Chichen Itza Tour from Tulum: Shared Day Tour, Cenote Ik Kil & Valladolid

This shared Chichen Itza day tour from Tulum costs $130 per adult and $115 per child up to 12, with the 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee already included in the price. The day covers the ruins, a swim at Cenote Ik Kil and a stop in Valladolid, with pickups in Tulum town, Aldea Zama, La Veleta and the Hotel Zone side of town. Booking runs on WhatsApp: you pay 30% to reserve your seats, and the balance is due on the day of the tour. Si buscas un tour a Chichén Itzá desde Tulum, este es el mismo día compartido, al mismo precio.

The Chichen Itza tour from Tulum starts from the beach town closest to the ruins. About 150 km of road, through Cobá country or up the toll highway, puts you at the gates early, while the stone is still cool and before the midday crowds arrive. Two hours or more among the pyramids, a swim at Cenote Ik Kil, then Valladolid before the drive home. It is the same shared day as our Chichen Itza tour from every city, at the same $130 price. Tulum just has the shortest road of any beach departure. And one thing to clear up first: Chichen Itza is not the ruin on the cliff in Tulum. That mix-up gets its own section below.

Chichen Itza Tour from Tulum 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 Tulum costs, and the zone's fee already inside that price.

The tour costs $130 per adult and $115 per child up to 12 years old, including the 697 MXN Chichen Itza entrance fee.

Shared tour from Tulum, 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

Entry to the site costs 697 MXN per foreign adult, while children under 13 enter free. That fee is included in the $130 tour price, so you pay nothing at the gate.

According to INAH’s current notice, the 697 MXN entrance fee comprises 105 MXN federal (INAH) + 592 MXN Yucatán state.

Children under 13 enter the site free; the $115 child price is the tour price per child up to 12 years old.

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.

See the full fee breakdown to understand how the figure is calculated.

All prices on this page are per person.

Why $49 Tours Cost More on the Day

Budget listings from Tulum advertise $49–$80, then charge roughly $35–$45 more per adult on the day for the entrance fee the headline left out. The all-in mid-range from this coast runs $130–$215. This tour is $130 with the entrance fee already included, the bottom of that all-in band, with nothing waiting for you at the gate. 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 Tulum, with pickup in town, at gated entrances in Aldea Zama and La Veleta, or a town meeting point for beach-road hotels
Cenote Ik Kil swim	Included	The swim at Cenote Ik Kil is part of the tour day, a stop of about an hour, with time to swim
Valladolid stop	Included	45–60 minutes in Valladolid on the way back to Tulum
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. 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

WhatsApp support is also included before and during the tour day.

How booking works

Message us on WhatsApp with your date and where in Tulum you are staying.
We confirm your total in writing, in the same chat.
Secure your seats with a 30% advance payment. Payment details are confirmed on WhatsApp.
The rest is paid on the day of the tour.

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

Cancellation: Cancel at least 48 hours before the tour for a full refund of your 30% advance. If you cancel less than 48 hours before the tour, the advance is non-refundable.

Chichen Itza Day Trip from Tulum: How the Day Runs

Three stops, in this order: the ruins first while it is still cool and quiet, then Cenote Ik Kil, then Valladolid on the way back to Tulum. The full day runs about 10–12 hours from Tulum pickups.

Early morning

Pickups in Tulum

Pickups run through Tulum town first, then the gated entrances of Aldea Zama and La Veleta, then the town meeting point for beach-road hotels. Your exact point and time arrive on WhatsApp the night before.

2–2.5 hours

The drive inland

About 150 km, by the 109 through Cobá or by the toll highway, the shortest road any beach town has to Chichen Itza. Watch the clock on your phone: Yucatán runs one hour behind Tulum, all year round.

2+ hours

Time at the ruins

More than two hours inside the zone, arriving early ahead of the midday crowds: El Castillo, the Great Ball Court, the Temple of the Warriors and the Sacred Cenote, with time to see each one properly instead of passing by.

About 1 hour

Swim at Cenote Ik Kil

After visiting the ruins, stop for a swim at Cenote Ik Kil, around 3 km from the site near Pisté. Allow about an hour to change, swim and dry off. Bring a swimsuit and towel.

45–60 minutes

Free time in Valladolid

Valladolid is about 40 km from the ruins, on the road back. You get 45 to 60 minutes there: the main square, San Servacio church on its south side, and Cenote Zaci in the middle of town.

Evening

Drive back to Tulum

From Valladolid it is about 2 to 2.5 hours back to Tulum, with drop-offs in the reverse order of the morning. You are back the same evening. No overnight bag, no second hotel.

Your exact pickup time is confirmed on WhatsApp the night before. It depends on where in Tulum you are staying, and on which side of the pickup circuit you sit.

What You Actually See at Chichen Itza

The archaeological zone is large, and the sun is strong by 11 AM. You'll enter through the CATVI visitor centre and spend two hours or more exploring these four structures.

El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcan

Thirty metres tall, with 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 prohibited, you see it from the ground, which is also where the shadow appears. This is not the small El Castillo on the cliff in Tulum; the section below this one settles that confusion properly.

Photo tip: Visit the main plaza early, before the crowds arrive, for the best photo.

Great Ball Court

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

Good to know: The court has almost no shade, so bring water and a hat.

Temple of the Warriors

This stepped pyramid stands behind rows of carved columns that once supported a roofed hall. Each column depicts a different warrior, with the details at eye level. Take your time walking along the front row.

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

Sacred Cenote

About 60 metres across, this natural well was a ceremonial site where gold, jade, pottery and human remains were thrown in as offerings to the rain god Chaac. It was not a water supply, and nobody swims here. The swim at Cenote Ik Kil comes later in the day.

Field note: The flat, shaded path leads to the final stop on the ruins walk.

Cenote Ik Kil: The Swim After the Ruins

The swim stop on this tour is Cenote Ik Kil, about 3 km from the archaeological site near Pisté. A cenote is a sinkhole formed when the limestone roof of an underground river collapses, leaving a natural pool of clear, cool fresh water. Ik Kil is open to the sky, with water about 26 metres below ground level, down a long staircase. After two hours in the heat at the ruins, an hour in the water gives people plenty to talk about on the drive home to Tulum.

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 lockers, the rentals are not included in the tour price. Cenotes are deep, with no shallow end, so treat it as deep-water swimming, not a pool. The swim is optional: if you would rather not go down, you can watch from above.

Bring swimwear and a towel. You’ll have about an hour altogether, including time to change.
Do not wear sunscreen in the water: it harms Ik Kil’s ecosystem, and sites enforce this rule.
Children must remain beside an adult in the water at all times.
The stone steps down can be wet, so take your time and hold the handrail.

Prefer to choose your own swimming spot? Explore Ik Kil and other cenotes near the ruins.

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 about 40 km east of the ruins, roughly half an hour away. Its centre is compact, with the main square, church and town cenote all within a few streets. That makes 45 to 60 minutes enough to explore the centre on foot without rushing.

How to spend the stop: stroll around the main square, visit San Servacio church on its south side, peer into Cenote Zaci in the middle of town, and pick up an ice cream before the drive back.

Some tours stop in Valladolid for just 15 minutes, barely enough for a photo of the square. On our way back to Tulum, you'll have 45 to 60 minutes without adding time to the day. Planning a longer stay? Explore our short guide to Valladolid.

Chichen Itza Is Not the Tulum Ruins

This is the single most common mix-up for visitors based in Tulum, so here it is head-on: the ruins on the cliff above the beach in Tulum and Chichen Itza are two different sites, about 150 km apart. Both even have a building called El Castillo. They are not the same El Castillo.

The Tulum Ruins

A small walled port city on a cliff above the Caribbean, inside Tulum itself, a taxi or bike ride from your hotel.

Its El Castillo is a modest cliff-top building that also served as a lighthouse for canoes
The visit takes about an hour, and pairs with the beach below
The setting is the sea: turquoise water under the cliff edge

Chichen Itza

One of the great Maya cities, about 150 km inland in Yucatán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988 and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World since 2007, drawing around 2.5 million visitors a year.

Its El Castillo is the 30-metre Pyramid of Kukulcán, built as a calendar in stone
The visit needs two hours or more: the Great Ball Court, the largest in Mesoamerica, the Temple of the Warriors and the Sacred Cenote
The setting is flat inland jungle, with no sea and very little shade

If you only see one: see both if your days allow: they do different things. The Tulum ruins are an easy morning on your own. Chichen Itza is the full-day expedition, and it is the one people cross oceans for. What you should not do is visit the cliff-top ruins in Tulum and leave thinking you have seen Chichen Itza.

And Coba and Ek Balam? Both are closer to Tulum than Chichen Itza, both are quieter, and, unlike Chichen Itza, both still let you climb their pyramids. Combo tours pair them with Chichen Itza in one day, but the trade is time: the site gets squeezed, often to an hour and a half or two. This tour keeps Chichen Itza whole: two hours or more, with the cenote and Valladolid around it.

Tulum's ruins are the other candidate for the same day; Tulum ruins vs Chichen Itza vs Coba compares the three honestly before you choose.

Pickup in Tulum: Town, Aldea Zama, La Veleta & the Hotel Zone

Tulum is not one pickup map, it is three: the town, the gated neighbourhoods behind it, and the beach road. Each works differently, and this page says so plainly instead of promising door-to-door everywhere.

Tulum town: hotel and point pickup. If you are staying in town, on or near Avenida Tulum, we pick you up from your hotel or from a pickup point you choose. Tell us the hotel or the point when you book on WhatsApp, and your pickup is confirmed in the same chat.

Aldea Zama and La Veleta: gated entrances. Both neighbourhoods sit behind gates the vehicle cannot pass freely, so pickup is at the entrance or at a named landmark just outside it. We agree the exact spot with you on WhatsApp, it is a short walk from most rentals in either area.

The Hotel Zone beach road: restricted, and slower. The beach road is narrow, busy and restricted, and routing a pickup circuit down it adds real time for everyone on board. Some beach-road properties can be collected; others use a meeting point in town, around the Super Akí area on the main avenue. We confirm which applies to your hotel before you book, no blanket "we pick up everywhere" promise.

Your exact pickup time is confirmed on WhatsApp the night before. Pickup times are given in Quintana Roo time, Tulum's time. The site sits in Yucatán, one hour behind, all year round, so do not be confused if the clocks at the ruins disagree with your phone. Staying further up the coast instead? The same tour runs as the Chichen Itza tour from Riviera Maya, and from Cancun.

Which point, and what happens if your stay sits outside the named zones, is covered in your pickup in Tulum.

How Far Is Chichen Itza from Tulum: And How Do You Get There?

About 150 km. Published road tables put the drive at 153 km (95 miles), and the honest planning figure is 2 to 2.5 hours each way, depending on the route and the pickup circuit. Two main routes run inland: the 109 via Cobá, toll-free and roughly two hours in clear conditions, and the 307 north to the 180D toll road. Either way, Tulum is the closest beach departure on this coast:

Departure	Distance	Drive, each way
Merida	About 120 km	About 1.5 hours, the closest city overall, but inland, not a beach town
Tulum	About 153 km	About 2–2.5 hours, the closest beach departure
Playa del Carmen	About 182 km	About 2–2.5 hours
Cancun	About 197 km	About 2.5–3 hours

Your options, honestly compared

All of these get you to the same gate. They differ in total cost, and in how much of a 4–5 hour round trip you organise, and drive, yourself. The full route-by-route breakdown is in our guide to getting to Chichen Itza from Tulum.

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, with an early arrival at the ruins before the midday crowds.	Included: the 697 MXN fee is in the $130, nothing to pay at the gate.
Rental car	The rental itself, plus fuel, plus tolls if you take the 180D, plus parking at the site, priced by the rental company, not by us	You drive 4–5 hours round trip: the 109 via Cobá is toll-free, the 180D is faster toll highway. Your own times, your own stops.	697 MXN per foreign adult, paid at the gate in two parts.
ADO bus + colectivo via Valladolid	You buy your own tickets, they are not part of this tour	Public transport from Tulum is thin. The workable route is ADO or colectivo to Valladolid (about 1.5–2 hours, frequent), then 40–50 minutes onward to the site. Direct Tulum–Chichen buses are rare, a listing or two a day, so do not plan around one. You also chain the same legs back in the evening.	697 MXN per foreign adult, paid at the gate in two parts.
Tren Maya	You buy your own train tickets, not part of this tour	There is no direct train from Tulum to Chichen Itza. With transfers, the rail journey runs to about 5 hours each way, a trip in itself, not a day-trip route.	697 MXN per foreign adult, paid at the gate in two parts.

Drive if you value complete freedom; choose the tour if you’d rather have the day organised for you.

Before You Go

Before booking, check the site’s rules, what to bring and who the day is best suited to.

Site rules and hours

The site opens at 8:00 AM daily, Yucatán time, one hour behind Tulum all year round. Climbing El Castillo and the other archaeological structures is prohibited. Drones are not allowed, and pets and smoking are not allowed inside the site.

What to bring

Wear comfortable walking shoes and light clothing, and bring a hat and sun protection. For swimming at Cenote Ik Kil, pack swimwear, a towel and a dry change of clothes. Take drinking water, photo ID and some Mexican pesos for personal purchases too.

Who this day suits

Expect roughly 2–3 km of walking on uneven, rocky paths with limited shade. INAH notes wheelchair access to the main visitor areas, but not every path at the site is accessible. The swim at Cenote Ik Kil is optional, the water is reached by a long staircase, and non-swimmers can watch from above.

Is Chichen Itza Worth It from Tulum?

Yes, and from Tulum the case is the strongest of any beach town. You have the least driving: about 150 km against Cancun's 197. What you do with that saved road time matters: this tour spends it at the ruins, with two hours or more inside the zone, where combo tours that bolt on Coba or Ek Balam often squeeze Chichen Itza into 1.5 to 2 hours between other stops.

The early start is the other half of it. The site is busiest between about 10 AM and 2 PM; arriving early means the plaza, the ball court and your photographs come before that build-up. The dry season runs roughly November to April; May to October is wetter, and the coastal hurricane season runs June to November. If Chichen Itza is the ruin you came to Mexico for, this is the departure that gives it the most time and the least road.

Who Runs This Tour

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

Real customer reviews are shown here. Since the first tour, every review received has been published, good or bad, with the traveler's name and the date.

Chichen Itza Tour from Tulum: Questions, Answered Straight

How far is Chichen Itza from Tulum?

About 150 km, published road tables put it at 153 km (95 miles). The drive takes about 2 to 2.5 hours each way, depending on the route and the pickup circuit. That makes Tulum the closest beach departure: Playa del Carmen is about 182 km and Cancun about 197 km by the same tables. Only Merida, inland, is closer, at about 120 km.

Is Chichen Itza the same as the Tulum ruins?

No. They are two different sites, and the confusion is understandable because both have a building called El Castillo. The Tulum ruins stand on a cliff above the sea in Tulum itself, and their El Castillo is a small cliff-top building you see in about an hour. Chichen Itza is about 150 km inland: its El Castillo is the 30-metre Pyramid of Kukulcán, in a city with the largest ball court in Mesoamerica. The full side-by-side is in Chichen Itza is not the Tulum ruins, above.

How long is the drive, and how long is the whole day?

Plan on 2 to 2.5 hours on the road each way. With pickups in Tulum, two hours or more at the ruins, about an hour at Cenote Ik Kil and 45–60 minutes in Valladolid, the full day runs about 10 to 12 hours from pickup to drop-off.

How much does the Chichen Itza tour from Tulum cost?

$130 per adult and $115 per child up to 12 years. The total is $260 for two adults, or $490 for two adults and two children. The 697 MXN entrance fee is included, with nothing extra to pay at the gate.

Is the entrance fee included in the price?

Yes. The 697 MXN fee, 105 MXN federal (INAH) + 592 MXN Yucatán state, is included in the $130, so you pay nothing at the gate. Children under 13 don't pay admission at the site; the $115 child price, for children up to 12, is the tour price per child. For a breakdown of the fee, see Chichen Itza tickets and entrance fees.

Do you pick up in the Hotel Zone, Aldea Zama or La Veleta?

In Tulum town, yes, pickup from your hotel or a chosen point on or near Avenida Tulum. Aldea Zama and La Veleta are gated, so pickup is at the entrance or a named landmark nearby. The Hotel Zone beach road is restricted and slow, so some beach-road properties use a meeting point in town, around the Super Akí area. Your exact point and time are confirmed on WhatsApp the night before, we never promise blanket door-to-door pickup on the beach road.

Where is the meeting point for beach-road hotels?

For beach-road properties where the vehicle cannot stop, the meeting point is in Tulum town, in the Super Akí area on the main avenue. We confirm the exact spot on WhatsApp the night before, together with your pickup time.

Which cenote does the tour visit?

Cenote Ik Kil, about 3 km from the ruins near Pisté. The water sits about 26 metres below ground, reached by a staircase. Life jackets are required in the water and are rented at the cenote, as are lockers, the rentals are not included in the tour price. The swim is optional; non-swimmers can watch from above.

Can I combine Chichen Itza with Coba or Ek Balam?

Combo tours exist, and Coba and Ek Balam are both closer to Tulum, and both still allow climbing, which Chichen Itza does not. The trade-off is time: a combo squeezes Chichen Itza between other stops, often to 1.5 to 2 hours at the site. This tour gives Chichen Itza its full time, two hours or more, with the cenote and Valladolid, and nothing else competing for the day.

Is there a bus or a train from Tulum to Chichen Itza?

Public transport is thin. The workable route is an ADO bus or colectivo from Tulum to Valladolid (about 1.5 to 2 hours), then 40 to 50 minutes onward to the site. Direct buses are rare, a listing or two a day, so do not plan around one. There is no direct Tren Maya train from Tulum; by train it is about 5 hours with transfers.

What time do we get back to Tulum?

In the evening. The day runs about 10 to 12 hours in total: after Valladolid, the drive back to Tulum is about 2 to 2.5 hours, and drop-offs follow the reverse of the morning circuit.

Is the tour good for children?

It can be, with eyes open: it is a long day (10 to 12 hours) with a lot of walking in the heat, and the cenote is deep water, an adult stays next to children in the water at all times, and life jackets are required and rented at Ik Kil. Children up to 12 pay $115, and children under 13 pay no admission at the gate.

What should I bring?

Comfortable walking shoes, light clothing, a hat and sun protection; swimwear, a towel and dry clothes for Cenote Ik Kil; drinking water, some Mexican pesos for personal purchases, and photo ID. Keep sunscreen out of the cenote water, it damages the ecosystem, and sites enforce it.

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

Booking is on WhatsApp: send your date, that you are staying in Tulum, and how many adults and children. We reply with your exact total, then you pay 30% in advance to reserve your seats and the balance on the day of the tour. The advance exists because no-shows block seats for customers who are ready to go.

Can I cancel?

Yes. Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the tour: cancel 48 hours or more ahead and your 30% advance is refunded in full. Inside 48 hours, the advance is not refunded.