Should I spend a day in Chichen Itza or go to Tulum and Xel-Ha water park instead.?

Show all answers

Rockin' Mel S

Assuming you have a full day,( i.e. you are not arriving on a cruise ship and only have 8 hours or something). But if you are there for a week and renting a car then it wouldn't be hard to do your Tulum/Xel-Ha one day and Chichen Itza another.

But if it's an either/or thing then Chichen Itza is much more impressive than Tulum, so go to Chichen Itza. (Sorry Aliz-USA, but who ever told you that Chichen Itza was not as good as Tulum must have been selling tours to Tulum.)

If it were me - this is what I would do:

Since you said you are renting a car, head out from Cancun as early as you can, (like 6:30-7:00 am) take the 180 toll road, it's pricey (about $17.50 US per car, each way) but worth it, the free road takes forever. Get yourself to Chichen Itza, not long after it opens (It opens at 8:00 am). Hire a guide there, a guide there will cost you about $40 US for about 70-80 minute tour. The guides are worth it. After the guide leaves you, continue to explore the site. When you are done, count on about 3 hours to see the ruins. Take a break for lunch. After lunch, make your way back towards Cancun.

About 1/2 of the way back to Cancun is the colonial city of Valladolid, if you take the road north of there towards Tizimin you can see the ruins of Ek Balam, they are not as impresive as Chichen Itza but there is a tomb entrance there that has a lot of the original stuco decoration - it's very impressive (and you can climb the pyramids there. It should take you about 45 minutes to and hour to see the ruins at Ek Balam. You can get a guide there too - their English may or may not be that good since it's a less popular site, but they are still helpful. A guide there should cost you about $20 USD.

After you are done at Ek Balam, you can head back towards the 180 toll road and back to Cancun or if you still have time and energy, you can check out the colonial city of Valladolid or some cenotes in the area, 7km south west of Valladolid is the famous cenote of Dzitnup.

Also, for the Dolphins, like melissa we did the swim with Dolphin Discovery on Isla Mujeres, for us that was about 10 years ago but it was good then.

There's some links below for you.

kearneyconsulting

Go to Chichen Itza because it is so much larger and more fascinating than Tulum.

Enjoy.

Jojo-acapulco

Tulum is interesting, but rather small. Chichen ItzÃ¡ is one of the two finest Maya ruins in Mexico with a variety of structures. The ball court alone is worth the trip. The Caracol is thought to be an observatory -- check out anything by Anthony Aveni. Don't pay an attention to the "equinox" stories the Americans have cooked up -- the famous 'shadow 'happens daily for a month or more and the Maya were much more interested in the Zenith Passage, anyway.

ANGIE L

Keep in mind that Chicen-Itza is inland, it will be hotter there. About a 2 hour drive from Cancun. Tulum and Xel-ha is on the coast. About an hour from Cancun

If you go to Chichen-Itza I recommend one of the tours. You go on a bus, have tour guide to explain the ruins and you usually get lunch also. I have gone 4 times to Chichen-Itza, my best experience by far has been on the guided tour.
Also Chichen-Itza is up for one of the new world wonders!

Xel-ha, there's no way to describe it. It has many things to offer, including a dolphin swim. You must book these early as they sell out. There is snorkeling, tubing, snuba, hiking, biking, etc. I took my parents just this past April and they loved it(they are not big on stuff like that).

I haven't made it to Tulum, it's on my things to do on my next trip. I have heard it's worth it.

You can also book a dolphin swim at Xcaret and at the aquarium at La Isla in Cancun.

Stingdon

Chichen Itza is the more facinating of the two.There is more to see and from what I have heard there is a new part openned.The only downer is that you can't climb the large pyramid anymore because it was cracking.It also means that you will not be able to climb the inside pyramid either.If you would like to climb a pyramid,try the one at Coba.Few people know of this one.On that tour you will get to swim in a cenote which is really neat. Tulum is spread out but not as interesting as Chichen Itza.Xel-Ha is very refreshing after doing Tulum. Be sure to sign up for lunch and get a locker as soon as you get there.I have been to Chichen Itza four times, the first time some 30 years ago when there was nothing there like the tourism destination it has become today. I have been to Tulum three times and Coba once. I will be going back to Chichen Itza and Coba this coming week. Something else to consider is seeing the light show at Chichen Itza. That happens every Wednesday. I see that you are thinking of driving.Take a tour bus unless you are staying close to the sites.You will not feel like driving after all the walking and the things that you are planning.Plus you won't know what anything is at the sites.There is so much history and culture to be learned and you might overlook some of the more interesting things that will pointed out by a tour guide.Two last things, bring some bottled water because these sites are hot and humid especially after a rain and wear comfortable shoes.Have a great trip and I hope that I have been of some help.

MarAzul

Chichen Itza,

Live a magic mayan history.

i can organize your day trip or find you a hotel.

veronica@mayanbeel.com

gerardo

x-caret is better than xel-ha and tulum and chichen itza and you can swim with dolphins there

Melissa

We didn't go to any ruins, so I can't help you there. But we swam with the dolphins at Dolphin Disovery on Isla Mujeres and it was a lot of fun (and not a bad price).

Aliz

I was told that Chichen Itza was not as good as the tour to Tulum, so I went to Tulum after touring there on the way back the tour stopped at Xel Ha. There we went snorkeling and saw all kinds of tropical fish. They had an ice cream stand there and had their strawberry ice cream. It was the best ice cream I have ever had. If I had Paris Hilton's money I would fly there just for more strawberry ice cream. So, take the trip to Tulum.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: