Ruins at Costa Maya or Cozumel?

[arm72]

My family and I will be on Freedom of the Seas in June for a cruise to the western Caribbean. This trip will include my husband, 11 and 13 year old daughters, and my FIL & MIL. My in-laws will most likely not be going to the ruins because of health issues.

 

I have seen numerous threads about the ruins and this is on our "must do" list. We are not interested in the shopping on 5th Ave. but want to see the best ruins and be able to spend the greatest amount of time there as possible.

 

I have read various threads that say there are some ruins as small as a pile of rocks and others that are bigger/more interesting; however, people have said they only get a few minutes at these ruins. I'm sure the info is out there; however, after searching thread after thread, I thought it may be better to ask. :)

 

What is the best, if any, excursion through RC (we want to book through the ship) that includes the larger ruins, interesting info from a guide, and possibly a place to purchase a souvenir? We are hoping for a 5-6 hour excursion, but could do 8 hour if needed to get what we are looking for.

 

Thanks for your help in advance!

[Eriksgarden]

We just went to Chichen Itza. From Cozumel, it is a 45 minute ferry to Playa del Carmen, then 2 1/2 hours to Chichen Itza. An incredibly long day, but truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[Clarea]

We just went to Chichen Itza. From Cozumel, it is a 45 minute ferry to Playa del Carmen, then 2 1/2 hours to Chichen Itza. An incredibly long day, but truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

So, are you saying that there are 6.5 hours of travel time for this excursion? How much time do you get at Chichen Itza?

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I have looked at this for my cruise next Feb. The trip from Cozumel is crazy long. I am not interested in that.

 

From Costa Maya you can take a trip to the Chacchaben ruins in 50 minutes. We are booked with "The Native Choice."

 

They get good reviews on Trip Adviser--but, I can not vouch for them. Do an internet search and look at the pics.

 

PS--We have bee to Altun Ah [sp??] in Belize. It looks like a similar site.

[SamFritz]

I LOVED our visits to the Chacchoben Ruins at Costa Maya. One of my all time favorite excursions.

 

 

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[alexkrn46]

we have done both,while the chichen itza was impressive the Costa maya ruins are great, I would opt for Costa maya

[Eriksgarden]

So, are you saying that there are 6.5 hours of travel time for this excursion? How much time do you get at Chichen Itza?

 

We left at 8am and returned at 6:30. The bus from Playa Del Carmen to Chichen Itza was 2 to 2/12 hours each way. So, 5 hours driving and 90 minutes on the ferry. We had about 3 1/2 hours at Chichen Itza.

 

Our guide was very knowledgable and fully explained the temples and ruins we were looking at. There were many vendors selling souvenirs. The bus was comfortable. Snacks, lunch, water, and soda were provided.

 

I definitely recommend this excursion!

[becko2000]

I have looked at this for my cruise next Feb. The trip from Cozumel is crazy long. I am not interested in that.

 

From Costa Maya you can take a trip to the Chacchaben ruins in 50 minutes. We are booked with "The Native Choice."

 

They get good reviews on Trip Adviser--but, I can not vouch for them. Do an internet search and look at the pics.

 

PS--We have bee to Altun Ah [sp??] in Belize. It looks like a similar site.

 

We used Native Choice to go to Chacchaben a year ago, and we were very happy with our tour. The ruins themselves are more than just a pile of rocks, there are many structures intact, and there are places to walk part way up the steps and take pictures. I highly recommend good walking shoes, sunscreen and bug spray. :D There was a small vendor area where you could buy things, and they seemed to have a variety of things to buy.

[FluffsMom]

Out of the various places we've been, our favorites have been:

1 - Chichen Itza - we went from Cancun (land-based vacation) not Cozumel - it was a long day but truly wonderful - we spent extra for a deluxe tour and we're glad we did - we had a smaller group, they carried water for us and it was HOT so we were grateful to have that water available, and we had more flexibility with what we did. This site has the most variety and historical information available out of all we've visited.

2 - Xcaret - also from Cancun so may not an option on a Cozumel port day - spectacular!! More touristy than Chichen Itza, but in a way that made it better because we found a lot more to do, like floating down an underground river and watching dances from native people.

3 - Tulum - From Cozumel while in port, we used the ship's excursion - nice ruins, not nearly as big as Chichen Itza but nice - Its unique feature is that it is on the coast - you can go down right to the beach or stay on top and enjoy the view and the breeze

4 - Lamanai - from Belize while in port, we used a private excursion - LOVED this one - also a very long day but it includes a fast fun boat ride up a river to the ruins and then the area is filled with spectacular howler monkeys who make it sound like you are going to meet a huge dinosaur just around the corner!

 

In Costa Maya we had one of our best beach days ever at Blue Cay and didn't try to get to any ruins.

 

Good luck!! Take bug spray and make sure you have plenty of water wherever you go!!

[Clarea]

We left at 8am and returned at 6:30. The bus from Playa Del Carmen to Chichen Itza was 2 to 2/12 hours each way. So, 5 hours driving and 90 minutes on the ferry. We had about 3 1/2 hours at Chichen Itza.

 

Our guide was very knowledgable and fully explained the temples and ruins we were looking at. There were many vendors selling souvenirs. The bus was comfortable. Snacks, lunch, water, and soda were provided.

 

I definitely recommend this excursion!

Thanks Erik.

[cruiseguy1016]

We used The Native Choice for our tour of the Chacchoben ruins while in Costa Maya. David Villagomez was our guide. Our kids were 13 and 16 at the time. To this day we all think that excursion was one of the best we have ever been on. We haven't been to ruins any place else so we can't compare but I promise you will not be disappointed if you choose Native Choice and Chacchoben.

[sojodave]

I didn't enjoy the ruins at Cozumel. But, if you do decide to go to the ruins in Cozumel, what ever you do, pay that guy a dollar that is offering mosquito spray. We said no thank you, returned 10 minutes later with a thousand bites.

[oneputt18]

One other thing to consider, the ferry ride from Cozumel can get really rough. So if you are at all susceptible to sea sickness, I would suggest not doing it.

 

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[DragonOfTheSeas]

We used Native Choice to go to Chacchaben a year ago, and we were very happy with our tour. The ruins themselves are more than just a pile of rocks, there are many structures intact, and there are places to walk part way up the steps and take pictures. I highly recommend good walking shoes, sunscreen and bug spray. :D There was a small vendor area where you could buy things, and they seemed to have a variety of things to buy.

 

Thank you, I have read Chacchaben is a very nice tour.

 

I think the OP is referring to a small Mayan ruin area that is actually on Cozumel. It is a small structure [i think it was a kitchen]--but, many refer to it as a pile of rocks. It is not very impressive. We visited this on an island tour several years ago.

[cc-riderslc]

Chachobben would be the place to go. Nice ruins with two pyramids, one on the lower level of the site and one on the upper level. You can't climb on them here but they are fun to see. Landscaped nicely around the walkways. There is a fairly large shopping center there if you are looking for some souvenirs. Also a snack bar. Not too long of drive out of the port to reach the ruins. Seems like about an hour. There really is not much else going on at Costa Maya. Some shops and a swimming pool. This port was built specifically for the ships so there isn't much tourist infrastructure around it. Good place to get out and enjoy some of the countryside and ruins. Have fun.

[OCruisers]

We just went to Chichen Itza. From Cozumel, it is a 45 minute ferry to Playa del Carmen, then 2 1/2 hours to Chichen Itza. An incredibly long day, but truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

Per above ... Absolutely ... Going to Chichen Itza which is the Best and the Most Famous is well worth your time.

LuLu

[ColoradoGurl]

In my opinion, having been to Chitchen Itza, I would not bother to do this excursion on a ship trip unles you don't think you'll ever be back in Mexico on a land vacation.

 

As an official "7-wonders of the world" It's definitely a "must see." I went with my daughter who was 12 at the time and we both thought it was amazing, but it was a loooong day. We were in Cancun on a land vacation, and even though they picked us up at 9am, we didn't get back to the hotel until 10:30pm, and we felt that our tour was slightly rushed. We saw a lot of the site, but we had to skip some of the ruins that we would have liked to look at, because there just wasn't enough time. We did stop at a cenote and also stopped for lunch, so that may have made it a longer day, but the travel time was about 6 hours round trip, so we spent more time driving than visiting the ruins, and I kind of wished I'd rented a car or gone on a smaller/private tour in order to have more time.

 

So, with that being said...its a great place to visit, but if you will ever go to Mexico on a land vacation, save it for that trip instead. If not, it's better to take the tour, even if it's rushed, than not to ever see it at all.

Edited April 3, 2016 by ColoradoGurl

[arm72]

Thanks everyone! You have all been most helpful! :)

[Tee & Chilli]

Thanks to the OP. I'm also trying to decide what ruins to visit.

[*CENSORED*]

We have done the Tulum ruins from Cozumel through royal. We loved it. I didn't know Chitchen Itza was available through that port. We did Chitchen Itza when we ported in Progresso.

 

 

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Edited April 25, 2016 by *CENSORED*

[wolfcathorse]

We did the ruins from Costa Maya with The Native Choice. I think our guide was David's brother/cousin, Ivan. Much more informative than the one we did in Cozumel.

[jspqld]

A while back we did Tulum as a ship exc from Cozumel. It was a great day. First a ferry then a bus. maybe about 90 mins each way but was well worth it. Spent some time at the ruins & then went to a great beach for lunch and a swim

[JimAOk1945]

We have seen Mayan ruins in Cozumel and Costa Maya. Both are fantastic experiences. You might get a better idea of what you will see if you view some pictures. I'll insert links below to the slide shows my wife made for her website with some of the pictures she took on our cruises.

 

Costa Maya - Kohunlich

 

Cozumel - Tulem

 

We booked both of the excursions through Royal Caribbean and were very satisfied. The guides on both excursions were very knowledgeable.

 

Cruising is a great way to explore the world!

[MaShesLookinOutMyWindow]

We did the Kohunlich ruins on our Carnival cruise. Not sure if RC offers excursions that go there. They were amazing - we had a very knowledgable tour guide and the grounds were huge. Kohunlich, according to our guide at the time, was one of the last places where they allowed you to climb the ruins. Most other places don't allow it. We got some amazing photos from various vantage points.

[Let'sGo!]

I know you've gotten lots of feedback here, but I also want to add in my 2-cents.

 

If you want to enjoy Mayan ruins as a cruise ship sponsored excursion, I would do the trip in Costa Maya this cruise.

 

However if exploring these structures is a true family passion - plan a trip to Cancun. You can spend a full day at Chichen Itza easily, and still not see everything. That is the one you see that has the big pyramid type structure. You used to be allowed to climb up to the top, but no longer.

 

During that same trip to Cancun, you can do a tour of Tulum and Xcaret. The ruins at Tulum are the ones you often see in Mexico travel ads, as they're right on the coast and very beautiful.

 

I wouldn't want to spend 6 hours of my excursion travelling -- just to see Chichen Itza on a cruise.

 

Ann