Advice - Own tour to Chichen Itza & Shark Ray Alley

[Angelmay]

We are family of 4 and will be sailing to W. Caribbean next Saturday. We deceided to do Chichen Itza and Shark Ray Alley. try to save $$ to do the tour ourself.

 

Appreicate your experience and tips taking your own to Chichen Itza and Shark Ray Alley. Thanks.

 

 

Angel

[hstrybuf]

Chichen Itza is a long drive, at least two hours one way, depending on your port. I suggest you take the ships tour on this one especially if you are traveling with children and are unfamiliar with the area. It's well worth the money. :)

[Ted]

STRONGLY agree with hstrybuf, particularly with kids. A flat tire, traffic delay, etc., and you are on your own in the distant hinterlands.

[skigirl]

We just drove to Chitchen Itza from Playa del Carment BUT we were staying there for a week and so time was not an issue. It is about 2 1/2 hours from PDC, along the toll road. The road is excellent but we saw about 4 cars the whole way there, and there was only one service station. It is truly awesome there.Good luck and enjoy yourself, whatever you decide.

[Stircrzy]

Not a good idea to wing it in a foreign country...especially on your first trip.

 

If you're comfortable with Mexican customs (policia, mordida) and know the rules of the road (which are much different than US or Canadian traffic rules), just remember to keep your vehicle gassed up at all times.

 

Gas stations are few and far between...and there can be danger along the road (bandits). Small villages generally have little or no medical facilities.

 

I've done it on my own, but without children. I also didn't have to worry about a ship going off and leaving me behind because I had car trouble or other problems.

 

For the sake of the children, perhaps you might look into one of the local providers that will meet you at the ship and take your family on these excursions...marginally cheaper than the ship excursion, but more safe for your family.

 

[Angelmay]

Thank you all for your advice. Is cheaper to hire a taxi driver to chicken Itza in Pregeso? The ship charges $77 pp (times 4). Any recommendation for good local reliable tour guide or company? Thanks

[hdawson]

Angel. Here is one option. I visited Chichen Itza while staying in Merida and it was a very interesting tour. I see this tour operator includes a full lunch. Probably at one of the haciendas. Mine was a very good buffet with many choices. Ships tour provides a very simple bag lunch.

 

http://www.mayanroutes.com/tours/yucatan/daytours.html

[robbyxoxo]

yo:).....im one of the FEW people who dares to do the shark ray alley tour on my own as opposed to doing the ship excursion....weve done it twice on our own and will be doing it a third and fourth times this coming winter....ive posted my experiences on the Belize board if u go back and search.......it can save u lots of dough for a family of 4 such as yours.........you just hop off the ship AS EARLY as you can and catch the local water taxi over to caye caulker....around $15 roundtrip per person.....in caye caulker youll see Johnnys tours.....he does a 3 stop snorkeling tour for $15 a head.....ull see the rays and sharks and some dandy snorkeling.....you should even have time to play around on the island and snorkel a lil from there if u desire....no crowded tours to deal with.....then you catch a water taxi back to Belize....just dont be late ;).......people here worry about the water taxis possibly breaking down and then missing the ship.....but hopefully youre not cutting yourself THAT close on time.....and the water taxi runs back and forth from the different places many many times each day....i dont think the odds of it breaking down are too high....ill play those odds any day in order to save $

[iluvdoxies]

We used Coral Breeze Unlimited for shark ray alley and snorkeling- they are great! In fact, we are using them again next Feb and they are cheaper than the ship tour- they pick u up at the pier, take u out for the sharks and rays and then snorkeling out by the reef. Your lunch is included at Caye Caulker and u are there about 2 hrs- they will take u right back to the ship- check out their website! Very nice people and very professional

http://www.coralbreezeunlimited

However, this tour will take up your whole day in Belize, so yu would have to choose between that and the ruins.

For the ruins, I would def, go through the ship.

[deadbug]

We chartered a banana plane from the ship radio and then flew directly into Chitzen Itza...4 people/75.00 each. Had all day there and a grand adventure! Take coral breeze for shark ray alley---there are usually a LOT of ship passengers that book with this outfit--the ship would not want to leave a couple dozen people behind if there was a problem---safety in numbers!!! I personally did not enjoy the snorkeling at shark ray alley---not very good visibilty and not a lot of fish. However, the time spent on Caulkers Caye was the highlight of our cruise!! If it is your first cruise, play it safe and take the ship's excursions....the money you will spend will be worth not having to be paranoid about missing your ship. You will learn from your experience and then on your next cruise you will have gained some confidence and be a little more adventurous.

[freeness]

I used Yucatan Trails to take me and 5 others to Chitzen Itza from Pregresso. It was only $55 pp including the administion fees and a private guide. They met us at the pier with a printed sign, just like in the airport. They drove us in a nice van and it went off perfectly. It is a long drive, so make sure you get off the ship early and don't forget that Progresso is in Central Time. Chitzen Itza was cool and it took about 1 1/2 hours to see everything and climb the pyramid. We just skipped lunch, but there are a few spots along the tour to get food.

[CanTex]

I wouldn't do Chichen Itza on my own. When we were there in April, there was road construction in some areas. I sure wouldn't want to get lost -- especially since I recall that we had to take a detour or two and the signs weren't that obvious to me. For the sake of saving $80-100 (net) for the four of you, the risk of doing such a far excursion on your own sure doesn't seem worth it. What would you do if your rental car breaks down?

 

BTW, saw on your other thread -- you don't get a bag lunch from Carnival. This is provided to you as you board the bus (provided by the co. running the excursion).

[rhoeffner]

We chartered a banana plane from the ship radio and then flew directly into Chitzen Itza...4 people/75.00 each.

 

Could you tell me the company you used to charter the plane through? I'm very interested in doing this but have been unsuccessful trying to find something along these lines on the Internet.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!