Mayan Ruins for the Elderly

[LarryL]

I had this posted on the Cozumel link but will try Cancun in hopes someone will reply:

 

There is no better resource for information than CC so I'll ask all of you. We are taking a land based vacation (weird huh?) just south of Cancun and we want to take my wife's 90 year old father to a ruin. He has expressed a desire to see one. Although he is pretty active and walks and swims almost daily, we don't want to wear him out needlessly. I have heard there is a tram at Tulum that will minimize his walking. I know there are other sites like Chichén Itzá that may be better. What are your thoughts, please.

 

Thanks

[VidaNaPraia]

I had this posted on the Cozumel link but will try Cancun in hopes someone will reply:

 

There is no better resource for information than CC so I'll ask all of you. We are taking a land based vacation (weird huh?) just south of Cancun and we want to take my wife's 90 year old father to a ruin. He has expressed a desire to see one. Although he is pretty active and walks and swims almost daily, we don't want to wear him out needlessly. I have heard there is a tram at Tulum that will minimize his walking. I know there are other sites like Chichén Itzá that may be better. What are your thoughts, please.

 

Thanks

 

The little train at Tulum serves only to minimize walking from the parking/shops to the entrance of the ruins. To see the ruins, you must walk, and IMO, they are not as interesting as some others. It is the iconic tower's location on the cliff overlooking the sea that is spectacular. The paths within the park were pretty rocky iirc, and the feature is really the gorgeous beach below, reached by a steep wooden staircase.

Perhaps you could arrange a trip to Coba where you can be pedaled around in 2 passenger pedicab type vehicles. Take a look at videos on YouTube to see how those ruins are set in the jungle. The rest of you still have the opportunity to climb a pyramid there. We liked it there. Our guide/pedaler was quite informative about Maya culture.

There are probably lots of commercial trips to Chichen Itza. The grounds are extensive, and there is a pathway into them, but the grounds are flat and grassy, and the buildings can be seen from a distance to save walking up close. Again, YouTube videos give you a good idea of the situation. You could also rent a car and stay one night in Valladolid, a charming Colonial city nearby.

 

Do be careful of the extreme heat/humidity, and keep well hydrated, and rest frequently. I hope I am still swimming and walking daily at his age, and wish you all a pleasant trip.

[LarryL]

The little train at Tulum serves only to minimize walking from the parking/shops to the entrance of the ruins. To see the ruins, you must walk, and IMO, they are not as interesting as some others. It is the iconic tower's location on the cliff overlooking the sea that is spectacular. The paths within the park were pretty rocky iirc, and the feature is really the gorgeous beach below, reached by a steep wooden staircase.

Perhaps you could arrange a trip to Coba where you can be pedaled around in 2 passenger pedicab type vehicles. Take a look at videos on YouTube to see how those ruins are set in the jungle. The rest of you still have the opportunity to climb a pyramid there. We liked it there. Our guide/pedaler was quite informative about Maya culture.

There are probably lots of commercial trips to Chichen Itza. The grounds are extensive, and there is a pathway into them, but the grounds are flat and grassy, and the buildings can be seen from a distance to save walking up close. Again, YouTube videos give you a good idea of the situation. You could also rent a car and stay one night in Valladolid, a charming Colonial city nearby.

 

Do be careful of the extreme heat/humidity, and keep well hydrated, and rest frequently. I hope I am still swimming and walking daily at his age, and wish you all a pleasant trip.

 

Thanks, so much, for the good information. I will have to do some more research on Coba. I would hate to see my FIL fall on those rocky paths.

[VidaNaPraia]

The only walking he would really have to do would be from the entrance to the pedi-cab stand, which you could hold his arm for. If he swims daily, I imagine he could manage this at a slow pace. Or maybe one of you could go ahead and try to get a pedi- cab to meet your party closer to the entrance. As I recall, at the small ball court, we got out to look around inside for a few minutes( and the ground there was pretty level), but everything else could be seen pretty well while seated in the bike. The other places where the guide let us out to walk and met us on the other side did not seem so important, as if your FIL would miss out if he was simply pedaled past. The pyramids and buildings that have been best conserved are quite visible without getting out, and the atmosphere of tumbled stones in the jungle of the rest of them, and the lovely White Mayan roads, are easily experienced in the bike.

I imagine CI could be seen if you brought a wheelchair, as the grounds might be OK ( level enough) for pushing there. Most of the buildings are on the edges of the same large open area where the big pyramid is located.

Best wishes for a good trip.

[Cozzette2]

I don't know if this is too late but we just got back from a land vacation to Play Del Carmen and had a great excursion to the ruins of Ek Balam.

They are a fairly new discovery and are quite incredible. Several in our group couldn't do the climb and that was fine. They brought a chair to sit in and gave us such a wonderful history lesson so we didn't feel as though we missed anything. It was uncrowded and so beautiful.

We went with an incredible tour company Flavios tours and were pampered beyond imagining.

We also went to one of the many cenotes [ under ground caverns full of water ] for a swim and them a fabulous lunch. It was an amazing day full of fun and information.

It is steamy but lots of water helps. I know your father would love Ek Balam.

[VidaNaPraia]

I don't know if this is too late but we just got back from a land vacation to Play Del Carmen and had a great excursion to the ruins of Ek Balam.

They are a fairly new discovery and are quite incredible. Several in our group couldn't do the climb and that was fine. They brought a chair to sit in and gave us such a wonderful history lesson so we didn't feel as though we missed anything. It was uncrowded and so beautiful.

We went with an incredible tour company Flavios tours and were pampered beyond imagining.

We also went to one of the many cenotes [ under ground caverns full of water ] for a swim and them a fabulous lunch. It was an amazing day full of fun and information.

It is steamy but lots of water helps. I know your father would love Ek Balam.

 

Did your tour have some special permission to drive in further than the regular parking lot? As I recall, the footing into the main pyramid was not easy even for an ablebodied older person like myself. The structures are located in jungle: bushes; rocky, narrow, uneven paths, etc.

I did make it part way up the pyramid (to the jaguar mouth sculptures), but needed help both up and especially down. There was some nice shade trees at the base though, to rest.

I would strongly NOT recommend this ruin for anyone not completely ablebodied, although it is quite the most interesting IMO of the four ruins (CI, EkBalam, Coba, Tulum) we visited on our first weeklong trip to the Yucatan.

[blue_water]

We stay in Playacar and thought the Tulum ruins were worth the visit. As mentioned the tram only runs between the entrance and the ruins and you have to walk to see the ruins. I didn't think the paths were that bad but there is a lot of walking to see the entire site. Some other choices are more compact and may fit your needs better.