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Cancun to Chichen Itza ~ Leaning hard towards staying overnight

Egret1986

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It's our first trip to Cancun. We leave in a very few weeks. Normally, I would have an itinerary laid out many months ago. I am trying to firm up plans for the trip. We will not have a rental car and will be relying on tours and other forms of transportation to go places.

I've been researching for many months off and on. I've read several TUG threads. However, I'm having a hard time "pulling the trigger" on setting up tours, etc.

We know that we want to see Chichen Itza. We know that it is a long trip. We did a similar tour in Costa Rica last year. It was from sun-up to sundown. It was a small group tour. It was very nice, but it was an awfully long day.

We're leaning towards the overnight stay in order to see the sites first thing in the morning and see the light and sound show during the evening. It would also break up the time spent in a tour van and give us the opportunity to have a "home base" during our time in the area.

But by not doing a day trip, it will require two full days away from our resort in Cancun and prohibit us from doing other activities or relaxing on a beach.

It all makes sense for us to stay overnight. The Mayaland Resort Hotel sounds nice with lots of onsite and nearby opportunities for other activities and exploration. It's proximity and access to the ruins seems like what we're looking for in avoiding some of the day tour crowds.

I can't pull the trigger because in the back of my mind I know that doing it all in one long day could provide other opportunities either to relax at the resort or go see and do other stuff.

The only tour company that seems to do these tours (transportation) is Gray Line Tours. The tour can be purchased through other vendors, but the transportation in all cases seems to be through Gray Line.

I have looked at private tours for different day trips. But whether private or with a crowd on a bus, it will be a long day.

How did you go and see Chichen Itza? Did you wish you had done it differently or were you happy with your choice?
 

Fletcher921

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We did go overnight as you are thinking and it was great. We stayed in a small B&B and used “Cancun with Me”. We were very happy with Manny’s service. We saw interesting group places enroute (some ceynotes and also Valladolid) as well as the evening show at Chichen. We actually flew home from Merida the following day so it was even more perfect.
 

Passepartout

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We rented a car and drove to Chichen Itza and stayed at Mayaland Hotel in a bungalow with thatched roof. It was beyond wonderful. O ne of my fondest memories of ALL our travels was walking back to the Mayaland after the night show (Spanish only) at the ruins, through the Spanish moss and hanging vines along the trail, and thinking, "Wow, it's like something from Disney, except THIS IS REAL", not some contrived theme-park effect.

The next day we drove on into Merida, a true Colonial City.

Thanks for dredging up a memory for me. :)

Jim
 

vacationtime1

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We did go overnight as you are thinking and it was great. We stayed in a small B&B and used “Cancun with Me”. We were very happy with Manny’s service. We saw interesting group places enroute (some ceynotes and also Valladolid) as well as the evening show at Chichen. We actually flew home from Merida the following day so it was even more perfect.

We did the same destinations with Manny and also recommend him. We did it as a private tour and as a day trip. He picked us up very early from the Westin Lagunamar in order to arrive at Chichen Itza before the heat of the day and before the tour buses.
 

easyrider

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We took Jim's recommendation and stayed at Mayaland. We were able to see the night lighting of the temple, which was better because we were able to get in early and get front row seats only because we were staying at Mayaland. Same thing for the next morning. We were able to get into the park at least one hour before it opened to the public at the main gate because we were staying at Mayaland. Most of my pictures of the cool stuff have no tourists in them.

After we did the park we were able to cool off in the pool. While all of the tours were eating buffet junk Mexican food we dined at the resort which featured very good and very authentic Mexican and Mayan foods.

We rented a car and it is a very easy drive on both the toll road and regular road. You don't see much on the toll road besides jungle. You do go through a few cities on the regular road which were easy to explore.

Bill
 

whitewater

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I would agree with Jim.

Cancun to Chichen Itza made for a long day. We booked out tour through the hotel.

Started at 6:45, then 3.5 hour bus ride, boxed lunch (nasty), then 2.5 hours at Ruins, then 1.5 hour ride to tour groups restaurant in the middle of a town then 1.5 hours of shopping, then 2 hour ride back only to stop at every resort till we finally arrived at ours @ 10:30pm.....

I would go to Tulum and do eco tour next time. Ruins were nice and guided tour was interesting. 7+ hours in a bus took away any enjoyment.

Either overnight B&B or Tulum would get my vote having done it recently.

-Paul
 

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We rented a car and drove using the little used toll road. It was much quicker than the tour bus which makes all the stops that Paul (whitewater) wrote about. The tour bus makes for a seemingly never ending day.
We have been to Tulum twice, once by driving ourselves and once by taking a tour in a small van run by our resort. Both times were good trips, although years apart.
 

Egret1986

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We rented a car and drove to Chichen Itza and stayed at Mayaland Hotel in a bungalow with thatched roof. It was beyond wonderful. O ne of my fondest memories of ALL our travels was walking back to the Mayaland after the night show (Spanish only) at the ruins, through the Spanish moss and hanging vines along the trail, and thinking, "Wow, it's like something from Disney, except THIS IS REAL", not some contrived theme-park effect.

The next day we drove on into Merida, a true Colonial City.

Thanks for dredging up a memory for me. :)

Jim

A post of yours from another thread really stood out regarding your stay overnight in a Bungalow at Mayaland. It was quite obvious that it was a fond memory. You have once again confirmed it would be time well spent enjoying a very special area at a more leisurely pace. Renting a car isn't an option since we both want to enjoy our vacation. :eek:

We did the same destinations with Manny and also recommend him. We did it as a private tour and as a day trip. He picked us up very early from the Westin Lagunamar in order to arrive at Chichen Itza before the heat of the day and before the tour buses.

I keep going back and forth on what to do. I like the idea of a private tour. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find transportation other than the tour companies for the trip there and back if we stay overnight. We know that overnight in the area would be a great thing for us. However, it looks like transportation is on bus/van with day trippers. I don't want to make all the unnecessary stops these tours take. I've checked to see what the transportation costs would be to get a driver and that's just not something we can really afford to do.


We did go overnight as you are thinking and it was great. We stayed in a small B&B and used “Cancun with Me”. We were very happy with Manny’s service. We saw interesting group places enroute (some ceynotes and also Valladolid) as well as the evening show at Chichen. We actually flew home from Merida the following day so it was even more perfect.

Staying overnight and having the opportunity to do the evening and early morning activities sounds like a great time.

We rented a car and drove using the little used toll road. It was much quicker than the tour bus which makes all the stops that Paul (whitewater) wrote about. The tour bus makes for a seemingly never ending day.
We have been to Tulum twice, once by driving ourselves and once by taking a tour in a small van run by our resort. Both times were good trips, although years apart.

I started looking at rental cars last night. I promised my husband that there would be no rental car. It causes him great anxiety when he's not familiar with an area. Add to that being out of the country, and he was very happy to know that we would not rely on a rental car. It really does seem that this would be the way to go. We wouldn't be hostage to the itinerary of the tour company and have to endure the unnecessary stops that we aren't interested in. We could check out things that we want to see and do at our own pace. It's not like we haven't driven when out of the country, but it is a rarity. In Costa Rica, Barbados and the Bahamas, we relied on local buses and tours. Last year in Grand Cayman, we did rent a car. We only had a few issues (minor) around Georgetown. We were glad that we rented.

In looking at rental cars in Cancun, there were cars as low as $6 for the week. Knowing that no one rents cars that cheap and still makes money, I started looking at where the add-on's come in. Insurance mainly. After reading a couple of posts here on TUG about potentially being surprised at the rental counter, I backed off that idea. Then I remembered that my husband was very relieved to hear "no rental car". That option was off the table.

Then after that, I started looking at Tulum tours and was ready to just put Chichen Itza off for another possible trip back to Cancun. Once we get a "lay of the land", we would get a feel for whether we could handle a rental car. However, we are both looking forward to going to this site this time. I know that we will be "settling" if we find ourselves amongst a larger group on a 3+ hour ride to the ruins.

We took Jim's recommendation and stayed at Mayaland. We were able to see the night lighting of the temple, which was better because we were able to get in early and get front row seats only because we were staying at Mayaland. Same thing for the next morning. We were able to get into the park at least one hour before it opened to the public at the main gate because we were staying at Mayaland. Most of my pictures of the cool stuff have no tourists in them.

After we did the park we were able to cool off in the pool. While all of the tours were eating buffet junk Mexican food we dined at the resort which featured very good and very authentic Mexican and Mayan foods.

We rented a car and it is a very easy drive on both the toll road and regular road. You don't see much on the toll road besides jungle. You do go through a few cities on the regular road which were easy to explore.

Bill

This really seems like the obvious choice.

We're just going to have to rent a car. o_O

You folks that have done it make it sound easy. Would you rent a car for the whole week? (Airport transfers, trip to Chichen Itza, trip to Cooking Class, groceries, parks or other activities, Isla Muejeres, etc.)

Are there areas where driving can be tedious and nerve-wrecking?

If I go this route, I'll delve into the Sticky regarding car rentals in Mexico.

I would agree with Jim.

Cancun to Chichen Itza made for a long day. We booked out tour through the hotel.

Started at 6:45, then 3.5 hour bus ride, boxed lunch (nasty), then 2.5 hours at Ruins, then 1.5 hour ride to tour groups restaurant in the middle of a town then 1.5 hours of shopping, then 2 hour ride back only to stop at every resort till we finally arrived at ours @ 10:30pm.....

I would go to Tulum and do eco tour next time. Ruins were nice and guided tour was interesting. 7+ hours in a bus took away any enjoyment.

Either overnight B&B or Tulum would get my vote having done it recently.

-Paul

I believe that Jim's previous post in another thread is what got me checking into the opportunities available for an overnight stay. It made me think, "I've got to do that."

I haven't been a "park" person for many years and am surprised that we are both interested in them. The activities look fun and care-free. In researching posts on TUG, a couple of people mentioned their enjoyment of these parks. Bottom line, these are controlled environments in beautiful settings. They are amusement parks. Even the most adventurous park, XPLOR, looks pretty tame. We haven't been inside a "park" in years.

Tulum has definitely been on the radar.

I have to figure out this car rental thing and do a complete 180 on my husband. I usually rely on him to drive when we are on vacation. I guess if I choose to change things up that I need to "put my big girl pants on" and do the driving in Cancun. Heck, maybe I will become the "official" driver from now on when we're on vacation. I don't know if that will make him more anxious than just doing the driving himself.

To everyone, :thumbup:. Thanks for your help. :)
 

Passepartout

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This really seems like the obvious choice.

We're just going to have to rent a car. o_O

You folks that have done it make it sound easy. Would you rent a car for the whole week? (Airport transfers, trip to Chichen Itza, trip to Cooking Class, groceries, parks or other activities, Isla Muejeres, etc.)

Are there areas where driving can be tedious and nerve-wrecking?
If you only rent a car for the couple or 3 days that you want to range free, then no, it's a piece of cake. We got ours from a Budget outlet not too far from the airport. The hotel zone may as well be in Florida any other busy tourist area. DO BUY the 3RD PARTY MEXICAN INSURANCE! Every place you'll want to go will have it's address listed as km xx.x. Learn to use these kilometer markers.

Going to Chichen Itza, take the toll road. there are only a couple of toll stops (iirc) and you only buy gas (everywhere in Mexico) at PEMEX and they pump it.

The area around Chichen Itza is fairly sparsely peopled, so traffic is not bad at all. Just watch out for a yellow sign, square on point (a diamond shape) with TOPES on it!!!! These are speed bumps at each entry/exit into to towns. They are BRUTAL and will take the bottom out of a car!

Sounds like you are up for a new adventure! Have FUN- and don't drive after dark.

Jim
 

Passepartout

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If you only rent a car for the couple or 3 days that you want to range free, then no, it's a piece of cake. We got ours from a Budget outlet not too far from the airport. The hotel zone may as well be in Florida any other busy tourist area. DO BUY the 3RD PARTY MEXICAN INSURANCE! Every place you'll want to go will have it's address listed as km xx.x. Learn to use these kilometer markers.

Going to Chichen Itza, take the toll road. there are only a couple of toll stops (iirc) and you only buy gas (everywhere in Mexico) at PEMEX and they pump it.

The area around Chichen Itza is fairly sparsely peopled, so traffic is not bad at all. Just watch out for a yellow sign, square on point (a diamond shape) with TOPES on it!!!! These are speed bumps at each entry/exit into to towns. They are BRUTAL and will take the bottom out of a car!

Sounds like you are up for a new adventure! Have FUN- and don't drive after dark.

Jim
 

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My husband and I did the trip to Chichen Itza from Cancun last Feb. We booked the tour through the desk at the Royal Sands. Yes, it was on a bus with about 38 people, and it was a long day. However, our guide (Victor) was exceptional. He kept us laughing almost the entire time and gave us an excellent history of the Maya. We also had a guided tour of the ruins once we arrived. (He was part Mayan and very proud of his heritage.) The bus was air-conditioned and luxurious. If you are nervous about renting a car and driving, I would recommend the bus tour as an easy and worry-free way of visiting the ruins.
 

pittle

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We went to Chichen Itza as an excurision when we were at the Beach Palace in 1998 - we were able to choose 2 activities and chose that and Isa Mujeres. Both were all day trips. We have gone to Tulum 3 times on other Cancun visits when we have had friends or family join us. It is closer and you see the ocean from the ruins and maybe stop at Xhel-Ha on the way back. We really liked the Xcaret tour that we took on our first visit to Cancun.

We do not rent cars in Mexico. We take taxis or tours. Now that we have been to all the "must do" places, we enjoy the beach. :)
 
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My husband and I did the trip to Chichen Itza from Cancun last Feb. We booked the tour through the desk at the Royal Sands. Yes, it was on a bus with about 38 people, and it was a long day. However, our guide (Victor) was exceptional. He kept us laughing almost the entire time and gave us an excellent history of the Maya. We also had a guided tour of the ruins once we arrived. (He was part Mayan and very proud of his heritage.) The bus was air-conditioned and luxurious. If you are nervous about renting a car and driving, I would recommend the bus tour as an easy and worry-free way of visiting the ruins.
we had victor as well. Funny, but long....
 

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Many years ago went to Cancun on 1 of those Suntrips gigs and rented a cheap beater Nissan Sentra for a week .Drove out to Chechen Itza.The toll road was new and no body was on it except for tour busses.The worst part of the drive was no a/c in the car.Tried to drive back on the free road and it was a narrow road then and very slow.There was really nothing out there except the pyramid back then. I rent cars in Mexico usually 1 time a year.Last time I went I rented directly off of the company website and got no surprises at the rental counter.Yes there is no such thing as a cheap rental car in Mexico.With insurence you are usually at $200-$300 a week.I have seen some websites down to $3 a day.I don’t like being a prisoner at a resort and eating their food all of the time.
 

Egret1986

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Many years ago went to Cancun on 1 of those Suntrips gigs and rented a cheap beater Nissan Sentra for a week .Drove out to Chechen Itza.The toll road was new and no body was on it except for tour busses.The worst part of the drive was no a/c in the car.Tried to drive back on the free road and it was a narrow road then and very slow.There was really nothing out there except the pyramid back then. I rent cars in Mexico usually 1 time a year.Last time I went I rented directly off of the company website and got no surprises at the rental counter.Yes there is no such thing as a cheap rental car in Mexico.With insurence you are usually at $200-$300 a week.I have seen some websites down to $3 a day.I don’t like being a prisoner at a resort and eating their food all of the time.

Thank you for your input on your experiences.

I wholeheartedly agree with your statement "I don't like being a prisoner at a resort and eating their food all of the time."

We did not rent cars in Barbados, Costa Rica and Nassau. We took 2-4 (small group) tours during each week's stay. Our Barbados resort was incredible including their restaurants. Their offerings and presentation were upscale for the AI (which I found reasonable). Nassau had buses and we were able to get around. We felt slightly tied to the resort and it's limited offerings. The units and views were fantastic. Costa Rica seemed to be the most limiting without a car. I believe that we took tours four days of the seven. Fortunately, our resort was close to the beach with several beach-side restaurants. However, going anywhere in the resort usually required a shuttle due to the resort being built into the hills. We both feel it would have been a mistake for us to have rented a car in any of these locations.

We rented a car in Grand Cayman and were fine for the most part. Even driving on the left and learning the roundabouts downtown created little difficulty for us. We were staying on the East End and it would have been a bit agonizing without a rental car to get to other restaurants. We did a couple of tours, which required us to get to the meeting point. We were definitely glad we chose to rent.

I have read the Mexico Sticky on TUG on renting and driving in Mexico.

We feel we're already "behind the 8 ball" on a few things, which cause us a bit of anxiety. 1) Foreign language 2) Foreign Currency 3) Unfamiliar area and customs.

Add in renting a car and driving in Mexico (1) Potential rental issues 2) Vehicle is a "mark" being identified as tourist 3) gas station attendant issues 4) Police issues 5) speed bump issues that could tear the car's underneath out 6) basic concerns about being in a foreign land and 7) our personal anxiety when navigating a vehicle in a foreign land.

We have decided to change things up a bit for our first trip to Cancun. We can strike (7) potential stress factors from our trip by doing some private tours and transportation. We will focus more on doing things that will allow for a more comfortable and carefree vacation. While the opportunity to explore, do and see things at one's pace and venture out for a larger variety of restaurant options is most desirable, we know that the combined stress of the aforementioned things would nullify any benefit gained.

On this trip, we will be able to determine if future trips to the area are probable and whether or not renting a car would be a possible option to explore favorite and new areas more in depth.

There's some great sounding private tours (***** reviews) to give us a sampling of some the great sites and activities available in Cancun.

I appreciate everyone's input!

:hi:
 

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We were there about 5 years ago, and did Flavio Tours to Chichen Itza. It was a private tour with just 4 of us in a mini van, with our tour guide and driver. It's a long drive, so I wouldn't be able to handle being on a big, crowded bus. I really liked our tour guide, and the early stop to the cenote (on the way to Chichen Itza) was incredible. We were the only ones there.
 

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To the OP - based on advice on this forum, this past Christmas week we rented our car from easycarrentals - they came to the resort to drop off the car. You can just rent it for a day or two, and get the full insurance, and after that its pretty hassle free. Our Google maps worked perfectly (Verizon). The only unpleasant surprise was that the toll roads were very expensive (like $25 each way), and they took only mexican cash - no credit cards or dollars. That was a pain for us because we did not have much cash, and we had to "exchange" our US dollars at a ridiculous rate at the next roadside stop. There is NOTHING but jungle on the toll road - and very few cars, for the entire 70+ kms (forget how much)! Its a kind of a freaky experience, but the road itself was in very good condition.

There are people in green shirts at the CI exit selling a "Mayaland hotel package". It was parking for your car, walk to the ruins, tickets and a buffet lunch at the hotel - cost us about US $100 for 4 of us.

Being fairly laid back (read lazy on vacation!), we started from Grand Maya really late, after 10 am, reached there in 2 hours 20 mins, bought the package above, and did the tour (no guide - but I had a handy kindle guide on my phone), had a late (pretty good buffet) lunch at Mayaland, and were back at the hotel by 5 pm. It was fairly painless.

We also stayed at the hotel zone (Lagunamar) earlier on the trip, and found the busses were great, and we did not need a car at all.
 
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