Tulum or Coba?

[Peace2U]

We are trying to figure out which ruin to go to; Tulum or Coba. Any suggestions?

[JohninDC]

Tulum is closer and most tours include some beach time, but everyone I have spoken to says the ruins are better at Coba. Both are on my bucket list.

 

From Coz this will be a LONG day trip - with the ferry to the mainland and back to Coz I would only do this through a cruise sponsored tour.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Agreed. Are you planning to do this through an excursion or on your own. I would absolutely NOT do Coba on your own from Coz on a cruise. We just did Coba from a land stay IN TULUM and it still took us about an hour to get there, two hours to wander around and climb the pyramid (and we had the pedi-cabs, without it would have taken at least another hour) an then an hour back. That was over four hours going from Tulum. Not sure I would even try to do it from Cozumel at all. That being said...LOVED IT!!!! Way more than Tulum. Yes Tulum in on the ocean, but Coba just seemed so much more "authentic" and less traveled. It's back in the jungle so it's quite beautiful. We loved it. Being able to climb the pyramid was a huge bonus, although not the easiest thing I've ever done.

 

Here's the timing:

 

45 min to 1 hr (Ferry to Playa)

1.5 hrs taxi/transport to Coba

2 hrs to quickly tour (more if possible)

1.5 hrs back to Playa

45 min to 1 hr back to Coz.

 

That's a minimum of 7 hrs. and that's if everything goes without a hitch.

[dcikon2]

Tulum - Pros

1. Closer to Cozumel

2. Great place to take a swim right below the ruins. Make sure to wear your bathing suit and take a towel.

3. You can visit this place on your own without a tour.

 

Tulum - Cons

1. Ruins aren't that large and can be extremely hot in the open space.

 

Coba - Pros

1. Great site with a ruin you can climb at the end.

2. Located in a "jungle" setting.

3. You can also ride a rickshaw.

 

Coba - Cons

1. Located further away from the cruise port so you will have to take a tour.

2. You won't have time to do something else, such as shopping or swimming.

[Peace2U]

I plan on booking an excursion through the cruise line. If I go to Coba, will I have time to see a beach on our own too? I always like to see one beach while at a port. We did go to Chankanaab last time we were in Coz and spent some time at the beach there. Should I see another beach if I have already seen the one at Chankanaab? Thanks!

Edited May 16, 2014 by Seabeacon

[bozman2112]

Just booked a Coba tour last week for June. What I know is that our ship is in port for 11 hours and we will not have time to see a beach. We get into port at 8:00 AM and Leave for Coba at 8:30. The Schedule has us getting back to the ship at 5:00.

 

Bob

[Peace2U]

Thanks!!

[JohninDC]

I plan on booking an excursion through the cruise line. If I go to Coba, will I have time to see a beach on our own too? I always like to see one beach while at a port. We did go to Chankanaab last time we were in Coz and spent some time at the beach there. Should I see another beach if I have already seen the one at Chankanaab? Thanks!

 

You will "see" several beaches from the ferry taking you from Coz to PDC and back, but you will not have time to visit any of them.

[Peace2U]

You will "see" several beaches from the ferry taking you from Coz to PDC and back, but you will not have time to visit any of them.

 

I just like taking a quick picture of them, not really sunbathing. Is that doable?

[JohninDC]

I just like taking a quick picture of them, not really sunbathing. Is that doable?

 

There are beaches near the PDC ferry terminal - it will depend upon how long your tour has to wait for the ferry.

[lovevacadays]

Coba may be the better ruins but since it is further away you won't have much time there and most likely won't be able to spend time on the beach. As it is, going to Tulum is quite a long day and doesn't give you a great amount of time at the ruins. I'm glad I did go to Tulum as it was very interesting to see and oh so beautiful there. However, once is enough for me. If I want to check out ruins again in this area I will do a land vacation.

[JimAOk1945]

We enjoyed Tulum as well. It is a very beautiful site and well worth the time consumed in going there and back on a ship sponsored tour. The ferry ride was smooth and problem-free. If you haven't see Tulum, you may want to consider going there. Some excursions include time at the beach as you will see in a couple of pictures on my wife's slide show at the link below. She took the pictures and posted them as a slide show on her website.

 

Tulum Express Shore Excursions

 

We haven't seen Coba yet but have plans to go back to the Caribbean in the near future.

 

Happy cruising!

Edited May 18, 2014 by JimAOk1945

[Podie]

I have been to Tulum and we were allowed to climb all over the ruins. Did I read somewhere that this is no longer allowed?

[KOOLBEANS]

Correct. You CANNOT climb the ruins as they are roped off in Tulum. Awesome place still tho!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Peace2U]

Thanks, all! I will have to think about this.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Thanks, all! I will have to think about this.

 

As one of the other posters stated, the ferry landing in Playa is right on a beautiful stretch of beach both north and south. It will have lots of people on the beach, not a "pristine" remote type beach, but a very nice beach nonetheless if you want to take a photograph. Odds are, you might have a couple of minutes between when you get back to the Playa Ferry dock and when you sail across so you might have enough time to put your toes in the water as well.

[Peace2U]

We booked Coba. Tulum next time I guess. Thanks!

[mrsfuzzmo]

We booked Coba. Tulum next time I guess. Thanks!

 

You won't be sorry. It's super cool!!! Definitely hire the pedi-cab drivers. Especially if you are going to climb the pyramid at the end. You're legs will be noodly and you will not want to hike the mile and a half back. It's a huge property. We were very happy we hired the pedi-cab drivers.

 

We also hired a guide for $70. We had 8 of us, so just split it. He was very insightful and pointed out things that we would have never known or noticed ourselves. Highly recommended.

[msmayor]

We booked Coba. Tulum next time I guess. Thanks!

 

We went to Coba in March of this year...really a great excursion.

 

We had a GORGEOUS weather day, low 80's and low humidity. The canopy of trees on the site made walking the area quite pleasant; we didn't feel the need for a pedi-cab or bike at all. If anything, we looked upon the walking as an opportunity to walk off some of the food we'd been eating!

 

We had a wonderful guide who gave us a ton of information both on the ride to the ruins as well as once there. Well worth the price, IMO.

 

Taking the ship's excursion was definitely the way to go. They had us in a separate line to get right on a ferry as soon as we were off the ship, and then at the end we were whisked right on to a waiting ferry for the trip back to Cozumel. I kid you not when I say the ropes dropped and the ship was on its way out of port less than 30 minutes after our return; we were the last ship excursion back (and on-time! All aboard was 6:30 and that's about when we arrived at the pier).

[Peace2U]

Thanks!!

[wantocruisemore]

Been to Tulum years ago and was disappointed, can't climb and not a lot there.

 

We were supposed to go to Coba this past May and had really looked forward to it. Booked with ship due to distance. But day before they cancelled it because not enough people signed up. Seemed ship was pushing the Tulum excursion. We ended up just going to Chankanaab and did the ruins from Costa Maya instead.

[SL59]

We are trying to figure out which ruin to go to; Tulum or Coba. Any suggestions?

 

Tulum : went a few years ago I enjoyed it very much the view from Tulum to the ocean was beautiful the water was so blue and you can go swimming.

[Rogueperson]

I've been to both.

 

Tulum is more manicured. It's right next to the beach, so you get a kind of two for one. Tulum also has this cafe that had very awesome fish tacos.

 

Coba is a better ruin in my opinion. It is older and feels more like a ruin city than Tulum. It's also more spread out. The walk from the parking lot to the main pyramid is about a 1/2 mile. Not too bad of a walk, but they do have bike shuttles if it's too much. You can climb the pyramid, but I heard they were changing that.

 

They are both great excursions. If I were to choose, I would choose Coba.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[luckiest1cruise]

Thinking about booking a Tulum tour on our cruise on Carnival Freedom in October with a stop at Cozumel. Can someone tell me how much walking is involved? Are pedi-cabs available? Are there a lot of stairs? My 79 year old mom is very excited about seeing these ruins, but walks with a cane, and slowly. Will she be able to get around and see everything? The beach looks lovely, and we would like the opportunity to get in the water at this site.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Thinking about booking a Tulum tour on our cruise on Carnival Freedom in October with a stop at Cozumel. Can someone tell me how much walking is involved? Are pedi-cabs available? Are there a lot of stairs? My 79 year old mom is very excited about seeing these ruins, but walks with a cane, and slowly. Will she be able to get around and see everything? The beach looks lovely, and we would like the opportunity to get in the water at this site.

 

Yes, there is a LOT of walking if you want to see most of it. It's a bit of a trek in, but there are shuttles that will drive you in for a couple of bucks. Once inside the "park" area there are steps in the uneven walking paths, but mostly it's fairly flat. The Beach is another matter. Unless they've changed it, it's a very long, large staircase that leads down to the beach. This is not a tour I would recommend to someone who has walking issues or tires easily.

 

It can also get very, very hot, with very little shade.