Mayan Ruins From Calica ?????

[Tater1800]

I visited Chichen Itza from Progreso a few years back. The tour was of the main structures around and including the pyramid. I will visit Calica in December and I am considering another tour of Chichen Itza. Is the current tour different? Carnival's description suggests that it may be. Climbing of the main pyramid is no longer allowed so I will need something new for the trip to be worth it.

 

There are two other tours offered from Calica - Tulum and Muyil. I have visited Tulum. Can someone tell me about Muyil?

[bigwally]

I was just at Chichen Itza. I didn't hate it, but I did have problems with it.

 

My personal impression was that it would have been far more interesting 15 or 20 years ago. A lot of the tour seemed to be about what you used to be able to see and do before they had to so severely restrict access to the various buildings.

 

I was also bothered by the sheer number of vendors there. Some of the artisans making their own goods were interesting. But the hawkers selling crap that could well have been made in China I could have done without. In any event, there were too many and they took up too much of the site. I would have instead preferred they be all located together in just a couple of areas. But it seemed like we needed to run the gauntlet with a new batch after every few minutes of walking and, for me, their incessent sales pitches really took away from what we were trying to see.

 

Doesn't you ship offer a tour of Coba? Coba was awesome! It seemed to me that it is probably like Chichen Itza would have been back in the day - you can still climb the pyramids and there aren't any hawkers inside the park. Although smaller, I got so much more out of it.

[Tater1800]

Thanks bigwally,

 

There is not an offering for Coba. It could be one that is only offered from the ship. I'll do some checking.

 

Your feelings are somewhat like mine about Chichen Itza. A couple of years ago climbing was still allowed. There ware hawkers but not so many that the tour couldn't be enjoyed.

 

I visited Uxmal last year. That was a great tour. IMHO, this site surpasses Chichen Itza in many ways.

[cruzv]

Has anyone on this cruise been to the Tulum ruins? I was planning on taking a quick cab ride to Playa Del Carmen and then taking a colectivo from there to the ruins. I am guessing a couple dollars per person to get to Playa and then about $4 per person to get to the ruins. Does that sound right? Also, just wanted to make sure the ruins accept US dollars... I would be surprised if they didn't but I read somewhere they only accept pesos. Obviously I don't want to get there and then have to leave!!

 

If this is not the best way of transportation to the ruins from Calica, please give me some advice!! I am so excited to go and I'm sure Tulum will be breathtaking!

 

Also, I plan to get back to the ship the same way, so do you think there will be enough time to do some shopping in Playa? Also, are there plenty of colectivos waiting at the ruins to take people back, or should we plan on waiting a while to get a ride back? I just want to make sure we'll have plenty of time to get back to Playa and then back to Calica.

[taco88]

We rented a car at the dock in Calica and drove to Tulum. It's about 30-40 minutes south of Calica on the main highway. I took my GPS just in case, but it was pretty easy to find. You can reserve a car in advance with Ace, who runs the kiosk at Calica. Their cheapest cars run about $25 for the day. Jeeps are around $75.

 

http://www.acerentacar.com/landing/lp_pcmp03.aspx

 

Tulum was an impressive site and I recommend it as a nice, low-cost excursion. Take you swimwear. too. The ruins overlook a gorgeous beach, and you can easily walk down there and take advantage of the water if you have extra time before heading back to the ship.

[Snorkel2Much]

I visited Chichen Itza from Progreso a few years back. The tour was of the main structures around and including the pyramid. I will visit Calica in December and I am considering another tour of Chichen Itza. Is the current tour different? Carnival's description suggests that it may be. Climbing of the main pyramid is no longer allowed so I will need something new for the trip to be worth it.

 

There are two other tours offered from Calica - Tulum and Muyil. I have visited Tulum. Can someone tell me about Muyil?

We went to Muyil in March 2008 and had a great visit. Site was small enough to walk through in 2 hours, but still had very interesting features plus no crowds and no hawkers at all. We arranged a private tour through Edventures because no one (not even them) had a regularly scheduled tour. Coba would be an even better choice if you could arrange it.