Is one Mayan ruin excursion enough?

[KellyR]

I have booked the Chacchoben ruin excursion in Costa Maya which is 5 hours long and then the Xunantunich ruin excursion in Belize which is 7.5 hours long. I don't know if one ruin excursion will be enough. :confused:

 

Has anyone enjoyed one ruin excursion so much that they wished they had signed up for another ruin excursion?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

[big_duck]

I have booked the Chacchoben ruin excursion in Costa Maya which is 5 hours long and then the Xunantunich ruin excursion in Belize which is 7.5 hours long. I don't know if one ruin excursion will be enough. :confused:

 

Has anyone enjoyed one ruin excursion so much that they wished they had signed up for another ruin excursion?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

 

Thats 10-11 hours total on a bus. Yeah, one is enough.

[GinaDucey]

I think the real question is how much can your bottom take on the bus ride? Sorry - just feel like being silly this morning. I would say you may find you have reached your limit.

[CoachTerry14]

One per cruise is enough! :)

[serene56]

Has anyone enjoyed one ruin excursion so much that they wished they had signed up for another ruin excursionKelly

 

 

I have taken only one ruin excursion each cruise.. One was enough for me- especialy if you are sailing in the summer..its jsut way too hot.. and like the previous posters stated--- bus rides... I dont cruise to spend a great amount of time on the buses.

 

Last cruise we visited the Altun Ha Ruins using an outside vendor- the tour was 35.oo and was maybe 4-5 hours. Very nice excursion.

[BelizePlease]

Why "ruin" a perfectly good beach day with another ruin!?!?

 

LOL..."thank you folks...I'll be here all week. Tip your bartenders and waitresses..."

[BillnBobbi]

I have booked the Chacchoben ruin excursion in Costa Maya which is 5 hours long and then the Xunantunich ruin excursion in Belize which is 7.5 hours long. I don't know if one ruin excursion will be enough. :confused:

 

Has anyone enjoyed one ruin excursion so much that they wished they had signed up for another ruin excursion?

 

Thanks,

Kelly

 

One was wa...aaayyy more than enough. You know, you've seen one pile of rubble, you've seen 'em all. We went to Tulum and I saw that absolutely beautiful beach in the cove with the azure water, and my wife insisted on listening and hanging on to every one of this tourguides words. I told her I was going in the water ( The air temperature was close to 100 degrees F),stripped to my bathing shorts and had a great time. She sweated a lot.

But she came back with all of this useless information, which some day may or may not be a category on Jeopardy.

 

Yes, there is a stark beauty to them. I appreciated the stark beauty for a good twenty minutes. I appreciated the beach and the water and the setting for the rest of the time.

 

BnB

[HeidiHo]

I think one ruins ia LIFETIME is enough. Sorry, I'm just not into that kind of stuff. We went to Tulum 18 years ago. It was interesting but I have no real desire to visit ruins again. My husband expressed an interest in a ruins tour for our upcoming cruise. If he wants to go it's fine with me but my daughter and I will be staying at the beach. My son might be interested too so he can go with his dad if he wants.

[voyagerfl]

I'd like to hear peoples opinions on the ruins the OP mentioned.......In Costa Maya & Belize

We will be going to those ports our selves in a few months. And I love Ruins of all kinds......(though 2 days in a row might be a bit much with the bus rides)

 

[voyagerfl]

Water

[voyagerfl]

other

[KellyR]

voyagerfl,

 

Wow! These pictures are fantastic! Wish I was there now!

 

Thanks,

Kelly

[KellyR]

........and impressive sailing credentials I might add too!

[Kev and Tam]

Those are wonderful photos! That's what you get from the ruins tours, wonderful photos. But, it is VERY HOT!!!!! We have been to Chichen Itza which was a very LONG bus ride from Cancun with two children, but we enjoyed the park and the historical culture. Boy do I sound boring! Okay, we enjoyed it for about 30 minutes, or so. The kids complained of the heat and when were we going back to the bus. There is only so much culture a 6 year old can take!My DH climbed to the top of El Castillo and took awesome photos of the jungle, which I understand is not allowed anymore? My sister is going with us to the W. Caribbean and we are booking an excursion to Uxmal, really just to torture our kids again! One is definitely enough! Dive or snorkel! The diving is great over there! You won't regret it!

[Momw/4boys]

We were fine with seeing the ruins on Cozumel and I know everybody says those aren't even that impressive. I thought they were educational and interesting but I wouldn't want to spend my entire day in port looking at them. My boys thought the huge iguanas (live) at the ruins were the best part of the tour. Got at least a dozen photos of them, thanks to the boys.

[voyagerfl]

We were fine with seeing the ruins on Cozumel and I know everybody says those aren't even that impressive. I thought they were educational and interesting but I wouldn't want to spend my entire day in port looking at them. My boys thought the huge iguanas (live) at the ruins were the best part of the tour. Got at least a dozen photos of them, thanks to the boys.

 

You are right.....the ones in Cozumel are interesting....(but best I remember) there was only one small decent structure......the rest was pretty much rubble...unless they have done some improvements since I was there in 1989..

 

The Tulum ruins are a long trip........But well worth it.

[voyagerfl]

Chichen Itza........a 3 hour bus ride each way.......But WoW

 

 

[voyagerfl]

Chichen Itza

[voyagerfl]

Here is a link to more pictures on my web site....

 

Trip to ruins....

• Long - Yes
  
• Hot - Yes
  
• Priceless - Yes
  
• 2 days in a row - Very Tiring, probably not a good idea
  

http://www.lifevoyager.net <---Click There

[VACATIONDAWGS]

Once you have seen one Mayan ruin, you've seen them all.

[voyagerfl]

So the OP still needs an answer....

Which ruins are the best......?????? Don't base the answer on Time......base it on the ruins........!

 

• Chacchoben ruins in Costa Maya
  
• Xunantunich ruins in Belize
  

[island777girl]

After Tulum in 2001, we have had our fill of Mayan Ruins for a lifetime. Interesting once, but after the first look at them, you get bored real fast and Tulum was hot as blazes, probably 120 degrees in the shade. Everyone was exhausted and then you have to board a bus again with usually airconditioning that works minimally. If you hate heat, don't go.....I personally found them boring.

[ppeckham]

It all really depends upon where your interests lie.

 

I've been to Tulum twice. I enjoyed it just as much the second time since the tour guide gave us a little more information than the first one.

[KellyR]

Hi,

 

I just want to say thanks for the posts. They've all been really interesting and some of them are hilarious!

 

I am a nurse working on a hospital surgical floor. So, I will be looking forward to some much needed down time, :D getting away for this cruise, and reconnecting with my family.

 

With the type of work I do, I've learned that life is short. So, I'm trying to do so much in the little time we have on this planet......actually be more like voyagerfl.....take more cruises!!

 

1. No, I don't plan on taking any kids with me on the ruins excursion.

2. The heat is not really a factor for me. I live in Florida and if anybody knows that vacationing down here the summers are real scorchers especially with the high humidity making it feel like 120 degrees on some days. We have many seasonal residents from up north head home in May because they cannot tolerate the summers here.

3. I live three blocks from Clearwater Beach........so you can say I am not beach deprived.

4. I don't mind the long bus rides. It's a chance to see some of the country.......and see some place totally different.

5. I am a history and archeology buff......but my real passion is taking care of people. :)

 

But my real issue here is when I get to these ruins......I hope these are not small places with a few stones in the ground. LOL, now that would really be a waste of time!

 

What I will do is talk with someone that has been to more than one ruin excursion on the same itinerary....... and I'll let you know how it goes!

 

 

Thanks again voyagerfl for the fab pictures,

Have a great weekend!

Kelly

[ppeckham]

Kelly,

 

When are you going?

 

I'll be in Costa Maya and Belize in mid-July. We are taking the Chacchoben tour in Costa Maya and the Altun Ha/River Wallace tour in Belize.

 

If you don't cruise until later, I can give you my feedback on the two.

 

I, too, enjoy history. The Tulum ruins were incredible. I don't believe any of the places mentioned in this thread are those with just a few stones.