, working alongside your guide who shares stories about how Mayans live, work and raise their families. You prepare the meal you'll eat for lunch, so you get to taste what you've made and ask questions as you cook. Bring a phone or camera to record the techniques so you can recreate them at home.

After lunch, the class moves to a cacao farm where you see how the beans are grown, harvested and dried. Then you head to the small chocolate factory to make chocolate the old-fashioned way, grinding cacao beans by hand and forming your own chocolate bar to take with you. The whole experience is built around doing the work yourself, not watching a demonstration.

What’s included

• Transportation from Placencia Village.
• lunch prepared during the class.
• park fees.
• a live guide in English or Spanish.
• pickup and drop-off in Placencia Village.

Before you book

Days and timesMonday to FridayDeparts at 08:00

Book up to16h before

AgesAdult (11 and older) · Child (1 to 10 years) · Infant (under 1)

GroupUp to 6

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Good to know

Low physical effortPets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Is this one for you?The seven-hour day involves active cooking and hands-on work at the cacao factory, so you'll be on your feet and working with your hands throughout. If you want to learn by doing rather than watching, and you're comfortable with a full morning and early afternoon commitment, this suits you.

Traveler reviews

5.00★★★★★★★★★★

1 verified traveler review

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (1 to 10 years); Infant (under 1).

What do I actually cook during the Mayan kitchen part?

You make tortillas and tamales from scratch in a traditional Mayan kitchen using a fire hearth. These become the lunch you eat afterward, so you're learning by preparing a real meal.

How does the chocolate-making part work?

At the cacao farm's small factory, you grind cacao beans by hand the old-fashioned way and form your own chocolate bar, which you keep to take home.

Is hotel pickup included if I'm staying outside Placencia Village?

Pickup and drop-off are included for Placencia Village. If you're staying elsewhere, the operator can arrange it.

What's the drive like to get to the Mayan kitchen?

The drive runs along the Placencia Peninsula road between the Caribbean Sea and Placencia Lagoon to reach the Southern Highway, offering views of both water and landscape.