*Disclaimer: All opinions expressed within this review are my own and do not represent the thoughts or opinions of any companies mentioned. I was not compensated by any business in exchange for this review.*
One of the main attractions we were excited to see while in Mexico was the Chichen Itza ruins. So naturally, it was the first planned activity on our itinerary. We woke up early in the morning and had a wonderful breakfast on the patio at the Lodge at Chichen Itza before we ventured across the hotel grounds to the little bunkhouse where the tickets are sold. Tip: You must have pesos to purchase tickets for this activity. Admission is $254MXN ($13.50US) per adult and $70MXN ($3.75US) for children 3-12. Children under 3 are free. Once you purchase admission, they give you these little stamp cards with pictures of the different local ruins on them. These make awesome souvenirs or scrapbook decorations! To enter the ruins you walk straight through the little bunkhouse to the other side. All the paths are dirt. It could be handicap accessible, but I didn't see any accessible ramps or other alterations from the natural state of the dirt and gravel paths. Tip: Make sure you bring water or beverages with you as it gets very HOT and I don't recall seeing many vendors selling water or drinks. Along many of the paths leading to and from the different ruins of Chichen Itza you will find tables set up with local vendors selling different souvenirs. There's one area where the vendors are set up on both sides of the path. The vendors yell prices and try to convince you to come to their booths. It reminded me a lot of the game workers at a carnival. I thought it was really neat and you can get some really cheap souvenirs here (<$1US). Don't be afraid to haggle with them. The first price they give is NEVER their lowest! There's also iguanas running around everywhere. So watch your step. We spent 4-5 hours at Chichen Itza, and I feel we could have easily spent a second day exploring.
When we left Chichen Itza, we drove to the Ik Kil Cenote. The area is gorgeous. There's a viewing area where you can look down and see the cenote from above. It's an amazing view. Before you can enter the cenote, you must shower off in one of the provided outdoor showers. That is the coldest water I have ever experienced in my life! Be warned! They provide lockers to store your belongings before traveling downstairs to the cenote. Be careful traveling down these as they are made of natural stone and become very slippery. When you reach the bottom, there are several ways you can enter the water. There are steps down, you can jump in from the bottom landing, or there are 2 higher landings to jump or dive from. This was an incredible experience, but I would recommend doing it mid-day so that the sun is beaming because the water is a much lower temperature due to being underground. We didn't stay in the water very long because it was so cold and there's wasn't a lot to see once you are in it.
There's also a night time light show at the main temple of Chichen Itza that's AMAZING! It was definitely my favorite thing about Chichen Itza. The park provides headphones and an ipod to listen to the show in your native language. The whole show was beautiful and lasted about an hour. You have to enter this show through the main ruins entrance. There's plenty of parking available. I don't remember for certain if it cost, but if so it was less than $5US. There is one little store and a snack cart inside the front gate building. Once they open the gate, there are employees to guide you through the ruins to a seating area. It's assigned seating. So there's no need to rush. The dirt paths are lighted for the most part, and we didn't have any trouble finding our way. However, the seats are very close together and somewhat cramped. The show's magnificence made up for any negatives by far. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Chichen Itza to anyone visiting the area. This was well worth the time and visit!
On the third day of our Mexico vacation, we planned to drive from Chichen Itza to Cancun making detours at a couple ruins along the way. So, we bid farewell to the beautiful Lodge at Chichen Itza and headed out. We planned to stop at Ek Balam and Coba ruins because unlike at Chichen Itza, you can climb on the ruins at these two destinations. First stop - Ek Balam. I don't know if we were overly impressed with it because it was the first ruin we had ever climbed or because of the sheer size of the multiple sites. After paying the entrance fee (around $10US), you walk a short dirt path to the ruins. There are iguanas everywhere here. You are free to explore and walk anywhere within the open area. It was amazing to climb to the top of all the temples and buildings. We spent about 2-3 hours climbing the ruins and taking pictures. Climbing all those steps is an extreme work out! Tip: Make sure you wear good tennis shoes or hiking shoes and not sandals because most of the ruins are uneven stone and some are very slippery. Also, this should go without saying, BRING YOUR CAMERA! Be advised, there are no safety measures in place at any of the ruins we climbed other than a secured rope for balance. So, climb at your own risk. There were no where near as many salespeople at these ruins compared to Chichen Itza. There was also no where to get water or beverages that we saw while at Ek Balam. So make sure you bring your own.
Next up - Coba. We arrived and parked in the little dirt lot outside of the ruin. There are about 5 souvenir shops surrounding the lot. A couple of these shops sell coconuts and waters at a premium price. We paid the ruins admission fee ($3US) at a little stand next to the gate. The ticket agent asked if we wanted to rent a bike or hire a bike taxi guide. We declined thinking the walk was probably similar to the walk we took to the other ruins. WRONG! It's about a mile trek on rough terrain into the jungle to get to the Coba ruins, and the building sites are way farther apart than the ones at Chichen Itza or Ek Balam. Tip: RENT THE BIKE OR BIKE TAXI! You will save so much energy this way and enjoy the site much more. The ruins are not handicap accessible for the most part. You could rent a bike taxi to bring you close to the ruin, but they must stop a good distance from the ruin and aren't allowed to drive within the grassy area in front of each ruin. We flagged a bike taxi down about half way to the site. They are very reasonably priced (about $25US roundtrip, I believe). Walking and climbing all the ruins takes an unexpected amount of leg strength! Coba is home to the tallest Mayan temple. You can climb all 137 feet to the top. In my opinion, if you are going to climb one, why not climb the tallest one?! Tip: I not recommend allowing small children under 5 to climb either of these ruins. As I said before, there are NO safety measures. One could easily fall from any direction off of the ruins. Once you make it back down the ruin and your legs are spent, that bike taxi is a lifesaver! You can just hop on the taxi and ride back the the gate instead of limping the mile back uphill! We only spent 1-2 hours at Coba. I think the bike taxi really sped things up. If you are going to see ruins, you should definitely go climb to the top of one as well. It really allows you to see things more from the Mayan perspective. Plus, the views are INCREDIBLE!
