Which Ruins? Chitzen Itza or Tulum
 

There are so many ruins to choose from. We can't decide whether we should plan on Chitzen Itza or Tulum? Most travel brochures show a picture of a ruin of a "head", sort of a person's torso up, in front of the water. My guess is that it must be Tulum, since my research says it's the only ruins overlooking the ocean. But no one seems to know where it is. Any ideas? We are planning to stay near Playa Del Carmen. Chitzen Itza will be far, is it worth the drive?

Definitely worth the drive. How long are you staying in Playa? The best thing to do if you have time is to stay right at Chitzen Itza. That way you can see them first thing in the day before the tour buses get there and late afternoon eve when they have all left. I you are time limited Tulum is a very nice day trip and close to Playa. If you don't have a vehicle the local bus will that you to the road leading down and it is only a short walk.

Hi Stella....Tulum is about 1/2 south of Playa del Carmen.. every resort/hotel, etc offers tours to this set of ruins overlooking the Caribbean waters. If you get there on your own, there is also guides that you can hire.<BR>Chichen Itza are the also famous ones and you're looking at 3 hour bus ride round trip to the interior of the Yucatan.<BR>Another option is Coba - not nearly as busy as the above two....the pyramid there is actually the second highest (I think) in the Yucatan...very beautiful site and you can climb the pyramid.

If you really enjoy piramids and Mayan culture then you should go to Chitzen Itza. It's a long drive but an amazing site. If you are in PDC you can go to Tulum too, 1/2 hour drive and you can cover the entire ruins in about 1 1/2 hours, you will not see even 1/4 of what you'll see in Chitzen Itza, but as you found it's the only Mayan ruin next to the ocean. Coba is closer than Chitzen Itza but you have to walk a lot more from the parking area to get to the ruins (maybe 1 miles), it's very hot and lots of bugs and again the pyramid is not as great.

If you are seriously interested, Chicehn Itza. For a "been there done that" ruin experience, Tulum.

Tulum is beautiful, Chichen Itza is VERY impressive. I'd do both. Go to Tulum early in the day. The whole deal (going to Tulum, seeing around and getting back to your hotel) should take no more than 2 1/2 hours. Chichen Itza is a bit further away, and certainly takes more time. If you are in the Playa area, and want to see Chichen properly, you need at least 8 hours (drive 2, see around for 4 and drive 2 hours back). Last year (to the day!) we took a tour of Chichen Itza that covered everything except the Cenote, and it took 3 hours.

Tulum is worht seeing but Chitzen Itza is a must. Climb to the top of great pyramid, the view is fantastic.

The view is indeed fantastic, though there are talks about closing the stairs and not letting people up again. The whole area called "el mercado" is now closed, for instance. The observatory is also roped.<BR><BR>Apparently, a girl kissed the chac-mol statue in "el mercado", and her lipstick stained the statue beyond repair, and is working its way into the stone. They don't want that happening again.

Chichen is spectacular and Tulum is the stuff of postcards, but if I were you I would go to Coba. It's closer than Chichen. I haven't been there in ten years but I doubt much has changed. It hasn't been excavated like Chichen but one of the buildings is among the tallest in Yucatan. There are also some stelae worth seeing. It's undeveloped (at least it was when I was there) therefore giving more of a feel for what these places really were like, IMHO. <BR>

The answer is actually Uxmal...best ruins, but furthest away.

Hi,<BR> My husband and I are thinking of going to Cozumel in March. We would like to check out the ruins either Chitzen Itza or Tulum. Not sure if we could do it from the island or should stay overnight near one of the ruins. Any ideas would be great.<BR>Marilyn

if you are planning to drive to Chitzen, be sure to take the toll route. It is expensive, but WELL worth it. We took the federal hiway back and it took 4 hours to get to Cancun....