Hi,
We will be staying at the Akumal Beach Resort in August and would like to go to Chichen Itza. Do you have any recommendations? Is it better to hire a car (we're not too sure about driving in Mexico), taking a coach trip from the hotel (we assume there will be one) or book a coach trip from somewhere else (where?)?
Thanks for any recommendations you may have.

Drive. There is a road right from Tulum to Chichen Itza. It will allow you to get there early when it opens (8 a.m.) and avoid the coach buses which roll in around 11. Then you can also stop in Valladoloid or other places such as the hammock place outside the prison if you're so inclined. The drive will take about 2 hours. Coba and Ek Balam are also on the way if you don't want to go that far.

Thank you, I thought I had read somewhere that it was a 4 hour drive! What's the road like, is it OK?

I doubt you can make it in two hours. It is about 300 kilometers even if you take the shortcut through Coba. Tour groups say it takes four hours since they make a lot of stops picking people up. If you drive I would count on at least 3 hours.

http://www.travelyucatan.com/trans-10.htm

The roads are okay. If you don't take the toll road though there are a lot of villages with speed bumps that you have to slow down for.

The roads are fine. It's a two lane road without shoulders so be careful about pulling off. Hiring a driver would be my second choice since you would still be able to adjust your departure time. I would stay away from the coach tours because of price, time of travel, and the time you would arrive at Chichen Itza would be the time every other coach arrived. It has not taken me over 2 1/2 hours to get to Chichen Itza but I haven't been since last June so perhaps there's more traffic now?

Thanks. If we decide to drive there, will we be able to get a guide at the site? I know in some places you can only get a guide if you are with a group.

Yes, there are many guides at the entrance. Make sure you bring plenty of water, use the restrooms before you enter the park, and perhaps some bug spray although the bugs were not bad as I recall. Coba was worse as far as bugs since it's more moving through the jungle. Also, as I've last heard, you still cannot climb the castillo at Chichen Itza. This has been since Jan, 2006. Even so, it is still a wonderful place to visit. There is a small fee to park at Chichen Itza and Coba.