How to get from Cancun to Ek Balam without a car
 

Can anyone tell me if there is a bus that goes from Cancun to Ek Balam? We don't have a lot of money to spend on a tour.

Any suggestions for inexpensive tours in the Cancun area? Cenotes that are easy to get to?

You can take a bus to Valladolid and hire a taxi to take you to Ek Balam. It is also possible to take a collectivo. I would suggest the taxi. Ek Balam is spectacular but compact.

I would think a cab would be expensive from Valladolid to Ek Balam since it's a 30-45 minutes drive.

The least expensive route would be to rent a car for the day and DIY - do-it-yourself.

There's a cenote about 1k from the entrance of Ek Balam - you'll see signs for it in the parking lot.

If you have time before your trip (like a couple of weeks), order the Chichen Itza map from cancunmap.com - it includes Ek Balam, shows where cenotes are, gives driving directions...everything you'll need for a successful daytrip.

No time to order the maps. We are leaving on Sunday. We are not old enough to rent a car, either. I found out that there is a bus from Valladolid to Ek Balam every morning at 9, returning at 1:00.Now, how to get from Cancun to Valladolid in time to catch the bus is a new glitch.

Taxis are not terribly expensive in Mexico, so you might still try that. Post over at Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum (or do a search) and you'll probably find out how much it costs and the alternatives.

Slow day, I did it for you. Searched "taxi ek balam" and got this info from January '07 (Remember that $1 U.S. equals 11 Mexican Pesos) . . . :

"going to Ek Balam . . . this may come up for future travellers...there's an easier, cheaper, one-step way to get to Ek Balam. Take a taxi (well, actually a colectivo, but everyone calls them taxis) directly to Ek Balam. Blue Tsurus that have Ek Balam written on the side. Trying to picture Valladolid right now, and stand on the street on the other side of the square with your back to the cathedral. Directly behind you will be the women who sell huipiles and directly in front will be El Bazaar. On one of those side streets is the taxi stand for Ek Balam. You have to pass the big tan vans going to Temozon and then on the next block you'll find the blue taxis. They typically wait for 5 or 6 passengers before leaving, but will go with who's there already and charge you a bit more. He would have taken me for 50 pesos alone, but I waited for the taxi to fill up and he charged me 30 pesos and dropped me right off at my destination.

I had forgotten that Ek Balam was about a half hour away, so I was shocked at the price, but then when I got there realized that others had been taking private taxis for about 130 pesos."

Thank you very much. Now we don't have to leave Cancun at 5:00 a.m. to be sure we get to Valladolid intome to catch the 9:00 bus.

Even 130 pesos is a great fare for a 30 minute ride. Along the coast, a 30 minute ride would cost around 300-400 pesos. Thanks for posting this bargain info!!