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 TOUR TIPS
If you are taking a video camera into a Mayan ruin site you must pay $5.00 extra to use it. You pay at the front gate at the ruin site. [You pay for the rights to video the park.] This does NOT apply to cameras.
Take a jacket/blanket/towel with you for the bus ride because the air-conditioning is always on "freezing".
It is safe to leave things like blankets, hats etc on the bus but we do not recommend leaving anything valuable. The bus driver will not let anyone who is not on the tour get on the bus so you do not have to worry about the bus driver or tour guide or any Mexican stealing anything. If anything goes missing it is another tourist.
At the ruin sites do NOT cross any marked lines or enter any restricted areas. Even if you think nobody is watching you we can guarantee that somebody "is".
Keep an eye on your children at all times and warn them not to walk off into the jungle. There are many paths that just go straight into the jungle and they are very easy to get lost in. We speak from experience.
Use bug spray here regardless of what time of the year you visit.
 CHICHEN ITZA TOUR TIPS
Your tour bus first enters a large parking lot and lets you off. The front entrance has stores and restaurants where you can buy books, maps, videos and arts and crafts. This is where the public washrooms are as well.
Buy water at the entrance! The ONLY other place to buy water is at the cenote and depending on the rout your guide takes you on you may not hit it until late in your tour and you will be extremely thirsty by then.
Take lots of film with you. You cannot stop during your tour to go look for film but you can buy film, batteries and disposable cameras at the front gate.
Take a hat or an umbrella with you especially in the summer [June - August], it gets hot.
Better to ware hiking shoes over sandals if you want to climb up things. This is because your feet get all sweaty and it becomes easy to slip unless you have really tight well fitting sandals.
Bring a nap-sack to carry your stuff on your back.
Do NOT climb up the big Kukulcan pyramid if you are afraid of heights, suffer from vertigo or have any reservations. Do NOT let your friends or family talk you into it if you have the slightest apprehension. If you disregard this advice and some how manage to make it to the top you will be terrified.
There is an inner chamber in the Kukulcan pyramid. The steps that lead up to the chamber or extremely hard to climb and if you suffer from asthma or clostifobia then do NOT go in.
NOTE: If you are middle age or over and totally out of shape physically [like us] and decide to climb up and down the pyramids and temples during your tour keep in mind that you will feel it the next day. To climb the steps you use a lot of muscles you normally don't use and these muscles will become sore the next day if you over do it.
Keep an eye on your children at all times and warn them not to walk off into the jungle. There are many paths that just go straight into the jungle and they are very easy to get lost in. We speak from experience.
Bugs are not a problem but are more prevalent in the dry seasons. Take bug spray as a precaution.
Pay close attention to your guide and you will learn a lot about the Maya and Chichen Itza.
COBA RUINS TOUR TIPS
Your tour bus first enters a large parking lot and lets you off. The front entrance has stores and restaurants where you can buy books, maps, videos and arts and crafts. This is where the public washrooms are as well.
Buy water at the entrance! There is no where to get it inside.
Take lots of film with you. You cannot stop during your tour to go look for film but you can buy film, batteries and disposable cameras at the front gate.
If you see an interesting book at any of the booths at the entrance you should consider buying it there because you may not see that book anywhere else.
Better to ware hiking shoes over sandals if you want to climb up things. This is because your feet get all sweaty and it becomes easy to slip unless you have really tight well fitting sandals.
Bring a nap-sack to carry your stuff on your back.
Do NOT climb up the big Nohoch Mul pyramid if you are afraid of heights, suffer from vertigo or have any reservations. Do NOT let your friends or family talk you into it if you have the slightest apprehension. If you disregard this advice and some how manage to make it to the top you will be terrified.
Keep an eye on your children at all times and warn them not to walk off into the jungle. There are many paths that just go straight into the jungle and they are very easy to get lost in. We speak from experience.
Use bug spray here regardless of what time of the year you visit.
Pay close attention to your guide and you will learn a lot about the Maya and Coba ruins.
You do not do that much climbing on this tour but you do a lot of walking so we recommend comfortable shoes or sandals here.
The bus ride to Coba is interesting. The bus ride from Cancun to the turn-off is around an hour and a half. From Playa del Carmen the ride is 30 - 45 minutes. Then you turn off the highway and enter the jungle. You start going down in elevation as you drive deep into the thick forest of semi-tropical flora. During certain times of the year the Tarantellas are in abundance and many can be seen crossing the road. Many turn into Tarantula Pancakes.
TULUM RUINS TOUR TIPS
Your tour bus first enters a large parking lot and lets you off. The front entrance has a flea market, stores and restaurants where you can buy books, maps, videos and arts and crafts. This is where the public washrooms are as well.
Bring water! There is no place to buy it once you enter the ruins.
Take lots of film with you. You cannot stop during your tour to go look for film but you can buy film, batteries and disposable cameras at the front gate.
Take a hat or an umbrella with you especially in the summer [June - August], it gets hot.
Better to ware hiking shoes over sandals if you want to climb up things. This is because your feet get all sweaty and it becomes easy to slip unless you have really tight well fitting sandals.
Bring a nap-sack to carry your stuff on your back.
Bugs are not a problem but are more prevalent in the dry seasons. Take bug spray as a precaution.
Pay close attention to your guide and you will learn a lot about the Maya and Tulum Ruins.
INTERESTING THINGS
We have been told that the Tulum Ruins lighthouse shines a light out into the sea to help boats navigate to the shore but it is really a trick to guide enemies into the reefs. There is apparently [we have never seen it] another lighthouse along the coast that is the correct navigation aid.
Quite often Tulum is referred to as "the only walled Mayan city". This is in fact not true as you encounter many "walls" visiting Mayan ruin sites. However the Tulum ruin's wall is the only complete wall still left in tact.
It is speculated that a Spanish sailor who was captured by the Maya helped them build the military aspects of the site.
At Xel-Ha if you visit the ruins [not included in the tour] will notice two things if you look carefully. First there are lots of old conch shells lying around a particular area. The shells were ground up, burnt then used as mortar for building. There are also many broken pedicles littering the ground as well.
We will never know for sure but it is possible this village was used for the creation of Mayan cement, on a large scale.
SNORKELING AT XEL-HA
If you decide to snorkel Xel-Ha you may encounter patches of water that appear to be oily because you get a very distorted view looking through the water. Some people will tell you it is the lime or some other mineral but it is fact a phenomena that occurs when fresh water meets ocean salt water.
When snorkeling Xel-Ha you will bump into these odd looking stone things that look like some kind of ancient Mayan artifact. They are not. The "cement" enclosures were put there recently for small fish to hide in from larger predators.
MAYAN RIVIERA HOTELS
For current Mayan Riviera - Riviera Maya hotel and resort information including rates, availability and secure on-line reservations please see:
 Mayan Riviera Hotels & Resorts
Cancun Airport to Hotel Shuttle see:
Transfer Information
Answers for many of your questions may possibly be found here:
Mayan Riviera Vacation Info Mayan Riviera F.A.Q. Things To Do
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