Lorry Perkins
Writer, Travel Blogger
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3 Best Mayan Ruins near Riviera Maya | Chichen Itza, Coba, and Tulum |Review and Comparison
Where are the Mayan Temples and Ruins in Riviera Maya Located?
If you are staying in Riviera Maya, located in Quintana Roo, I suggest visiting the Mayan ruins nearest to your accommodations. Riviera Maya is approximately 112 miles long, peppered with hundreds of resorts. Chichen Itza is the furthest inland of the ruins located in the state of Yucatan. Suppose you have your heart set on visiting Chichen Itza. In that case, you may decide you want to take a more extended trip to see those ruins, no matter where your accommodations are located, especially if you are only going to visit Riviera Maya once. If you are in the southern part of Riviera Maya, I’d suggest visiting Coba or Tulum. If you are staying in a northern resort and want to swim in the crystal clear blue water surrounding the Tulum ruins, do so, but If those ruins are a must-see, you can save travel time by reserving a resort closer to the ruins you intend to visit. If you are staying near Playa Del Carmen, Chichen Itza is 2.5 hours away, and Tulum and Coba are approximately a 45-minute trip.
Explore Mayan Culture at these Impressive Ruins in Riviera Maya
If you like Mayan culture and architecture, plan to explore these archaeological sites on your next Cancun vacation. We’ve toured each of them during three different vacations by purchasing the tour package at our resort. The excursions include transportation to Chichen Itza, Coba, or Tulum, lunch, and a private guided tour. If you do not buy the package, you will need to pay an entrance fee.
Differences between Chichen Itza, Coba, and Tulum
Chichen Itza is one of the new seven wonders of the world and the most visited archaeological site in Mexico. Best known for the Kukulkan Pyramid, famous for the image of a serpent appearing two times a year. Unfortunately, visitors are no longer allowed to climb this pyramid. We toured this site by buying the package at our resort which included transportation, a meal, and a private guided tour.
Coba, home to the tallest temple pyramid, Nohoch Mul, on the Yucatan Peninsula, allows visitors to climb 120 steps to the top. Once you are at the top of the pyramid, you can see for miles. The view is breathtaking.
The most southerly located Mayan ruins, Tulum, is situated on a high cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The ruins are close to the trendy bohemian town of Tulum, filled with boutique resorts, unique restaurants, and specialty clothing stores, all situated on one of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico.
Chichen Itza | One of the Seven Natural Wonders
Even though Chichen Itza is far from most of the resorts in Riviera Maya because it is further inland, if you want to see one of the world’s seven natural wonders, you won’t want to miss it. At Chichen Itza, you will see the world-famous Pyramid of Kukulkan, known for its appearance of a serpent cast by the shadows created during the spring and fall equinox, and learn about the Mayan civilization.
Great Ball Court at Chichen Itza
The Great Ball Court is the largest in Mesoamerica, where teams battled until a winner was declared. The large “stadium” built with steep stone walls has a stone hoop suspended high on either end of the court that a rubber ball had to pass through without players using their hands. From where we stood, it looked virtually impossible to do. It was a grueling game that you could perhaps compare to a modern-day “Survivor” challenge on steroids, except the losing team captain was rumored to be beheaded. So the stakes were high. But some scholars believe that sacrifice and beheading could be folklore and not actually part of the competition.
Sacred Cenote and Mayan Culture
The huge Sacred Cenote on site is home to the darkest waters imaginable. History tells us that the cenote was used for sacrifices; both artifacts and skeletons have been found at the bottom. Visitors are invited to swim in the cenote, which is surrounded by high walls with overhead vines growing above and extending toward the water below. A set of stairs lead from the high ground to the water’s entrance. Swimming in it was eery because of the opaque, cool but clean water and the mind game of wondering what lies beneath.
Chichen Itza tours | Booking Your Excursion
If you arrange your excursion through a tour group, they will pick you up at your resort and take you back. The trip will likely take most of the day. We left the BlueBay Esmeralda lobby at 7:30 am and arrived back at 7 pm. The tour included a delicious Mexican lunch. Our knowledgeable tour guide explained everything we needed to know about Chichen Itza and answered questions.
Mayan History and Souvenirs
Visiting the ruins is a great way to learn about Mayan history and culture and explore the many unusual structures. Outside of Chichen Itza, locals were selling hand-embroidered handkerchiefs, but a gift shop was also available for souvenirs. When visiting the ruins, be prepared for it to be roasting on a sunny day, especially in the summer. You may experience the most mosquitoes in the summertime, so take your insect repellent and sunscreen.
Visiting the Coba Ruins and Climbing Nohoch Mul Pyramid
According to LocoGingo.com, “Coba is the tallest temple pyramid on the Yucatan Peninsula,” and unlike other Mayan ruins, it is surrounded by several bodies of water. I’m not sure if our guide was serious when he said they held sacrificial ceremonies at the top of the pyramid, but his description of bodies being pushed down the numerous stone steps, made me take extra care during my climb. It is estimated that there could be 500 structures at Coba that have not yet been excavated there. Coba appears to be older than similar sites, with estimates that it was possibly inhabited around 50 BC. The majority of the city was built from 500-900 AD. Interestingly, researchers discovered that women served as authority figures in this city.
Booking Your Excursion to Coba Mayan Ruins in Riviera Maya
While staying at the Grand Palladium in Riviera Maya, we booked our excursion with our resort representative located in the hotel lobby. Depending on traffic, the Coba ruins are approximately an hour’s drive from the resort. Our tour bus conveniently picked us up at our resort lobby to take us on our adventure to the Coba ruins. In addition, we ate at an authentic Mexican restaurant for lunch on a lake outside of the ruins and visited a modern-day Mayan family home where we could see firsthand how they live. We attended a Mayan purification ceremony and visited a cenote. Our guide was knowledgeable, answered all of our questions about the ruins and Mayan history, and explained today’s locals’ quality of life.
Upon arrival at the ruins, we saw what consisted of cities that surrounded the pyramid, ball courts, and other living areas. The roads that connected the towns to the pyramid were made of limestone. The iridescent limestone lighted the way when the Mayans traveled at night, avoiding the hot daytime sun. Fun fact, the limestone in the sand at the beaches keeps the sand from getting extremely hot.
Climbing to the Top of Nohoch Mul
The pyramid consisted of rough cut and different-sized steps, making the climb more difficult. If you can climb 120 steps and you do not have balance issues, you should be able to climb to the top. A thick rope spanned from the bottom of the structure to the top for a helping hand while climbing. Once you are at the top of the pyramid, you can see for miles. The view is breathtaking. I can still picture it in my mind and feel the awe of looking out across the landscape that was once home to the ancient Mayans. The combination of my mind’s eye imagining this ancient civilization coming alive and feeling the honor of being perched atop this ancient structure, arms outstretched, made time stand still.
Tulum Mayan Ruins | Scenic Views of the Caribbean Sea
The second time we stayed at the Grand Palladium, we booked an excursion to the ruins in Tulum. It is usually sweltering at this site because there is minimal tree coverage or other shade. Because the ruins were built by the water, swimming is only steps away.
Tulum is the largest ancient city situated on a high cliff above the Caribbean Sea. A set of sturdy wooden stairs lead to the beach below and the remarkable aquamarine water. This is where visitors congregate to cool off after the tour. The stunning views of the Caribbean draw visitors every year to this popular site. Tulum is the only Mayan site that is not surrounded by jungle.
Tulum | A Bohemian Town with Beautiful Beaches
After we toured the ruins, we boarded the tour bus back to Tulum for lunch. A scenic ride through Tulum, an artsy town full of boutique hotels and restaurants, ended at a beach restaurant with delicious food and drink. After lunch, we rested in beach chairs, soaking in Tulum’s fantastic combination of pristine sand and water. Tulum is known for having one of the best beaches in Mexico. It is gorgeous. They had to peel us away from the chairs on the beach when it was time to leave. We drove back through the town of Tulum, vowing to come back and visit again someday.
For more about these tours, go to www.cancun-adventure.com or contact the representative in your resort lobby.
Great comparison! I visited Chichen Itza years ago, but haven’t been to the other two you mentioned. I toured Ek Balam a few years ago and enjoyed those ones. Can you still climb Coba? I loved the fact that we were allowed to climb up Ek Balam as most of them are closed now.
I heard that during the pandemic you couldn’t climb Coba. I’m not sure if they changed that or will change that as the pandemic ends. It was an amazing climb though.
This is a great article to help me decide which to go to visit. I was set on the chicken itza but your comparison makes me want to visit each of the ruins. There is just so much history there’s
Each of the locations is different from the other. Prior to visiting, we were only aware of Chichen Itza too.
Interesting, I’ve never heard of Coba before. However, I’ve visited Chichen Itza and found it very impressive, of course. Nevertheless, Tulum was my absolutely favorite – swimming below those old ruins was definitely one of my most memorable travelling moments. At that time, there were only a couple of huts in Tulum so that we preferred to spend the night in Valladolid. I know that this changed a loooot 😉
Supposedly there is going to be an airport built near Tulum, so I image when that happens, there will be more changes.
I liked Chichen Itza a lot, but nothing beats Tulum. Whereby when I was there, there weren’t any hotels there – can you imagine?! Swimming just across from the Mayan Ruins felt so special. I don’t dare to go back since so much must have changed – I want to remember it as this unspoiled place.