Carnival tour to Chichen Itza

[mared1]

What is the cost of the Carnival tour to Chichen Itza? Do you have any time to wonder the ruins alone? Thanks for your help!

[katz1964]

This is from Carnival's site...

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Chichen Itza, one of the most important archeological sites on the American continent and once home of the great Mayan Empire.

On this excursion you will:

• Begin with a scenic and informative 2-½ hour bus ride.
  
• Arrive at the Ruins and be led through the legendary city, extending over 6 square miles with hundreds of structures.
  
• Explore the pyramid of Kulkulcan, the ball court, the mystical cenote, the temple of the warriors and the observatory.
  
• Enjoy a box lunch as you board the motor coach for your return journey to the ship.

Note: This is an active excursion involving a lot of walking and stair climbing. The Mexican government charges a $5 fee for the use of video equipment inside the ruins (no tripods).

Hats, sunscreen, sunglasses and bottled water are highly recommended.

There are no rest stops on the drive to the ruins, however buses are equipped with bathrooms.

7 Hours $71.00*

* Shore Excursions pricing may vary depending on the departure time.

[anaslile]

Just got back from the Fantasy. Did the ruins tour.

 

You leave straight from the dock. It's about a 2 hour drive up (depending on traffic) and you stop on the way up at a gift shop to use the bathroom. Definitely use the bathroom here as they're a lot nicer than the ones at Chichen Itza. Our tour guide showed us around 2-3 sites before giving us time to wander around by ourselves. We had about an hour to wander around more or less. I desperately wish we had had more time there, especially since we got back to the ship with 1 1/2 -2 hours to spare.

 

The tour guide was terrific, and very knowledgable and passionate about the Mayan sites. You really need to pay attention though as they can be hard to understand if they start talking quickly due to their accent.

 

I did wander farther than we were supposed to, but as long as you're back at the appropriate meeting time it didn't matter. Constantly had people bugging me to buy stuff that was "almost free" and "1 dollar" :rolleyes:. Managed to find a few good deals through bargaining.

 

To maximize your time there, make sure you're one of the first people off of the ship. If you do that, you'll be on the first or second bus, and hopefully get there before the massive crowds hit.

 

The day we were there was crowded with buses galore and millions of people, and it was a headache, but definitely worth seeing. I brought 100% Deet and didn't need it, I had more problems with bugs/flies in Cozumel than I did here.

 

All in all, definitely worth it! It gave me a really good taste of Mayan culture and I definitely want to go back sometime and do a land vacation that hits a lot of the ruins.

[wecamp]

I would recommend Uxmal instead. We used the Carnival tour. It was about 1 1/2 hour road trip on a nice bus. Then we toured the site for about an hour with a guide. Then we had an hour to tour alone and get on the bus. 1 1/2 hour ride back and about 1 hour plus to shop the pier shops. Uxmal was not crowded at all. There were I think 2 buses (maybe 3) and several private groups. When you look at my pictures you can tell it wasn't crowded. The Carnival ship had 1 bus for Uxmal where the other site had 5+ buses.

Tammy

[Thoth]

I would recommend Uxmal instead. We used the Carnival tour. It was about 1 1/2 hour road trip on a nice bus. Then we toured the site for about an hour with a guide. Then we had an hour to tour alone and get on the bus. 1 1/2 hour ride back and about 1 hour plus to shop the pier shops. Uxmal was not crowded at all. There were I think 2 buses (maybe 3) and several private groups. When you look at my pictures you can tell it wasn't crowded. The Carnival ship had 1 bus for Uxmal where the other site had 5+ buses.

Tammy

I've visited Uxmal but not Chichen Itza. Some have claimed that Chichen Itza isn't any better than Uxmal, only more famous. I don't know for sure but if it better, then it must be something else. Uxmal was most impressive. !!!