What are Chichen Itza opening hours?

Visiting Chichen Itza ruins is one of the top things to do during your stay in Riviera Maya. With almost 2 milion of visitors each year, Chichen Itza is the first visited archeological site of Mexico, before Tulum ruins (Quintana Roo State) and Teotihuacan (Mexico State).

Chichen Itza Opening Hours and Practical Information:

All days 8am – 5 pm, last admission allowed 4pm.

Entrance fee for tourists:

• 95 pesos per person for the Ruins entrance INAH ticket.
• 524 pesos per person for the Ruins entrance CULTUR ticket (Yucatan State)
• 110 pesos for the parking
• if you take the highway from Cancun or Playa del Carmen, count 800-900 pesos round trip for the toll road.

Tip: we recommend you pay in cash pesos (they don’t accept cash in foreign currencies), also since there are 2 different cashiers, card payment will take longer and sometimes the system doesn’t work. There is an ATM in the entrance hall of the ruins entrance but it doesn’t always work!

Chichen Itza ruins are almost 3 hours driving from Cancun or from Playa del Carmen (with highway), 2h30 from Tulum.

What is the best time to visit the ruins?

Early morning visit if the best to avoid crowds and heat. 8am-10 am is the best time to enjoy the site. Large group tours / buses usually arrive around 10-11am.

Should I go for a guided visit?

Yes! You have very few information available if you visit the ruins on your own. You will find some boards with building names but not a lot of information about the Mayan civilization.

Options to hire a guide: you won’t have issue to find a guide but to avoid scams and make sure you have a great experience, we recommend:

– Hire an official guide at the entrance of the ruins site (they offer private – group visits in several languages, count 1000-1500 pesos depending on service for a 1/1h30 hour visit)

– Book an excursion, once again many options available: 

Advantage of taking an excursion to Chichen Itza is that you don’t need to drive by by yourself (average 3hours one way driving from Cancun – Playa del Carmen – Tulum) as you get transportation from your hotel. Also, booking a tour allows you to add other activities during the day.

Then, you need to choose between group tours or private tours. Group tours can easily be booked from your hotel (keep in mind that in general hotels subcontract tour operators, you end paying intermediaries and experience/inclusions may vary from the tour description your hotel provides), while you will usually book private tours from small businesses operating online.

Taking a private tour has many advantages such as avoiding crowds, not sharing the transportation with other travelers, and getting the full private guided visit at your own pace! Read more about the Chichen Itza Private Tours available.

Covid Sanitary Rules (2020-2021):

After closing a few months in 2020 due to Covid, the mayan ruins of Chichen Itza re-opened in September 2020 following the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTCC) recommendations, under the Safe Travels protocols.

• Face mask mandatory during the full visit
• Temperature check at the entrance with hand gel
• Physical distance to respect for the line entrance and while visiting the site.
• Individual groups of max 10 people or guided tours with 9 people maximum per guide
• 3,000 visitors maximum per day