Which Tour to do??

[natesfirewife]

I am trying to decide between doing the ruins at Chaccoban (sp?) or doing a Beach day at Mahajual (sp?). What are you two cents? We have chosen Snuba for Grand Cayman and a snorkel tour with Eagle Ray Divers for Cozumel. Is there time to do both? Our ship leaves at 4pm and the tour to the ruins is from 10am - 2pm. Are the ruins worth going to??

 

Misty

[nitrogenaddict]

From what I am told by the people who visit Chcchoben they say it is the better tour offered. It is only 1 hour away . It means you can visit the ruins and be back in time for your departure.

[natesfirewife]

Does anyone know if you can climb to the top of any of the temples??

 

Misty

[FloridaAdGuy]

Misty,

 

We were in Costa Maya on November 1 and visited Chacchoben, the Monkey Farm, AND Majahual during our stop (8:30A - 4:00P). Here's how we did it:

 

1) Walked through the Tourist Village to grab a cab to Mahajual for $3 each.

2) Did a quick walk through the town and went to the taxi stand.

3) Negotiated two cabs to take our six adults (3 per cab). We paid $90 per cab for the one hour trip to the ruins, waiting for us for 90 minutes, a side trip to the Monkey Farm (bring DEET!), and a return back to town (or they'd have taken us directly back to the ship if we'd wanted).

4) Spent an hour shopping and an extra hour eating on the beach.

5) Took a cab back to port for $2 each (or you can walk back using the path).

 

Admission at the ruins is $3/person and you should get a guided tour for an additional $5/person. They have snacks and drinks plus minor shopping at the entrance. Our guide was David and I'd HIGHLY recommend him. There is no fee to visit the Monkey Farm (actually an area that has many orphaned/rehabilitated animals) but most folks leave a few dollars/person as a donation.

 

BTW, you can NOT climb to the top of either temple but can climb onto the base. They're trying to prevent further damage and theft by limiting access.

 

Lee Sackett

Jacksonville, FL

[LKitt82566]

Where the taxis airconditioned for the drive to the temple? What type of cars are they? Just wondering because we are a 6 adults and 2 childrend that would like to go to visit Chacchoben and maybe the money farm. I was worried about how hot it would be the first of March doing a tour of an an hour in a car. I think I understood it is 1 hour to Chacchoben and hour back plus the 90 minutes at Chacchoben, right?

Linda

[nitrogenaddict]

Most of the cabs have airconditioning. Ask when you book your tour.

[DoubleDee2]

2 childrend that would like to go to visit Chacchoben and maybe the money farm.

Linda

Oooooh! I want to go to the money farm! ;)

[natesfirewife]

My husband nixed the monkey farm idea. Has anyone seen the movie "Outbreak"?? LOL. How is the road to the temples? Is it a maintained road?

 

Misty

[FloridaAdGuy]

The two taxis we had were air conditioned and very comfortable. It looked like most of the taxis were clean and well kept. The road is paved all the way out to the ruins with a gravel parking lot at Chaccoben. The driver had no problem going at least the speed limit of 110km the whole time. It took roughly 1 hour and the tour guide spent an additional hour showing us the buildings, plants, etc. We then stayed an extra hour taking pictures, shopping, etc. The side trip to the Monkey Farm probably added an extra 20 minutes roundtrip and we stayed for about 45 minutes. I was not worried about disease as much as blood loss as the mosquitos were TERRIBLE. Even with Deet-based OFF we were still bitten! Afterward, we were dropped back at the town and ate/drank/shopped. It was a MUCH BETTER experience than hanging around the saltwater pool at the Tourist Village for the day like 80% of the other passengers.

[Lynda S]

Are there always guides for hire at the ruins? I am trying to decide whether to try your way, or the ship's tour. We really would rather be on our own at the ruins, (as opposed to 2500 other passengers on a tour) but I would like to know what we are looking at and would not want to do it without a guide! Also, some have warned me that taxi's break down - did you have any worries about this?

Thanks!

Lynda

[FloridaAdGuy]

Lynda,

 

I got the impression that guides were always available. You may have to wait 5-10 minutes till the next guide is ready to take a group but you shouldn't have any trouble. I would DEFINITELY recommend getting a guide...it was at least 10X better with David than if we had just stumbled around by ourself or with a book trying to figure out what things were. He educated us on SO much more than just the buildings (plants, culture, Mayan lore, etc.). Also, the taxis looked very new and were well taken care of (clean). Where did you hear they broke down?

 

Lee

[echo]

Lee, sounds like you planned a wonderful day. I think I'd be exhausted with all that. We are leaving for Costa Maya in about 2 weeks. We probably won't get to the ruins this time. But we may try to get to the Monkey Farm and then relax at the beach. Your day does sound great though.

[BobbieSu]

It was a MUCH BETTER experience than hanging around the saltwater pool at the Tourist Village for the day like 80% of the other passengers.

 

 

Hey if they all stay at the village they won't be in Mahujual bothering me ;)

 

Su