We took a guided tour to Tulum and Coba with a group called Kukulcan Tours. Our guide was Alonzo, who does many of the tours. It was around US$60 each for the whole day, which included transport from our hotel, lunch and admission as well as guided tour. We rode in an AC van. The tour had eight people all together.
We first went to Tulum -- a Mayan city on the Caribbean coast, about 45 minutes outside of Playa del Carmen. To get there you drive down some narrow rural roads through real-life, very poor Mayan villages. Tulum itself is a small collection of buildings, but very well attended, likely because of its ideal location. There is a small beach you can swim at, and you can stay in Tu
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We first went to Tulum -- a Mayan city on the Caribbean coast, about 45 minutes outside of Playa del Carmen. To get there you drive down some narrow rural roads through real-life, very poor Mayan villages. Tulum itself is a small collection of buildings, but very well attended, likely because of its ideal location. There is a small beach you can swim at, and you can stay in Tulum overnight at one of the beach cabanas. You can easily see the entire place in half a day, however. Tulum has some interesting examples of Mayan architecture -- and how they incorporated the calendar in to their buildings. I won't go into all of the buildings, but I highly recommend a guidebook -- we used Yucatan and Mayan Mexico by Nick Rider. This was an excellent resource, and we found the guides did not know much more than was in the book. The guides were available in English, Spanish, Italian and sometimes German. There are guides at the entry if you want to hire one. Look for the six-fingered handprints on the Great Palace and spend some time at the Castillo.
About 40 minutes further south and central is Coba. This is a more 'rustic' Mayan ruin -- most of the buildings have not yet been uncovered. Coba is in the middle of a jungle, too, so it can get quite humid. The visit is well worth it however. This is much less populated than Tulum or C. Itza. And it is HUGE. You can rent a bike when you get in the entrance. Look for the stellae -- carved panels that tell stories. Some are in terrible disrepair. We found several still buried in the dirt. Children may really love Coba because it has a real Indiana Jones feel to it. The distance from ruin to ruin is several miles, so bring good shoes and lots of water. Seriously consider getting a bike, too. Again our guidebook was excellent. Make sure you bring one, because there are no maps or books for sale at the site. There are several well uncovered sites too see too -- a ball court, the "iglesia", and the aforementioned stellae. Look for the Xaibe or "crossroads" building where many Mayan roads (sac-bae) came together for trading purposes.
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