Tulum/Xel-Ha Cobination Tour, worth it?

[snorklingbum]

One of our choices is this tour. Is it worth it, or should we just do Tulum and go shopping? Anyone done this excursion? How much time in Xel-Ha do you get? Any info would be great, Thanks. P.S No I dont want to go to Paradise beach.

[Cozumel_Tom]

[solita]

I was suppose to go on that tour today with a friend. I blew it off and went to Paradise Beach instead. I can't imagine doing both stops in such a short amount of time. I've been to Tulum and spent all day. Xel Ha is the same thing...how can they cram 2 trips into 1 space and do either stop justice? I'll be curious to see what others say about it.

 

Guess this means more space for me at Paradise Beach that day. Too bad, you are missing out on a great place.

[Ag_Cruiser]

We did that excursion and had a good time. Tulum is beautiful and Xel-Ha is out of this world. We had some problems, though (We did this through Carnival).

 

First, there just wasn't enough time. On the way to Tulum we stopped at some jewelry store. It sucked. I didn't want to stop. But that was part of the tour. I'm sure the tour company (and Carnival) got a nice little piece of the action, but we spent a lot on the excursion (seems like it was $100pp, but I could be wrong) and had to endure this nonsense. We were there for about 45 minutes, cutting into our time at each destination.

 

Second, and this is just our luck, the actual guide on our tour bus sucked. He thought he was a little Napoleon and we were his loyal subjects or something! We ditched him as soon as we got in the parks, but he brooded over the heard something fierce while we were with him. We still laugh about his "now is time for the bathroom activity" line.

 

Third, there just wasn't enough time. I'd love to go back to Xel-Ha and spend an entire day (or weekend!) there. The place is gorgeous and there is lots to do. The snorkeling is awesome and there is a large amount of space to explore. We missed lots of other things because we spent so much time snorkeling. I can't remember how long we were there, but it wasn't long enough.

 

I know all the things above are negatives, but we really did have a great time . . . it just could've been better. If they've ditched the shopping stop (somehow I doubt they have, it's a money maker for them!) I'd do it again. Having been to both places, Tulum is great (my desktop wallpaper on my computer is a picture I took there behind the big temple) but Xel-Ha was more fun. I might consider going only to Xel-Ha for the day. If you really want to see Tulum, though, do both. I don't think you could spend an entire day at Tulum.

[GolfitoJR]

Just talked to 2 girls yesterday that came over from Playa to play some miniature golf that visited Tulum on Wednesday. They didn't take the regular tour that comes off the cruise ships, but drove down there (they were staying at a villa in Playacar) themselves and tried to make a day of it. They told me the place was SO CROWDED that it just turned them off. Seems as though there were so many cruise ship tours that you could hardly walk around without stepping on somebody's toes.

 

We did have 9 cruise ships in CZM on Wednesday, which is the most we've had in quite a while, and I'm sure a lot of the traffic to Tulum came from all 9 of the cruise ships. My suggestion is if you're going to Tulum, make sure it's on a day when there are less than 4-5 cruise ships in CZM. You can get all that info from this link:

 

http://cozumelinsider.com/cruiseships/index.php?Sort=Arrival

 

It's the link we use to plan our week at mini-golf. If the port shown for your cruise ship is "Fondeo" it's bad news. That means you'll have to be ferried from the ship to the downtown pier. That also means that there's a bunch of ships in town & everything will be pretty crowded.

[snorklingbum]

Thanks for the info. We are going to have 10 ships in port that day... Not sure what were gonna do yet, my 10yr old is thinking xcaret. I think we may just wait till on ship so he can see the excursions on tv then order.

I think with that many people we may just find a quieter beach w/ water toys and then hit some shops. Thanks again...

[rhoeffner]

It's been awhile since we did this tour, but we did book it through Carnival. I agree with Ag_Cruiser, not enough time!

 

We stopped at the jewelery store on the way back - we were already running late. This was our first cruise, so we didn't know that the ship would definately wait for us since we were on their tour. I was terrified that we would miss the ship! They were waiting on us when we got back. Like Ag_Cruiser, we didn't want to go to this store, nor did we get off the bus! And I complained to the ship! Like it did any good! LOL

 

Tulum is beautiful. Our guide while there was fabulous - our bus guide was horrid! I would do Tulum again in a heartbeat. Just very nice ruins and with a guide, they are fascinating.

 

Xel-Ha is equally as beautiful. We don't snorkel so we really did have plenty of time for this stop. It was miserably hot that day and we were ready to get back on the bus (not excited about the bus boxed lunch - we ate at Xel-Ha and it was great!). After that, we sat around on the many chairs under the palm trees and just watched the snorkelers - it was lots of fun! We walked all over the park and in the many shops. There is a fabulous A/C shop in the front of this park - we spent lots of time in there and bought all our gifts and souveniers there.

 

My only complaint outside of the jewelery store stop was having to PAY for toilet paper outside of Tulum. There is a little lady as you walk in with a huge roll of paper. If you pay - you get 'enough'. If you don't have money, you get a couple of squares. I was outraged! I complained to the ship! Like it did any good! LOL LOL

 

I would recommend this tour, but not at Carnival's price. I would find a local that would do a private tour. We took this on our very first cruise. I NEVER purchase the ships's tours anymore. You can ALWAYS get them for the same price or less and do a private thing. $89/pp with a whole bus load, or $70/pp in a private A/C car with a nice/friendly guide. About the same after tipping, so why not go private?

[jazzcat]

Are these related in any way?

[J&B in GA]

jazzcat,

Xel-Ha is a water park (paid admission) on the Playa Riviera (mainland) and would require a ferry from Cozumel. D'Zul-Ha is a snorkeling spot on the Island of Cozumel and is FREE !

 

J&B

[R Prim]

We will be in Cozumel in January and have friends that would like to go to the ruins. Can someone tell me how long the ferry ride is? One of the guys (first time cruiser) is terrified he will get sea sick especially on the ferry. Thanks!