Coba, Tulum, or Something on Cozumel

[Cruise Arizona]

Been looking at options for tours when we go to Cozumel. Mayan Ruins are on my bucket list, but Chicen Itza is not offered as it must be too far to get there and back in our limeted 8 hours in port.

 

So I'm weighing my other options. We have never been big on all day excursions so I am wondering if it is worth the 6 1/2 to 8 hours to visit Coba or Tulum, and which in your opinion is better.

 

Also, if we decide to that we don't want to travel off the island, is it at all worth it to see the San Gervaiso ruin and then do a beach break? Or better just to do a straight beach break.

[JohninDC]

I would enjoy Coz and save the mainland ruins for when you do a port call there or are vacationing in Playa del Carmen or Cancun -- with the ferry ride both ways and the busses, that's a long day. :(

 

Good luck! :)

[crewsweeper]

While, I agree that it's better to do the ruins from astop on the mainland, if this is a real bucket list thing and you are willing to endure the long travel and little food and water to get there, by all means take your ship's tour of Tulum. The scenery is magnificent. It will be hot there most likely, so be prepared. You can not climb on the ruins only walk along designated pathways. I would doubt you'll have time in port to do Coba. If you ship is going to Belize, it's a better port for wandering around ruins on your own. Altun Ha is close by to Belize City. Lamanai and Xunantunich are all day tours, but they do take care of you.

[Cruise Arizona]

We have 8 hours in port, and right now I am just looking at the general Cozumel tour offerings which include Coba, Tulum and lots of options on the Island of Cozumel. However, what I don't know is whether or not the Coba tour is offered on our specific cruise since they haven't put those up on the Celebrity websit yeat. It may well be that with only 8 hours in port they will not offer that tour for our specific cruise.

 

Mayan ruins are definitely on my bucket list and Chicen Itza would be my first choice. I'm just not sure when I'll make it to Cancun or Playa del Carmen as we usually take cruises for vacation, and I don't know if we'll do another Western or if we would ever do a land based Cancun vacation. Tulum might be a nice compromise, thoughm I think the ferrying back and forth to the main land would certainly make this trip less enjoyable. San Gervaiso would at least give me a little sampling of Mayan ruins, but the big guys are what I really want to see.

 

I had a comic book when I was a kid that was all about the rediscovery of the Mayan ruins and I became fascinated. Add to that a couple of History Channel and Discovery Channel documentaries and I was ready to book a trip there. Now that I actually have something that is close to the area, I have to make the decision if I want to go to the ones that are most accessible on an all day trip, or wait and make a specific trip to Cancun so that I can go to the Grand Daddy, Chicen Itza.

[newbiecruiser09]

I really wanted to see Tulum when I first booked our cruise. Then I started reading some of the reviews and decided to do San Gervaiso instead. The 2 ferry rides and 2 bus rides (both of which sounded like they could be long, hot, and possibly nauseating) seemed to take up most of the time with a much shorter time at Tulum and I didn't want the day possibly ruined with sickness and uncomfortableness. I know lots of folks do Tulum and love it (and I'm sure I would too if I could be dropped into it w/o all the travel mess) but for me I did not want to risk it. Plus now I have a reason to book a land vacation there to go to the bigger ruins.