My friend and I are in our 20's and we will be going to Cancun in July. The Cancun Palace offers several free tours and I was wondering if anyone had any information on any of them. These are the tours that are listed on their website: Chichen Itza, Xpu-Ha/ Tulum, Coba, Ek-Balam and Isla Mujeres
We want to take 2 or 3, which ones are the best? Any information would be helpful. Thanks very much. :0) Joanna

My opinion is that Xpu-Ha/Tulum and Isla Mujeres are the top two. Chichen Itza would be number 3 only because it makes for a very long day. It is quite a ways from Cancun.

P.S. You will love the Cancun Palace. It is my favorite place to stay.

Chichen Itza is the tour to the Mayan Ruins correct? That one is a definite because it is one of the reasons we are going to Cancun in the first place. What do the other tours consist of? Assume we know nothing :0) thanks very much. Any other tips about the Cancun Palace? Where to eat? what other palaces to visit? anything would be welcome.

If you are going to Cancun Palace you do not have to concern yourself with "where to eat" this resort is all inclusive, and the restaurants have anything you would want at the best possible quality. You would get two tours with a package. Chichen Itza is a must. It will be very hot in July, but at your age it shouldn't be a problem. Also you will probably like Isla Mujures. You will love this resort. The activities never cease. there's always something to participate in. Enjoy!!!

Well, Im going to the Cancun Palace also soon, the comment as to that you don't have to concern yourself as to where to eat. What about making reservations at the 3 or 4 restaurants in the hotel. Do you have to make reservations? What are the differences between the restaurants? I went to an all inclusive several years ago in the Bahamas and it was difficult to get reservations at certain restaurants in the hotel, is that the case at the Cancun Palace also? These are my concerns about AI, can someone who has been to the Cancun Palace please address my concerns. Thanks.

Chichen Itza is a ruins tour but so is Tulum though not as big. It is quite different from Chichen because it sits on the coast.

As for the restaurants in Cancun Palace, only one requires reservations and they are not difficult to get. You should call before noon the day you want to get a reservation if you want to eat early. We called and changed our reservation on the same day and had no problems.

The restaurant by the pool area serves a great buffet breakfast. They make fresh omelets any way you like them and they are wonderful. They usually grill fresh steaks, chicken and burgers in an outdoor grill area they set up by the pool. It is also very good. They have a snack bar on the other side of the pool area that serves hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, sandwiches. Personally, I have not had anything to eat at Cancun Palace that I didn't think was really good - except for the fried octopus and that's an acquired taste I think!

and what should we make sure we visit at the the other palace hotels?

The tour to Chichen Itza was awesome. It is a long day, but well worth it. The tour bus picks you up at the Cancun Palace, and then stops half way there at an arts and crafts place where you can get out,use the bathrooms, and shop for about 1/2 hr. At Chichen Itza you can tour it on your own, or tag along on any number of guided tours. It is hot there, but there is a snack stand that sells waters and sodas. On the way back you stop at a restaurant where the local people put on a little show, and there is a buffet. I would be careful eating here though-especially anything that is not cooked, such as the salad.2 people in our group had the salad(probably washed with local water) and both came down with stomach problems. The cooked food is probably fine. We also did Xpu-Ha where you can snorkle or take beginner diving lessons, and actually go down into a cave. There is a nice beach area here too.

so, the chichen itza tour is a definite, the tulum tour is ruins on the coast and isla mujeres is an island with snorkeling and shopping. Does anyone have any information on the Coba or Ek-Balam tours? Thank you so much for your help so far :0) Joanna

We spent our honeymoon at the Cancun Palace and it was terrific. I don't know about the tours offered. We got a free jungle tour by visiting a time-share presentation. I believe we booked our Chichen Itza tour through the Palace and it was a very neat experience (but very HOT-in October). Take lots of water. We took dive trips to Isla Mujeres & Cozumel. We'll worth it! We also had some stomach problems. Maybe from too much fruit. The food & drinks were excellent. Beware of Senor Frogs. It's a great place, but too much tequilla and you slide into the alligator pit.

so it sounds like if we have to pick only 2 tours, we will go to chichen itza and isla mujeres. unless anyone has any good things to say about the others?