Tulum Mayan Ruins Express - Cozumel

[R&Ronashipagain]

This is an 8 hour excursion. It sounds interesting but a long day. Has anyone ever done this or a similar trip to the Mayan Ruins. Would be very interested in hearing your comments. I did go to the Cozumel port of call also but couldn not find any mention. Thanks for your help.

[cardbucfan]

We did this on RCCL several years ago with our kids. It was a very long day with a lot of time traveling and very little spent at the actual ruins. The ruins are beautiful and I think if you were vacationing in Cozumel or Cancun for a week it would be worth the time to visit but we were very disappointed with it as a shore excursion.

[DaveOKC]

We did this about three years ago. It was a long day and the ruins were interesting but not as large or interesting as the Chitz In. (spelling) ones we did out of Cancun. The ferry ride from Cozumel to the mainland was rough and many people got sick. I understand this happens alot on this excursion.

Given the cost, time involved and the ferry ride, I would skip this excursion, unless it is the only time you think you will be able to see Mayan ruins.

[cardbucfan]

Actually, the ferry ride back was the most entertaining part of our trip. The weather was really rough and a lot of people got very sick (that wasn't the fun part) but my kids and I treated it like a roller coaster and laughed a lot. We had to make noise to drown out the folks who didn't like it as much!

[willowoodf]

I think you are on our cruise - March 29 Westerdam? We are doing Chichen-Itza. It's a long tour, but we really want to go!

 

Mary

[Jean17]

We did this tour January 1st. It is a long day and a fair amount of time on ferries and buses. But if you've never seen Mayan Ruins it is definitely worth it.

 

Please take the warnings on the ferries though. Many, many, many people will get sick. My usual tricks of staying on deck and watching the horizon didn't work. All seating is inside and the windows were fogged over. I kept my eyes closed the whole 45 minute ride and was fine. My husband never gets sea sick. But boy I think we were in the minority.

 

We were picked up close to where our ship was docked, but on the way back they leave you off in downtown Cozumel and you have to take a taxi to get back to the ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did this cruise a few years ago -- we loved it!!

You really have to be into touring ruins -- which we are!!

Even thought it was not as great as other ruins we have been to -- it was different and just another pleasure.

[CTBob]

We did this excursion a couple of years ago. After a very rough ferry ride in which almost everyone got sick (Don't eat a big breakfast) there was a long bus ride and then when we finally got there we had only 30 minutes at the ruins. We couldn't go in or on any of them so I guess 30 minutes was enough. Not a tour that I could recommend.

 

Bob

[kyriecat]

Hubby and I did this tour through RC a couple of years ago. We aren't that into ruins but thought it was worth seeing once. We took a ferry to Playa del Carmen and had to walk about 1/2 mile to get to the bus. Our tour made a stop at a souvenier shop along the way for shopping/bathrooms. It was really crowded since several buses were also there. When we got to the ruins, there was a 5-min walk from the parking lot to the ruins. We went in Jan and it was 93 deg F that day so several people were complaining about the heat. Being from Texas, I'm used to the heat although 93 is a little hot for me in Jan. Our guide took us around the ruins for about an hour then we had 45 minutes to explore on our own before meeting at the buses. The area isn't that big so we had enough time to look around and make it back to the bus. There is a small area with some souveniers near the buses for those who want to pick up something to take home. We were given sandwiches, carrots, cookies, and crackets with bottles of water for lunch on the return trip. We had to walk back through Playa del Carment to reach the ferry.

 

I wouldn't to that excursion again unless we were traveling with friends who really wanted to go. It was fine once and I'm glad we went but I'd rather have beach time in Cozumel. It was very hot and there are mosquitos so bring your own water and bug repellant. The ferry ride is rough and many people became sick. I do not normally get sea sick but when people around me became ill, I started feeling queasy and took some Bonine, which seemed to help.

[RuthC]

I did this as a HAL tour about 6 years ago. It was a long, exhausting day, and it was far beyond my walking ability. I'm so glad I did it! :) It was worth the struggle to get around.

There was a tram that took me to the ruins; the ticket was collected on the return.

There was a fierce thunderstorm that came through before the ferry back. It was over by the time the ferry left, but the seas were still churned up. It was more than a bit rough. :eek:

I wouldn't have missed this tour for the world.

[jhannah]

We took it and loved it. We had much more than 30minutes at the ruins, plus we saw an aerial act after walking through the site. Really fascinating.

 

My DW just didn't care for the ferry ride over and back. ;)

[taco88]

I thought Tulum was impressive and the beach there is also great...and accessible. That said, the ferry excursion is a really inefficient way to get to Tulum. We had one day in Cozumel and one day in Calica. Calica is a non-destination, so we rented a car at the port and drove down to Tulum....takes about 30 minutes to get there, right down the main highway. Cheap and easy and you have lots of time to spend there. That may not be an option for you this time around, but if you plan to go back on another cruise, that's a better way to see Tulum. If I really wanted to see ruins and was going to invest 8 hours, I would go to Chichen Itza.

[Harry1954]

A couple of years ago we had signed up for this excursion, but prior to the actual date of the excursion, we were talked into canceling it. Others who had been on the excursion on previous cruises said that the bus ride was terrible, not air-conditioned, on lousy roads, and very long - further, you only had a short time (about 45 min) at the ruins for an eight hour trip, so they said you should weigh carefully before you dedicate a whole day to this. I only mention this because these folks were very adamant about their experience.

harry

[bigwally]

I thought Tulum was impressive and the beach there is also great...and accessible. That said, the ferry excursion is a really inefficient way to get to Tulum. We had one day in Cozumel and one day in Calica. Calica is a non-destination, so we rented a car at the port and drove down to Tulum....takes about 30 minutes to get there, right down the main highway. Cheap and easy and you have lots of time to spend there. That may not be an option for you this time around, but if you plan to go back on another cruise, that's a better way to see Tulum. If I really wanted to see ruins and was going to invest 8 hours, I would go to Chichen Itza.

 

From Calica and by car is really the best way to do it. I personally wouldn't really be interested in trying from Cozumel and by bus.

 

That said, I wouldn't go to Chichen Itza on a bus tour either. Not so much because of the time it takes to get there, but because I found it to be somewhat sterile and commercialized experience.

 

Coba is a nice alternative, if your ship has a tour going there, and represents what Chichen Itza was probably like 30 years ago, before the visitors center and the hawkers with souveniers. And at Coba you can still climb the pyramid (or at least you could October last)! Though the same caveats about doing it from Cozumel still exist.

 

There is a small ruin on Cozumel, San Gervasio, you might want to consider if your ship has a tour there (or even rent a jeep/car to get to it indepedently). It will give you a taste of the Mayan experience without fewer transportation inconveneinces.