Chichen Itza Tour from Playa del Carmen: Shared Day Tour, Ik Kil & Valladolid

Chichen Itza Tour from Playa del Carmen Cost: Your Real Total

Most tour pages hide the entrance fee until you are at the gate, then add it on top. Here it is in numbers: what the tour from Playa del Carmen costs, and the zone's fee already inside that price.

The price is $130 per adult and $115 per child aged 12 or under, with the 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee included.

Shared tour from 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

The entrance fee: already included

Admission to the zone costs 697 MXN per foreign adult, while children under 13 enter free. The $130 tour price already covers that fee, so you pay nothing at the gate.

INAH's current notice breaks down the 697 MXN entrance fee as 105 MXN federal (INAH) + 592 MXN Yucatán state.

Children under 13 enter the site free. The $115 child rate is the tour price per child, for children up to 12.

Prices and entrance fee verified November 2026.

Send us your date on WhatsApp and we'll confirm your exact total in writing before you pay anything.

For the details behind that figure, see the full fee breakdown.

All prices on this page are per person.

Why Cheap Playa Tours Cost More on the Day

Shared tours from Playa del Carmen are listed anywhere from $55 to $150. The trap is at the bottom of that range: many cheap listings leave the entrance fee and state taxes, about 697 MXN, roughly $40, to be paid in cash on the day, on top of the headline. A $79 headline can be honest or can grow at the gate; read what it excludes before you compare. The all-inclusive tier elsewhere runs to about $199. This tour is $130 with the entrance fee already included: compare totals, not headlines.

Comparison checked November 2026.

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	Included	Round-trip shared transport from Playa del Carmen, with pickup from your hotel or an agreed meeting point
Cenote Ik Kil swim	Included	The swim stop at Cenote Ik Kil is part of the tour day, about an hour, with time to swim
Valladolid stop	Included	45–60 minutes in Valladolid on the way back to Playa del Carmen
Guide	Confirmed on WhatsApp	Confirmed on WhatsApp before you book
Lunch	Confirmed on WhatsApp	Confirmed on WhatsApp before you book
Drinks	Not included	Drinks, snacks and souvenirs are personal expenses: yours to choose and pay for
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 and changing rooms. Rental is paid at the cenote: it is not included in the $130
Tips	Not included	Your choice, your amount, never added to your bill

You also have WhatsApp support before and throughout the day.

How booking works

Message us on WhatsApp with your date and your Playa del Carmen hotel or address.
We confirm your total in writing, in the same chat.
Pay 30% upfront to reserve your seats; the payment details are confirmed on WhatsApp.
The rest is paid on the day of the tour.

Why pay in advance? When customers book and don't show up, they hold seats that others ready to go could have used. The 30% reserves those seats for people who will actually be there. For two adults booking at $260, that means $78 to reserve and $182 on the day.

Cancellation: Cancel at least 48 hours before the tour and your 30% advance will be refunded in full. If you cancel less than 48 hours before the tour, the advance is non-refundable.

The Day, Timed: From Playa Pickup to Evening Return

An 11 to 12 hour day, in this order: pickup rounds in Playa, the toll road inland, the ruins, the swim, Valladolid, and the drive home. Durations are real; we do not print pickup clock times, because yours depends on where in Playa you are staying.

Morning

Pickup rounds in Playa del Carmen

We collect you from your hotel or your agreed meeting point: Playacar, the centre and Fifth Avenue, or the highway resorts. Your exact pickup time is confirmed on WhatsApp the night before, once the morning's route is set.

About 2.5 hours

The toll-road drive inland

Out of Playa and onto the 305D/180D toll road, through Valladolid's side of Yucatán and on to Pisté and the site entrance. About 182 km in total. Note the clocks on the way: Yucatán runs one hour behind Playa, all year round.

2+ hours

Time at the ruins

Spend more than two hours inside the zone, with time to properly explore El Castillo, the Great Ball Court, the Temple of the Warriors and the Sacred Cenote. Tours that reach the gate near the 8:00 AM opening enjoy the coolest, quietest part of the day, before the late-morning bus surge.

About 1 hour

Swim at Cenote Ik Kil

After the ruins, a swim at Cenote Ik Kil, a few minutes from the site near Pisté. About an hour covers changing, the swim itself and drying off. Bring swimwear and a towel.

45–60 minutes

Free time in Valladolid

Valladolid sits on the road back to Playa. You get 45 to 60 minutes there: the main square, San Servacio church on its south side, and the Calzada de los Frailes a short walk away.

Evening

Drive back to Playa del Carmen

From Valladolid it is the toll road back to the coast, and drop-offs in reverse. You are back in Playa the same evening. No overnight bag, no second hotel.

All times on the day are Quintana Roo time until the site itself: Chichen Itza keeps Yucatán time, one hour behind Playa, all year round.

What You Actually See at Chichen Itza

You enter through the CATVI visitor centre, and the zone is big. The sun is strong by late morning. Your two hours or more go to these four structures.

El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcan

El Castillo has 365 steps: 91 on each of its four sides, plus the platform on top, one for every day of the year. On the spring and autumn equinoxes, the afternoon sun casts a serpent-shaped shadow down the north staircase. Climbing it is banned, and has been for years: you see it from the ground, which is also where the shadow appears.

Field note: for the best photo, head to the main plaza early, before the crowds arrive.

Great Ball Court

Measuring roughly 168 by 70 metres, this is the largest ball court in Mesoamerica. A whisper at one end wall can be heard at the other, so take a moment to try it. Carvings on the benches depict the game, including the sacrifice of the captain.

Field note: there is almost no shade in the court, so have a hat and water ready.

Temple of the Warriors

Rows of carved columns stand in front of this stepped pyramid, where they once supported a roofed hall. Each column depicts a different warrior, with the carving at eye level. Take your time along the front row.

Field note: the columns give broken shade mid-morning.

Sacred Cenote

About 60 metres across, this natural well was used for ceremonies rather than as a water supply. Offerings of gold, jade, pottery and human remains were thrown in for the rain god Chaac. Swimming is not allowed here; the swim at Cenote Ik Kil comes later in the day.

Field note: this is the last stop on the ruins walk, reached by a flat, shaded path.

Cenote Ik Kil: The Swim After the Ruins

Cenote Ik Kil is the swim stop on this tour, a few minutes from the archaeological site near Pisté. A cenote is a sinkhole where the limestone roof of an underground river has collapsed, leaving a natural pool of clear, cool fresh water. Ik Kil is an open-air cenote: the water sits about 26 metres below ground level, reached by a long staircase. After two hours in the ruins heat, an hour in that water is what people talk about on the drive home.

How it works in practice: you change in the changing rooms on site and go down the staircase to the water. Life jackets are required in the water and are rented at the cenote, as are the lockers: neither rental is included in the tour price. The swim is optional: if you would rather not go down, you can watch from above.

Pack swimwear and a towel. You have about an hour, including time to change
Do not wear regular sunscreen in Ik Kil's water. Ik Kil's official cenote page states no sunscreen rule at all; the independent Ik Kil guide (cenoteikkil.org, unaffiliated with the cenote) states that sunscreen and lotions are strictly banned in the water; and other advice hedges between 'biodegradable only' and 'none at all'. Whether biodegradable sunscreen is permitted is not confirmed on the cenote's official channels, so the practical course is: cover up at the ruins with a long-sleeve layer and a hat, shower before you swim, and keep sunscreen out of the water entirely.
In the water, children must remain next to an adult at all times.
The stone steps down can be wet. Take them slowly and use the handrail

Planning your own swim stop? Explore Ik Kil and other cenotes near the ruins first.

Swimmers in a Yucatán cenote, with sunlight falling through the opening in the limestone roof — A swim cenote in Yucatán: a limestone sinkhole open to the sky.

Calzada de los Frailes, a cobbled street of brightly painted colonial houses in Valladolid, Yucatán — Calzada de los Frailes, Valladolid. Ten minutes on foot from the main square.

Valladolid, the Town Stop on the Way Back

Valladolid is a working Yucatán town east of the ruins, with a compact centre: the main square, the church and the town cenote within a few streets of each other. That is why 45 to 60 minutes works here. You can cross the centre on foot without rushing.

What to do with the time: walk the main square, step into San Servacio church on its south side, stroll the Calzada de los Frailes with its painted colonial houses, and get an ice cream before the drive back.

While some tours allow just 15 minutes in Valladolid, enough for one photo of the square, ours stops for 45 to 60 minutes. It’s on the direct road home to Playa, so the stop costs the day nothing. If you’re staying longer another day, take a look at our short Valladolid guide.

Pickup in Playa del Carmen: Zones, Gates & Meeting Points

We pick you up from your own point in Playa: your hotel, or a meeting point we agree with you. Playa has three kinds of stay, and each one works slightly differently.

PlayacarPlayacar is a gated community, and its hotels set their own rules for tour vehicles: depending on your hotel's policy, your pickup is at the lobby or at the main gate. Tell us your hotel on WhatsApp and we confirm which one applies to you, the night before.
Centre & Fifth AvenueHotels and rentals in the centre, on and around Fifth Avenue, are picked up at the hotel or at the nearest point the vehicle can stop. Streets in the centre are narrow, so your exact spot is confirmed in the same WhatsApp chat.
Highway resorts, north & southThe big resorts along the highway north of Playa toward Puerto Morelos and south toward Puerto Aventuras join this departure. Send us the resort name and we confirm your pickup point there.
Airbnb & condos: meeting pointsStaying in a rental without a hotel lobby? We agree a meeting point near you, commonly around Plaza Antigua, and confirm it on WhatsApp the night before, with your exact time.

Your exact pickup time is confirmed on WhatsApp the night before. We do not print a fixed Playa pickup time on this page, because it depends on where along the morning's route you are, and a printed time that turns out wrong helps nobody. All times are Quintana Roo time, the time on your phone in Playa.

Staying further down the coast instead? The same tour runs as the Chichen Itza tour from the Riviera Maya for the resort corridor, and as the Chichen Itza tour from Tulum, no need to travel up to Playa first.

The points, zones and night-before confirmation for this city are set out in your pickup in Playa del Carmen.

Coming from Cozumel? Ferry Over, Meet Us in Playa

Plenty of our Playa guests are actually sleeping on Cozumel. The joining plan is simple, but it starts with a ferry, and there is no pickup on the island itself.

There is no pickup on Cozumel. You cross to Playa del Carmen on the ferry, the crossing takes 35 to 45 minutes, and we meet you on the Playa side, near the ferry pier around the Plaza Antigua area. The first sailings leave from about 6:00 AM depending on the company, and ferry schedules change, so check your sailing the day before rather than trusting any timetable printed anywhere, including here.

Tell us on WhatsApp when you book that you are coming from Cozumel. Your meeting plan, where exactly to stand, and at what time, is confirmed in that chat the night before, so the morning is a walk off the ferry and onto the tour, nothing more complicated.

Cruise passengers, honestly: this is a full day ashore, back in Playa in the evening. If your ship sails in the early evening, a full-day tour to Chichen Itza is a risk. Tell us your ship's times before you book and we will say plainly whether the day fits: we would rather lose the booking than strand you. Coming from the island? The full route is on our Chichen Itza tour from Cozumel page.

How Far Is Chichen Itza from Playa del Carmen, and Your Other Ways There

About 182 km, and about 2.5 hours each way by the 305D/180D toll road via Valladolid and Pisté. All four options below get you to the same gate. They differ in total cost, and in how much of a five-hour round trip you organise, and drive, yourself.

Option	What it costs	What you handle	Entrance fee
Most visitors pick this This shared tour	$130 per adult, $115 per child	Nothing. Transport, timing and the route are organised for you: ruins, Cenote Ik Kil and Valladolid in one day, back in Playa in the evening.	Included: the 697 MXN fee is in the $130, nothing to pay at the gate.
Rental car	The rental itself, plus fuel, plus tolls on the 305D/180D toll road, several hundred pesos each way, plus parking at the site, priced by the rental company, not by us	You drive about 5 hours round trip, navigate and park. Your own times, your own stops.	697 MXN per foreign adult, paid at the gate in two parts.
ADO bus	You buy your own bus ticket from ADO: it is not part of this tour	A direct Playa to Chichen Itza bus is listed on some days and takes about 4 hours, but listings conflict on times and frequency: check ADO for your date. The practical route is ADO to Valladolid (about 1.5 to 2 hours, frequent), then about 50 minutes onward to the ruins, and the same in reverse.	697 MXN per foreign adult, paid at the gate in two parts.
Tren Maya	Train fares from the Cancun side, plus a shuttle of about 55 MXN from Chichén Itzá station to the site entrance	There is no direct train from Playa del Carmen. The route runs via Cancun to the Pisté station, then the short shuttle to the entrance, which makes it a trip to plan around a night away, not a same-day plan from Playa.	697 MXN per foreign adult, paid at the gate in two parts.

Driving from Playa del Carmen gives you complete freedom. A tour takes care of the day for you.

Going on your own instead? Our full guide to getting to Chichen Itza from Playa del Carmen compares the bus, the train, driving and a rental car, leg by leg.

Can You Do Chichen Itza in Half a Day from Playa del Carmen?

No, and be careful with any listing that says you can. The maths does not bend: the drive from Playa del Carmen is about 2.5 hours each way, so driving alone is 5 to 5.5 hours round trip, before a single minute at the ruins. A four-to-six-hour "half-day tour" would spend nearly all of itself on the toll road. Even a ruins-only private run, with no cenote and no Valladolid, needs 7 to 9 hours. This shared day is 11 to 12 hours, and that is the honest shape of the trip.

Given the full day, is it worth it? Yes: Playa is close enough that the ruins get their proper time, and tours that reach the gate near the 8:00 AM opening see the site at its coolest and quietest, before the late-morning surge of day-trip buses. What you should not do is squeeze it: a rushed hour at Chichen Itza, after that drive, satisfies nobody.

Before You Go

Before you book, check the site's rules, what to bring, and whether the day is right for you.

Site rules and hours

The site opens at 8:00 AM daily, Yucatán time, one hour behind Playa del Carmen all year round, so watch the clock change on the drive. Climbing El Castillo and the other archaeological structures is prohibited. Drones are not allowed, and pets and smoking are not allowed inside the site. Leave big backpacks on the vehicle where you can.

What to bring

Comfortable walking shoes, light clothing, a hat and sun protection. For the swim at Cenote Ik Kil: swimwear (many wear it under their clothes), a towel and a dry change of clothes. Do not wear regular sunscreen in Ik Kil's water: Ik Kil's official cenote page states no sunscreen rule at all, the independent Ik Kil guide states that sunscreen and lotions are strictly banned in the water, and other advice hedges between 'biodegradable only' and 'none at all'. Whether biodegradable sunscreen is permitted is not confirmed on the cenote's official channels, so keep sunscreen out of the water. Also bring drinking water, some Mexican pesos for rentals and personal purchases, and photo ID.

Who this day suits

Be straight with yourself about the shape of it: 11 to 12 hours, and roughly 2–3 km of walking on uneven, rocky paths with limited shade. For young children and seniors it is a long day, doable for many, but not a light outing. INAH notes wheelchair access to the main visitor areas, but not every path at the site is accessible, and we never claim universal accessibility. The swim at Ik Kil is optional: the water is reached by a long staircase, and non-swimmers can watch from above. Rain does not cancel the day: the ruins stay open, and the swim is under open sky anyway.

Who Runs This Tour

This is a small, direct operation: the same people who answer your WhatsApp messages also run the tour. There is no call center or middleman taking a cut. That's why bookings are handled personally in a chat, and prices are shown openly here rather than hidden behind a quote form.

Real customer reviews are published here from the first tour onward, whether good or bad, with the traveler's name and date.

Chichen Itza Tour from Playa del Carmen: Questions, Answered Straight

How far is Chichen Itza from Playa del Carmen?

Chichen Itza is about 182 km from Playa del Carmen by road, and the drive takes about 2.5 hours each way on the 305D/180D toll road via Valladolid and Pisté. With the pickup rounds, the ruins, Cenote Ik Kil and Valladolid, the full shared day runs 11 to 12 hours.

How long is the tour from Playa del Carmen?

It is a full day of 11 to 12 hours: pickup rounds in Playa del Carmen, about 2.5 hours each way on the toll road, two hours or more at the ruins, about an hour at Cenote Ik Kil, 45 to 60 minutes in Valladolid, and back in Playa del Carmen in the evening.

How much does the tour from Playa del Carmen cost?

The tour is $130 per adult and $115 per child up to 12 years. Two adults pay $260; two adults and one child pay $375; and two adults and two children pay $490. The 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee is included, so there is no extra payment at the gate.

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, and children under 13 pay no admission at the site itself. For the full breakdown, see Chichen Itza tickets and entrance fees.

Do you pick up from my hotel in Playa del Carmen?

Yes: from your hotel or your chosen pickup point in Playa del Carmen. Pickups cover Playacar (lobby or main gate, depending on your hotel's policy), hotels in the centre and around Fifth Avenue, and the resorts along the highway north and south of town. Staying in an Airbnb or condo? We agree a meeting point near you on WhatsApp, around Plaza Antigua. Your exact pickup time is confirmed on WhatsApp the night before.

I'm staying in Cozumel: how do I join the tour?

There is no pickup on Cozumel itself. You take the ferry to Playa del Carmen, the crossing takes 35 to 45 minutes, and the first sailings leave from about 6:00 AM depending on the company, though schedules change, and we meet you near the Playa ferry pier, around Plaza Antigua. Tell us on WhatsApp when you book that you are coming from Cozumel, and your meeting plan is confirmed the night before.

Is a half-day tour to Chichen Itza possible?

No, and any listing that promises one is not being straight with you. The driving alone is 5 to 5.5 hours round trip from Playa del Carmen, before any time at the ruins. Even a ruins-only private run needs 7 to 9 hours. This shared tour is a full day of 11 to 12 hours, and that is the honest shape of the trip.

What time do we get back to Playa del Carmen?

In the evening, after the Valladolid stop on the way back. The full day runs 11 to 12 hours from the first Playa pickups, and the exact return depends on traffic and the pickup rounds that day, so we do not print a fixed clock time. If you have an evening commitment, tell us on WhatsApp before you book and we will tell you honestly whether the day fits.

Which cenote does the tour visit? Can I skip the swim?

The swim stop is Cenote Ik Kil, a few minutes from the ruins near Pisté. The water sits about 26 metres below ground level, reached by a staircase. The swim is optional: you can watch from above instead. Life jackets are required in the water and are rented at the cenote, as are lockers and changing rooms, the rental is not included in the tour price.

Is this tour good for kids?

It can be, if you go in knowing the shape of the day: 11 to 12 hours, about 2.5 hours on the road each way, and 2 to 3 km of walking on uneven ground at the ruins. Children up to 12 pay $115, and children under 13 pay no admission at the site itself. At Cenote Ik Kil an adult stays next to the child in the water at all times. For very young children it is a long day, that is the honest answer, and the call is yours.

What should I bring on the tour?

Swimwear (many people wear it under their clothes), a towel and a dry change of clothes for Cenote Ik Kil, comfortable walking shoes, a hat and sun protection. Do not wear regular sunscreen in Ik Kil's water. Ik Kil's official cenote page states no sunscreen rule at all; the independent Ik Kil guide states that sunscreen and lotions are strictly banned in the water, and other advice hedges between 'biodegradable only' and 'none at all'. Whether biodegradable sunscreen is permitted is not confirmed on the cenote's official channels, so the safe course is to keep sunscreen out of the water. Also bring drinking water, some Mexican pesos for personal purchases and rentals at the cenote, and photo ID.

How do I book, and how much do I pay in advance?

On WhatsApp, in three steps. One: send us your date, that you are staying in Playa del Carmen, and how many adults and children. Two: we reply with your exact total, the entrance fee is already included in it. Three: you pay 30% in advance to lock your seats, and the balance on the day of the tour. The advance exists for one honest reason: people who book and then never show up block seats that customers who are ready to go could have taken.

Can I cancel my booking?

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

Shared or private tour: which should I choose?

The shared tour is $130 per person with the entrance fee included, a fixed route, ruins, Cenote Ik Kil, Valladolid, and other travellers on board. A private tour gives you your own vehicle and your own timing at a per-group price; private day tours from Playa del Carmen are typically listed between $260 and $699. If you are a couple or a family watching the total, the shared tour is usually the better value; if your timing is unusual, ask us about private on WhatsApp. See also best Chichen Itza tours compared.

Is there a bus or a train instead?

Partly. A direct ADO bus from Playa del Carmen to Chichen Itza is listed on some days and takes about 4 hours, but listings conflict on times and frequency, so check ADO for your date. The practical bus route is ADO to Valladolid (about 1.5 to 2 hours, frequent), then about 50 minutes onward to the ruins. There is no direct train from Playa del Carmen: the Tren Maya route runs via Cancun to the Pisté station, then a shuttle of about 55 MXN to the site, not a same-day plan from Playa.