Chichén Itzá & Cenote Ik Kil
Chichén Itzá
A Piece of History awaits…
A short drive from the beaches of Cancun and Tulum you will find Chichén Itzá, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. This magnificent structure is part of the Mayan ruins and is truly an amazing wonder dating back to 600 A.D. But, that’s not the only beautiful sight to see in the area. Only five miles away is Cenote Ik Kil, one of the most popular cenotes in the Yukatan Peninsula. Both of these are adventures not to be missed!
Visiting Cenote Ik Kil
The best way to enjoy Chichén Itzá is early in the morning before the crowds arrive and tour buses unload. However, you’ll also want to experience Cenote Ik Kil without anyone else around. Our recommendation is to go here first. We drove two hours, leaving at 7am, in the hopes of avoiding the crowds, and boy was it worth it! We were the very first ones to arrive and had the whole place to ourselves for a full 30-45 minutes before any others came. This cenote is such an amazing wonder to behold!
To be the only two people to swim here made for fantastic pictures and was beyond thrilling. We swam in its crystal clear waters and cascading vines and double-dog-dared each other to make jumps off of the highest of three places that you can jump from. It was a little scary making the first jump, but we both agreed that this was one of our favorite adventures all week!!
We changed out of our wet swimsuits in the bathroom there at the cenote and headed to our next stop for the day! From here, Chitchen Itza is only a 2 mile drive. See pictures below. Read more about this cenote here.
Visiting Chichén Itzá
These ancient ruins were once the capital and center of the ancient Mayan empire in Central America. Now it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will find pyramids, temples, columns and other stones structures that were all once very colorful, painted in red, green, blue and purple.
About
The most prominent feature of Chichén Itzá is El Castillo, or the Temple of Kukulcan. This temple stands about 98 feet high and consists of a series of nine square terraces, each over 8 feet high, with a 20 foot temple upon the summit. Interesting to note, there is another older temple buried below this one. There was once an underground tunnel open to tourists that allowed them to travel from the base of the north staircase to the stairway of the hidden temple. The Temple of Kukulcan is known for its occurrence of a series of triangular shadows that can only be seen in the late afternoon around the Spring and Autumn equinox. This is the point in their calendar when the length of night and length of day are almost exactly equal. Find more historical background here.
Shopping for a hat right outside the entrance
How to Get There
Rent a car for the cheapest way to reach this area. Your GPS on your phone will work just fine on the roads with no trouble navigating. All signs are clearly marked. If you would rather not be left alone to traverse the roads, there are plenty of tours that will pick you up from your resort and take you there. We like the freedom to explore at our own pace, so we opted to rent a car for our entire time in the Yukatan Peninsula.
Arrive early to see this amazing structure without crowds of people all around it.
Normal hours of operation
Monday to Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (The last access to these sites will be at 4:00 p.m.)
Cost
$80 pesos $4.03 US dollars
Once You are There
Once you arrive at the parking lot you can make your way to the ticket office. After purchasing your ticket, walk to the entrance where you will have your ticket checked by the attendant. There are many locals selling goods at their small tables and carts around the entrance and all throughout the park. We love to support local markets and soon found a hat for me, as mine had been left at the resort. We also bought a chess set made out of some sort rock with the emblem of the monument etched into it.
They have many locals selling their goods just like this one. We found a carved chess set (pictured on the table) to bring home to the kids.
How Much Time to Spend
You can easily cover Chichén Itzá in a couple of hours. I would say plan to spend anywhere between 2-4 hours here. Walk around the main pyramid, stroll through the ball court, head back to the ancient market place, take in the observatory and House of the Nuns, and walk down the ancient road to the Sacred Well.
We did not hire a guide to take us around, as we promised ourselves that we would go back to the resort and do our own reading about the site, poolside. Since that never happened, I would say from experience to hire the guide so that you can learn about the structures while you are standing in front of them. At best, familiarize yourself with the various structures here or buy a guidebook before you go. A good one is the Lonely Planet guide by Zora O’Neil
Itinerary for 5-7 days in the Riviera Maya
- Day 1: Fly to Cancun, rent a car, get settled at your resort
- Day 2: Explore Tulum Mayan Ruins, Gran Cenote, Tulum Beach Road South
- Day 3: Take a ferry to Isla Mujeres for the day
- Day 4: Relax poolside at your resort
- Day 5: Cenotes and Chitchen Itza
- Day 6: Cancun and Playa del Carmen
- Day 7: Travel home
Tips for Traveling Safely in Riviera Maya, Mexico
For those of you that are thinking of visiting this area, here are some tips for vacationing here along with thoughts for traveling to the Yucatan Peninsula on a budget.
Safety – We felt very safe, but had done our research and knew what to expect. Of course, you should always use caution when traveling outside of your own country. We knew what our health insurance covered and notified them of our travel plans, in case we had an injury. We avoided drinking the water and made sure we were back at our resort by dinner or shortly thereafter.
Renting a vehicle – We wouldn’t do it any other way because it gives you the freedom to go when and where you want to, but if this isn’t your comfort level, there are other ways to travel. If you decide to rent a vehicle, you will be driving on roads that are in good condition & signs are easy to follow. You can get GPS anywhere in this area even if you don’t have Internet connection. I had both almost everywhere. You must get full coverage on the rental car, never go over the speed limit, and don’t talk on the phone while driving. If a Mexican police officer pulls you over, he may offer or hint to let you pay him on the spot, otherwise, you’ll have to show up and pay it in court. There are random checkpoints, be prepared that you may get stopped. We never did.
Flights – We flew out of Atl bc our kids were at camp in that area while we were away. The flight was cheap and only 2 hrs nonstop. That was awesome!
Resorts – the best way to stay in Mexico is to use points to stay at a timeshare resort. Ask around to see if you have any friends that have excess points that you can buy for a one time use. It’s not unreasonable to think that you could get an entire week at a gorgeous resort for $500-$600 this way. Also, most are all-inclusive and if you agree to listen to their spill you can get major discounts on excursions in the area or their all-inclusive eating package for free. We did this in Cabo San Lucas – our meeting lasted 90 minutes, we declined the offer, but ended up getting all our food free the whole week plus two excursions half-off which saved us tons of money.
Beaches – the beach at our resort was not swimmable with brown mud washing up… it was disappointing. Tulum beaches were also covered with seaweed. The beaches in Cancun were very nice but much too rough to swim in. Playa beaches were okay. If you want to vacation where you can swim in the ocean right outside your resort, then I suggest the island of Cozumel or Isla Mujeres. Or stay somewhere with beautiful pools and take day trips to the islands to snorkel or scuba dive.
Cost of Trip – our trips look expensive, but really are not. We save up airline points and typically fly for free. Contact me for more tips on how to take an amazing vacation anywhere for cheap. Over the years, we’ve saved thousands and have wonderful memories to cherish. We love our kids but understand the importance of getting away, just us! I highly recommend it!!
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