We love to travel to Mexico, and staying in the Hotel zone of Cancun is safe, but expensive and somewhat boring. We like to get out. There are two Mayan sites to see in the Hotel Zone, which are both worth it. Taking a tour to Tulum, Coba and Chichen Itza are all worth it. Taking the R1 or R2 bus into Cancun proper is well worth it. Food, drinks and souvenirs are half the price, and the culture is much more authentic than the Americanized Hotel Zone.
Manny was great. He was our driver as well as our personal guide throughout the day. He had great information and a book/phone full of photos. He also sprinkled in a few bits of humor along the way, i.e. the “Mexican Chicken”. The van was clean and comfortable. You can tell that they must clean the van each time because you track in a lot of dust on your shoes. He picked us (4 of us, mom, dad, 13 year old daughter and 16 year old son) up at our hotel, and drove us to Tulum, about two hours (our hotel is north of Cancun, so it may not be as long for others). A tram ride from our van to the entrance was a nice surprise. It saved a lot of unneeded walking, probably 0.5 to 1 mile each way. (We ended up walking just under 5 miles on this tour.) We toured Tulum and saw the major points of interest with a little bit of time to walk around and get family photos. You really enjoy the tram on the way back! Manny had cold water, pops and beer for us in a cooler in the van. We just grabbed them as needed throughout the day. Then we drove to Coba. The rickshaws were great. I think this was my daughters favorite part. Again, saving time so that you can see major buildings. The rickshaws take you to each place of interest and give you a brief description and then some time to walk around and take pictures. Then we drove about an hour to the cenota and lunch. The lunch is a traditional Mexican lunch. If you have picky eaters, they may have a hard time finding something. (We expected there to be a quesadilla or taco) They have chicken soup, salad, fruit, pastas, steamed veggies, pork/chicken and desserts. They also bring you chips, salsa and corn tortillas to your table. We did purchase five drinks for lunch and it was around $18 USD. Then we walked over to the cenota. They give you a key and you get changed, take a quick shower and put on a life vest. Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of a life vest because I know how to swim, but I actually enjoyed it because it gave me the opportunity to just float and look up. The view is incredible! Make sure to bring a water proof container for your phone!!! The best part is after two outside activities in the sun and heat, the cool water is so refreshing. I think it really helped energize us for Chichen Itza. Also, while we were swimming, Manny got gas, which again I appreciated so that it didn’t take up our time at a location. Then we had another 30 minute drive to Chichen Itza. We walked in and Manny gave us a great description of what makes El Castle so incredible. We also walked through the ball game area and then he showed us about the ball used in the game and obsidian. After, we walked further around El Castle and got some free time to look at a few more buildings. My daughter picked up a Mayan zodiac bracelet and my son got an obsidian bracelet. After, we got back into the van and rode 2.5 hours back to our hotel.
It was a long day, but I am so glad that we did this tour. We got to see three different Mayan cities with different architecture/gods. Plus, each location has such a different feeling (Tulum = port city, Coba = jungle is still surrounding it and Chichen Itza = nicely renovated, plus a “New” World Wonder). The only thing I was bummed was that you couldn’t walk up to the top of buildings anymore (we were able to do this 20 years ago on our honeymoon) but this has nothing to do with the tour. The tour was great and you won’t be disappointed.
Tips-Bring a plastic bag for your wet bathing suit/towel. For the girls, a brush was also nice to have if you plan to get your hair wet. Also, we reapplied sunscreen each time we went back to the van (the sun is very strong). Also, tip your rickshaw drivers. They worked pretty hard biking us around the site. Hold onto your hat at Chirchen Itza. The wind can be pretty strong, which felt nice since it was sunny and hot. Finally, if you do have a picky eater, in between the lunch and cenota, there is a little shop that sells hotdogs, chips, etc.