Chichen Itza

[Rametteperegrine]

My family wants to go to Mexico specifically to visit Chichen Itza. We've looked at flights and hotels but total trip cost is out of our budget. We are looking at Carnival's 4 day western Caribbean which has "Cozumel Plus" so it is there for 10 hours. Carnival has a shore excursion to Chichen Itza but the review says you only spend about 45 mins there. I'm looking to see if anybody knows of private tours that I could take that would net me a little more time at the ruins. A tour geared to cruisers that has a back-to-the-boat guarantee would be a plus.

 

Also, how fast will I be able to get off the boat in Cozumel? This trip would have some very long travel times and I'd want to get off ASAP to maximize my time in port. We are a family of 5.

[JohninDC]

Ships use one of three piers on Coz, so getting off is easy and quick but it may take you 10-15 minutes to get to the taxi line.

 

I would save your money or find a cruise that stops on the mainland. I am not aware of any private companies making this tour, and with the ferry ride from Coz to PDC and then the bus ride to the ruins, it is a lot of travel for very little time on site.

[Purvis1231]

You may want to keep looking for resorts at Cancun and then take a tour from there. Secondly, look for a cruise that stops at Progreso.

[ABQrobin]

Do a cruise that goes to Progreso.... it is much much closer and will give you more time there. There are 5-day cruises going out from NO and Galveston both going there.

 

we are doing the Liberty out of Galveston in a few weeks. We are doing the Uxmal ruins instead of Chichen Itza as we have been to CI before. I can promise you that it is worth the trip, though you won't get more than 2 hours there still. It is inland on the Yucatan, just not close to anything.

 

 

Since Cozumel is an island, you have a ferry to add on the distance and time to the tour. By going to Progreso, it is just a bus ride.

[GalCruzer]

We went on a Carnival Ship that went directly to Progreso. We then booked an excursion for Chitchen Itza and got to spend a lot more than 45 minutes there.

[Rametteperegrine]

I live in Florida and I can't find a cruise to Progreso that leaves from anywhere near florida.

[ABQrobin]

I live in Florida and I can't find a cruise to Progreso that leaves from anywhere near florida.

 

As I said in my post. Galveston or New Orleans departures.

[OCruisers]

Long trip but certainly worth doing once.

We were there a bit over two hours.

[DancerOT]

45 minutes is not sufficient for Chichen Itza. I have been fortunate to have gone twice. Both times I was staying on the mainland. It was about a 2-2.5 hour drive from the resort. Considering it is 45 minutes on the ferry each way..... you are looking 6 hours of transportation at a minimum. Each time, I was there for at least 3 hours and still didn't have enough time.