Tulum Mayan Ruins Excursion

[flip side of fifty]

I am thinking about taking the Tulum Mayan Ruins Express Excursion when my son and I are in the Cozumel port. Has anyone been on this excusion before? We are going in August so I know it will be hot, just wondering if the trip was worth the expense and time? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

[TonyRic]

I have done it twice and loved it both times. It is well worth the time and money.

[dirtgirl]

I did it on Sept. 1, and I have never been so hot in my life. If you can bring a portable battery-operated fan, do so! I also saw people that brought a wet face cloth from the ship in a baggie to cool themselves off. It is gorgeous there, but brutally hot.

 

DO NOT be late for the bus! Some of our group were, and they were left behind, Royal Caribbean excursion and all. We have to catch a certain tender back to Cozumel, and they will not wait. I have no idea if those people made it back to the ship or not.

[Oville]

It's an amazing place and well worth doing it at least once. We were there in early Sept and it was not horribly hot. You can take a dip in the Caribbean if you get too warm.

[Trainman-2]

Take the trip! It is well worth it!

 

 

As others have said, it will be hot and humid! We wondered while we were on the bus why almost everyone but us was wearing bathing suits. Here is why. A Beautiful beach behind the ruins in the photo above.

 

 

[conn cruiser]

Thanks for the beach/swimsuit tip. We are doing this tour in a couple weeks.

[jmf123]

What great photos Trainman2! I agree that seeing the Tulum Ruins is well worth it...and right on the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Our tour provided a cold drink, but bringing along water would likely be a good idea.

[hawaii6o]

We just did this excursion this past week while on Liberty of the Seas. It was a very nice experience to see the ruins and the view of the water is beautiful. The only one complaint I had was that we only got to be at the ruins for about 1.5 hrs!!!! The rest of the time is taking the ferry to Playa Del Carmen and then a bus to Tulum where the ruins are. They make a stop to use the restrooms and shop but not a long stop at all. So for a 6 hr excursion we only got 1.5 hrs at the ruins.

 

Any questions feel free to ask.

 

Jeanne

 

PS...... it was very hot!!!!

[ehfl]

I enjoyed it. It is VERY hot...even in December when we went. Drink plenty of water along the way.

The ruins were very crowded, but it's a beautiful location. You can always remove people from the pictures if you don't want to see the crowds.

[flip side of fifty]

Thank everyone for their reply! This was my first time in the forum - and my first question, and I can not believe how thoughtful everyone is by their reponses. Thank you so much!!! I will make sure we go and take your advice regarding the heat.

[Emiliqua]

I went on a tour of Tulum in November a couple of years ago. We were not on a cruise, but were staying in Playa del Carmen for 10 days (great time!)

 

It was VERY hot - but the ruins are amazing (although the buildings themselves are nothing in comparison to Chichen Itza) - and the view is spectacular. I agree with earlier posts - definitely bring a bathing suit (wear it under your clothes, or change in the restroom before going in to the grounds. The beach is wonderful - and the water is very refreshing! (You must take stairs down from the cliff to the beach).

 

We did this as a combo tour of Tulum and Xel-Ha (the snorkeling marine park). I do not know if this is available as a cruise excursion - but Xel Ha is great, as well - I have been there twice.

[dirtgirl]

I think that the people that missed the bus lost track of time at that beautiful beach, so beware!;)

[Future Cop 1987]

I think you'll enjoy it. We did it when we were on Monarch back in 2002, but its been there for thounsands of years so Im sure nothing changed. Have fun

[Linda/Ohio]

Well worth the effort.

 

1) The ferry ride can be rough. If you are at all prone to seasickness--be prepared. We had primary and secondary pukers on our trip.

 

2) The night prior to the trip we asked our room steward to freeze 2 bottles of water for us (we had them with us). This saved the day for us. The cool drink offered on the bus was really barely cool soda. No ice--not a good place to drink the water. If you asked the place on earth where I ever felt the warmest--it would be Tulum.

[dirtgirl]

Even my legs were sweating!:o

[Priusprof]

We have done this excursion twice and the posts that indicate it is hot are not kidding. We did this excursion in the winter and it was hot! We did it once in the summer and I can't begin to describe how hot it is at Tulum. Any device you can bring to cool off is recommended. Fan, frozen water bottle, chemical cooler, you name it...bring it!! Ride the tram from the lot as opposed to walking because its HOT!

Also, be on time for the bus because they absolutely will leave you there. It's a long way to Playa del Carmen to catch the ferry.

We have never had really rough seas on the ferry but if you have motion sickness issues don't take this excursion. Depending on the weather the ferry ride can be bouncy.

[betsyl]

We've been to Cozumel twice and still haven't been to Tulum, but the reason is that we've heard it's SO HOT - one of my friends told me it's the HOTTEST PLACE SHE'S EVER BEEN IN HER WHOLE LIFE! My husband is EXTREMELY hot natured so we've decided to skip that tour altogether.

[EtoilePB]

Well worth the effort.

 

1) The ferry ride can be rough. If you are at all prone to seasickness--be prepared. We had primary and secondary pukers on our trip.

 

We went in March, 2007 (Jewel of the Seas) and yeah, that ferry ride is... phew. I managed, by sitting very quietly and focusing very hard, not to toss my cookies but several other persons on our ferry were, shall we say, not so focused. It's not so much that the seas toss the boat around, as it is that the entire inside stinks of diesel fuel. The combination is what got me.

 

That said, though, I second all the others that it was gorgeous and well worth the effort. In mid-March it wasn't too hot but definitely the warmest place we went. I personally love the historical excursions and I just ate it up. I still use a photo from there as my desktop PC background, and everyone thinks it's one of those "too good to be true" Caribbean shots that come with. ;)

[flip side of fifty]

Well, I thank everyone for so many tips!!!!:)

 

I think we will tough it out with the heat - but we will wear bathing suits, bring ice water and ice cloths in bags. I am a little more worried about the ferry and getting sick :eek: !

 

But I will definitly not be late for the bus!!!!

 

Thanks again,

[jmf123]

Well, I thank everyone for so many tips!!!!:)

 

I think we will tough it out with the heat - but we will wear bathing suits, bring ice water and ice cloths in bags. I am a little more worried about the ferry and getting sick :eek: !

 

But I will definitly not be late for the bus!!!!

 

Thanks again,

 

Perhaps a bonine (similar to dramamine) will do the trick, that's what works for me as a preventative. And good idea from Linda/Ohio to freeze the bottled water the night before!

[Dremac373]

Hot yes but you will love it, I had more pix but PC problems lost them these a re a few I found that were on disc..

 

Steps from ruins to beach:

 

 

Temple:

 

 

Playing with the camera:

 

Map of the ruins on Tulum:

 

[ksmaage]

As you can see from my signature line, it has been many years since we visited Tulim on Majesty of the Seas. Things may have changed since our visit. We did not like Tulim mostly because we had little time to explore the ruins. THe ferry ride and bus ride took quite some time. Then when we got there, the tour guide assigned to our bus took our group onto the grounds and had us all sit in a circle where for the next hour he talked ad talked and talked about the inhabitants and their culture. Now I enjoyed hearing about the culture but after one hour on site and we had yet to move beyond the main entrance to the ruins, we finally got up and wondered off. I noticed that all the tour guides had their groups doing the same thing. The group we got up from was finally released about 20 minutes after we wondered off.

 

It would have been better if the tour guide actually toured through the property with us to tell us what we were looking at.

 

As I said, my experience is many years old. Perhaps a more recent cruiser can let you know if they still do it the way we experienced it.

[Emiliqua]

In regards to the heat - Tulum probably isn't any hotter than being anywhere else in that general area. It is on the coast, so you will get a breeze - and can dip in the ocean. Chichen Itza is WAY hotter - it is inland and surrounded by jungle.

 

Enjoy the trip - you will love it!