Tulum Mayan Ruins Help Needed.

[Abymimi]

Tulum is magnificent, we did it a few years ago on the Zaandam..long trip, but well worth it. Go, you will love it...the views overlooking the cliffs are incredible! Our ferry at Playa del Carmen was actually waiting for our bus so the ship could leave.

[lawsoncd3]

I was just there on Friday! We booked through the ship when we arrived. You will have time to do it! We did the tour and spent a few hours there. Here's the breakdown from my schedule:

 

We leave the ship. On our shore excursion tickets it indicated where to meet (I believe, and my stub is still packed) that we met at the theater on the Rhapsody. They announced it was time to go, and we were escorted off the ship through what appeared to be a hallway for crew only. We went to the ferry which took us to Playa Del Carman and from there the bus drove us to the ruins. We were provided a boxed lunch when we entered the bus, and about 30 minutes later, we stopped to stretch our legs and use the restrooms. There is some limited shopping here. We then proceeded to the ruins (about another 40 minutes). There is a lot of walking and it is HOT and HUMID. Not Texas humid, more humid! We walked through to a point where one could opt to take a tram ($2.00 per person each way) We didn't do it. We walked 600 yards approximately to the entrance of the ruins. Use the restrooms there, as they charge you once you enter the site.

 

Our tour guide took us through the site (about 1 hour) and the remainding hour we were on our own. There are steps if you want to go to the beach but we didn't.

 

After we finished, the we walked back and made it to the bus where we were greeted with cold drinks and ate our lunch as we drove back to Playa Del Carmen. We went back on the ferry to Coz and had about an hour or so to shop. We did great in the shopping! We took a cab back to the pier ($6.00, not per person, but per load). There was more shopping there. We got on the ship at 5:00 p.m. Left port after 6:00 p.m. because we waited for two passengers.

 

Hope this helps. I would certaintly book through the cruise line though. Any problems and the cruise line will wait.

 

I would highly recommed this tour if you are able to walk long distances and can tolerate heat and humidity.

 

Dona :)

[Linda/Ohio]

We did the ship's tour of Tulum and Xeha a few years ago. Tulum is one of the hottest places I have ever been---take water!!! The ferry ride is indeed an adventure--they handed out purple puke bags---we found that there were primary pukers....those who got seasick and secondary pukers--those who got sick from seeing others vomit. I had the patch on--and I was fine---but it was pretty rough.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We did Tulum and Xel/Ha last year and loved the tour. It was one of our favorite excursions. We DID book through the ship, we DID run late getting back, and the ship DID wait for us!:D

 

WE were late because one couple on our tour did not get back to the bus at the stated time while we were at Xel/Ha. The tour operator was quite upset and even went looking for them. We never did find them and we finally left without them. They missed the ship, for sure! As it was we were at least 1/2 hour late getting back.

 

The ferry ride on the day we went was very smooth and enjoyable.

 

If you do the Xel/Ha option be sure to bring along a waterproof watch. We were pretty nervous about keeping track of time while snorkeling. It was so much fun to snorkel there. It was a hot day and Xel/Ha really cooled us off - we were impressed on how neat, clean and attractive it was. It was a nice and polite crowd there that day - mostly families.

 

Have a great time. As other's have said, the ruins are beautiful. If you would like to see our pictures, click on the link in my signature and go to the Explorer of the Seas album to see them.

[2timecruiser28]

Approximately how many people were on the cruise line Tulum excursion? I am worried it will be packed and I won't be able to hear the guide.

[cookielover]

Sunny AZ Girl, I enjoyed your photos! I am new to these boards and couldn't see a way to send you a private message, so I'm tacking a question onto this thread. How would you compare the Tulum excursion with the one you did in Belize? I have barely begun planning, I know my kids would like to see some ruins, but not sure if they want to do more than one trip to ruins.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

2timecruiser - We probably had 25 - 30 people max in our group. We never had a problem hearing the guide, plenty of room to spread out on the bus and never felt crowded. Once you get to Tulum the guide gives about a 45 minute tour and then you are on your own to explore. At Xel/Ha we were brought through the gate by the guide, he gave us a quick orientation then we were on our own again. We never felt like we were in a "cattle call".

 

Cookielover - Both tours were completely different. Even though they were both Mayan Ruins, that is where the similarity ended. The tour in Belize included a long river boat ride through real jungle which I really enjoyed. You saw a lot of nature up close. The guides were knowlegable and loved the natural beauty of their country. Even though it was a hot day the boat did go pretty fast & we were comfortable on the ride. Once we got to the ruins site we had a prepared lunch that was yummy - chicken, yellow rice, etc. The walk to the ruins did me in, though. It was close to 100 degrees & humid and the walk was through dense jungle (about 1/2 mile) over uneven ground. My 75 yo mother walked a few feet and realized that she would have never made it, so she stayed behind where we ate and chatted with the women who cooked the meal. I suffered a bit of heat exhaustion and needed the help of my sister and bil to get back ok. Once back I enjoyed the hour long boat ride back to the bus once again.

 

On the Tulum excursion it was also hot, but once you got to the ruins there was a cool ocean breeze that was delightful. There was also a shuttle to take you to the ruins entrance if you didn't want to walk the 1/2 mile, which was nice. Instead of the river ride we ended the excursion with a couple of hours at Xel/Ha which we all loved. We snorkeled the entire time and hated to leave. It was very clean and a good way to cool off! Lunch on that excursion was an ok box lunch - nothing to rave about.

 

As far as the ruins are concerned, the ruins at Tulum are more dramatic and beautiful against up high on a hill over the Carbbean while the Belize ruins are smaller, but have some neat features, like faces and masks carved into stone that appear to just rise out of the jungle. I understand that the Howler monkeys are often out in force in Belize although we did not see them. The guide said it was too hot for them to be out!:rolleyes:

 

Both tours include an hour long bus ride each way and, IMHO are best booked through the ship. I would do either again, but would book the Belize tour only in a cooler month! Either way you will have fun.:)