Coba Pyramid or Chichen Itza question

[Traveling man 1673a]

Ok, my wife and I are going in March 2017 on a Royal Carib Cruise stopping in Cozumel. Looking at the excursions for this stop the two that interest us are the Coba Pyramid & Cenote or the trip to Chichen Itza. Both trips I note are 8 hours and the price for Coba is a bit less, but for the price difference it does not matter to us.

I have a few questions and welcome feedback from other before purchasing either trip.

My first biggest question is how much time will we have at Chichen Itza and how much time at both the Coba Pyramid.

Second question is what is the deal with cameras. Can I use my digital camera at Chichen Itza, there was some crazy comments about taking my camera (which I won't do) at the entrance. If I had to pay say $10 US to bring it in - okay.

Third question is are the crowds that bad at Chichen or are they bad at both sites. I've read where Coba Pyramid was a lot less people.

Fourth and last question - what is the swim part at the Cenote like. With my digital camera do I have to swim or can I get some good pic's without swimming or what do I do with my camera.

I certainly welcome feedback and how your experience went with either location.

Thanks,

Ed

[ABQrobin]

I have done both... but not through the cruise lines, we did them when staying on Cozumel for a week land vacation.

 

Both require taking the ferry to Playa del Carmen.

From there you take a bus.

 

Chichen Itza is farther away, probably twice as far, so more time on a bus.

Coba is off in the jungle southwest of PDC. It is remote, very remote.

 

Chichen Itza is gigantic, and is a World Heritage site.... there will the hundreds and hundreds of people there. They bring people from all parts, Cancun, and other cities there, so the parking lot may have 20 full sized buses in it, as well as a hundred cars. There will be a hundred vendors set up at the door outside as well as those who pay to sell goods inside the park. Yes, it is bigger and more impressive. That is why there are so many people....

 

Coba has only got a handful of buildings, including the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan. There may be 1 bus and a dozen cars in the parking lot, maybe 1-2 vendors. We haven't been there in 15 years, but at that time there was no food or water to purchase inside the park. There are dozens and dozens of structures being dug out by the archaeologists there, but most are still covered...it is a work in progress. We didn't do the cenote when we went.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Now for my editorial comments.... our favorite site, from a cruise ship, was Uxmal (port of Progreso) and Xunantunich (port of Belize).

If going to Yucatan on a land vacation, rent a car to go see Chichen Itza, get there when they open at 9am, pay for a private tour guide, and spend 5 hours in heaven. It is amazing.... but crowded starting around 11am when buses roll in.

[msmayor]

Can't comment on Chitzen Itza...haven't been there...but my husband and I did do the Coba ruins tour through RCL when we cruised in March 2015. We LOVED this tour...

 

My husband wanted Mayan ruins, I was not that interested and booked this really for him. I was so glad we went and now want to see more!

 

When we boarded the buses after taking the ferry to Playa del Carmen, we were given bottled water and granola bars to snack on. The bus ride was long, but the tour guide gave us a lot of background information on the Mayans that enhanced our experience. Once we arrived at the site we were given the option to walk around on our own or stay with our guide...most of us stayed with him and he walked us to the major areas of the site and explained exactly what we were seeing (what the structures were, how they were used, etc.). It was really a great tour. He then gave us about 45 minutes to wander on our own which was when we went out to the pyramid and my husband climbed to the top.

 

If I recall correctly, there was a small snack stand there at the entrance where you could get a beverage and small snack. We boarded the buses and the guide was there to answer questions, but for the most part we relaxed for the ride back.

 

Our excursion included a buffet lunch back in Playa del Carmen after we finished at Coba. It was at a restaurant called Alux...actually IN a cave...very neat place. We were served a nice meal of chicken, pork, rice, vegetable and salad...plus soft drinks or water. Once finished, we headed back to the ferry for the trip over to Cozumel.

 

We were the very last excursion to return to the ship. Once on board, we dropped lines about 20 minutes later and were on our way.

 

It was a long day...we purposely planned a late meal at Johnny Rockets as we knew we'd be tired (plus the late lunch). It was well worth it though.