Mayan Ruin Excursion

Trying to pick a good excursion for my friend and I. I was pushing for Chichen Itza but reading reviews on carnival.com made me wary. We had a bad experience with pushy vendors at Dunns river falls, and it sounds like Itza is just as bad, maybe worse. So now I'm thinking Uxmal or the long, weird D-one! Lol Or Tulum? Help! I'm fine with lots of walking and climbing but my friend is less athletically inclined.

We were a Chichen Itzel in January. Was not once approached by any vendors. It's a long and boring ride o get there

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Thanks for the feedback!

RUINS / PYRAMIDS - There are numerous sites within traveling distance from Progreso:

Xcambo - 35 minutes and easily accessible by taxi or local guide. This is a small ruin site with 2 pyramids and a few other smaller structures.

Dzibilchaltun - 35 minutes and easily accessible by taxi or local guide. This is a medium sized site with temples, various structures and a surface cenote. There are no pyramids at this site. Air-conditioned museum, restaurant and gift shop on site. You are not permitted to carry bags onto this site unless they are fully-transparent. Lockers are available.

Mayapan - 1 hour drive. You can hire a local tour company, such as YucatanCenote Eco-Aventuras / YucatanCenote .com (advance reservation only) to take you to this site. This is a medium-sized site with Pyramids, Structures and ancient Maya observatory. You are still permitted to climb the pyramids here !! This is a less crowded site and sometimes you have it all t yourself !

Uxmal - 1.5 hour dive. You can hire a local tour company such as Lawsons Excursions or YucatanCenote .com Eco-Aventuras (both advance reservation only and you have to specifically request Uxmal) or take a Carnival excursion to this site. This is a large site with incredible details and a variety of Pyramids and structures. Most of the structures you are permitted to climb, however the main Pyramid is corded off. This is a popular site and there is a good chance that you will be sharing it with tour buses.

Chichen-Itza - 2 hour drive (by bus) or 1.45 (by car). Considering the driving distance to this site, it would probably be wise to take a Carnival excursion. This is a very popular site and one of the Wonders of the World and, as such, you will be sharing the site with bus loads of tourists and vendors.

Wow! Very informative!!! Thank you!!

Thanks for the information. I would love to see the last one. I don’t swim so no plans of getting in Cenote. Would you recommend the other ruin with that starts with a “D?”

Dzibilchaltun has temples and structures (but no pyramids). It really depends on what you are looking for.

You must not miss Chichen Itza. Tulium has a pretty beach but nothing compares to Chichen Itza. We had zero issues with vendors.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Went to Uxmal in January with Autoprogreso. Long ride - 1 1/4 hours each way. Six people with driver and guide in van. HUGE site, well-restored with virtually no people. In most locations you could see maybe 10 people in a large plaza, including the bus tour groups. Large pyramids (one can be climbed), lots of plazas, well-decorated walls. No vendors in the ruins. Nice set of shops at entrance with good prices. About a dozen vendor stalls outside of entrance a bit pushier but still nice folks and good prices. Food and beverages sold. Lots of big iguanas around as well. No bugs. Site is very open, no shade.

Tour leaves Autoprogreso terminal at 9:30 and delivers you to pier end around 3:00. Meeting time on Shore Excursioneer reservation showed 8:30 but really didn't need to get there that early. Autoprogreso guides were selling tours all the way up to 5 minutes before leaving. Guide (Antonio) had actually done some restoration work at the site and was very knowledgeable.

Went to Uxmal in January with Autoprogreso. Long ride - 1 1/4 hours each way. Six people with driver and guide in van. HUGE site, well-restored with virtually no people. In most locations you could see maybe 10 people in a large plaza, including the bus tour groups. Large pyramids (one can be climbed), lots of plazas, well-decorated walls. No vendors in the ruins. Nice set of shops at entrance with good prices. About a dozen vendor stalls outside of entrance a bit pushier but still nice folks and good prices. Food and beverages sold. Lots of big iguanas around as well. No bugs. Site is very open, no shade.

 

Tour leaves Autoprogreso terminal at 9:30 and delivers you to pier end around 3:00. Meeting time on Shore Excursioneer reservation showed 8:30 but really didn't need to get there that early. Autoprogreso guides were selling tours all the way up to 5 minutes before leaving. Guide (Antonio) had actually done some restoration work at the site and was very knowledgeable.

We did the Uxmal with AP 2 years ago and had a great time. Also Dzib with them as well as Xcambo.