A foreign adult pays 697 MXN to enter Chichen Itza: 105 MXN to INAH and 592 MXN to CULTUR, sold as one combined ticket at the CATVI visitor centre. This page gives every category, every rule and every way to buy, and the one way to skip paying it separately: it is already inside our $130 tour.
Entrance fee · Foreign adult (13+)
697 MXN
About US$35–40 at typical rates. The gate price is in pesos. On our tour, this fee is included in the $130, nothing to pay at the gate.
Chichen Itza tickets cost 697 MXN for a foreign adult, and that single figure is really two charges added together. The first is 105 MXN to INAH, the federal institute that runs Mexico's archaeological zones. The second is 592 MXN to CULTUR, the Yucatán state charge for foreign visitors. Since 27 March 2026 the two are sold as one combined Boleto Único at the CATVI visitor centre, so you pay once, at one counter. Mexican nationals pay 310 MXN in total, children aged 3 to 12 pay 105 MXN, and children under 3 enter free. In Spanish the same search is precio de entrada a Chichén Itzá or boleto de Chichén Itzá, cuánto cuesta la entrada, and the answer is the same table below. Prefer not to handle any of it? The fee is already included in our Chichen Itza tour.
Fees checked November 2026 against the INAH zone page and CULTUR.
Every visitor category, with the two charges shown separately, because the split is exactly where older pages, and older prices, go wrong.
| Who | INAH (federal) | CULTUR (state) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign adult (13+)The standard visitor ticket | 105 MXN | 592 MXN | 697 MXN |
| Mexican nationalWith official Mexican ID | 105 MXN | 205 MXN | 310 MXN |
| Child, 3–12 yearsFederal charge only: bring the child's ID or passport | 105 MXN | – | 105 MXN |
| Child under 3No ticket needed | – | – | Free |
| Yucatán residentFree every day through 31 Dec 2026, with INE, a dated 2026 policy | – | – | Free in 2026 |
About the dollar figures you see elsewhere: the gate price is in pesos, so USD figures are only conversions. 697 MXN is roughly US$35–40 at typical rates, and pages quoting anywhere from $31 to $44 are usually converting the same 697 MXN on different dates. Trust the peso figure, not the conversion.
Source: INAH zone page (inah.gob.mx/zonas/146) and CULTUR, checked November 2026.
The concessions are real, but they are narrower than most round-ups suggest, and every one of them is checked against ID at the counter.
Mexican students, teachers and seniors aged 60+ with official ID are exempt from the federal INAH charge. Read that carefully: the exemption covers the 105 MXN federal part, the Yucatán state charge can still apply, so carry pesos even when you expect a concession.
People with disabilities enter free, and certified guides enter free. Yucatán residents are free every day through 31 December 2026 with INE, under the dated 2026 policy shown in the table above.
Children need ID too. The 105 MXN child rate (ages 3–12) is checked at the counter, so bring the child's passport or ID. Without proof of age, expect to be charged the adult rate.
There is no student or senior concession for foreign visitors in the published tariff: a foreign adult pays 697 MXN whatever their age or student status.
On Sundays, entry is free for Mexican citizens and Mexican residents with official ID. Foreign visitors pay the normal fee on Sundays, the free day does not apply to a foreign passport.
Here is the trade-off nobody mentions: because of the free entry, Sunday is the busiest day of the week at Chichen Itza. The ticket queue is longest, the plaza is fullest, and El Castillo's best photo angles are the hardest to get.
Our honest advice: if you are a foreign visitor paying 697 MXN either way, come on a weekday and be inside at the 8:00 AM opening. You pay the same and see a quieter site. If you qualify for Sunday free entry, use it, and still arrive at opening.
Entry runs through one place: the CATVI visitor centre at the site entrance. Everything else is a partial sale or a markup.
Buy the Boleto Único at CATVI. One counter, one combined ticket covering both charges, one payment. Keep the stub, it is your proof of entry for the day.
The INAH online portal (ventadeboletosenlinea.inah.gob.mx) sells only the 105 MXN federal portion. The combined Boleto Único is still completed at CATVI, so buying the federal part online does not finish the job.
CULTUR's online Taquilla sells only Kukulkan Nights tickets. There is no official combined online sale of the full day ticket.
On our shared tour there is nothing to buy at all: the 697 MXN fee is already inside the $130, and the day is booked on WhatsApp: see the tour maths below.
Reseller warning: entry-only tickets sold online by resellers run $57–$79 for what costs 697 MXN (about US$35–40) at the gate. That markup buys you nothing the gate does not: there is no separate entrance, no priority lane, no added access.
The skip-the-line truth: no official skip-the-line product exists. The only queue at Chichen Itza is the ticket counter itself, and the real skip is arriving at the 8:00 AM opening, before the day-trip crowds, which is exactly how our Cancun departure is timed.
Chichen Itza opens at 8:00 AM daily. The INAH zone page lists closing at 5:00 PM, with last entry at 4:00 PM and clearance of the site from 4:30 PM, and that is the schedule to plan around.
One honest disclosure: a second INAH listing still shows a 4:00 PM closing and a 3:00 PM last entry. The two official listings disagree, so be inside by mid-afternoon and you are safe either way. Nobody's visit was ever ruined by arriving early.
The best time to visit is the first hour: 8:00 to 9:00 AM is the coolest, quietest window of the day, before the heat builds and the tour buses arrive. A weekday in the dry season is the calmest combination of all; Sunday is the busiest day.
Noches de Kukulkán is an evening light-and-sound show at the site, a different event, on a different ticket, after the day visitors have left.
The night show costs 772 MXN general admission and 355 MXN for Mexican nationals. It runs Wednesday to Sunday, one show per night at 7:00 PM, with tickets on sale from 3:00 PM at CATVI and online via CULTUR.
It is not included in the day ticket, a 697 MXN day ticket does not get you into the evening show, and it is not included in our tour, which is a day trip that returns you to your city in the evening. If the night show is your plan, buy it as its own evening: you will need your own transport back afterwards.
772 MXN general · 355 MXN Mexican nationals
Wednesday–Sunday · show 7:00 PM · tickets from 3:00 PM at CATVI and online via CULTUR. Separate from the day ticket and from the tour.
Cash in Mexican pesos is the safe method. The gate price is set in pesos, 697 MXN for a foreign adult, and pesos are accepted without question.
Cards are reported accepted at CATVI, but not guaranteed. Card machines and connectivity at the site can fail, and a declined machine leaves you in the queue with no ticket. If you are going independently, carry the fee in pesos as your backup even if you plan to pay by card.
There is no USD pricing at the gate. Dollar figures on other websites are conversions of the peso price, which is why they disagree with each other. On the shared tour none of this applies, the fee is inside the $130 and you pay nothing at the gate.
Parking: 124 MXN for cars (updated April 2026), 150 MXN for Sprinters and 200 MXN for buses, paid at the site, separate from the entrance fee. Driving yourself? Our guide to getting to Chichen Itza covers the routes and toll roads.
The Gran Museo Chichén Itzá is included free with your day ticket. The museum keeps its own hours, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, so fit it in before the late afternoon, it closes an hour before the site.
Private guides can be hired at the entrance, reported at around 700 MXN. That figure is what visitors report paying, not a published tariff, so agree the price and the length of the tour before you start.
Going independently is a fair choice: here is its real cost, honestly counted, next to the shared tour with the fee already inside.
| The day | What you pay and handle |
|---|---|
| On your own | 697 MXN entrance fee per foreign adult, in pesos, at the CATVI counter, plus your transport to the site and back, plus parking (124 MXN per car) if you drive, plus your own time in the ticket queue. Kukulkan Nights, if you stay, is another 772 MXN. |
| The shared tour: $130 | One price per adult ($115 per child to 12) with the 697 MXN fee already included: round-trip shared transport, the ruins, a swim at Cenote Ik Kil and free time in Valladolid. Nothing to pay at the gate, no ticket queue. |
Booking: on WhatsApp, you pay 30% in advance to reserve ($78 on a $260 booking for two adults) and the balance on the day of the tour. The advance exists because no-shows block seats that ready customers could have taken.
Cancellation: free cancellation up to 48 hours before the tour, cancel 48 hours or more ahead and your advance is refunded in full; inside 48 hours, the advance is kept.
Confirmed on WhatsApp before you book: guide arrangements, lunch, group size and operating days for your date, we confirm them in the chat rather than print what we have not fixed. Pickup is from your own hotel or chosen pickup point, with the exact time confirmed on WhatsApp the night before.
Departures run from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, the Riviera Maya and Merida.
Our honest comparison of the best Chichen Itza tours shows how the totals stack up.
On a tour the two fees above sit inside a single fare; what a tour price actually includes separates the entrance money from everything else the day costs.
Work out your tour total
A foreign adult (13+) pays 697 MXN in total: 105 MXN to INAH (the federal charge) plus 592 MXN to CULTUR (the Yucatán state charge), sold as one combined Boleto Único ticket at the CATVI visitor centre. Mexican nationals pay 310 MXN (105 + 205), children aged 3 to 12 pay 105 MXN, and children under 3 enter free. The gate price is in pesos. 697 MXN is roughly US$35–40 depending on the exchange rate.
Entry is charged by two different authorities. INAH, the federal institute that runs Mexico's archaeological zones, charges 105 MXN. CULTUR, the Yucatán state body, charges 592 MXN for foreign adults and 205 MXN for Mexican nationals. Since 27 March 2026 the two are sold together as a single Boleto Único at the CATVI visitor centre, so you pay once at one counter.
Children aged 3 to 12 pay 105 MXN, the federal INAH charge only. Children under 3 enter free. Bring the child's passport or ID, because the child rate is checked at the counter. On our shared tour, children up to 12 pay $115 (adults $130), and the entrance fee is already included in that price.
On Sundays, entry is free for Mexican citizens and Mexican residents with official ID. Foreign visitors pay the normal fee on Sundays. Sunday is also the busiest day of the week at Chichen Itza, so if you are paying anyway, a weekday at the 8:00 AM opening is the quieter visit.
Only partly. The INAH online portal sells the 105 MXN federal portion online; the combined Boleto Único is still completed at the CATVI visitor centre. CULTUR's online Taquilla sells only Kukulkan Nights tickets. There is no official combined online sale of the full day ticket, and reseller entry-only tickets online run $57–$79 for what costs 697 MXN (about US$35–40) at the gate.
Cards are reported accepted at the CATVI centre, but card machines and connectivity are not guaranteed. Cash in Mexican pesos is the safe method, and the gate price is in pesos. There is no USD pricing at the gate.
No. Day tickets are bought at the CATVI visitor centre on the day, and no official skip-the-line product exists: the only queue is the ticket counter itself. The real way to skip it is to arrive at the 8:00 AM opening, before the day-trip crowds. On the shared tour there is no ticket queue at all, because the fee is already included in the $130.
Chichen Itza opens at 8:00 AM daily. The INAH zone page lists closing at 5:00 PM with last entry at 4:00 PM, and clearance of the site from 4:30 PM. A second INAH listing still shows a 4:00 PM closing and 3:00 PM last entry, so plan to be inside by mid-afternoon and you are safe either way.
Treat your ticket as single-entry: there is no general re-entry. A brief exit with a hand stamp is reported as possible if you notify staff before you leave, but it is not a published right, so do not plan your day around it. Keep everything you need with you when you go in.
No. Official Chichen Itza tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable, with no date changes. That is the zone's policy, separate from our tour: if you book the shared tour instead, cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the tour and your 30% advance is refunded in full.
No. Kukulkan Nights (Noches de Kukulkán) is a separate evening ticket: 772 MXN general admission and 355 MXN for Mexican nationals. The show runs Wednesday to Sunday at 7:00 PM, with tickets on sale from 3:00 PM at CATVI and online via CULTUR. It is not included in the day ticket, and it is not included in our tour.
Phones and standard cameras are free to use. A fee for professional video equipment and GoPros is reported at 45–63 MXN, sources conflict on the figure. Drones are banned at the site. Climbing the structures, including El Castillo, is prohibited.
No. There is no official group discount on Chichen Itza entry: every visitor pays the published tariff for their category, whether they arrive alone or in a group.
Yes. The Gran Museo Chichén Itzá is included free with your day ticket. The museum keeps its own hours, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, so visit it before the site itself closes.
Parking for cars is 124 MXN (updated April 2026). Sprinters are 150 MXN and buses 200 MXN. Parking is paid at the site and is separate from the entrance fee.
Yes. The 697 MXN entrance fee is included in the $130 per adult and $115 per child (up to 12) price of the shared tour, so you hand over nothing at the gate. The tour also includes round-trip shared transport, the swim stop at Cenote Ik Kil and free time in Valladolid. You pay 30% in advance to reserve and the balance on the day, with free cancellation up to 48 hours before the tour.
On the shared tour the 697 MXN entrance fee is already inside the $130, no CATVI queue, no pesos needed at the gate, no reseller markup. Tell us your date and city, and we reply with your exact total before you pay anything.
30% reserves your seats. The rest on the day. Free cancellation to 48 hours.
WhatsApp +1 970 780 8327 is how you reach the tour team. This button opens a chat with the people who run the tour: send your date and your city, and you get your exact total back before you pay anything.
Message us on WhatsAppAdults $130 · Children (to 12) $115 · Entrance fee included