PerkelFlirp

Sailing on the Carnival Dream in October to Cozumel, Belize, Roatan and Costa Maya. They all offer tours to the Mayan Ruins. Is there a must see that stands out? Tulum looks nice with its location overlooking the Caribbean Sea and time for a quick swim. From what I've read, it's a long hot 7 hour tour. We're either snorkeling or cave tubing in Belize, so that leaves Roatan or Costa Maya.

Thanks for your help!

SiteC_er

Ruins in Belize are impressive...plus the port there is a good place to get away from (bad part of town)

SiteC_er

Ruins in Belize are impressive...plus the port there is a good place to get away from (bad part of town)

volcanogirl

We thought Tulum was really beautiful. Great location.

jamie99

Closest ruins to Costa Maya would be Chacchoben and possibly Kohunlich.

globetrots

Tulum's ruins can be seen in about 10 minutes, but the setting is nice and beach is good. There are no ruins near Roatan: Copan is on the complete other side of the country. Agree with a comment above that Belize may be the best bet as Belize City is one really ugly place to hang out, even by cruise ship stop standards. If that's all you see, you'll have a very warped impression of what is really a beautiful country otherwise.

qwovadis

Tulum archaeological zone is located 131 kilometers south of Cancun, just 20 minutes south of Akumal on coastal highway 307. Also pretty nears is Uxmal (means thrice built) and in this case five stages of construction have actually been found.Uxmal was one of the largest cities of the Yucatán peninsula, and at its height was home to about 25,000 Maya.
Pyramid of the magician is spectacular and relatively untouched giving it a far more authentic feel than Tulum.

Usually hire a driver guide from $50 per half day to save DIY

www.mayan-traveler.com good info on options

xel-ha.com amazing makes a wonderful stop to/from

Not all ports have good or easy to get to ruins most inland.

Belize and Roatan options far less impressive

Palenque Tikal Copan are the very best long slog from the sea.

Happy Travels!

qwovadis

http://www.destination360.com/north-...a/mexico/uxmal

ShellD

What are your other excursions available in Cozumel? I think going to Tulum from Cozumel is a really long day. If you can stay on Cozumel you'll probably enjoy the day more than heading over to the mainland.

You can check out cruisecritic.com for some opinions on cruise excursions. Also you may want to consider booking your excursion directly rather than through your cruise ship for a better tour. I'm not familiar with the Costa Maya port, but from what I've read if you can do a ruin from there it might be good. The other ports all offer some pretty great excursions. I hope to do a similar cruise this year!

Have fun!

PerkelFlirp

Thanks for the recommendations! You guys are so well travelled - you gave me awesome information on Costa Rica earlier this year!

My family was thinking of splitting up in Cozumel since I didn't want my 9 year old to be on a long excursion to Tulum. I like the idea of getting a private driver - I've always wanted to go to Tulum and Xel-ha but didn't see anything like that offered as a shore excursion. If we do both that would break it up and perhaps the four of us could go together.

Qwovadis - can you recommend a driver or where to find a reputable one?

ShellD - If we do split up, I was looking for something fun to do with my son - perhaps Xcaret or the beach break at Nachi Cocom and add on one of the activities like jet ski, banana boat, etc. Anything else you would recommend?

jamie99

I've only used them for airport transfer, but entertainment-plus.net gets good reviews and they have private tours.

ShellD

My opinion - if you have a 9 year old, as fun as Xcaret is, it's too far from Cozumel for a day trip. Especially on a cruise - I'd be worried about getting back to the ship on time. There's enough to do there for a full day, and you have to wait to dock, get to the ferry, take the ferry, get to Xcaret before you even get to have the fun there! Then you have to get all the way back to your ship. I'd skip it. I would try to stay on Cozumel and do something fun there. Nachi Cocom looks like fun. You could snorkel in Cozumel too. I know there are some dune buggy tours around the island there as well - we've done that and it was a blast! They might not offer them from your ship, but you can contact them and see if their timing works with your ships docking time. Here's a link to the one we did several years ago - it was a pretty full day:

http://www.eagleraydivers.com/TarzanTours.htm