We booked an all-inclusive tour with Daniel at the hotel. He was really helpful and we really enjoyed out tour. Cancun Tours was the name of the company we booked with. Our bus picked us up at the front of our hotel. We had an air-conditioned bus, with breakfast at tables on the bus. Breakfast was sweet rolls, juice, and coffee. All throughout the trip we had unlimited drinks and water at the ruins.

The ruins were really something to see. I have great respect for the Mayan people. I think we could have learned from them in our culture today. Everyone in our party really enjoyed the tour.

Chichen Itza is a large historical site with many ruins. The Mayans were very advanced. From the observatory, they could tell when to plant their crops, when it would rain, etc. You could clap your hands in front of it and the echo would come from exactly due north, not magnetic north. Everything was so calculated. The big temple had four sides, each having 91 steps to the top (totaling 364 steps) and one last step to the top of the temple, bringing the total stairs to 365 (like the days in a year). There was a monument with 2000 pillars, one pillar for each warrior. There was a huge stadium where they would play games. There is so much to learn from this place. I would love to return. Their culture was so interesting. There are walls that would separate them into society classes. This was a wonderful trip, but it was kind of a long journey for our five-month-old and two-year-old.

The two-hour bus ride takes you through rural Mexico, including some Mayan villages. The bus makes a quick stop at a local market filled with local handicrafts. Most of these are available at the ruins as well.

The tour guide was excellent and gave us a great synopsis of what Mayan life was like, including explaining customs and rituals. It was truly fascinating.

On the way home, the tour stops in a tiny Mayan village for a quick lunch and a short show with traditional Mexican dancers.

This trip is well worth taking.

PACK WATER!!!!

The bus trip stopped at a small village where you could buy candies/souvenirs/local art at a good price. We also stopped for a traditional Mayan lunch buffet-style. The food was excellent and included fish, beef, chicken, and vegetarian dishes. You must try the rice pudding!

The guided tour portion of the ruins was when you could explore the game court and the largest Mayan temple. You are then given approximately 45 minutes to explore on your own, including climbing the pyramid. Get ready to overcome your fear of heights! It is almost a vertical climb and is best tackled by climbing in a zigzag path up and down. There are also observatory ruins, royal palace ruins, and a museum where you can find great souvenirs and books.

There are several archealogical sites throughout Mexico. Chichen Itza is one of the largest. The resort offered tours to Chichen Itza, but we chose to drive ourselves. We didn't save any money, just time. The toll for entering the Yucatan is about $20 and entrance fee to Chichen Itza is about $30 per person. The drive took about three hours. We had no trouble finding it with a map.

Once inside you have the option of getting a tour guide that will explain things as you go through. They carry different color feathers that represent the languages they speak. There several ruins at this site including the ball court, the temple of warriors, El Castillo (the pyramid in the center), and the Cenote (sacred wells where the Mayan people made their sacrifices).

We climbed to the top of the pyramid, where the view was spectacular. The stairs leading up the pyramid are very steep, so climbing down them was much more challenging than the climb up. There is a rope in the center of the stairs to help you climb down. There is a staircase inside the pyramid that you climb. It leads to a small room near the top of the pyramid that contains some artwork and statues. In November it wasn't too bad, but we were told it gets extremely hot and humid in the summer.