Coba is one of the many ruins in Mexico and the only one you’re allowed to climb. It’s about a 35-minute ride from Tulum and passes through a small village and a couple of cenotes. I don’t remember the exact directions but as soon as you come to the stoplight in Tulum after the Tulum ruins you turn right, it is well marked.
When you arrive at the ruins, there is one small parking lot. If it is full, there is plenty of parking on the street, and you can walk in; it just depends on how busy it is. Once you park, purchase an admission ticket directly to the entrance. I don’t remember how much it was, but I’ve seemed to think it was 10 or $15 per person. After entering the park, people will bombard you, trying to guide services, rent bicycles, and pedicab tours. It is a little over a mile through the jungle to the main pyramid, and many smaller ruins are on the way.
I highly recommend renting bikes or taking a pedicab, especially if it’s hot. We take the pedicab, I believe it’s $25 plus a tip. It’s a fun way to get around, and the drivers are very informative. They also stop at points of interest along the way. When we took our grandson, we got two of them and, of course, had to race. I won!
After visiting the gift shops and lunch, we spent about 2 hours at the ruins together and headed out to find a local cenote to cool off. The first time we visited Coba, we went to a cenote called Grand Cenote on the way back, which is almost Tulum on the left-hand side.
The Grand Cenote is located on the left side of the road, shortly before you get back to Tulum. This cenote has one large and one smaller pool of water with several rock overhangs and interesting underwater formations. Since we had had an issue with our underwater camera, we asked about buying a disposable underwater one. While they did not sell them, we could hire a photographer, which was one of the services they offered. The cost of this was, I believe, about $50 for about an hour and included all photos on a disc. The photographer took many great photos, and it was money well spent. After the photos, we continued swimming and snorkeling until the park closed at 5 PM.
On the way out, we noticed a peacock in a large cage. My wife decided to attempt to communicate with it by mimicking its sounds. It was quite funny, earning her the name the peacock whisperer😁😁.
After a long and enjoyable day, we returned to our resort for a relaxing evening. This is a great day trip from most points on the Mayan Riveria, and I would highly recommend it! Whether you choose Grand Cenote or another one it makes a wonderful way to spend the day after being hot and tired from the ruins.