What excursions from Playa del Carmen actually cost

In short: the six excursions I compare range from a simple ferry crossing to a premium guided cave day — current per-person prices are in the table below. The gates themselves are cheap — 697 MXN at Chichén Itzá, 265 MXN at Tulum, $20 a ferry leg to Cozumel — so what a tour really sells you is transport, a guide and not losing half the day to logistics. For Chichén Itzá and Río Secreto the bundled trip wins; Cozumel and Akumal can go either way.

Excursions compared6

Flagship$93

Chichén gate697 MXN

Tulum entry265 MXN

Ferry, one way$20

Akumal DIY$50–75

What each tour costs

Per person, in USD, as listed on GetYourGuide when I last checked:

$35 — Isla Mujeres catamaran, 8–10 h, open bar and lunch included.
$38 — Cozumel round-trip ferry ticket. A ticket, not a tour.
$76 — Tulum, cenotes and Akumal turtle combo, 8–10 h, listed down from around $117.
$93 — Chichén Itzá with Valladolid, cenote and buffet, roughly 12 h door to door.
$105 — Riviera Maya buggy tour with cenote swim, about 3 h.
$119 — Río Secreto guided cave tour, 6.5–8 h with hotel transport, wetsuit and a light regional lunch.

Two of those come with fine print. On the Chichén Itzá day, bring cash pesos: one four-star reviewer counted three separate pay points for extras across the day. The Tulum combo has park and gear extras beyond the ticket price too — a five-star reviewer still tells you to make sure you understand the additional costs before booking. Both are covered in the Chichén Itzá review and the Tulum & Akumal review.

The DIY numbers

Here is what the same day costs if you organise it yourself. These are the official gate and ferry prices, and none of them include getting there.

Trip	Booked as a tour	DIY, all-in
Chichén Itzá	$93 tour: guided visit, cenote swim, buffet, Valladolid stop, transport	697 MXN gate for foreign adults, paid as two tickets at two booths, plus your own transport for the 2.5 h drive each way
Tulum ruins	Included in the $76 combo with two cenotes and the Akumal snorkel	265 MXN entry for foreigners (100 MXN Parque del Jaguar + 165 MXN archaeological zone), plus transport 45 min south; no parking inside Parque del Jaguar
Akumal turtles	Guided snorkel included in the $76 combo	$50–75 for a morning: $15–20 access fee plus $25–40 for the guide required in the deeper seagrass zone
Cozumel	$38 round-trip ferry ticket booked ahead	About $20 each way (roughly 340–380 MXN) at the official terminal windows

So when does DIY win?

Chichén Itzá: book the tour. The gate is cheap on paper, but the site is about 180 km west, the two ticket booths want cash because the card readers go offline, and a guide is the difference between a great site and a hot walk. Río Secreto has no real DIY version — entry is guided-only, and the $119 already covers transport, wetsuit, helmet, headlamp and lunch.

Cozumel is the honest toss-up. The $38 round trip costs about the same as two $20 walk-up legs; the ticket’s value is skipping the pier queue, while buying at the dock lets you pick between the two operators on the day. I go through the timetable logic on the Cozumel day trip page. Akumal DIY works if you are in the water before 9 a.m. and fine with the bay rules; after 10, when the tour buses land, the $76 combo that folds Akumal into a Tulum day is better value. The full set of water options is on snorkeling tours.

Insider tip

Carry more pesos than you think you need on any excursion day. Card readers at remote booths fail, taxis have no meters (agree the fare before getting in), and a tourist-zone lunch runs 150–400 MXN a main when a buffet is not included.

Check dates for the Chichén Itzá day

All six trips sit side by side on all excursions. If you are still costing the whole holiday, how many days you need is the place to start.

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Frequently asked questions

Is it cheaper to book online or pay at the dock or gate?

For the ferry it is close to a wash: one reviewer found the online ticket cheaper than paying at the dock, another liked buying at the terminal for the flexibility to pick times and operators. Both are fair. For everything else I book online for the free cancellation. See the ferry ticket review for the details.

Do the tour prices include entrance fees?

The headline price covers what the operator lists — on the Chichén day that means the site, a cenote, buffet and the Valladolid stop — but reviewers report separate pay points for extras, so budget pesos on top. Per-tour detail is in the reviews.

Should I pay in pesos or dollars?

Pesos, in cash, especially at Chichén Itzá where cash is fastest at the booths. Use bank-attached ATMs — skimming happens in the tourist zones — and agree taxi fares before getting in. More of that housekeeping is at is Playa del Carmen safe.

Is Chichén Itzá free on Sundays?

For Mexican citizens and residents, yes. Foreign visitors pay the full 697 MXN whatever the day; Mexican citizens with INE pay about 298 MXN otherwise, and kids 3–12 pay around 105 MXN. If you are going, the $93 guided day is how I would do it.