Tulum CenotesTulum Ruins, Mariposa and Chen-Ha Cenotes
This Tulum ruins and cenotes tour is the most-reviewed listing compared on this site: two hours guided through the cliffside Maya city, then swims at Cenote Mariposa and Cenote Chen-Ha, with hotel pickup from dozens of points across the Riviera Maya. The seat is cheap and the fees are not - the operator collects US$40 per adult and US$20 per child for the site and park charges on the day. Compare it against every Tulum cenotes tour.
About This Cenote Tour
8 to 8.5 hours
$26 per person, checked September 2026
4.4 from 1,160 reviews
Coach group; a private option is sold
Cenote Mariposa (semi-open) and Cenote Chen-Ha (semi-cavern)
US$40 per adult, US$20 per child for the ruins and park fees; meals, drinks, souvenirs and tips
Listing at a Glance
The same fields on every tour page here, read from the operator's live listing in September 2026. Prices and availability are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
- Tour name Tulum Ruins, Mariposa and Chen-Ha Half-Day Tour
- Operator EKINOX TOURS
- Booking platform GetYourGuide
- Product ID 473324
- Starting price $26
- Price note Listed at $38, showing $26 in September 2026 - but the site and Parque del Jaguar fees are charged separately at US$40 per adult and US$20 per child
- Price last checked September 2026
- Rating 4.4
- Review count 1160
- Review source GetYourGuide verified bookings
- Listed duration 8 to 8.5 hours
- Cenotes visited Cenote Mariposa (semi-open) and Cenote Chen-Ha (semi-cavern)
- Type of cenote Semi-open and semi-cavern
- Time in the water 45 minutes at Mariposa, 30 minutes at Chen-Ha
- Entry fees included Cenote entry yes; the Tulum archaeological site, Parque del Jaguar and government fees are not - the operator collects US$40 per adult and US$20 per child
- Paid on the day US$40 per adult, US$20 per child for the ruins and park fees; meals, drinks, souvenirs and tips
- Transport Round-trip coach with hotel pickup across the Riviera Maya
- Hotel pickup Yes
- Pickup areas 77 pickup points from Playa del Carmen to Tulum, plus Starbucks Tulum DT
- Pickup window Early morning hotel pickup, confirmed at checkout for each of the 77 points
- Expected return Back at your hotel 8 to 8.5 hours after pickup
- Group size Coach group; a private option is sold
- Guide Yes - guided two hours inside the ruins
- Guide languages English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French
- Gear Life vest and locker at the cenote
- Life jacket Yes
- Lunch No
- Drinks One bottle of water and snacks
- Cancellation 24 hours before the activity
- Reserve now, pay later Yes
- Minimum age None stated
- Difficulty Easy to moderate - two hours walking the ruins in full sun, then stairs into both cenotes
- Accessibility Not suitable for people with mobility impairments
- Not suitable for People with mobility impairments
- Weather Runs rain or shine; reviewers stress how little shade the ruins have by mid-morning
Check Dates and Availability
Live availability and current pricing for this listing, straight from the booking platform.
Quick answer The most-reviewed option here - and the one with US$40 collected at the door
This half-day pairs a guided walk through the Tulum ruins with swims in two cenotes, Mariposa and Chen-Ha, and it carries more reviews than anything else compared on this site. The seat is cheap. The fees are not: the operator states in its own exclusions that the archaeological site, Parque del Jaguar and government fees cost US$40 per adult and US$20 per child, collected separately from the ticket. Pickup covers dozens of hotels between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and the whole thing runs eight to eight and a half hours.
Key takeaways
- The listed price is the seat; US$40 per adult and US$20 per child is charged for the site and park fees
- Two cenotes: Mariposa, semi-open, 45 minutes, and Chen-Ha, a semi-cavern, 30 minutes
- Two hours guided inside the walled Maya city, with almost no shade
- Water, snacks, a life vest and a locker are included; meals are not
- If prepaid fees matter more than the ruins, compare the small-group cenote day
The Half-Day on Video
The same pairing filmed - the walk through the ruins in full sun, then the drop into cool water afterwards.
What This Half-Day Actually Includes
The fee line, read properly
The listing shows a low headline price and then, under exclusions, this: Tulum archaeological site, Parque del Jaguar, and government fees: 40 USD per adult / 20 USD per child, with reduced fees for Mexican nationals holding an INE card. That money is collected by the operator, in dollars, on the day.
For context, INAH publishes a unified ticket for the Tulum archaeological site at MX$265 for a foreign visitor - roughly $16 at September 2026 rates - and the parks that publish their own tariffs, Parque Dos Ojos among them, charge MX$400 for a cenote. The operator's US$40 bundles the park and conservation charges on top of the site entry. Whether it is good value is your call; the point is that a family of four adds $160 to a booking that looked like it cost a quarter of that.
The ruins, and the shade problem
Two hours guided through the walled city on the cliff, in a group, on open ground. Reviewers in August keep returning to the same subject - the heat, and how welcome the water and snacks were afterwards. There is no meaningful shade on that site and the tour runs rain or shine.
A hat, a refillable bottle and shoes you can walk in matter more here than on any other listing compared on this page.
The two cenotes
Cenote Mariposa is semi-open, with 45 minutes of free time, and Chen-Ha is a semi-cavern with 30 minutes. Both are swimming stops rather than the centre of the day - which is exactly right if the ruins are your priority and wrong if the cenotes are. Life vest and locker are provided at the cenote, and glass bottles are refused at the gate.
If what you want is three unhurried cenotes with no ruins attached, the private Triple Adventure morning is the listing to compare this against.
Pickup, and how long the day really is
Seventy-seven pickup points run from the resorts around Playa del Carmen down to Starbucks in Tulum town, and the drive to the ruins takes about an hour from the middle of that range. The day is scheduled at eight to eight and a half hours door to door, with two hours of it inside the archaeological site and 75 minutes in the water.
That ratio is the thing to weigh. This is a ruins tour with cenotes attached, sold in a market where the search term says cenotes.
Why it still has 1,160 reviews
Because it works. The guides are consistently praised by name and for switching between English and Spanish without losing either half of the bus, the timing holds, and the snacks-and-water stop after the ruins lands exactly when people need it. A 4.4 across that many bookings is a solid operational record, not a fluke.
Read the fee line, budget for it, and the tour is what it says it is.
Tour Itinerary, Hour by Hour
Taken from the operator's own published itinerary. Times shift with pickup order across the 77 collection points.
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Pickup
Collection across the Riviera Maya
Coach pickup from your hotel between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, then about an hour on the road south.
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+1 h
Tulum archaeological site, guided
Two hours walking the walled Maya city on the cliff with a guide, in English and Spanish. The site fee is the charge collected separately.
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+3 h
Twenty-five minutes to Cenote Mariposa
A semi-open cenote with 45 minutes of free time, a life vest and a locker provided.
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+4 h
Cenote Chen-Ha
A semi-cavern cenote, 30 minutes in the water - a different shape from Mariposa and the reason both are on the itinerary.
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+5 h
An hour back to your hotel
Drop-off at the same points, eight to eight and a half hours after collection.
Where It Is
The ruins sit on the cliff at the north end of the Tulum hotel zone; the two cenotes are inland, 25 minutes away.
Tulum Ruins and Cenotes Tour: Questions Before You Book
What are the extra fees on this Tulum ruins and cenotes tour?
The operator collects US$40 per adult and US$20 per child for the Tulum archaeological site, Parque del Jaguar and government fees, separately from the ticket price. Mexican nationals with an INE card pay a reduced rate. Meals, drinks beyond the included water, souvenirs and tips are also extra.
Which cenotes does this tour visit?
Cenote Mariposa, a semi-open cenote with 45 minutes of free time, and Cenote Chen-Ha, a semi-cavern with 30 minutes. A life vest and a locker are provided at the cenote stop.
How long is the tour?
Eight to eight and a half hours door to door, including about an hour of driving each way, two hours guided inside the ruins and 75 minutes across the two cenotes.
Is there hotel pickup?
Yes - 77 pickup points from the Playa del Carmen resorts down to Tulum town, confirmed at checkout. Drop-off is at the same points.
Are the Tulum Mayan ruins worth visiting?
For the setting more than the architecture. The buildings are modest next to Cobá or Chichén Itzá, but no other Maya site sits on a cliff above the Caribbean, and two guided hours is the right amount of time. What decides it here is the fee: the operator collects US$40 per adult and US$20 per child for the site, Parque del Jaguar and government charges on the day, so the ruins are the most expensive part of a tour that advertises a low seat price.
What Travellers Said
The cenotes were beautiful and we were practically the only ones there. The snacks and water after Tulum were really needed because it was so hot.
Carlos Moo was an excellent guide and provided enough information for us to appreciate Tulum and the cenotes history and culture.
Verified reviews for this listing, quoted in excerpt with their original dates.
Page last reviewed September 2026. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on September 2026. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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