Feb 12 2009
Mayan Ruins at Tulum, Mexico
One of the “shore excursions,” or tours we took from Cozumel while on our cruise was to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, Mexico. This was the Carnival-sponsored tour, so I’ll provide details on the tour itself for those who may be interested.
Note: There are a lot of photos in this post; I apologize if it makes the page load slowly. I have even more photos available on my Flickr page. The ruins were indeed beautiful and we took many photographs.
Cozumel is an island off the Mexican mainland. Cruise ships can’t dock on the mainland because the world’s second largest coral reef runs along the shore. From the cruise ship, tour passengers board a ferry to Playa del Carmen, a 40-45 minute trip. There are both indoor and outdoor seating areas on the ferry.
The ferry deposits you in Playa del Carmen. The tour information calls it a 6-block walk to the bus, but a guide takes you all the way and it’s a pleasant, shady walk. It did not seem long at all.
Our tour guide provided a lot of information about Mexican and Mayan culture along the drive. Before going to Tulum, the bus stops at this shop where there are artisans working, and souvenirs and artwork for sale inside. Another reason for this stop is because this has “nicer” restrooms than are available at the Mayan ruins. Free shots of tequila are also offered at this stop.
Then it’s another 20 minutes or so to Tulum. Here there is a lot of walking–walking from the bus through the shop area and along a path to the ruins themselves (the path is rough; watch your step or pay a few dollars to take a shuttle), and then walking around part of the ruins to the entrance.
This temple is the largest of the buildings at the Tulum ruins.
Although this building looks crooked, it has been designed so that the sun shines through it perfectly on the summer solstice. The Mayans were mathematical and watchers of the sky.
The ruins are expansive. It is thought that they were colorfully painted when they were in use.
This is the watchtower along the outer wall.
Artwork such as this decorates many of the buildings.
The thatching is not original; it has been placed there to protect artwork underneath.
Pink iguanas roam the ruins freely. Can you spot one below?
The view of the Caribbean from the ruins is breathtaking.
Foundations such as these are all that remain of many of the buildings.
Visitors can also descend these stairs to the sandy beach below. Our tour guide recommended taking at least 20 minutes to do this, but it would have required bringing our swimming gear along just for that short time, so we opted not to. There aren’t really any good changing facilities on-site.
The views of the Caribbean are plentiful from inside the ruins.
It was about 90 degrees with a nice breeze the day we were at Tulum, and it was comfortable. Our guide said it’s very hot and humid in the summer.
Upon exiting the ruins, we stopped to eat at the restaurant/cafeteria before returning to the bus. There’s also a Subway there. (Yes, really, a Subway.) Several shops sell local wares and souvenirs as well.
From boarding the ferry to returning to the pier, this was a 7.5-8 hour trip, but only about 2.5 hours were at Tulum; the rest was transit time. Still, this was one of the highlights of our trip, to learn about the culture and history of Mexico and the Mayan people. It was a day well spent.
Long day! I had forgotten how incredible the sea is there, thanks for the pictures.
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Love the pictures.
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It felt like I was looking at the pictures I had taken when we were on our cruise and went to see the ruins. I loved looking down at the ocean from above and seeing people. I loved the ruins took so many pictures. Thank you for the reminder of the fun that I had when we went.
Sounds like you had a fun adventure! Look forward to hearing more about it!
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The day I took my boys to Tulum, they decided to pretend that they were Mayan priests and I was the princess they would be sacrificing that day. It was a hoot!
Some photos from our day at Tulum are here: http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/wandermom/2008/09/12/mayan-ruins-and-water-parks-in-mexico/
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Wonderful photos. Majestic ruins. The iguana looks big, can’t decide if I’d find it scary or not… Oh, that color of the sea – fabulous!
Tulum has been high up in our wish list to go for years, we’ll see if we ever make it.
Tulum looks lovely!
I went on a great trip with these guys to mayan ruins. We went all the way from Playa del Carmen through Belize to Guatemala and back in just 8 days!
The best thing was that they combine adventure activities like hiking, biking and inner-tubing with Maya ruins. We saw four Maya sites with quite impressive ruins. Tikal in Guatemala was simply amazing, our guide told us that it’s the best site at this time. Check this page from their site for some info on Tikal: http://onejungle.com/mayan-temples/39-mayan-pyramids/95-mayan-temples-
Anyway, guess you enjoyed Tulum too, I’ll pay a visit next time I’m in the area.
Maya Ruins’s last blog post..Tikal Visit
Hi,
I popped over here from Twitter Moms.
Really glad I did. Your pictures are great, it was like taking a mini vacation for myself.
I will say it might freak me out to have one of the Pink Iguanas just wandering around. Guess i could put up with them just to see the beach.
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[...] Mayan Ruins at Tulum, Mexico Posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 in Tours – Comments: (8) One of the “shore excursions,” or tours we took from Cozumel while on our cruise was to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, Mexico. This was the Carnival-sponsored tour, so I’ll provide details on the tour itself for those who may be interested.Note: There are a lot of photos in this post; I apologize if it makes the page load slowly. [...]
I loved Cozumel and the Mayan ruins. We stayed at the magnificent Park Royal Cozumel thanks to our Royal Holiday Club membership points, and we had a wonderful trip, the white beaches and clear water, amazing.
I loved the pics–We are going on a cruise in Oct (hope is isn’t as hot). My hubby really wants to go to the ruins, but the other 5 of us were a bit skeptical. I think this has changed my mind and it might be a nice day for my hubby & I.
Thank you for sharing.