Mayan Cacao Company: Interactive Chocolate History Experience

From Mayan priests to your hands: chocolate the way its creators knew it

The Mayan Cacao Company is an interactive experience where you explore the history of chocolate in the land of its origins, guided through different areas of the park to learn Mayan culture and the plant's discovery. A live guide in English or Spanish walks you through how chocolate is made from scratch, invites you to taste a Pre-Hispanic drink once served to Mayan priests and emperors, and finishes with chocolate margaritas and access to a boutique stocked with 13 organic, gluten-free chocolate flavors and cocoa-based products. The experience takes about 50 minutes and welcomes children from age 5.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Mayan Cacao Company

• Discover Mayan chocolate history
• Learn about Mayan culture and chocolate
• See chocolate made from scratch
• Try Pre-Hispanic Mayan drink
• Taste chocolate margaritas
• Shop organic chocolate products

The experience

You arrive at The Mayan Cacao Company and step into an explorer's role instead of a museum visitor. The guide (speaking English or Spanish) moves you through different areas of the park, each one revealing a layer of chocolate's story: how the Mayans discovered it, what it meant to their culture, and why it mattered enough to serve at royal tables. This is not a lecture. You are walking through the history, not reading about it.

The park shows you chocolate made from scratch, so you see the plant become the thing you know. Then comes the moment most people remember: tasting a Pre-Hispanic drink, the exact preparation Mayan priests and emperors drank. It tastes nothing like the chocolate you expected. After that, the guide leads you to chocolate margaritas (a modern twist on the ancient drink), and you finish with time in the boutique. Thirteen flavors of 100% organic, gluten-free chocolate bars sit there waiting, along with cocoa soaps, lotions, sauces and handmade varieties. You can buy your favorite to take home.

The whole experience runs about 50 minutes. The park is wheelchair accessible, surfaces are flat throughout, and strollers work fine if you are traveling with small children. Comfortable walking shoes help, and the operator recommends mosquito repellent. Service animals are welcome.

What’s included

• Admission to The Mayan Cacao Company.
• live guide in English or Spanish.
• demonstration of chocolate made from scratch.
• tasting of a Pre-Hispanic Mayan drink.
• chocolate margaritas.
• access to the boutique with 13 organic chocolate flavors and cocoa products.

Before you book

Lasts 50m, runs Monday to Saturday, 7 start times, from US$ 15 per person, with a live guide in English and Spanish, in groups of up to 1 and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesMonday to Saturday7 departure times: the first at 09:00, the last at 15:00

Book up to18h before

AgesAdult (13 and older) · Child (5 to 12 years) · Under 5: can't be booked

GroupUp to 1

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.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleStroller-friendlyPets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Operated by THE MAYAN CACAO COMPANY

Is this one for you?Come on a free afternoon or a first visit to the Riviera Maya if you want to understand chocolate's roots instead of just eating it: the guide and the hands-on stops make the history stick, and the Pre-Hispanic drink is something you will not find anywhere else.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 12 years). Children under 5 can't be included in the booking.

What exactly do I learn about chocolate at The Mayan Cacao Company?

The Mayan Cacao Company walks you through the origins of chocolate in Mayan culture, when and how it was discovered, its applications, and the relationship between the plant and the people who first used it. You see how chocolate is made from scratch and taste a Pre-Hispanic drink that Mayan priests and emperors actually drank.

Can I bring my five-year-old to The Mayan Cacao Company?

Yes, children are welcome from age 5. Younger infants can come too if they sit on an adult's lap, and strollers work throughout the park since all areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible.

Do I get to taste chocolate at The Mayan Cacao Company?

Yes. You taste a Pre-Hispanic drink made the way Mayan priests prepared it, then chocolate margaritas. After that, you have time in the boutique to sample 13 different flavors of 100% organic, gluten-free chocolate bars and decide which ones to buy.

How long does the experience at The Mayan Cacao Company take?

The experience runs about 50 minutes from start to finish, including time in the boutique to browse and purchase chocolate products.

What can I buy at The Mayan Cacao Company?

The boutique stocks 13 flavors of handmade, 100% organic and gluten-free chocolate bars, plus cocoa-based products like soaps, lotions, sauces and other items made from cacao.

Is The Mayan Cacao Company accessible for wheelchairs?

Yes, all areas and surfaces throughout the park are wheelchair accessible, making it easy to move through the different sections of the experience.