Mayan ruins tours from Cozumel

[robint]

okay, so what are the names of the companies that run the tours from Cozumel over to the mainland to see Chichen Itza, Coba, etc? We did a Coba/Tulum bus tour back in 2000 and liked it but I can't find that company's website.
Flights and bus tours are what I am needing to compare prices. I know ferry/driving to sites is cheapest, but my dive buddy/husband/financial backer wants the bottom line before he hands me his credit card.

robin

 

[Jupiter31]

Actually, there are ruins on Cozumel - located in the interior of the island.

Warning you in advance, its not Chichen Itza, or even Tulum, but if your into that stuff, its worth an afternoon.

I went to Tulum once and that was enough for me, but I did it from Cancun - to leave the Island, take the ferry, get on a bus, etc - not for me.

On a more serious note, if that's really your thing (vs more time doing some of the best diving anywhere) - I'd fly info Cancun, do the ruins, then go to Cozumel - I would take the ferry from Playa del Carmen when the tour was finished (maybe they would drop you off - worth an ask) to Cozumel. I would bet they would even pick you up at the airport.

In other words, I would not leave the island to do a day trip. But if ruins are your thing, check out the ones on Cozumel when you are there.

 

[Jupiter31]

PS Your videos og Roatan were really excellent; but that viz : (

 

[robint]

PS Your videos og Roatan were really excellent; but that viz : (

thanks. I have some new Bonaire videos if you want to see good vis.
Yes, we have been to San Gervasio on Cozumel already but I am looking for the tours over to the mainland to ruins. I sorta have a negotiation point with my hubby about returning to Cozumel to dive so I need info. Anyone know?

robin

 

[boomer68]

Here is a link to a company that offers tours. I have not used them, but here you go.

Cozumel Parks - Chankanaab, Xcaret, Xel Ha

 

[driftwood]

Hi Robin,

Here is a company that I can highly recommend, Yucatreks. They are based in PDC and should be able to pick you up close to the ferry. They use vans instead of a bus so it more like a day trip with friends. Mitch is a super nice guy who found that he had better hours, and money, running tours than teaching scuba in PDC. Easiest place to find them is on the Playa del Carmen, Mexico's Virtual Guide Book : Playa.Info site. The cost for a full day is around $110pp.

For plane trips to the ruins, we have used Airplane Workshop Mechanics Airplane Tours from Playa del Carmen to Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins, Holbox. It is the Cadillac way to get to CI. They will have you back in Coz around 2pm. Talk to them about altering the flight plan so that you fly from CI to Tulum and then up the coast to Coz. Costs more but you get to see Coba, Tulum and the coast. When we took the trip, 2000, it was a lot less expensive than it is today, $125pp, and loved it.

 

[robint]

thanks boomer and driftwood! That is exactly what I needed.
The flight to Chichen Itza is expensive, like everyone says, ~$300pp but might be the easiest way to do the trip. The bus trip looks like ~$100pp but a long day and ferry is extra.

The bus trip we did back in 2000 to Tulum/Coba was around $85pp which included the ferry from Coz but no meals and only one rest stop. We ended up tired and hungry and frustrated as we only had about an hour at each place. From that negative experience I am very reluctant to do a bus tour again....... however, they all seem to be better organized now with stops for shopping and food. (I know all the people on our bus cared more about shopping than they did about the ruins!)

This gives me lots of great info to think about and decide how we organize a trip.

robin

 

[Scubabun]

Great timing Robin! Just what we wanted to know! Since we have a couple extra days, we wanted to spend one day in Tulum.

What about renting a car and driving to Tulum? Has anyone done this and how did it work out?

I agree, bus trips can be kind of iffy and you have to follow thier schedule.

 

[sharky60]

Look up Lomas online Transportation, Tours & Hotels in Cancun Mexico: Online Reservations They book the trips through most of the hotels on Coz, or used to.

It's been several years since we have taken an organized tour, (I go on my own nowadays), but we booked both our Chichen Itza tour and our Tulum/Xel Ha tours through them at the activities desk at La Ceiba when we stayed there.

the Chichen Itza tour we did was the flight tour where your fly from Coz to Chichen Itza "airport", which is more of an "air strip", then you get in taxis to the archeological site, about 5 min away, and a guide gives you a tour of the site. You get much more time on site then you do on the bus tours.

the tour to Tulum we did was a bus tour. First we went to from Playa del Carmen to Tulum for a guided tour, the bus stopped once on the way down at a road side souvenier shop for "pottty breaks" and such. Then they took us to a resort along the coast for lunch and then up to Xel Ha for some snorkeling. Xel Ha was VERY dissapointing, the vis was only about 7' and not much to see. We would have much rather spent more time at the archeological site.

May I make a suggestion, for about the same price as a tour you could get an early start, (you will for the tours anyway), take the ferry over to Playa del Carmen and rent a car, then drive yourself to Coba first.

Hire your own personal guide for about $20-25 to take you through the site. You should still have time, if you are up to it to make Tulum and do the same thing. Sometimes you can sort of "blend in" with an organized tour group and get some of thier tour guide's info, but Tulum's buildings are very well marked and a guide is not necessary there.

On the road between Tulum and Coba there are 3 small Mayan villages, in the second one, I belive it is, you'll find a Mayan style hut along the road, (on the right if you are headed to Coba), with Mayan heiroglyph carvings out front. Skip the "tourist shops" and stop in there for some very unique souveniers to take home.

The artist that owns the shop takes real Mayan heiroglyphs out of archeological site books and carves them into limestone slabs, as well as making small replica ceremonial statues and other replica mayan artifacts. I have stopped there several times and own some very nice pieces he has created.

 

[driftwood]

thanks boomer and driftwood! That is exactly what I needed.
The flight to Chichen Itza is expensive, like everyone says, ~$300pp but might be the easiest way to do the trip. The bus trip looks like ~$100pp but a long day and ferry is extra.

The bus trip we did back in 2000 to Tulum/Coba was around $85pp which included the ferry from Coz but no meals and only one rest stop. We ended up tired and hungry and frustrated as we only had about an hour at each place. From that negative experience I am very reluctant to do a bus tour again....... however, they all seem to be better organized now with stops for shopping and food. (I know all the people on our bus cared more about shopping than they did about the ruins!)

This gives me lots of great info to think about and decide how we organize a trip.

robin

I did say that it was the 'Cadillac' way to see the ruins, but it sure is nice to be back in the early afternoon. The question you have to answer is, how much is your vacation time worth? Some people will chase a bottle of tequila at the expense of going through a timeshare tour.

Your example of a 'bus' tour is exactly why I recommended Mitch. They run a single van each day with 12 people and have really broken up the day nicely. With a small group, you can stop for lunch, hit a nice cenote and get to know the people you are traveling with. That is something you cannot do with 50 people on the tour.