The wife and I won a 3 night vacation at the Iberostar Tucan and while there want to visit a Mayan ruin. Years ago we visited Tulum so we're thinking or either Coba or Chichen Itza.We'd appreciate any info on which is the most interesting and/or considering the short length of our stay which would be the most convenient to visit. Any other info about the Iberostar or the area in general,especially good snorkeling areas nearby would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch !!!!!

That's in Playa del Carmen, right? The most convenient from a time standpoint would certainly be Coba. Coba is about an hour and a half from Chichen Itza (half an hour or so inland from Tulum ruins). Of course, you could fly to Chichen Itza. The real difference for me is in how long it takes to see these two sites. Coba is spread out quite a bit, but you can see it pretty well in 2-3 hours. I think anything less than 4-5 hours is too little for Chichen Itza, which is also fairly large and is so well restored. My personal opinion, considering how much I love the archaeological sites, would be to go to Chichen Itza - go as early in the day as at all possible. If you really want to get a good start and save time, rent a car and leave at first light or earlier. With a car, you could also leave when you wanted without going by the bus or tour schedule. I am putting together a Web site right now that includes many of my own tips and photos on the Yucatan right now. There is a whole page on 4 Maya sites. You can actually access it, but I haven't made the address public because there is still so much work to do. When are you going? I will finish my Mexico section by the end of the week and can e-mail you the site address. On the site, you will also find a few good resources for learning more about the Maya. You will appreciate the experience a lot more that way.

Thanks for the response Dan. Our freebe trip is valid thru 4/2001 so we haven't set a date yet,living in the northeast,we will more than likely wait until the dog days of winter set in and then chase the sun.Like you I to enjoy archaeological sites in fact one of my hobbies is searching for artifacts/relics with a metal detector.I would much like to see your site so when you're ready please e-mail the site address.Thanks again !!

It must be a Monday. Coba may be an hour and a half from Chichen Itza, but I meant to say Coba is an hour and a half from Playa del Carmen. Anyway, I wrote your address down to let you know about my site's address - probably 1-2 weeks from now.

Both Coba and Chichen Itza are interesting to visit. Chichen Itza gets lots of tourists and you need a fair amount of time to visit it. Coba, on the other hand, was very quiet when we were there a few years ago. We rented a car and drove from Playa del Carmen - easy enough drive, although the road wasn't very good (lots of pot holes).