Xunantunech, Chichen Itza or Tulum???

[tattoos]

I know some excursions are 7 hours long but which one offers the best Mayan ruins excursion regardless of time?

 

We have been to Altun Ha but want to visit another site on our next cruise.

 

Rose

[PROCRUISE]

I know some excursions are 7 hours long but which one offers the best Mayan ruins excursion regardless of time?

 

We have been to Altun Ha but want to visit another site on our next cruise.

 

Rose

 

Just the setting alone makes Tulum a must see. :)

[bassmaster150]

Chichen Itza is the most famous, and it is incredible. But as the previous poster said, Tulum is set on the ocean, and has brilliant views.

[lizptx]

We did the Tulum tour in November 2010 and we loved it. Pros: Great guides, nice boats and busses, very interesting and the beach there is awesome. Cons:The shopping was good, not great. The tour only served a snack, no meals and it was all day. There was food available for purchase at Tulum, but it wasn't that good and was expensive. Just FYI.......even in November, it was HOT HOT HOT in Tulum. I mean seriously hot.

[firefly333]

Chichen Itza is one of the 7 wonders of the world.. and its huge, and the longest excursion. I want to see it, but its so long.

 

I did Tulum and wimped out, it was in the 90s, and other excursions, all the Japanese folks had umbrellas .. not Carnival's .. I finally spent the last of the time in the restaurant with chips and margaritas. .. frozen for that hot day, tasted divine.

 

I would do it in the winter next time myself, not summer again. It was a good view, and you can swim in the ocean for luck at Tulum, but to me the ruins, all looked the same after a while.

 

I dont think Im that much into history I guess... to waste the time drinking frozen margaritas.

[firefly333]

Tulum view of the ocean

 

 

ruins .. note the Japanese excursion next to us .. see the umbrella .. their whole group had them.. our excursion leader had one .. not us .. we burned to a crisp that day, 92 degrees and full sun.

 

 

I admit I did Tulum just because it was shorter.. and you have to be waiting right there to get off the ship if you do chichen itza... some day .. but I have to gear up to wait with that crowd right when the doors open to get off the ship. dont like waiting in the crowd.

 

[Mrs. D ATL]

We did Tulum some years ago and it was one of the most beautiful places we have seen. The beach alone will take your breath away. My vote is for Tulum, you will not be disappointed.

[CapeCodCruiser]

For purely Mayan ruin - Chichen Itza is the one to see. It is however a long trip. We did it during a week long stay in Cancun - rented a car and drove out - When I was done I wanted to be done and able to get in my car and leave and not wait for a tour bus full of folks.

[sippican]

Not to throw a curve ball, but have you considered Coba? It's our favorite. Plenty of shade, and you can climb to the top of one of the structures.

tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150807-d152724-Reviews-Coba_Ruins-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

[BSQ]

Of those in the Yucatan, Chichen Itza is the site I've visted most and keep sending friends to. It's a long hot day to be sure, but it is a grand site with many stories to tell. (My second fav is Ek Balam)

 

I've not been to any of the sites in Belize so I can't compare.

[americanrascal]

Great tour of an awesome Mayan ruin. Get to see a real cross section of the geography and country of Belize as you travel west to the Guatemalan border where it sits. Cross the beautiful Mopan River on a rope pulled ferry. Move up to the ridge and climb the pyramid for a spectacular view of central america from a mountain top, all while experiencing a really neat archaeological site.

 

Have done this tour 3 of the 6 times we've visited Belize and will go again. Other ruins have good reputations but Xunantunich owns an awesome view. Have visited several other Mayan ruins in the Yucatan and central america and none have compared to Xunantunich.

 

On the last trip I shot 36 totally awesome pictures that I'd like to offer here for your pleasure. The picture taking at Xunantunich was the high point of the cruise and something I had prepared for mentally for weeks in advance. It was to be the mother load of family travel pics.

 

However on the way back to the ship on the bus I went to retrieve the 35mm roll from the camera.

 

Yea you guessed it---- there was no film.

 

Guess I'll have to go back for tour 4 on this year's cruise-- this time will go digital--- if I remember the batteries???:)

[maxxedout2]

Hi,

 

Of the 3 sites OP asks about, Xunantunich in Belize is the only

one of the three that allows you to climb to the top, about 130'.

 

If climbing is on your bucket list, Xunantunich is the one.

 

Tulum is a beautiful spot on the beach, no climbing but very scenic.

 

Chicken Itza is available from Progreso as a Carnival tour. I actually

did Uxmal from Progreso because you can climb and explore. Just a few

vendors outside the grounds.

 

Chicken Itza is the most famous for sure. No climbing and vendors everywhere.

 

Anyway, this is a Carnival forum and I am assuming you are sailing

on Carnival.... so no need to describe other sites such as Coba,

Lamanai, Ek Balam, Cahal Pech etc. These are either Royal excursions

or land tours from Cancun hotels or Playa Del Carmen hotels.

 

Have fun.

 

Oh, maybe you can book other sites with private tour vendors but make sure

they get you back to the ship on time.

:cool:

[tattoos]

First, a big thank you to everyone who responded with such great information and to Firefly for attaching some really beautiful photos of Tulum!!!

 

I'm sailing on the Liberty's western itinerary in early May 2013 and have discovered that they do not offer Chichen Itza as an excursion (probably because we are not in port long enough). This leaves me two options, Tulum in Cozumel and Xunantunich in Belize. They're both 7 hour tours and involve a bus and ferry ride. I'm really torn as to which one to book. Everyone's descriptions make both locations very attractive. We'd like to climb the ruins so maybe Xunantunich is the best one to visit. Hopefully, it will not be so hot the first week of May (ha, who am I kidding).

 

americanrascal: so sorry to hear you did not get any shots, I would have been crying like a baby if that happened to me.

 

Thanks to everyone who responded with some great hints and insights, it will make the selection process much easier for us.

 

Rose

[raynvic]

We did Chichen in 1994 when you could still climb and it was awesome. Just did Tulum this past January and it is very different but no less amazing and a little different in character and a lot different in location. We will be doing Zunatunich in December and looking forward to it. I would love to do Coba but too risky on a private tour and Carnival does not offer a tour there. Just my observations.

[thephantomsgirl]

I am a ruin junkie. If there is a ruin tour on a cruise, I want to go! I've done Tulum and I loved it. The getting there was tedious and thankfully I am not prone to seasickness.

 

I have done Chacchoben (that is in Costa Maya and not all Carnival Westerns go there). I wasn't as impressed with that one, but I think that after having been to Tulum I was comparing. I went in April and it was incredibly hot.

 

Going to Xunantunich this time. Can't wait!

 

I'd go back to Tulum in a second and probably will on another Western. I don't want to do two 7+ hour tours on the same cruise.