Hey everyone. Taking my first trip to Cancun in a month and am so excited. I found this forum awhile ago and the info on here has been priceless. I should have created and account much earlier. I am sure everyone is gearing up for the spring break craziness. We have visited Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen both via a cruise ship & had a great day visiting Tulum. We decided to dedicate an Entire week to Cancun. We plan on visiting Chichen Itza and spending a day on Isla Mujeres. The rest of the time ivolves alot of beach & exploring the city. I have a million questions, (half have already been answered just by reading this board) but am throwing this one out there first. Is it reasonable to drive to Chichen Itza from the Hotel Zone via rental? I am an aspiring phtographer and want to get there early to try & get some photos of the grounds before it is crawling with tourists (like me.):icon_razz: Also, any suggestions of particularly beautiful scenery to take photos of would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all in advance & this board rules!!!
As a Cancunense I would not recommend driving. The tolls are over $700 pesos round trip and it is about a tank of gas. My suggestion would be (a) take a tour, using Entertainment Plus. There is a link to their website at the bottom of this page. When their, roam as you wish or hire a guide. I once heard a guide say "without a guide you are just looking at a pile of rocks." Or (b) take the R-1 bus to the downtown bus station. Get a ticket to Valladolid and then one from Valladolid to Chichen Itza and then a non stop return. Valladolid is a beautiful little "colonial town" and there are lots of great photo ops there. Even with a guide at Chichen you can take time for pictures and find about a million things to shoot. Chichen is much larger than Tulum and one of the more historical sites in all of Mexico. Another option is to go to Ek Balam,which is still being excavated. It's tallest structure is taller than El Castillo at Chichen. Ek Balam is about 20 minutes north of Valladolid. You would run out of daylight if you tried to do all of this in one day so you might consider spending the night in Valladolid. They even have a 2 screen theater with most movies in English with Spanish subtitles. I am happy to try to help with other questions. If they are too detailed for the Forum you can send me a Private Message. Good luck and enjoy your visit.
I think TJ is right. I used a regular bus tour which was fun and took out all of the hassle, but when we got there we only had 1 hour to run around and take pictures after the tour guide finished showing/telling us about everything. If you use the tour TJ suggested you will have more free time to use as you wish. Either way enjoy it, the ruins were one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. BTW take lots of water as it gets really hot there that time of year and you wont have that nice ocean breeze to cool you off. Have a great time.
Thanks for the advice guys. I can't wait. I was blown away by Tulum and can't wait to fill up a couple memory cards at Chichen Itza. We are considering the bus to the Valladolid to experience the culture. Maybe the tour would be the least hassle, but also the least adventerous. If all goes well, we will probabley plan another trip. There is just too much stuff to do in just one week while trying to get some relaxation time in. Thanks again guys!!
I agree - do not drive. I have known people who have done it, but I wouldn't because of the chance of being robbed. We usually stay at Palace Resorts which used to include free tours (now they give you $1500 resort credit which can be used for tours, upgrades, spa, etc.). They have an excellent bus tour to Chichen Itza. My husband also prefers Ek Balaam - he is an avid wannabe archeologist. Palace resorts has a tour to Ek Balaam with a side-trip to Valladolid. Enjoy you trip to Cancun - we love it and are going back for our 10th time April 3rd. It never gets old!
