April will be our 3rd trip to Cancun and we have not taken a trip to Chichen Itza yet. Is it worth a day of our vacaton to go see it or is time better spent at the pool? My wife wants to go but we are always haveing so much fun its hard to break away.
worth seeing once I'd say I enjoyed going but, makes for a long day. our bus left at 7am and we got back like at 7pm. we went from palaces resorts and included lunch at a nice buffet restarant and tour guide. Plus, was equinox so we got to see "snake" shadows on side of the ruins. If you've been to cancun a few times take the day now and you won't ahve to later. Plus, you'll make the better half happy, which in cancun will make you happier later. :lol:
I think its very much worth it if your a history buff and can handle extreme heat. My hubby and our other two friends thought it was awesome, i pretty much despised it after while....I'm not a history buff and w/no breeze its a scorcher in that heat, the peddlers are extremely bad there also which adds to the irritation. Some people swear its the best tour in Mexico and the buffet lunch with the swimming afterwards is a pleasant bonus to your day!
I would definitely go. You can book on the link at the bottom of this page for Entertainment Plus, a first class, locally owned and operated company. Another option is Ek Balam. It has a taller structure than El Castillo, the big boy of Chichen, and they are still working and excavating the site. I am really into this stuff. Far less people and about the same distance. If you want details on how to get there, etc. please feel free to send me an email, which you can do from this board. Just click on the link under my signature below.
Definitely go....we loved it...of course, we like historical things. Even our two daughters liked it...and they were 7 and 3 when they went (one month from their birthdays). Now they are 9 and 5...and still remember it. The 9 year old did a 'report' on it once at school. She was very proud to have seen it in person...as well as climb it. However, its restricted from climbing at the moment.
Chichen Itza is a must when you visit Cancun or Merida. For me it keep in #1 aftar 10 years living in Cancun.
Ana, Have you been to Ek Balam? I love going to Valladolid, staying at the Hotel Meson del Marques and then going to the cenotes in the Valladolid area, and to the archeological zones of Ek Balam, Coba and Chichen Itza. Ek Balam is a must as excavation is still going on and it is simply amazing to see the transformation of an overgrown hill into a beautiful and ancient building or temple.
Yes I have been there couple of times, even at equinox as the little pyramid build in fromt of the big one have this strange water mirror so you can see equinox, eclipse, stars, moon and sun. I love it. My base is Mayaland Hotel @ Chichen Itza and from there I go to Ek Balam, Rio Lagartos to see the Flamingos and get the miracle mood for face from the river and visit the Sacrilegio Cathedral at IZAMAL (build over a pyramid and using the Mayan stones) where all downtown properties are painted in yellow due to the a visit of Pope Juan Pablo II.
How long will you be at BBG? On our last trip in November (which was also our third trip), we did go on the "Chicken Pizza" (as our guide called it) tour. Hubby is a HUGE history buff, so I promised him. It was a nice tour, but "TOO LONG" coming from the husband. The ride there they take the scenic route, which is nice, but an hour longer than the ride home, seeing the ruins is awesome, but you are hot and tired when you are done there, then you go to the Cenotes before coming home. My opinion is if you can find a shorter tour, or a cab or something and just go there, then it is definitely worth it, but the whole day away from BBG was a little disappointing. One other major disappointment for us was that they let MANY, MANY vendors in to sell their "souveniers", and they kept walking up to us during the tour, and they line all the pathways making it difficult to enjoy your time. I am all for supporting their economy, but outside the gates and when WE want to see it. We did get some very awesome pictures, and learned a lot, but honestly felt like we were missing out on the fun at BBG. Hope this helps!!
