yessara

Hello

We are going to western caribean island in Jan 2008. One of the activity in Cozumel is Tulum runins. I checked the disney website and the age requirement is 5 and up. My daughter will be 3 years by that time. Because of this I am planning to go by myself to the tulum ruins from Playa del Carmen by taking a taxi.

Will someone please give some ideas or tips whether I can take taxi or book a tour through some tour operator.

Thanks
Van.

virginia

my advice is get off the ship as early as possible. find a taxi to take you to tulum. if you can beat the resort and ship tourists you'll be glad, as the place seems to get kind of crowded. get your ticket and ask to hire a guide - they are worth it.
i'm not positive but i don't think the age requirement is tulum's. i think i recall seeing people with strollers wandering around. it's all pretty flat and takes maybe 90 mins to see. perhaps some other poster knows for sure. but maybe dd could go, not that she'd appreciate it all that much but it might make a better day of it for your family.

Reisender

You dock in Cozumel right? Is Disney providing transport to the mainland, ie to Playa Del Carmen? You will have to get to the mainland first, then from the port to Tulum. A taxi would be one way to do it, but will be pricey as it is pretty long haul to the ruins from PDC. One tour company that has good reputation, but I have never used them as I always rent a car, is thisone:
http://www.playa.info/tours-anna-james-general.html

KVR

We just returned from Playa del Carmen and did the Tulum and Beyond tour with James and Anna.

First off, since you are on a cruise stopping in Cozumel, my personal thought is don't do it. You will need to take the ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen. It's approx. 45 minute ride over with some pretty rough water. Many complaints of seasickness have been reported. Once you reach Playa del Carmen if you take a taxi it's a little over an hour drive. That will be a major expense to and from. We did a taxi from Playa to Xel-Ha and is was $40 each way. Tulum is much farther. I'm not sure what the actual cost of the Tulum tour and guide would be since it was included in our tour. We paid $107 p/p for the tour with James and Anna, which included transportation, a stop at a beach for lunch and 2 cenotes for swimming and snorkeling. We didn't see any age requirments for Tulum. There were several children in strollers, which I thought was pretty inconsiderant on a parent's part since it was extremely hot and the child wasn't getting anything out of the site since they were so young.

How long do you have in Cozumel? An all day trip like that, you need some type of guarentee you will make it to the ship back in time. The James and Ann tour meets at Java Joes at around 7:30 am. Don't know if you will be able to make that time. The tour is done about 5pm.

We did a Western Caribbean cruise on Princess in April. We spent the day at Chakanaab Park in Cozumel. There are several different types of tours that are on the Island of Cozumel you could do and won't take up so much time. Check the tour section of your ship's web-site.

yessara

Thanks for all your suggestion. Finally we have decided to take the tulum trip provided by the disney cruise and leave my daughter in the ship nursery.

pepper131

Strange that Disney has an age requirement, no?

I have taken my kids to Tulum, Coba, Chichen Itza, Muyil and Ek Balam. My youngest started at age 3 months (Muyil and Tulum) up until this year at age 4 (Coba). Tulum is such a small site, I can't imagine why they restrict the age.

blondlady

It is too bad you are leaving your child. There is a ruin site right on Cozumel, san Gervaisio. Tulum has no age limits for the ruins and you really do not need a guide at Tulum. Just buy one of their little pamphlet books.

yessara

Once again thanks for all your suggestion.

I got question for PEPPER131. You have mentioned that you have taken your 3 year old to Tulum. Did you book the excursion to tulum from Disney cruise ?. The reason is in the website they have mentioned that the recommended age is 5 and up . Since they say it is "recommended" , notsure whether I can take my 3 year old to Tulum. Please let me know.

pepper131

No...never been on a cruise. We stay in the little cabanas down the beach rd from the ruins.

The ruins of Tulum are just a wide open space, but there are a few unsafe spots, but nothing you couldn't handle as a parent.

You can take an child of any age to the ruins...any of the ruins.

pepper131

See if this helps you:

http://locogringo.com/past_spotlights/aug2002.html

riviera

i lived in playa del carmen for a short time, a taxi will be pricey and people from all ages are welcome to the ruins, just keep a good eye on your kid because of cliffs and big waves at the beach, measure you bring plenty of bottle water, cofortable sandals and try to be in shade as much as you can because in january it s kind of hot, depart from playa del carmen very early in the morning , go to the bus station right off the ferry port in playa you won't get lost, and you can ask the people around for the bus station, it is really close to the port, there are buses to tulum every 10 minutes and it is much much cheaper than taxi, buses are clean don't get the wrong idea and they have air conditioning and they might have tv too, trip to tulum is about 40 minutes and the ruins are really close to the bus stop, it is a good experience don't miss it, i am going back to playa del carmen in november if you need anymore information my e-mail address is : [email protected]