What Mayan site is the best near Cancun?

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Rockin' Mel S

The best near to Cancun is Chichen Itza, on the toll road (highway 180) from Cancun it will take you about 2 hours to get there. Take the toll road or go on a bus. The free road will take you about twice as long. It's a big site and will take you about 2-3 hours to see the highlights; you could spend a couple of days if you wanted it's that large. (Personally I'd rate it 4.5 of 5)

The closest are the El Ray ruins on Cancun itself, but they are small and not all that impressive. (Personal rating 1 of 5)

Tulum is about 90 minutes south of Cancun. It's small but the setting is very impressive. You could see the main buildings there in less than an hour. Count on spending a couple of hours though as there is a very nice beach, some outlying building, a market and Maya flyers (dancers that swing from rope off a large poll). Tulum is always packed with tourists. (Personal rating 3 of 5)

Also worth considering is Ek Balam, North of Valladolid off the same road to Chichen Itza. Larger site, has some restoration, an arch as well as some very impressive original stucco work. (Personal rating 4 of 5)

Coba as mentioned, big site, much of it unrestored. Good view from the top of the main pyramid. Small ball court, not much in the way of stucco or decoration left on any of the buildings. A couple of Stelea but mostly in poor shape. (Personal rating 3 of 5).

There are also ruins on Cozumel if you are going that way, again smaller ruins. I haven't seen them personally.

bernardino

Well the closest is Tulum ,one hour away by the beach,there are othere ones close to there ,half hour away,turne right just before tulum village,allso some great swimming holes around there,cant miss the adverising.Another one is the famous Chichiniza,its a day round trip from Cancun but very impressive.

abe77n

Tulum is about and hour and a half a way, you can take a tour or go to the downtown bus station and save a fortune, and the bigest is Chichenitza and is about 5 hours away, and the buses are new and have tv in them so dont worry you wont be in with some chikens and stuff like that

yasha614

Most spectacular? Go to Chichen Itza. Looking to get a little off the beaten track? Go to Coba'. Tallest pyramid in the Americas. Check into Alltournative tours in Cancun. Well worth the money -- say "Hi" to Mario

Mexicana

I think Tulum. Its along the coast, so you have a gorgeous view of the sea from Tulum that you don't get at the other sites. Its also a bit breezy and therefore not as hot as some of the inland ones. Its also the closest main site to Cancun.

That being said, if you're up for something that's not as crowded and a bit of a hike to the ruins from where you park the car, check out Coba which is a bit inland from Tulum.

Chichen Itza is a bit overrated and further from Cancun that it doesn't really seem worth it. Especially if you go during the summer, because its so far inland its stiffilingly hot there. Uxmal is interesting, but its too far to go just for the day.

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