Mayan Ruins - Cozumel?

[Wojima]

We have just book a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise and have begun to determine which excursions we would like to book when the time comes. We are very interested in seeing Mayan ruins in Cozumel but would like to know which excursion would be the best one. There is one that is approx 7.5 hrs which includes 4 hrs total of travel time between the ferry and bus ride. Then there are some that are shorter but don't seem as elaborate. I just don't want to spend all that time traveling to and from to be disappointed. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks

 

[luvmyprincess]

You beat me to this question !!

We have been wondering the same thing, but also,what you "actually" get to see of the ruins ?? I'm anxiously waiting your responses!!

 

[Marla Hellwig]

We did this the NYE cruise (2008) weather was great, warm - about mid 80's

We booked thru DCL

We left the ship about 9:30 a.m., walked from ship down pier to the ferry - 45 min ferry ride (and it was rough seas), off ferry - all got stopped to have family pictures taken, lined up into our tour groups, 5 minute or so walk to the parking lot (no stopping along the way) where the buses were parked.

About a good hour bus ride, short stop at a roadside store - what I call a toursit trap - you could use the facilities - purchase trinkets - as we boarded the bus we got our lunch - Subway sandwich, chips, muffin and water, and then maybe 30 minutes to the ruins.

Our tour came with wrist bands to ride up to the ruins,

up the stone stairs

through a stone tunnel and the ruins

This is the only ruin that was built by the ocean - they still don't why for sure

Our guide spent sometime telling us about the ruins which was pretty good

You get some time to walk down about 3 flights of stairs to the ocean, walk the ruins some more, there was one little gift shop had some ruin merchandise, bottled water and bottled pop, restrooms, a line of street vendors - very pushy vendors - and at your appointed time, back to the bus for the ride back to ferry. Our ferry ride back was very very rough and I think we were back on board the ship between 4 - 5. After the ferry ride back, we didn't feel that good to explore anymore

The stone steps up to the ruins are rough stone and no handrails - but you could use the wall going up.


For the stairs up and down to the beach - think of 3 flights of wood stairs - they did have hand rails - so many stairs, a platform turn slightly more stairs - another platform etc

There was very little shade - at one point I was standing under a little tree for a few minutes

Our bus had a potty at the back and the ferry does have potties also

Hope this helps

 

[Tinked]

I did the shorter ruins excursion on Cosumel. While I think going to the mainland to see ruins would be fantastic I did not want to spend all that time traveling. The trip I took was interesting with a lot to see but none of it was very elaborate. Mostly just foundations with drawings and explanations. The other stops were OK. Driving along the coast was beautiful and very scenic. We stopped in this little town where they have big celebrations but not when we were there. It was mostly a stop to buy local jewelry and although the guide suggested you go in a particular shop because he said they take credit cards, they didn't. The guide was interesting throughout the bus ride. And I felt that I got my money's worth, it just wasn't very spectacular as I know some of the ruins on the mainland would be. I guess I got what I paid for within the time I wanted to allow. How this helps.

Sorry, I haven't figured out how to paste pictures yet.

 

[clten]

I've done both the Tulum ruins (on the mainland) and the Cozumel ruins. If you are really into it and want to see good ruins and have a good description, the time to get to Tulum is well worth it. It is a long travel time (and the ferry can be very choppy and will be cancelled if the water is really rough). But when you get to the ruins, you have a guided tour through them and you walk through quite a bit of them. (We had a great tour guide and learned quite a bit about Mayan culture as well as the ruins.) And everyone has a good nap on the way back to the ship!

We also did the Cozumel ruins a few years ago. When we went, they were "under construction" which is a bit weird with ruins. But our guide explained that there really weren't a lot of complete ruins there and that they find stones and reconstruct what they think was there. So after being at the Tulum ruins, these were a disappointment. IMO this trip is good for someone who just has a passing interest in the ruins or Mayan culture or just wants a whole overview of the island of Cozumel.

 

[Marypoppinsiam]

If you have kids I wouldn't do the ruins in Cozumel. My DH and I did this on our own and we both agreed that we were happy our DS 10 was not with us. He would have been bored to tears. We both thought the tour was good but we won't do it again. Remember the tour is 7.5 hours long, the nice thing was that the ship wasn't going to sail until around 2 am that day so we still had time to some other things. Just a thought. Anyway have fun with whatever you decide to do.

 

[annichan]

We did this the NYE cruise (2008) weather was great, warm - about mid 80's

We booked thru DCL

We left the ship about 9:30 a.m., walked from ship down pier to the ferry - 45 min ferry ride (and it was rough seas), off ferry - all got stopped to have family pictures taken, lined up into our tour groups, 5 minute or so walk to the parking lot (no stopping along the way) where the buses were parked.

About a good hour bus ride, short stop at a roadside store - what I call a toursit trap - you could use the facilities - purchase trinkets - as we boarded the bus we got our lunch - Subway sandwich, chips, muffin and water, and then maybe 30 minutes to the ruins.

Our tour came with wrist bands to ride up to the ruins,

up the stone stairs

...

Hope this helps

Marla, I am not the OP (sorry for hijacking ) but I would just like to chime in as I have been having the exact same question:

This sure DID help! Excellent brief account of the excursion, your info and the photos give a really good idea of what happens on this excursion.

I am still not entirely sure that we will book this because of the rough seas sick and the loooong travel time, but ... Oh what am I saying, DH is so much looking forward to this excursion and it will make him happy, so of course we are gonna do it!

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Marla, I am not the OP (sorry for hijacking ) but I would just like to chime in as I have been having the exact same question:

This sure DID help! Excellent brief account of the excursion, your info and the photos give a really good idea of what happens on this excursion.

I am still not entirely sure that we will book this because of the rough seas () and the loooong travel time, but ... Oh what am I saying, DH is so much looking forward to this excursion and it will make him happy, so of course we are gonna do it!

You are welcome! it was a 'long day' but we did enjoy this, except for the ferry ride. It was interesting to see everything and such. I didn't go down the wood stairs to the ocean but my daughter did and she had fun playing in the waves for a bit

 

[MintJulep]

Marla, I am not the OP (sorry for hijacking ) but I would just like to chime in as I have been having the exact same question:

This sure DID help! Excellent brief account of the excursion, your info and the photos give a really good idea of what happens on this excursion.

I am still not entirely sure that we will book this because of the rough seas sick and the loooong travel time, but ... Oh what am I saying, DH is so much looking forward to this excursion and it will make him happy, so of course we are gonna do it!

We are going to be on the same cruise as you and your family and we are thinking of doing the Tulum ruins, also! Glad to know that someone else will be on the tour with us!

 

[annichan]

We are going to be on the same cruise as you and your family and we are thinking of doing the Tulum ruins, also! Glad to know that someone else will be on the tour with us!

Oh that's great!! Looking forward to meeting you there!
I just wonder whether you will be there a day before us because your ticker says it is one day less until the cruise. Strange ...

(I can now say that we will most definitely go as long as we get two free seats, since I showed Marla's post to DH and his only comment was "who cares about the drive and the tourist trap on the way, I want to see the ruins!" )

 

[MintJulep]

Oh that's great!! Looking forward to meeting you there!
I just wonder whether you will be there a day before us because your ticker says it is one day less until the cruise. Strange ...

(I can now say that we will most definitely go as long as we get two free seats, since I showed Marla's post to DH and his only comment was "who cares about the drive and the tourist trap on the way, I want to see the ruins!" )

We are going to fly down the day before and stay in Pop Century. Knowing our luck, the plane would be delayed for some reason and we would miss the ship.

 

[#1 goof]

 

[AKMOUSE]

We went the first week of March and did the Cozumel Highlights Tour. This included a visit to the ruins. I should have researched before we went - it wasn't what I expected and quite different than the pictures of Tulum.
Our guide was not as informative about the ruins and I had tons of questions.
We left from there and drove around the island and then to the church site.I felt overall the excursion was very rushed. I could have stayed at the ruins longer and explored. Have a great time!!!

 

[SharonLowe]

We've done the Tulum ruins on our own while staying nearby. They are very pretty and the beach is gorgeous. If you are into Mayan history, I would definitely recommend them over the ones on Cozumel. It does seem they are the hottest place in the Riviera Maya so definitely take a lot of cold water with you. If you have a chance, try to watch Los voladores de Papantla (Dance of the Flyers) in the tourist place outside the ruins. Those guys are great.

Think of the ferry and bus ride as an adventure. You'll go by a lot of the resorts on the way down, which is interesting.

 

[Donna3271]

We did this the NYE cruise (2008) weather was great, warm - about mid 80's

Marla,

AWESOME INFO!!!! Thanks so much. We are going Oct 30, and I was pondering this. My father is LOVES archeology, as well as my son who will be 9 at the time of the cruise, and WANTS to see this. My father and myself have been to Chichen Itza, but my son has not. Problem is I have 5 year old twin girls. I really appreciate your copious review. I think my girls may have a hard time with this, but think that it will be worth it for my son and father's sake.

Regards,
Donna

 

[iloverags2]

I know there is a 1+ hour bus ride to Tulum. How long is the bus ride to Xcaret?

 

[MintJulep]

After doing a little bit of research, we are leaning toward the Xcaret package. From the pictures that are posted a few posts ago they look pretty interesting. Is there someone there to tell you what the buildings used to be, or is it a "your guess is as good as mine" scenario?

 

[annichan]

At first we thought that Xcaret looks great, too, but then we learned that the ruins there are all fake, so it is more of a theme park than a real historical site (or did I research that wrongly?).

That put us off of it, as we think that once we have come all the way to Mexico, we may as well see the real deal ...

But otherwise, that park does sound great!

 

[Donna3271]

At first we thought that Xcaret looks great, too, but then we learned that the ruins there are all fake, so it is more of a theme park than a real historical site (or did I research that wrongly?).

That put us off of it, as we think that once we have come all the way to Mexico, we may as well see the real deal ...

But otherwise, that park does sound great!

Thanks for the info on the ruins not being authentic. I was looking at this tour as opposed the the Tulum one. You helped me make my decision.

 

[MintJulep]

So are the ruins real or fake?