Which ruins?

[Denise72]

We are going to Coz/Progreso in Feb on the triumph. We are planning to see some ruins in progreso. We are there 9-5. These are the options:

 

1. Uxmal- 6.5 hour tour, 1 hr 45 min trip one way. Hubby and I have been here and loved it, but we have 2 new cruisers with us as well. I wouldn't mind going again, hubby kinda wants something new.

 

2. Dzibilchaltun -  4 hour tour, travel time isn't listed? Doesn't look as impressive as the others, but leaves some time to explore

 

3. Chichen Itza- 7 hour tour, 2 hr 15 min bus ride. That seems very tight on an 8 hour port day. and a lot of bus time. But if it is worth it we are willing.

 

So I am open to any advice and input. What should we do?

 

P.S. Chichen Itza is also available from Cozumel but Progreso seemed like the better option.

[SlobMike]

14 hours ago, Denise72 said:

We are going to Coz/Progreso in Feb on the triumph. We are planning to see some ruins in progreso. We are there 9-5. These are the options:

 

1. Uxmal- 6.5 hour tour, 1 hr 45 min trip one way. Hubby and I have been here and loved it, but we have 2 new cruisers with us as well. I wouldn't mind going again, hubby kinda wants something new.

 

2. Dzibilchaltun -  4 hour tour, travel time isn't listed? Doesn't look as impressive as the others, but leaves some time to explore

 

3. Chichen Itza- 7 hour tour, 2 hr 15 min bus ride. That seems very tight on an 8 hour port day. and a lot of bus time. But if it is worth it we are willing.

 

So I am open to any advice and input. What should we do?

 

P.S. Chichen Itza is also available from Cozumel but Progreso seemed like the better option.

 

A few years ago I went to the ruins at Chichen Itza. I was awe inspiring. If I remember correctly, it was the capital of the area. The  views and photos you can take there are outstanding. Most of the other cruisers seemed to take the tours for the ruins closer to the port. So if you want less of a crowd, I'd say Chichen Itza. I don't remember the hike up to the top of the areas being overly difficult either. As for being worried about the time, no worries if you book through the cruise line as I'm sure you're aware. We booked the ruins when we were in progresso. Hopefully this helps a little bit. 

[SlobMike]

Also, I believe on the Chichen Itza tour we stopped by a ranch on the way back for a quick lunch. I'm not sure if this is still an option with the cruise line. The stop was superb and one of my greatest memories for all of the excursions I have been on over the years.  

[o-state girl]

Shoreexcursioneer has a Chichen Itza tour that is only about 6 hours long.  It's a little cheaper that what the cruise line offers ($55), and they guarantee that they will get you back to port on time or pay up to $500 per person to transport you to meet the ship at the next port.  

 

Another option would be to try the Dzibilchaltun/Merida combo tour through Autoprogresso.  Then you could get a little bit of ruin time (compared to Chichen Itza and Uxmal they aren't really that impressive) followed by seeing the Spanish colonial city of Merida.  This company is the same one that provides the shuttles up and down the pier in Progreso.  I think the combo tour is about $39.

Edited January 13, 2019 by o-state girl

[ABQrobin]

We did Chichen Itza on a land trip several years ago and it was amazing..... and in our 4 hours there, we still didn't see even half of it.  I can't imagine doing a cruise tour where you are only there an hour or two max.  It is huge huge huge, and so much to see.

It is a World Heritage site and one of the Great wonders of the world, but it would be your choice if you want to just see a little bit on a cruise trip.  Also there will be hundreds, yes hundreds of tourists there every single day of week.

 

Uxmal we did on a cruise recently to Progreso...it is almost 2 hour drive each way but WORTH it.  My video:

Everyone just chilled or slept on way back to ship, and we still had about an hour to shop at port before leaving.

Would love to go back.  So many LESS tourists there than Chichen Itza where bus loads arrive every few minutes.  There was only 1 other tour group there that day, and a few couples doing it on their own.  

[MississippiMom]

On 1/23/2019 at 8:55 AM, ABQrobin said:

We did Chichen Itza on a land trip several years ago and it was amazing..... and in our 4 hours there, we still didn't see even half of it.  I can't imagine doing a cruise tour where you are only there an hour or two max.  It is huge huge huge, and so much to see.

It is a World Heritage site and one of the Great wonders of the world, but it would be your choice if you want to just see a little bit on a cruise trip.  Also there will be hundreds, yes hundreds of tourists there every single day of week.

 

Uxmal we did on a cruise recently to Progreso...it is almost 2 hour drive each way but WORTH it.  My video:

Everyone just chilled or slept on way back to ship, and we still had about an hour to shop at port before leaving.

Would love to go back.  So many LESS tourists there than Chichen Itza where bus loads arrive every few minutes.  There was only 1 other tour group there that day, and a few couples doing it on their own.  

Are you required to walk up all of those steps at Uxmal?  My 81 year old parents really want to go see some ruins when we are docked at Progreso, but I worry that they will have a tough time with climbing steps without hand rails.

[ABQrobin]

There are stone steps all over the site and you walk a good mile total out and back.  You don't have to walk up the big pyramid towards the back, I didn't.  However, there is a lot of walking and some stairs as the site is not level.  

[grantbob]

Dzibchaltun is not far, maybe a 40 minute bus ride. It's not as big as the others but a lot less travel time. They also have a really nice museum on site if some in your group don't want to walk/climb/be out in the heat.