Solo female travel expert, focusing on travelling around a 9-5 job, getting the most bang for your buck and soft-adventure experiences.
Chichén Itzá is listed as one of the seven wonders of the world by “New2Wonders Foundation”, so if you’re in Mexico, it definitely should be on your “must visit” list!
We were staying in the Hotel Riu Tequila in Playa Del Carmen and most large all-inclusive hotels like this have organised trips to the local sights planned throughout the week – however they do come with quite a hefty price tag! Seeing as this was our first time in Mexico, and we were staying 2 hours away from Chichén Itzá, we decided that this was probably the best option!
My top tip for this destination is to leave EARLY. This doesn’t mean rolling out of bed a 9am… we left the hotel at 4am to make sure that we arrived at 6am. Not only is this one of the most popular tourist sights in Mexico and I still couldn’t get pesky humans out of my photos (lady with the umbrella, I’m looking at you!), Mexico is also ridiculously hot during the summer months. We travelled during July and by midday, it was too hot to really explore the area and appreciate it.
Another great thing about using an organised coach trip is that you get a tour guide with years of experience telling you all about the area, how it was formed and the history of the Mayan culture – I knew nothing before my visit but I can guarantee you’ll be hooked the entire time!
We also stopped for lunch at an all-you-can eat buffet restaurant (included in the tour price) just outside of Chichén Itzá. At this location there is also a cenote that you can swim in (can be seen in the distance of the last photo) which is a great way to escape the heat! As well as visiting the colonial city of Valldolid which is really beautiful.
Chichén Itza should definitely be on your bucket list. Steeped in history, architecture and beauty, what more could you want! (Apart from a slightly less sweaty experience…)
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