Tulum excursion

[mthomp5]

Hi, my hubby and I will be sailing on the Regal Princess 11/15 to the Western Caribbean. We're thinking about going on the excursion to Tulum. It's an 8 hour excursion so it's quite a bit of the day. So I was wondering if anyone has been on that tour and what you thought of it. Thanks in advance!

[PenguinLife]

The ruins are impressive and the location on the cliffs over the beach is spectacular, but the in my opinion it is too far away from Cozumel to make it practical, you spend 3+ hours travelling each way to get a bit over an hour at the ruins.

[mthomp5]

The ruins are impressive and the location on the cliffs over the beach is spectacular, but the in my opinion it is too far away from Cozumel to make it practical, you spend 3+ hours travelling each way to get a bit over an hour at the ruins.

Thank you PenguinLife! That is good to know. We've been to Cozumel a couple of times...once staying at a timeshare and once on a Princess Cruise. Have wanted to see the ruins but it is good to hear someone's perspective. 3 hours each way is something to take into account. I noticed a lot of excursions have been filling up/sold out. But not the ruin tours. We had reserved the tour but will have to think about it now.

[NavySis]

I did this excursion on my Emerald cruise last February. It is a long day. This is one excursion to book with Princess. We were supposed to be back on the ship by 3:30 as the ship was set to sail at 4pm. We didn't get back until close to 4pm. The whole ferry coming back was Princess passengers so they waited for us. I did enjoy getting to see the ruins. The ferry ride to and from the mainland was very rough. To me the long distance to get there was worth it.

[XBGuy]

I apologize, but this is going to sound condescending.

 

You've been to Cozumel before. What else are you going to do there? Go shopping? Go ziplining? Go Snorkeling? Go to a beach party?

 

What is the purpose of travel if not to have new adventures?

 

You've just spent multiple days on a ship getting to a distant exotic location, and you're going to balk at spending a few hours on a bus ride?

 

In 1976 my wife and I took a Western Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon. We, in fact, took the Tulum excursion. I thought it was amazing. The guide was very interesting and very eager to share his culture with us. I don't know if they still let people do this, but we were allowed to climb up this pyramid and, from there, enjoyed the most amazing view of the Caribbean that I can imagine. I even loved the bus ride. In our excursion, on the way back we stopped for lunch and did some snorkeling at a very beautiful lagoon. Our tender trip back to the ship was pretty exciting. It took an hour in some pretty serious seas. I'm sure I paid extra for the additional thrills. ;)

Edited November 2, 2015 by XBGuy

[AZbeachboy]

I have taken that tour. I don't remember the three hours travel each way. We had a lot of time there. Great tour. However, be prepared for the ferry ride back to Cozumel. If you don't get the jet ferry the regular ferry is a hard trip and takes about one hour or more in a small boat. But I would do it again.

[PenguinLife]

To clarify the comment I made above, I feel that Tulum is spectacular, but if your cruise visits any other ports in the region (from Progresso to Belize) there are other ruins that are also interesting to go to, closer to the respective ports and where you get more time to explore the ruins, as well as often more interesting surroundings.

[mthomp5]

Thanks all! Good input from all! My hubby and I are on board for going to Tulum.

[chsalas]

We've taken this tour several times, well worth it yea it's a few hours on bus / ferry but in my opinion it's an awesome day. Beats sitting in a cube farm or at home watching TV. I'd also bring beach wear as teh beach there is really nice if you want a quick dip. You'll need towels and sunblock too.

[Coral]

Tulum is gorgeous and is worth doing! I think I did it from a closer port.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

We went to ruins which were inland in deep jungle, a far shorter bus ride, can not recall name just now, very good but not as impressive as Tulum

 

 

yours Shogun

[Homosassa]

Just be prepared for the ferry ride. It is sometimes referred to as the "Vomit Comet."

 

The day we were on the ferry was calm and without wind. We were amused that the staff was making a big deal about handing out seasick bags before leaving the dock.

 

My husband and I usually don't have a problem with sea sickness, but after our morning ride over to the mainland, we made sure to take Bonine before the return trip.

 

Another hint, the restrooms are in the aft of the ferry. Do not use them unless desperate. The motion is especially bad in the restrooms.

[rockdoctor]

We went on the Princess Tulum Excursion and the drive is only about 45 minutes. The rest is the ferry to the mainland. If you do go, take your swimsuit, there is time for a quick swim at the beach at Tulum. IMHO, if you decide to go to the mainland, you need to take the ferry to the mainland anyway, so it is not significantly longer than other excursions. Coba is a much longer drive, but more interesting. Because of traffic, I would not recommend a non Princess excursion. On both of our trips to Cozumel, they held the ferry back to the ship for us. On one occasion, traffic was so bad that we abandoned the bus and walked the last 1/4 mile to the ferry.

[jsiegel]

Question to those that have recently taken the Princess excursion to Tulum, the description mentions a snack, do you remember what the snack was? If just a bag of chips we'll take enough money to purchase, but if more substantial that might do it for us, we're not big eaters.

 

Thanks, Jackie

[evandbob]

To minimize motion, try to get seated on the 1st deck closest to the middle point of the ferry. If there are 20 rows of seats going 10 seats across, that would be seats in the 10th row and 4 or 5 in from each side.

 

Depending on the season, there may be horseflies at Tulum, so in addition to sunscreen, you might want an insect repellant. I regretted forgetting it once.

 

And it is no longer permitted to climb on any of the structures there. Too much damage from traffic, graffiti and souvenier hunters.

 

Otherwise enjoy this wonderful treasure in a magical location with a gorgeous beach!

Edited November 2, 2015 by evandbob

[XBGuy]

And it is no longer permitted to climb on any of the structures there. Too much damage from traffic, graffiti and souvenier hunters.

 

 

I'm not surprised. As I indicated it was 1976 when we were allowed to do so. Now that I am, presumably, more mature, I appreciate all the reasons you mention. Another thing that I recall, though, was that while it was quite easy to climb to the top, when I started to head down I thought, "Gosh. This really steep. I'd better be careful." At the time I was in my 20s. I was actually quite fearful for many of the elderly people in the group. Happily, there were no unfortunate incidents.

[evandbob]

I'm not surprised. As I indicated it was 1976 when we were allowed to do so. Now that I am, presumably, more mature, I appreciate all the reasons you mention. Another thing that I recall, though, was that while it was quite easy to climb to the top, when I started to head down I thought, "Gosh. This really steep. I'd better be careful." At the time I was in my 20s. I was actually quite fearful for many of the elderly people in the group. Happily, there were no unfortunate incidents.

 

An elderly woman in her 80's tried climbing the pyramid at Chichen Itza and stumbled on her way down and was killed in the fall. That was in the late 90's I believe.

I don't know of any other fatalities at other sites. My last time at Coba and Xanantunich I was still able to climb the pyramids there.

 

The stairs coming down are indeed the hard part, just as you mentioned.

[EndersFoul]

To minimize motion, try to get seated on the 1st deck closest to the middle point of the ferry. If there are 20 rows of seats going 10 seats across, that would be seats in the 10th row and 4 or 5 in from each side.

 

Depending on the season, there may be horseflies at Tulum, so in addition to sunscreen, you might want an insect repellant. I regretted forgetting it once.

 

And it is no longer permitted to climb on any of the structures there. Too much damage from traffic, graffiti and souvenier hunters.

 

Otherwise enjoy this wonderful treasure in a magical location with a gorgeous beach!

 

 

Do you know what season the horseflies are bad? We are going in January.

 

Thanks for the detailed info on the ferry seating, I get seasick easily so I will make a note to get those rows!

[evandbob]

Do you know what season the horseflies are bad? We are going in January.

 

Thanks for the detailed info on the ferry seating, I get seasick easily so I will make a note to get those rows!

 

It was probably spring or summer that I got attacked w/o using insect repellant. I'd carry a small bottle just in case.

[Californiacruizers]

I booked the Tulum Excursion via Princess. I will be traveling with my children who are ages 3 and 12. For thoes of you who have gone before, do you foresee any reason this would not be idea for my 3 year old? It's $214.00 for the 3 of us, I would rather not spend the money if the smaller child would have any difficulty on the ferry or touring the ruins.

[marie61]

Question to those that have recently taken the Princess excursion to Tulum, the description mentions a snack, do you remember what the snack was? If just a bag of chips we'll take enough money to purchase, but if more substantial that might do it for us, we're not big eaters.

 

Thanks, Jackie

 

We took this tour on a Princess cruise in 2007.. I doubt it has changed much. there was a box lunch--wonder bread sandwich, chips...I think a juice box. We ate the chips and drank the juice. We smuggled (yes, I know...) fruit etc from the ship...I was terrified of eating anything in Mexico! the bus driver had Coronas for sale for like, $1...great idea!

 

Re. the transportation: the ferry was awful..take Gravol/Bonine in advance. It was still worth it. I agree with the beach swim at Tulum...extremely hot there..swim in your shorts if necessary. This attraction was the trip highlight for my husband...anyone who likes ruins will love it!

 

ellen