Yes. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the tour: if you cancel 48 hours or more ahead, your 30% advance is refunded in full. If you cancel later than 48 hours before the tour, the advance is not refunded.

Chichen Itza Tour from Cozumel: Ferry to Playa, Ik Kil & Valladolid

How to Visit Chichen Itza from Cozumel, Step by Step

Six steps, two of them ferries. None of them is complicated: the day works when each one is planned the night before, not improvised at the pier.

Start

Get to Cozumel's ferry pier

All passenger ferries leave from the San Miguel pier in Cozumel's town centre, opposite the main square. From a Cozumel hotel, that is a short taxi or walk. From a cruise pier, see the pier guide further down this page: Punta Langosta is a walk away; the southern piers are a short taxi ride.

Morning

Take the morning ferry to Playa del Carmen

Buy your ticket at the pier or online, and cross to Playa del Carmen, roughly 35 to 45 minutes on the water. Tell us on WhatsApp which sailing you are taking; your pickup is planned around it. The ferry companies, times and fares are set out in the next section.

On arrival

Meet the tour in Playa del Carmen

You step off at Playa's Maritime Terminal, at the foot of Avenida Benito Juárez by Fifth Avenue, and go to your pickup point. Your exact pickup time and point are confirmed on WhatsApp the night before. The zones and meeting points are covered in your pickup in Playa del Carmen.

The day

The tour: ruins, cenote, Valladolid

From Playa it is the shared day itself: about 2.5 hours inland to Chichen Itza, time at the ruins, a swim at Cenote Ik Kil, and free time in Valladolid on the way back. The leg-by-leg timings are further down this page.

Evening

Back in Playa del Carmen

The tour returns to Playa in the evening and drops you at your pickup point. From there it is a short walk back to the Maritime Terminal for your ferry home: the terminal is in the centre, by Fifth Avenue.

Last leg

The evening ferry back to Cozumel

Sailings run into the evening, on the day we checked, Winjet's last Playa del Carmen sailing back to Cozumel was 22:00. Check the live timetable for your date before you book, and keep a sailing of margin in hand rather than planning around the last boat.

The Cozumel–Playa del Carmen Ferry: Companies, Times and Fares

Three companies run the crossing. Everything below that carries a time or a fare is dated and attributed, because ferry timetables are date-specific: check the live timetable and fare before you book, every time.

Winjet publishes its timetable by date on its own site. On the day we checked, 10 November 2026, Winjet's first sailing out of Cozumel was 07:00 and its last sailing back from Playa del Carmen was 22:00, with sailings roughly every one to two hours in between. Timetables change by date, so treat those two times as a snapshot, not a promise. Check the live timetable before you book.

Ultramar runs the same route, including a First Class cabin with preferred boarding. We are not printing Ultramar fares or times here: we could not verify them from Ultramar's own site in this pass, and a fare we cannot stand behind does not go on this page. A third operator, Xailing, also runs Playa del Carmen–Cozumel crossings. The crossing itself takes roughly 35 to 45 minutes, as reported across sources, no operator publishes a single settled figure.

One practical tip, widely reported: buy one-way tickets rather than a round trip locked to one company. On the way back you can then take whichever company's next sailing suits the evening, instead of waiting for one operator's boat.

Winjet regular fare	From Cozumel	From Playa del Carmen
Adult, one way	$310 MXN	$335 MXN
Adult, round trip	$645 MXN
Child 6–11 (minor fare), one way	$240 MXN	$265 MXN
Children 0–5	Free (ID may be requested)

Fares from Winjet's own published regular rates, read 10 November 2026. Check the live fare before you book: ferry prices and timetables change.

Where you board: in Cozumel, the San Miguel pier in the town centre, opposite the main square. In Playa del Carmen, the Maritime Terminal at the foot of Avenida Benito Juárez, right by Fifth Avenue, the same centre of town where this tour's pickups run. Going on your own instead of touring? Our guide to getting to Chichen Itza from Playa del Carmen covers the onward legs.

Chichen Itza Tour from Cozumel Cost: Your Real Total

The tour price is one figure. The ferry is a second, separate figure, and it is not hidden inside the first: here are both, in the open.

The tour is $130 per adult and $115 per child up to 12 years, with the 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee already included. The Cozumel–Playa del Carmen ferry fare is not included in the $130.

Shared tour joined in Playa del Carmen, price per person

Who	Price (USD)
Adult	$130
Child, up to 12 years	$115
2 adults	$260
Family: 2 adults + 1 child	$375
Family: 2 adults + 2 children	$490

What is NOT in the $130: the ferry

Your ferry fares are paid to the ferry company, not to us. On the day we checked, Winjet's regular adult round trip was $645 MXN. Check the live fare before you book. From the southern cruise piers, add a short taxi ride to Cozumel's ferry pier.

The 697 MXN entrance fee is inside the $130: 105 MXN federal (INAH) + 592 MXN Yucatán state. You hand over nothing at the gate.

Tour prices and entrance fee verified November 2026. Ferry fares checked 10 November 2026 on the operator's own site.

Message us your date on WhatsApp and we confirm your exact tour total in writing before you pay anything.

See the full fee breakdown for how the entrance fee is made up.

All tour prices on this page are per person. Per person, the advance is $39 per adult and $34.50 per child; the balance is paid on the day of the tour.

What's included in the $130, and what isn't

Item	Status	Detail
Entrance fee	Included	The 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee is already in the $130: nothing to pay at the gate
Round-trip transport from Playa	Included	Round-trip shared transport from Playa del Carmen, with pickup from your own point, confirmed the night before
Cenote Ik Kil swim	Included	The swim stop at Cenote Ik Kil is part of the tour day
Valladolid stop	Included	Free time in Valladolid on the way back to Playa del Carmen
Cozumel–Playa ferry	Not included	The ferry is run by separate companies and paid to them: Winjet's regular adult round trip was $645 MXN on the day we checked; check the live fare
Pickup on Cozumel island	Not offered by anyone	No operator picks up on Cozumel. This tour's pickup is in Playa del Carmen, after your ferry crossing
Guide	Confirmed on WhatsApp	Confirmed on WhatsApp before you book
Lunch	Confirmed on WhatsApp	Confirmed on WhatsApp before you book
Lockers / life jackets	Available to rent	Life jackets are required in the water at Cenote Ik Kil and are rented at the cenote, as are lockers. Rental is paid at the cenote: it is not included in the $130
Drinks	Not included	Drinks, snacks and souvenirs are personal expenses: yours to choose and pay for
Tips	Not included	Your choice, your amount, never added to your bill

WhatsApp support is also included before and throughout the day.

How booking works

Message us on WhatsApp with your date, that you are coming from Cozumel, and how many adults and children.
We confirm your total and your ferry plan in writing, in the same chat, before any payment.
Pay 30% in advance to secure your seats. Payment details are confirmed via WhatsApp.
The rest is paid on the day of the tour.

Why is an advance required? When people book and don't show up, they take seats that others ready to travel could have used. The 30% holds those seats for people who will be there. For a $260 booking for two adults, that's $78 to reserve and $182 on the day.

Cancellation: free cancellation up to 48 hours before the tour: if you cancel 48 hours or more before the tour, your 30% advance is refunded in full; later than that, the advance is not refunded. The full terms are in cancellations, rain and site closures.

The Day, Leg by Leg

Durations only, deliberately. We do not print clock times for this tour, because your pickup time depends on the morning's route and the ferry you take; yours is confirmed on WhatsApp the night before.

~35–45 min

Ferry: Cozumel to Playa del Carmen

The crossing, as a reported range, no operator publishes a single settled figure. Boarding and the walk off the boat sit either side of it.

About 2.5 hours

Drive: Playa del Carmen to the ruins

Inland on the toll road via Valladolid and Pisté, after the morning's pickup rounds. Note the clocks on the way: Yucatán runs one hour behind Playa del Carmen, all year round.

At the site

Time at Chichen Itza

El Castillo, the Great Ball Court, the Temple of the Warriors and the Sacred Cenote, seen properly rather than passed by. Climbing the structures is prohibited: you see them from the ground.

The swim

Cenote Ik Kil

After the ruins, the swim at Cenote Ik Kil, a few minutes from the site near Pisté, changing, the swim itself, and drying off. The swim is optional; you can watch from above instead.

On the way back

Valladolid stop

Free time in Valladolid, on the direct road back to the coast: the main square, San Servacio church, and the Calzada de los Frailes a short walk away.

About 2.5 hours

Drive back, then the ferry home

The toll road back to Playa del Carmen, drop-offs, and you are in Playa in the evening. Then the last leg is yours: the ferry back to Cozumel. On the day we checked, Winjet's last sailing that way left Playa at 22:00: that sailing is your margin anchor, so check the live timetable for your date.

From Cozumel, plan on 12 hours or more door to door: the 11 to 12 hour shared day from Playa, with a ferry leg added at each end. Doing the trip without a tour instead? The bus leg is covered in the ADO bus guide.

Coming on a Cruise? Read This Before You Book

This is the section most tour pages skip. A Chichen Itza day from Cozumel is one of the longest shore excursions there is, and for most cruise calls, it simply does not fit.

Start with your ship's all-aboard time, not its arrival time. All-aboard is the deadline that matters, the moment you must be back on board, and it is set by your ship, not by us. Everything in this day has to fit before it: the ferry to Playa, a full tour day that returns to Playa in the evening, and a second ferry crossing after that, plus the walk or taxi from Cozumel's ferry pier back to your cruise pier.

Now do the port-hours maths honestly. The tour day from Playa runs 11 to 12 hours, and from Cozumel you add a ferry leg at each end: 12 hours or more door to door. If your ship is in port for less time than that, the day cannot fit, whatever any listing promises. The market's own dominant Cozumel operator says this outright: its Chichen Itza tours are too long for most cruise ship schedules, and it does not recommend them to cruise passengers.

We cannot guarantee your return to the ship, and neither can any independent operator. A guaranteed return exists only on excursions sold by your cruise line itself. Anyone else promising you one is promising something they do not control: ferries, traffic and the day's pickup rounds are all variables, and your ship will not wait.

The one exception, and the protection you do get

The only cruise calls that are even candidates are exceptionally long port days of around 12 to 14 hours in port, and even then, test your all-aboard time against an evening return to Playa plus the ferry back before you book, not after.

Your protection is the order of events: send us your all-aboard time in your first WhatsApp message. We confirm whether the day fits before you pay anything: confirmation comes first, payment second. If the maths does not work, you have lost nothing, and we would rather tell you that than take a booking that strands you.

If it does not fit, you still have good days available. The ruins of Tulum sit on the mainland coast, a far shorter day from the Playa ferry, see the tour from Tulum for how that coast's days run, and Cozumel's own San Gervasio ruins are on the island itself, minutes from the piers, with no ferry at all. A shorter day you actually enjoy beats a famous one spent watching the clock.

Staying on Cozumel for a few nights instead of cruising? None of this warning applies to you, with no ship to catch, the long day is simply a long day, and the evening ferries give you margin at both ends.

Which Pier Do You Dock At? Getting to the Ferry

Cozumel has three cruise piers, and your distance to the ferry depends entirely on which one your ship uses. The ferry itself always leaves from the San Miguel pier in the town centre.

Walk

Punta Langosta

The downtown pier, on the San Miguel waterfront. The ferry pier is right in the same centre of town: you walk to it. If your ship docks here, your morning is the simplest of the three.

~7 min taxi

SSA International

The International Cruise Terminal sits about 3 miles south of downtown. From here to the ferry pier is reported as about a 7-minute taxi ride: build that ride, and finding the taxi, into your morning margin.

~7 min taxi

Puerta Maya

Carnival's pier, immediately next to SSA International and the same distance south. Same answer: reported as about a 7-minute taxi ride to the ferry pier in the town centre.

Island stay

Staying in a Cozumel hotel?

No cruise pier involved: go straight to the San Miguel ferry pier in the town centre, opposite the main square. From most of San Miguel that is a short taxi ride or a walk along the waterfront.

The taxi times above are reported from an operator's pier table: treat them as a guide for your margin, not a promise about your morning. Whichever pier you use, the return direction matters just as much: ferry dock first, then the walk or taxi back to your ship, before all-aboard.

Is It Worth It?

For island-stay visitors: yes, with the long day understood. Chichen Itza is one of the New7Wonders of the World, and from Cozumel it is genuinely reachable in a day: one ferry, one pickup, and the same ruins, cenote and Valladolid day that mainland guests get, at the same $130 with the entrance fee included. What you are buying with those extra hours is the real site, not a substitute.

The honest contrast is on the island itself: Cozumel's San Gervasio ruins are a short, easy visit, pleasant, and a fraction of Chichen Itza's scale. If your holiday has room for one ruins day, Chichen Itza is the one worth the early ferry. If what you actually want is a slow beach day, take the beach day: this tour will still be running on your next visit.

Deciding between sharing the day and hiring your own vehicle? Read private vs shared, compared honestly, or see how this day ranks among the best Chichen Itza tours.

Chichen Itza Tours from Cozumel: Questions, Answered Straight

Can I visit Chichen Itza from Cozumel in one day?

Yes, if you are staying on Cozumel. You take the morning ferry to Playa del Carmen, join this tour's Playa del Carmen pickup, and ride back on an evening ferry after the tour returns to Playa. Plan on 12 hours or more door to door. If you are visiting on a cruise ship, read the cruise section on this page first: most cruise days in port are too short for this trip.

Do you pick up in Cozumel?

No, and no operator does. Every tour sold as “from Cozumel” starts on the mainland: you take the ferry from Cozumel's San Miguel pier to Playa del Carmen, and this tour picks you up in Playa del Carmen, from your own pickup point, with the exact time confirmed on WhatsApp the night before. There is no pickup on Cozumel island itself.

Is the ferry included in the price?

No. The $130 covers the shared tour from Playa del Carmen, the ruins, the Cenote Ik Kil swim and Valladolid, with the 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee included. The Cozumel–Playa del Carmen ferry is run by separate ferry companies and is not included. On the day we checked, 10 November 2026, Winjet's regular adult fare was $310 MXN one way from Cozumel and $335 MXN from Playa del Carmen, or $645 MXN round trip. Check the live fare before you book.

Which ferry should I take in the morning?

Take a morning sailing that gets you to Playa del Carmen in good time for your pickup, and do not work that out alone. Tell us on WhatsApp that you are coming from Cozumel when you book, check the live ferry timetable for your date, and your exact pickup time and meeting point are confirmed on WhatsApp the night before, planned around the ferry you are taking.

How long is the whole day from Cozumel?

Plan on 12 hours or more door to door. The ferry crossing is roughly 35 to 45 minutes each way, the drive from Playa del Carmen to the ruins is about 2.5 hours each way, and the shared tour day from Playa, ruins, Cenote Ik Kil and Valladolid, runs 11 to 12 hours. From Cozumel you add the ferry legs at both ends of that day.

What time do we get back to Playa del Carmen?

In the evening, after the Valladolid stop on the way back. We do not print a fixed return clock time, because it depends on the day's pickup rounds and traffic. What matters from Cozumel is the margin after it: on the day we checked, 10 November 2026, Winjet's last sailing from Playa del Carmen back to Cozumel was 22:00. Check the live timetable for your date before you book.

I am on a cruise: will I get back to my ship?

We cannot promise that, and no independent tour operator can: a guaranteed return exists only on excursions sold by your cruise line. This is a full day that returns to Playa del Carmen in the evening, and you still have a ferry crossing after that. Most cruise ships are not in Cozumel long enough; only an exceptionally long port day of around 12 to 14 hours is even a candidate. Send us your all-aboard time in your first WhatsApp message: we confirm whether the day fits before you pay anything.

How do I get from Puerta Maya / Punta Langosta to the ferry?

It depends on your pier. Punta Langosta is in downtown San Miguel, and the ferry pier is a walk away. SSA International and Puerta Maya are about 3 miles south of downtown, reported as about a 7-minute taxi ride to the ferry pier. Staying on the island instead of cruising? Go straight to the San Miguel ferry pier in the town centre, opposite the main square.

How much does the day cost in total?

The tour itself is $130 per adult and $115 per child up to 12, two adults pay $260, and the 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee is included in that. On top of the tour price you pay your own ferry fares (Winjet's regular adult round trip was $645 MXN on the day we checked, 10 November 2026, check the live fare) and, from the southern cruise piers, a short taxi ride to the ferry pier. Drinks, tips and cenote locker and life jacket rentals are also yours.

Is the Chichen Itza entrance fee included?

Yes. The 697 MXN entrance fee is included in the $130, so you hand over nothing at the gate. The fee is made up of 105 MXN federal (INAH) plus 592 MXN Yucatán state. The ferry fare is the separate cost on this page: it is not part of the entrance fee and not included in the tour price.

What happens if the ferry is cancelled?

Ferries can be held or cancelled when the port closes for weather, and if the crossing does not run, there is no way to reach the mainland pickup that morning. Message us on WhatsApp as soon as you know: your meeting plan is confirmed in that chat the night before, so we are already in contact, and we will agree the next step with you there rather than leave you guessing at the pier.

How do I book, and how much is the advance?

On WhatsApp, in three steps. One: send us your date, that you are coming from Cozumel, and how many adults and children. Two: we reply with your exact total, the entrance fee is already included in it, and your ferry and pickup plan. Three: you pay 30% in advance to lock your seats, and the balance on the day of the tour. On $260 for two adults, the advance is $78 and the balance is $182.

Can I cancel?

Yes. You can cancel free of charge up to 48 hours before the tour. If you cancel 48 hours or more in advance, your 30% advance is refunded in full. If you cancel less than 48 hours before the tour, the advance is not refunded.

Is a private tour from Cozumel better for me?

It can be, if your timing is tight or your group wants its own pace: a private tour gives you your own vehicle and your own timing from the Playa del Carmen side, though you still take the ferry from Cozumel yourself: no tour picks up on the island. The shared tour is $130 per person with the entrance fee included and a fixed route. Compare the two honestly before you decide.