Hey all! I will be visiting Cancun May 27-June 3rd with some friends and we definitely want to visit Chichen Itza. We also want to visit the Cenotes that are close by. I have been researching tours and such that cost about $80 that transport you from your hotel to the ruins and then back to your hotel. Would it be a better idea to just take a bus to the ruins (if there even is one!), pay for the tour of just the ruins, then on the way back to the hotel stop at the cenotes? Which would you suggest? Thanks! Oh, and also, can we really only bring a few 3oz bottles on the plane? (Thats not near enough shampoo/conditioner!) I haven't been on a plane for quite a bit. Could someone help me out with what I can and cannot bring?
I would recommend the tours that go to Chichen Itza and the one we took several years ago included a stop at a cenote for a swim as well as another little town that was quite interesting. Check out the details as to what the tour covers in any of the tours you look at. I have never heard of a regular bus that goes to Chichen Itza...only the tour buses but someone else may know about that. I basically only checked out the tours when I was interested in going. As for the 3 oz. bottles that basically applies to what's in your carry-on that goes through security with you. You have more freedom on what to pack in your actual suitcase. They are strict on the carry-ons though. I have seen them throw bigger bottles in the garbage bin if found when going through security.
I would suggest a tour to Chichen Itza, and that's not just because I sell them. If it were Tulum or Xcaret or Xel Ha then I'd say if you're adventurous then by all means do it by yourself but not Chichen Itza. I am sure there is a bus to the nearby village of Piste but I'm not sure of the price, whether it's direct or you have to change (maybe at Valladolid) and also whether it goes straight there or visits a host of small villages on the way. Chichen Itza is almost 3 hours via tour bus and probably a fair bit longer on the local bus. It is inland in the middle of the jungle not by the coast, if you somehow get stranded or miss it you could be practically in the middle of nowhere with no English speakers for miles. Bus fare I would hazard a guess at maybe $10. You'll have to pay to get to the downtown bus station from your hotel too. Admission to the cenote maybe another $3 (if the local bus even stops there), lunch $8 admission cost to Chichen Itza is $11, and a guide tour on top of that. There are lots of different tour itineraries with the cheapest starting at $55. You might save a little cash doing it yourself but it's not going to be much more than $15 if you went for the basic tour. For peace of mind I would strongly suggest the tour. Check out this link for prices and itinerary: Chichen Itza Tours
Valladolid - that was the name of the town we stopped at. Thanks Steve, it was driving me nuts trying to remember and I have the neatest picture I took in the church there of an altar boy statue. If I remember correctly it also had very nice park/square in the middle of town also. It's got to be at least 10 years ago that we did that tour and my memory is definitely not what it used to be. I do remember enjoying the day a lot more than I had anticipated. Was sorry I hadn't brought my bathing suit to swim in the cenote. What a cool place that was!
Thank you! I will definitely try and find the tour with the stop at the Cenotes. Okay, more questions! -Would you recommend booking the Chichen Itza tour before we leave? We wanted to do it our 2nd to last day (We will be there for 7 days). Would we be okay booking it the day we get to Cancun? Same with the the Horseback riding and the party hopper tour? -So any size bottles are allowed in our big suitcase, just not our carry on? Are shaving razors allowed in the suitcase? Is there a website outlining this info? I could find one. :? -Whats the dress code for guys at clubs? I know here in CA its pretty much no shorts/jeans and you must wear dress shirts and pants with nice shoes. Can you wear just about anything to Cancun clubs? What would you recommend doing at Isla Mujeres? My bf and I wanted to rent the golf carts, see the turtle sanctuary, visit the north beach, and snorkel. Are we missing anything important? -Final question! We are planning on doing the Xcaret half-day due to time limits. Is this worth it? We it still be warm enough by 4pm to swim in the underground rivers and whatnot? -So everything above is what we are doing in Cancun. Are we missing anything that we just MUST see? Thanks again! You guys are wonderful.
As far as Xcaret goes, our first time there we did the half day and were sorry we didn't do the full so the following year went back for the full day. In fact went for the full day two years in a row. There's an awful lot to see. If your half day includes the dinner/show I'm not certain you have enough time to do the underground river though I believe it would still be warm enough to do so. Xcaret is a lot of walking and the half day tour varies I believe according to the tour itself. If you're free when you first arrive at 4:00 you'd probably have time for the underground river but not much else before the dinner/show. We thought the dinner was awful and would not do it again though we loved the show. As far as Isla Mujeres goes, we spend at least one day there every year we're down there. We don't snorkel so I can't give you any info on that but definitely rent the golf cart and go around the island. You will find the turle sanctuary and such and I'm GUESSING that there may be a snorkel area up that way. Invest in Laura's maps. They're about $8-$10 and I have one for Cancun as well as one for Isla. They are well worth the money as they much more than a mere map. There's just a ton of information on them. The link for them is at the bottom of the page. They are mailed out quite fast also. We have found restaurants and clubs to be VERY casual as far as dress codes. We don't frequent the clubs very much so someone else may be able to help on that count. Relax and have a wonderful time. Am going down later than usual this year and am really way beyond exicted at the prospect of arriving down there.
