Travel advice to Cichen Itza!!!!

[osuchic10]

Just my 2 cents, but I did the Chichen Itza tour through this site a few years ago and we are actually doing it again in a week from Friday! It really makes the trip so enjoyable...the guide is very friendly and knowledgeable (we had the honor the first time of having James as our guide - it was awesome!), you don't have to worry about ANYTHING. Everything you need is included in the price and the time on the road passes so quickly. I definitely recommend it.

Have a great trip!

[Jimontheriver]

We have a 10 person van & driver thru playa.info hired to go to Chicken Itza & Val. I think it is $235 for 10 hours

[Phil in Ottawa]

Originally Posted by maureena5

Hi Phil,

I would love to get information on your flight to Chicken Itza. Please do post your private flight arrangements. We don't mind driving there, but my husband has a big interest in small aircraft. Thanks!!


Maureen

Hi Maureen,

Here's some information:

We first flew from Playa to Chichen Itza in Spring 2000 with Aero Ferinco. This airline is no longer in business (after a crash) as far as I know.

The second time was with Aerosaab in Spring 2004. Here's what I wrote about it in my trip report (bear in mind that the prices may have changed since I wrote this):

"For $600US we chartered a Cesna 182 through AeroSaab to fly four of us from Playa del Carmen to Chichen Itza. For those who can afford it I highly, highly recommend this. We left at 8:00am. The 45-minute flight there was quite smooth and we landed at the new Chichen Itza airport. To our surprise we found the airport locked up tight with chains and padlocks locking all the doors. Our pilot went in search of someone and finally someone showed up with a key to the padlock. As we entered the brand spanking new (2 years old I think) airport we realized we had the place entirely to ourselves. Not a soul in sight. And it turned out the guy with the keys was also the taxi driver that Aerosaab had pre-arranged for us (400 pesos round trip). This was way too funny. So this taxi driver takes us to the ruins and then proceeds to arrange for a guide (480 pesos) for us. What service! This was our second trip to Chichen Itza and it was just as awesome as the first time. After our visit our taxi driver was waiting to take us back. Once again he unlocked the padlock on the airport doors for us and we still had our own private airport. The taxi guy even came out to the plane with us and closed our doors, gave the thumbs up to the pilot and did the air traffic thing with his arms as the plane taxied away. LOL! The flight home was a bit bumpier as we were flying into the wind but still relatively smooth and we landed in Playa del Carmen shortly before 2:00pm. Comparing that to the bus tours that return around 8:00pm it was great and well worth the money we spent."

Here's a shot of our plane front and center on the tarmac at the Chichen Itza airport:



You can find more info at Aerosaab's website here.

We ended up dealing with a gentleman named Antonio Palmas.

We were first offered the packaged tour. As I recall the cost for that was $920US for the four of us. This included the ground transportation, admission to the ruins and a guide.

As you read above, we ended up paying for everything separately: $600 for the plane, $40 for the taxi, $32 for admission and $48 for the guide for a total of $720. We got the same package and saved $200

I hope this helps

[maureena5]

Thanks Phil! That sound like a cool trip! I'm thinking of doing this as a belated birthday present for my husband. It's an expensive, but perfect gift. He's going to begin flight school in the US this summer.

Great story...by the way. That taxi driver sure is a "jack of all trades"!

Maureen

[Phil in Ottawa]

Originally Posted by maureena5

Thanks Phil! That sound like a cool trip! I'm thinking of doing this as a belated birthday present for my husband. It's an expensive, but perfect gift. He's going to begin flight school in the US this summer.

Excellent idea! I'm sure he'll enjoy the ride in the Cessna.

Originally Posted by maureena5

Great story...by the way. That taxi driver sure is a "jack of all trades"!

Maureen

Thanks Yes, we had a good laugh about the taxi driver/airport keys keeper/tour guide provider/air traffic control guy