Mayan Ruins in Cozumel or Costa Maya

[cant_w8_2_cruise]

Hello all,

 

I haven't cruised since 2019 and we're hopping aboard the Wonder of the Seas at the end of March. CAN'T WAIT!!!! My partner has never cruised before and would really like to explore some Mayan ruins.  Does anyone have a recommendation for an excursion or specific ruins in either port (Cozumel or Costa Maya)?  Bonus points if it can be a tour that includes snorkeling! The kids would rather snorkel in Cozumel, so I'm trying to decide if we just split up, or if we can do both?  

 

THANKS!! 

[Hoopster95]

2 minutes ago, cant_w8_2_cruise said:

My partner has never cruised before and would really like to explore some Mayan ruins....Bonus points if it can be a tour that includes snorkeling!

 

Kohunlich & Dzibanche Ruins... totally awesome!

A very long full day from the ship, long bus ride to and from, however an amazing day.

https://www.thenativechoice.com/tours/kohunlich-dzibanche-tour

 

Cozumel snorkelling is great at Chankanaab National Park... really short taxi from the peir, plus has tons of other things to do (zip line, beach time, dolphins, etc.... great for the kids)

[RobInMN]

We just did both of these ports on Allure last fall.

From Cozumel you can visit Chichen Itza. It's a long day and no time for snorkeling. It's the site by size and what everyone pictures. It's a long travel day. You first take a 45m+ ferry to the mainland, then walk to a where the bus leaves from, and it's a 2 hour bus ride. But unless you are doing a land vacation and staying inland, this is the only way you are getting there. So it's 6 hours of travel. My wife and I did this. My daughter and her BF (now fiancé) said "how long is the travel time? Yeah, we'll pass thanks". I think it's worth the trip, but my mantra is "Cathedrals, castles, forts, and ruins". 😁

 

In Puerto Costa Maya, we also used Native Choice and did Chacchoben Ruins. This was only 1 hour away. There was another option to do the one that @Hoopster95 recommended, but it was 2 hours away, and at the time I looked into these, I could not find any reviews that compared the 2 itineraries (and 3 sites). So, with nothing saying that the further site is worth the extra travel time, we went with Chacchoben. They do have a combo that does Chacchoben plus Seven Color Lagoon. I thought this was a very good tour also.

 

If you are only doing 1, and don't mind the 6 hour travel time, it's hard to pass on Chichen Itza. If the travel time turns you off, do one of the Costa Maya ones. 

 

[Colorado Buffalo]

One thing to add which could be a big deal.

 

The 45 min ferry to the mainland from Cozumel is well known to encounter very choppy seas and has been called the 'Vomit Comet' before. If you have someone in your group that gets seasick easily, I'd avoid and do the one from Costa Maya.

[ShipsandDipper]

Look at The Native Choice excursion company in Costa Maya.  We’ve used them twice and been happy. 
 

The further ruins are more interesting but there is construction on the roads right now that make the travel times unpredictable. Native Choice won’t offer those excursions until those issues are resolved, so you would have to take a ship’s tour. 

[Hoopster95]

11 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

Chacchoben Ruins.

 

If you are only doing 1, and don't mind the 6 hour travel time, it's hard to pass on Chichen Itza. If the travel time turns you off, do one of the Costa Maya ones. 

 

 

I've done Chaccoben... it's an underwhelming. Kohunlich & Dzibanche are so much better.

I feel that Chichen Itza is a horrid waste of so much time from Cozumel. 

[firefly333]

11 minutes ago, Colorado Buffalo said:

One thing to add which could be a big deal.

 

The 45 min ferry to the mainland from Cozumel is well known to encounter very choppy seas and has been called the 'Vomit Comet' before. If you have someone in your group that gets seasick easily, I'd avoid and do the one from Costa Maya.

I second this. I would not do it from cozumel where a ferry is required. Cozumel is a island. 

[RobInMN]

56 minutes ago, ShipsandDipper said:

The further ruins are more interesting

 

55 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

Kohunlich & Dzibanche are so much better.

Well.. shoot. This is the first I've seen anything from anyone that's been to both. Next time I guess. 😁

 

[cant_w8_2_cruise]

Thanks everyone! This is all helpful.  Why can I not find an actual itinerary with port times within Royal's site for our sailing?  6-7 hour tours scare me, but if we're in port for 8-9 hours, they make more sense.  But I can't for the life of me find port times?? 

 

[jean87510]

We did D and K through the ship rom Costa Maya as well as Chacchoben via Native tours. I preferred the Native Choice solely because of the travel time.  I would not recommend d and k together as we were rushed, had a poor guide, ride is long.  We have been to Tulum on a land vacation visit on our own and liked it but it was years ago.

 

In December, we are going to be in Progreso on a port stop and are actually visiting Chitchen Itza plus a Cenote also via the ship.  Its our 1st time to both port and landmark.  It appears to be slightly less travel than Cozumel or Costa Maya.

 

We have also looked into an excursion with a flight to Chichen itza.

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, RobInMN said:

 

Well.. shoot. This is the first I've seen anything from anyone that's been to both. Next time I guess. 😁

 

I did chichen itza and some others forget their name. So hot. All the Japanese had umbrellas for the sun for shade, not us. You can swim there and there is a restaurant with chips and dips and frozen margaritas I spent time in. In mexico chips and dip not free, just noting. In the usa they come free.

[ShipsandDipper]

4 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

 

We have also looked into an excursion with a flight to Chichen itza.

We did that once. It was great, though I was a little worried about taking a small plane. 
 

[jean87510]

42 minutes ago, ShipsandDipper said:

We did that once. It was great, though I was a little worried about taking a small plane. 
 

Nice!  Was it through the cruise?

[ShipsandDipper]

3 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

Nice!  Was it through the cruise?

No, we booked a private tour separately. 

[jean87510]

3 hours ago, ShipsandDipper said:

No, we booked a private tour separately. 

Prices have jumped since the restart.  

[ShipsandDipper]

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

Prices have jumped since the restart.  

Yes, I’ll bet they have!

 

6 hours ago, cant_w8_2_cruise said:

Thanks everyone! This is all helpful.  Why can I not find an actual itinerary with port times within Royal's site for our sailing?  6-7 hour tours scare me, but if we're in port for 8-9 hours, they make more sense.  But I can't for the life of me find port times?? 

 

You can check port websites to see the arrival/departure times of every ship (though note that ship’s time was an hour off Mexico time). 

[Coralc]

We call them the budget ruins, but you can always visit the San Gervasio ruins near Cozumel. When we went it was a ship excursion so there was a bus and I think a sandwich lunch. The whole visit takes about 4 hours. Maybe 30-40 minutes to get there, and around 2 hours at the ruins with a guide. They are not as fancy as Chichen Itza or Tulum, but San Gervasio is the closest ruin site, and impressive in their own way. 

https://travel.usnews.com/Cozumel_Mexico/Things_To_Do/San_Gervasio_Ruins_12581/

[Mum2Mercury]

9 hours ago, cant_w8_2_cruise said:

Bonus points if it can be a tour that includes snorkeling! The kids would rather snorkel in Cozumel, so I'm trying to decide if we just split up, or if we can do both?  

I don't think all of this is going to come together: 

- Ruins tours tend to be whole-day activities, and they don't tend to include snorkeling. Maybe you could manage snorkeling on a different island? 

- No, kids can't go on a separate excursion on their own.  

9 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

Cozumel snorkelling is great at Chankanaab National Park... really short taxi from the peir, plus has tons of other things to do (zip line, beach time, dolphins, etc.... great for the kids)

We just visited Chankanaab for the first time last fall and LOVED IT.  It's more of a beach stop rather than what you're describing, but it could be a great choice for you: 

- It's inexpensive -- about $20/per person + a $12 taxi ride each way. 

- Plenty of beachfront + snorkeling.  Also dolphins, a pool, kayak rentals.  

- They have a Mayan "trail" with replicas of huts, statues and more.  While it's not real ruins, we enjoyed it, and I'm sure kids would. 

- We enjoyed the sea lion show (no extra cost).  

- Food and drink is reasonably priced. 

- Clean bathrooms -- showers too.  

7 hours ago, cant_w8_2_cruise said:

Thanks everyone! This is all helpful.  Why can I not find an actual itinerary with port times within Royal's site for our sailing?  6-7 hour tours scare me, but if we're in port for 8-9 hours, they make more sense.  But I can't for the life of me find port times?? 

The port times should be listed on the website where you can make reservations. 

 

In general I dislike ship's tours, but -- yes -- 6-7 hour tours (and sometimes multiple forms of transportation in a country where I don't speak the language) should give anyone pause.  

 

One more thought:  We once did an ATV ride on Cozumel -- the ride was GREAT, and we stopped at several spots of minor importance to the Mayans.  Not fully "ruins" but still fun.  

 

 

Edited February 15 by Mum2Mercury

[cant_w8_2_cruise]

12 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I don't think all of this is going to come together: 

- Ruins tours tend to be whole-day activities, and they don't tend to include snorkeling. Maybe you could manage snorkeling on a different island? 

- No, kids can't go on a separate excursion on their own.  

 

 

 

My "kids" are 17-20 and while that's still too young to send them off on their own in Mexico, I'm also on team snorkeling, so the splitting would be between my partner and the rest of the group. 🙂

 

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to try to convince him that we'll go to Mexico someday on a land vacation and focus on ruins then!  We'll see how that goes! . 

Edited February 15 by cant_w8_2_cruise

[pyrateslife4me84]

Given that snorkeling is available on Coco Cay, Cozumel, and Roatan, why not focus on the beach at those 3 stops and go to Chacchoben in Costa Maya. It’s a relatively short stop there, anyway, and Chacchoben is close. 

[kitkat343]

14 minutes ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

Given that snorkeling is available on Coco Cay, Cozumel, and Roatan, why not focus on the beach at those 3 stops and go to Chacchoben in Costa Maya. It’s a relatively short stop there, anyway, and Chacchoben is close. 

Snorkling is great in Roatan. If anyone likes animals, you can visit the monkeys, sloth's and iguanas and zip line in Roatan and still snorkel there if you get a private tour.  

 

 We really liked Chaccoben with Costa Maya.  They're minor ruins, but we couldn't attempt anything more significant with a 2 year old.  The lunch the grandmothers made through Native Choice was also excellent.  

Edited February 15 by kitkat343

[Mum2Mercury]

8 hours ago, cant_w8_2_cruise said:

My "kids" are 17-20 and while that's still too young to send them off on their own in Mexico, I'm also on team snorkeling, so the splitting would be between my partner and the rest of the group. 🙂

 

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to try to convince him that we'll go to Mexico someday on a land vacation and focus on ruins then!  We'll see how that goes! . 

Ah, you threw me off with the word "kids".  

 

I first saw Mayan ruins on a land-based Mexican vacation -- this was back when they'd let you climb the ruins.  The steps were so narrow that we had to turn our feet sideways, and climbing was really hard.  

8 hours ago, pyrateslife4me84 said:

Given that snorkeling is available on Coco Cay, Cozumel, and Roatan, why not focus on the beach at those 3 stops and go to Chacchoben in Costa Maya. It’s a relatively short stop there, anyway, and Chacchoben is close. 

Excellent advice.  

[jean87510]

8 hours ago, cant_w8_2_cruise said:

My "kids" are 17-20 and while that's still too young to send them off on their own in Mexico, I'm also on team snorkeling, so the splitting would be between my partner and the rest of the group. 🙂

 

Thanks for the info.  I'm going to try to convince him that we'll go to Mexico someday on a land vacation and focus on ruins then!  We'll see how that goes! . 

Not sure how long you are in port but IF over 8 hours, do the ruins for 4-5 hrs then head over to Mahahual and get one of the boats there to take you out on a quick snorkeling tour for an hour.  Good way to cool off.  You may even ask Native if they can drop you off around there.  

[Jingerwoppy]

Cozumel - Chichen Itza. Just take something for the bumpy ferry ride.  

[Coralc]

Here are better photos of the ruins at San Gervasio. Really, if you haven't seen ruins before, these are easy to access. There is a lot of stuff there. More, than last time we visited. They have excavated a lot more: 

San Gervasio | Cozumel Parks

 

It was still early discovery with archeology students last time were there.☺️ 

Edited February 16 by Coralc