Ruins at Costa Maya or Cozumel?

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

We did Tulum out of Cozumel. It was a great day. Very hot in August. I think Chechenitza would not give you enough time at the site from Cozumel. Its a long drive from Cancun.

[Jase0581]

On another cruise line we did both Kohunlich and Dzibanche from Costa Maya. This was in January of 2015 and we were able to climb pyramids at both sites at that time. I would recommend this if there is a ship excursion that combines both as they are fairly close to each other. It was a long excursion (about 8 hours).

[Eslader]

We really enjoyed Coba. It's a great ruins site with lots of buildings including two very well-preserved ball courts. It's also one of the few where you can still climb the pyramid to see the temple at the top. Definitely book through the ship - it's a water taxi to Playa del Carmen plus a 10-15 minute walk to the bus, plus a fairly long bus ride (though not nearly as long as the one to Chichen Itza). Too many variables to risk getting left behind.

[somerandomidiot]

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.

 

yep, all I remember from the ruins were the mosquitoes. I didn't understand why people scrambled to get into lines for mosquito spray but i soon found out!

[Fouremco]

After considering all of the options, including ship versus private excursions, we decided on HAL's Tulum excursion last March. It was a long but thoroughly enjoyable day, with lots of time at the beautiful ruins in Tulum, then lunch and a couple of hours to swim, relax and enjoy a great beach at a small resort just a short drive from Tulum.

 

We shared our ferry from and back to Cozumel with passengers on the Chichen Itza excursion. While they found the ruins there to be bigger and more imposing than those in Tulum, they had far more driving to do and didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm for their outing as those who had picked Tulum.

[arm72]

Thanks everyone! I think we're going with Chachobbean for this trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks everyone! I think we're going with Chachobbean for this trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks for the update. Have a great cruise!

[CntPAcruiser]

Thanks everyone! I think we're going with Chachobbean for this trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I think it's been mentioned above, but worth repeating. Native Choice was an excellent non-ship guided tour option for Chacchoben. We booked online with them in advance, got there before the crowds, and felt like we the only ones there for much of the tour.

Edited May 28, 2016 by CntPAcruiser

[GottaKnowWhen]

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.

 

 

I first went to ChitchenItza as a teenager hitchhiking through Mexico - spent 3 days. Went back about 10 years ago, my wife and I rented a car in Cancun and drove out for the day. Totally agree that it is worthwhile, also that it is worth spending ample time. If on a cruise, I would probably look into a trip to Coban instead, then returning for an extended land vacation.to include more time at Chichin

[Robinsoncruiseso]

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.

 

I will vouch for them. We had 8 on our tour and two guides. It was wonderful. Our guide made sure we had time to see the most popular sights before the 14, yes 14 full size buses from the ship's tour arrived. We had plenty of time to shop at the ruins and the van pulled over for some fresh pineapple on the way home.