First time advice for Cozumel Ruins excursion with 11yr old triplets

[porthole21]

Hello all,

We are sailing BOS next November and are considering the Chichen itza vs Tulum Royal Caribbean sponsored tours. We are history buffs and the kids are too as of now, and would like to visit one of these. I have read the ferry to the mainland can be "rocky" but other than that do you have feelings on one vs another? The Chichen Itza trip says 6hrs and Tulum says 8hrs and includes beach time. The good, bad , and the ugly is welcome....

[ABQrobin]

If the Chichen Itza tour says 6 hours, then you have about 10 minutes there at the ruins, rest is travel time. It is much farther away.

 

The ferry ride is totally dependent on the sea conditions that day. If it is windy, the water will be choppy. I have done it (about 7-8 times total) with calm seas and with crazy rocking seas - only seen someone get sick once, and it was a kid.

[elou]

Chichen itza is fabulous. So much history. After you do that tour, the others can not compare.

[JohninDC]

With a pack of 11 year olds I would opt for Tulum - enjoy the ruins and a couple of hours on a nice beach! :cool:

[porthole21]

Thank you for the insight...both look great. Chichen Itza was the kids pick! Should be fun and wish it was this year.

[crewsweeper]

What other ports are you stopping at? Belize has good Maya ruins closer to the tender pier without the long travel time. Costa Maya's native Choice offers tours to local ruins with much more educational historical attention than any ship excursion.

 

How well do your trips travel on longer car rides? That's what it'll be like, especially coming back to Cozumel after seeing very little of Chichen Itza.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I've only gotten sea sick twice in over 50 years of cruising; one of those was on the ferry from Cozumel. Of course that depends on sea conditions.

 

I find it hard to believe that a trip to Chichen Itza can happen in only 6 hours unless flying there. It is a much larger and more spectacular site, of course, but much farther away.

 

Tulum is beautiful mostly because of its setting right on the ocean. The beach there looks nice, but I haven't used it. It can be very, very hot and the whole site could easily be toured in an hour, or less. With 3 kids I'd probably opt for this because of the beach (check to make sure you have enough time to use the beach), or do ruins somewhere else.

 

Either trip will be a long day.

[kitty allen]

Both are cool. Chichen Itza has better ruins, but Tulum is by the sea. So beautiful! If I could go back to one it would be Tulum.

[geeko1]

Tulum is unique in that it is the only known Maya fort but it is is indeed fairly small. Take swimsuits for the kids as there is swimming on the beach below the ruins.