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 TULUM & XEL HA
Tulum & Xel Ha Tour: With Transportation & All Inclusive
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INCLUDES: Round trip, air-conditioned transportation, tour guide, entrance to both sites, all meals and drinks at Xel-Ha, towels, lockers, ice cream, snorkeling gear and tips.
Departure: Cancun
Rates: Adult $139.00, Child $85.00
Hours: Daily 6:50 am to 8:00 pm
Itineraries: Daily departures between 6:50 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. from your hotel's main door. For hotels in downtown Cancun your pick-up point is in front of the hotel Oasis America. The exact pick-up time will be confirmed after the reservation process. Returns at 8:00 p.m. to your hotel's main door or for the hotels in downtown Cancun in front of the hotel Oasis America.
Departure: Mayan Riviera
Rates: Adult $130.00, Child $99.00
Hours: Daily 7:50 am to 7:00 pm
Itineraries: Departures Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday between 7:50 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. from your hotel's main door. The exact pick-up time will be confirmed after the reservation process. Return around 7:00 p.m. at your hotel's main door.
Departure: Playa del Carmen
Rates: Adult $130.00, Child $99.00
Hours: Daily 6:40 am to 7:00 pm
Itineraries: Departures Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday between 6:40 a.m. and 7:40 a.m. from your hotel's main door. For hotels at the heart of Playa del Carmen the pick-up point will be the hotel Gran Porto Real at Ave. Constituyentes #1. The exact pick-up time will be confirmed after the reservation process. Return around 7:00 p.m. at your hotel's main door.
Rates are in US Dollars
NOTE: Picture I.D., room key or 20 USD, needed for deposit for towels, lockers and snorkeling gear at Xel-Ha.
 GENERAL TOUR INFO
Tulum is a most interesting ruin site to visit because it is the only Mayan ruin site that has the surrounding walls of the main village still left intact. It is also on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
Tulum is a small site, which makes it easy to traverse but by no means is it not any less fascinating than say Chichen Itza or Coba. There are many smaller structures here that can be explored and the beach is considered by many as one of the most beautiful in all the Caribbean.
If you are taking a video camera 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".
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.
For more information see: Xel-Ha
Tulum & Xel Ha Tour: With Transportation & All Inclusive
Click here to Make Tour Reservation
TravelYucatan.com offers exciting guided tours to the following sites:
Click on the Tour Name for more info or to book tour.
Posted Rates are for tours departing from Cancun. Rates vary depending on the pick-up location.
NOTE: Xcaret is not an Archaeological site but does have some Myan ruins and is an excellent place to learn about Mayan culture. We love this place and highly recommend you visit!
To see the complete list of tours available and/or learn more, please visit: ATTRACTIONS AND TOURS
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