Tulum, Mexico excursion

[cquick]

What are the general opinions of the Mayan Ruin excursion to Tulum, Mexico on the Western itinerary? I have never done it, but it looks interesting.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

What are the general opinions of the Mayan Ruin excursion to Tulum, Mexico on the Western itinerary? I have never done it, but it looks interesting.

It was interesting. The trip there is fairly long, and the "lunch" is basically a sub sandwich, fruit, chips (sack lunch). The trip on the ferry to the mainland can be an issue for some. It's about a 30-45 min trip, and, if the seas are high, can lead to sea sickness in those more prone to it.

They had a short (about an hour) visit to the beach there, so be prepared for the trip back to be a bit more smelly in the bus.

 

[hoffman1]

We did it last Sept. It was interesting learning the history of the site.
It had rained that morning and my husband slipped and fell in the mud on the trail leading back to the ruins. He wasn't hurt but our guide did not even stop to check on him. The guide kept walking and talking. An "are you ok?" would have been a nice gesture.
During our time there, the beach was closed. It was really hot with no shade as your guide takes you around the site. There was time to shop for souvenirs before getting back on the bus (a big store and some small stands).
There is no time to shop at the port area when you get back - it is an all day excursion. As mentioned before, lunch was pretty mediocre.
I enjoyed it but it isn't something I would do again.

 

[steves100]

We had a very nice time on it, yes the trip over was VERY rocky. They said it was extreme, guess not from the others. Not a trip for young ones, unless they like history. Beach I think was supposed to be part of the itinerary, but, due to the high surf, it was closed.

 

[Donna3271]

I am a history buff. I LOVED IT. I did not find the trip there particularly long. They made a rest stop.

I would do it again in a heartbeat. The Mayans were such an interesting, and ADVANCED civilization. It was awesome!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am a history buff. I LOVED IT. I did not find the trip there particularly long. They made a rest stop.

I would do it again in a heartbeat. The Mayans were such an interesting, and ADVANCED civilization. It was awesome!

We had no rest stop on the bus (mainland) part of the tour. We went directly from the ferry landing to the bus (about a 1/2 mile walk - uphill). Then the bus went directly to the ruins. Once at the ruins (well the gift shop/tourist area) we could use the toilets and shop some. Then we took a tram from there to the ruins.

I thought it was real pretty out there, but HOT.

 

[chirurgeon]

Any excursion that has HALF of the time used for some sort of transportation is RIGHT OUT. I would love to do A couple of the different excursions on the mainland, but I'm not spending all that time on a ferry and a bus. You can find me in the Rainforest Room or on a lounge on deck 4.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We enjoyed it, except the heat and humidity were stifling -- in December.

 

[Donna3271]

We had no rest stop on the bus (mainland) part of the tour. We went directly from the ferry landing to the bus (about a 1/2 mile walk - uphill). Then the bus went directly to the ruins. Once at the ruins (well the gift shop/tourist area) we could use the toilets and shop some. Then we took a tram from there to the ruins.

I thought it was real pretty out there, but HOT.

Shmoo... strange. We stopped at a little rest stop/store on the way there. The bus was a bit from the dock. I wouldn't call it uphill, but I run 10-12 miles a day, so it wouldn't faze me if it was. To each his own. I loved it.

 

[clten]

We did have a long walk from the ferry to the bus as well. It is a long ride to the ruins (but the Mayans didn't build for tourists' convenience). We did have a stop along the way at a shop -- seemed like their routine stop on the way as the driver knew everyone there. That's where they brought out the subway sandwiches. The ruins themselves were worth the trip. We had an excellent tour guide and really learned quite a bit. As others have said, it does get a bit hot while touring as there are no spots to get out of the sun. For just about everyone on our bus, the long ride back to the ferry was nap time. It does take up your full day. We wouldn't have had time to shop after even if we were on time. We were running late but there were people who insisted on stopping to shop in the mall. We headed right to the ship and I know we left soon after we got back.

 

[Donna3271]

We did have a long walk from the ferry to the bus as well. It is a long ride to the ruins (but the Mayans didn't build for tourists' convenience). We did have a stop along the way at a shop -- seemed like their routine stop on the way as the driver knew everyone there. That's where they brought out the subway sandwiches. The ruins themselves were worth the trip. We had an excellent tour guide and really learned quite a bit. As others have said, it does get a bit hot while touring as there are no spots to get out of the sun. For just about everyone on our bus, the long ride back to the ferry was nap time. It does take up your full day. We wouldn't have had time to shop after even if we were on time. We were running late but there were people who insisted on stopping to shop in the mall. We headed right to the ship and I know we left soon after we got back.

This was our exact experience.

To the OP... If you want to relax around the pool/beach/shop, this is not the excursion for you. My mindset was I did not know if/when I would ever be back there, and wanted to see this monumental piece of history. For US (perhaps not others), It was well worth it, and AMAZING to see what this ancient civilization built. My children loved it too (5, 5 and 8 at the time- a little history and culture thrown into a fun vacation never hurts. Their teachers were impressed when they shared pictures). They swam in the ocean later, and we purchased a book that was customized for my son. We ordered the book when we got there, and it was delivered to the bus when we departed.

This excursion is a matter of personal preference...

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Other than the ferry ride over and back, my family enjoyed the trip, and I would have no hesitation in recommending it. I had such a feeling of awe walking around the ruins and trying to imagine the civilization had once lived there.

The only real criticism I had, was that after the tour, we came back on the bus to find lunch from Subway sitting on our seats. Given that the temperature inside the bus was sweltering, and not knowing how long the sandwiches had been sitting there (they were warm to the touch), we decided to be safe rather than sorry and decided to skip the sandwich and stick with the chips and banana.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Other than the ferry ride over and back, my family enjoyed the trip, and I would have no hesitation in recommending it. I had such a feeling of awe walking around the ruins and trying to imagine the civilization had once lived there.

The only real criticism I had, was that after the tour, we came back on the bus to find lunch from Subway sitting on our seats. Given that the temperature inside the bus was sweltering, and not knowing how long the sandwiches had been sitting there (they were warm to the touch), we decided to be safe rather than sorry and decided to skip the sandwich and stick with the chips and banana.

They handed us our sandwiches (from a cooler) as we reboarded the bus after our visit to the ruins. Maybe it depends on the tour guide/driver how they handle it.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

They handed us our sandwiches (from a cooler) as we reboarded the bus after our visit to the ruins. Maybe it depends on the tour guide/driver how they handle it.

Hopefully it's a permanent change in the way they handle the food. We did the excursion back in 2011.

That being said, to this day, whenever my family is faced with questionable food, we look at each other and say "Don't eat the Mexican Subway". Processed meat and mayo sitting in a hundred degree bus for who knows how long - no thank you.

 

[turtle27]

This reminds me of old band trips. While the football team was eating at a steak house, we got hot subway sandwiches to enjoy on our way back home. We learned to be "allergic" to mayo early on. Oh and vegetarian. Even though we would have rather been eating steak too!

 

[Lorraine]

We did this last week. No additional stop and rolls handed out from a cooler on reboarding. Views over the sea were lovely but personally would not have taken a dip - some thought it strange that i did not want to! It was quite humid and we had about 2 hours to kill once we returned form the ruins to the shop area where we had been dropped off by the coach. We chose Starbucks for the iced coffee and free wi-fi but feel it could have been an hour shorter!

Good to see

Lorraine

 

[cquick]

thanks for the replies. I do like ruins and I am a history buff. I will bring an umbrella for shade. I don't want to go to the beach, or shop. I think this excursion is for me.

 

[Capt_BJ]

scenes from TULUM









you might want to be aware that TULUM is overrun by big iguanas .... if these harmless guys freak you out .... don't go. This one was over 3 feet long . . .

 

[Donna3271]

thanks for the replies. I do like ruins and I am a history buff. I will bring an umbrella for shade. I don't want to go to the beach, or shop. I think this excursion is for me.

You will love it!!! My reasoning was... I could not be so close to an ancient marvel without seeing it. Plenty of other time for beach/pool on a 7 night cruise. I did not find it particularly hot in Oct, but an umbrella is not a bad idea.

HAVE FUN!!