Hi there, it's Ernest from Trip Astute. In this video, we're excited to share with
you one of our recent adventures -- exploring the Mayan ruins in Mexico.
(light chiming music)
We visited Riviera Maya in August 2017, and heard a lot of great things about the
Mayan ruins in the area. While Chichen Itza seemed like a popular tour, we
decided to try a Tulum and Coba trip since it offered a variety of activities
besides the ruins, like a visit to a cenote, which are underground rivers in
the area. So, here are the highlights of our adventure. Number 1: The Coba ruins.
Coba is an ancient Mayan city set in the Quintana Roo state of Mexico, about
45 miles from Tulum. Coba spans a vast area of over 80 square kilometers, and
was once known to inhabit a population of 50,000 people. Many of the ruins at
Coba haven't been unearthed yet; only a handful of the estimated 6,500
structures. However, there is still plenty to see and experience while walking
around the site. The highlight of this part of the tour was climbing the 120
steps of the Grand Pyramid, which is one of the few Mayan ruin sites that you're
still able to climb. The view was definitely worth the effort. From the top,
you'll get a view of the lush green jungle surrounding the area. After the
climb, we were given a tuk-tuk style ride back through the site, which was a really
fun way to experience the ruins. Number 2: Cenote Tankach-Ha. Cenotes are
naturally formed swimming holes formed by the collapse of porous limestone rock,
and are found all throughout the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Cenote means
"sacred well", and they are known to have been a main source of water for the
Mayans and a place where many sacred rituals were performed. We were allowed
to swim in the one that we visited, which was a really cool experience. We went
down a steep staircase down to a huge underground area which had a large pool
of fresh water. Given that there's no sunlight, it was pretty cold.
However, after swimming for a bit, we definitely warmed up. It was a great stop
to break up a day of touring in the heat. Number 3: Tulum ruins. Our
last stop was Tulum and a trip to see the spectacular ruins by the ocean. We'd
heard a lot of great things about the ruins of Tulum, and we definitely were
not disappointed. Tulum is a historic Mayan city that was built in the late
13th century, and is full of interesting archaeological gems.
What makes Tulum a bit different from some of the other Mayan ruins in the
area is it's proximity to the ocean, which makes for an incredible backdrop.
This was, in fact, the only Mayan city built on the coast. Tulum is only 100
miles from Playa del Carmen, which makes for an easy day trip. The ruins are open
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and cost about 65 pesos, which is about
$3.50 in US dollars. So if you need to arrange your
own transportation, it should be relatively easy to visit on your own.
Overall, we found the tour to be a good balance between archaeological sites and
areas of natural beauty, and would highly recommend a trip to check out these
places if you visit the area. To help plan your trip, here are our top tips.
Number 1: Book through a recommended tour operator. We booked our tour online
through Expedia. The actual tour was run by Kaminos Travel, a local operator.
However, Expedia does vet local companies before recommending them, so we felt
comfortable that we were booking through a reputable provider. Number 2: Book a
smaller tour if possible. Our tour group had about 30 people, which was larger
than we wanted. This made for a less personal experience, and meant a longer
overall tour time due to us having to make stops along the way to pick up and
drop off passengers. You might pay a premium for a smaller tour, however, I
would recommend it so you're not wasting your vacation time. We shared our
experience of a smaller tour in our "Swimming with Whale Sharks" video, which
is another recommended activity in the area.
Number 3: Pack medicine if you're prone to travel sickness. The journey to
Tulum from Riviera Maya is approximately one hour.
However, our journey ended up being closer to two hours given that we had to
pick up people along the way. If you're prone to any type of travel sickness, I
recommend you pack some additional medicine
and extra water. Number 4: Pack insect repellant. The Tulum ruins are right by
the ocean, which seems to attract a lot of mosquitoes. We didn't wear enough
mosquito repellent and got attacked by mosquitoes the moment we stepped out of our
bus. I always recommend Ultrathon insect repellent, which is the most effective
one that I have found. Check out our video on how to avoid mosquito bites while
traveling for more information on the topic. Number 5: Save time for souvenir
shopping in Tulum. There's a lot of souvenir shops in Tulum, and our tour
allowed us some time to go shopping. We found the prices here to be pretty
reasonable, and we ended up getting all of our souvenirs in one stop. Also, if
using your credit card, remember to use a card with no foreign transaction fee, and pay in
local currency since you'll be able to get a better exchange rate this way.
Number 6: Watch out for additional fees and regulations around photography. It's
worth noting that there are strict photography and video rules at the Coba
and Tulum ruins. Drones are not allowed, and the site charges a standard daily
fee for any video equipment, particularly GoPros. While it's pretty cheap (it's
around $5 per day), it does add additional time to the check-in process
and it's something that you should be aware of even if you're filming clips on
your phone. Have you explored the Tulum and Coba ruins? If so, share your
experience in the comment section below. Also, let us know if you have any
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