Mouth Breather
Contributor
I want to tour chichen itza on 11/18 but the guide I have used in the past is t around anymore. Anyone have a favorite? I don't want the tequila or cenotes tour or other nonsense.
chichen itza tour recommendation
- Thread starter Mouth Breather
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Rob9876
Contributor
We've booked a number of tours through this website over the years, and all have been good -- we have not done any Mayan ruin tours with them, but probably would if we decided to do that: Tour the Mayan Ruins of Cozumel
wnissen
Contributor
Where are you coming from?
OP
Mouth Breather
Contributor
Cancun, for the sole purpose of chichen itza and the flight after.
wnissen
Contributor
When I was there 4 years ago we took a bus to the entrance and then hired a private guide on the spot for MXN900 like Lorenzoid. Our guide was really good, though he should be, given that he makes more per hour than a cardiologist!
Unfortunately it looks like the ADO bus from Cancun is not running right now, or at least I couldn't buy tickets. Realistically, there almost certainly is a bus that connects in Valladolid, or worst case you could take a taxi (or Uber) from there for about MXN 300 each way. If you do go through Valladolid, this lonchera had, no joke, some of the best tacos and tortas we had in three weeks of travel. Lonchería El Paradero del Amigo Casiano · C. 41 285, Bacalar, 97784 Valladolid, Yuc., Mexico We booked a taxi all day for 2000MXN including gas, she spoke great English, so that is an option. It really helps if you speak some Spanish and know roughly what a reasonable price is.
Personally, I would book the 7:30 a.m. bus out of Cancún (centro, looks like they're not running from the airport) for MXN200 pp, just for comfort and safety, but I kind of like public transportation and am allergic to tours, which I know is not for everyone. I'm sure there is also a door-to-door tour you can book, but I am not familiar with those. As you probably recall, it gets really hot midday, so the earlier, the better. I'm curious whether it gets mobbed with cruise ship traffic like before.
The other option is to see the ruins at Coba. We went to Tulum, Chichén-Itzá, Uxmal, and Coba. Uxmal was by far our favorite, but Coba is closer than all but Tulum to Cancún and we liked it second best. A ton of fun to explore on bikes.
Unfortunately it looks like the ADO bus from Cancun is not running right now, or at least I couldn't buy tickets. Realistically, there almost certainly is a bus that connects in Valladolid, or worst case you could take a taxi (or Uber) from there for about MXN 300 each way. If you do go through Valladolid, this lonchera had, no joke, some of the best tacos and tortas we had in three weeks of travel. Lonchería El Paradero del Amigo Casiano · C. 41 285, Bacalar, 97784 Valladolid, Yuc., Mexico We booked a taxi all day for 2000MXN including gas, she spoke great English, so that is an option. It really helps if you speak some Spanish and know roughly what a reasonable price is.
Personally, I would book the 7:30 a.m. bus out of Cancún (centro, looks like they're not running from the airport) for MXN200 pp, just for comfort and safety, but I kind of like public transportation and am allergic to tours, which I know is not for everyone. I'm sure there is also a door-to-door tour you can book, but I am not familiar with those. As you probably recall, it gets really hot midday, so the earlier, the better. I'm curious whether it gets mobbed with cruise ship traffic like before.
The other option is to see the ruins at Coba. We went to Tulum, Chichén-Itzá, Uxmal, and Coba. Uxmal was by far our favorite, but Coba is closer than all but Tulum to Cancún and we liked it second best. A ton of fun to explore on bikes.
Rob9876
Contributor
Oh, if you will be in Cancun then there are other options through this site, which is run by the same people as the other site I mentioned: Chichen Itza Tours Way Cheap
wnissen
Contributor
I like to over-research things. I bought e-books for all the sites and learned about them myself. Plus we were there for 2.5 weeks, so the ruins were more spread out. Uxmal is a Pu'uc style, with that gingerbread stone, so I guess it looks distinctive to me. Chichén-Itzá has Toltec influence (had to look that one up). But I also can tell you the difference between Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns, so perhaps memory also plays a role. Chichén-Itzá is a really neat, huge ruin, but the crowding and tons of souvenir hawkers everywhere we went impacted the mood. Plus you couldn't climb the pyramid, which you could at Uxmal and Coba. Compared to the others, the best feature of Tulum is the location, IMO.
I have to say, that's not a bad price at all, and you can't beat the convenience.
Guille G
Contributor
Consider renting a car and the guide, if you want one, at the site. You can rent a car for around MXN 1k or less for a day right at the airport if you can drive a manual transmission - and it is really just a little bit more for a bigger automatic. In the end it is just a few hundred MXN more than a bus or taxi, and it is IMO much more convenient.
Hit Chichen early in the morning to avoid crowds and the scorching mis day sun. There is no shade. Coba, as someone mentioned, is also a nice visit as is Ek Balam in the same area.
Uxmal is the coolest Yucatán site IMO, but too far from Cancún. It is worth it to put a few days together for a trip to Mérida, and visit the ruins from there if you ever get the chance.
Hit Chichen early in the morning to avoid crowds and the scorching mis day sun. There is no shade. Coba, as someone mentioned, is also a nice visit as is Ek Balam in the same area.
Uxmal is the coolest Yucatán site IMO, but too far from Cancún. It is worth it to put a few days together for a trip to Mérida, and visit the ruins from there if you ever get the chance.
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