Hoping to visit Chichen Itza without a tour while you’re in Mexico? Here is my complete guide to a budget-friendly, self-guided trip to Chichen Itza!

Upon arriving on the sunny shores of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, I added a day trip to Chichen Itza to my list of things to do. 

Chichén Itzá is a collection of Mayan ruins, arguably some of the most famous in all of Mexico (and the world). 

The incredibly preserved Mayan village is believed to be over 1,500 years old. Chichen Itza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered one of the New Wonders of the World. 

El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, is the iconic ancient step pyramid that serves as the centerpiece of Chichen Itza. 

I’ve seen countless photos of El Castillo in my lifetime. Like the Colosseum or the Sydney Opera House, it’s a notorious sight that you just have to see in person if you have the chance. 

Since I had planned a trip to Playa Del Carmen, which is only about 2 hours from Chichen Itza, I didn’t want to miss the chance to see this nearby world wonder. 

So I did some research about the best ways to get to Chichen Itza from Playa Del Carmen. I’ve decided to combine my own research and experience into this guide to help other travelers!

Do you need a tour to visit Chichen Itza?

You do not need a tour to visit Chichen Itza in Mexico if you are comfortable renting a car, or you have time to take the local bus. But a self-drive trip is the easiest and most convenient way to explore Chichen Itza on your own. 

My partner and I considered both a guided tour and a self-drive day trip to Chichen Itza from Playa Del Carmen. 

We asked some locals in the main tourist street of Playa Del Carmen for tour prices, and researched guided tours online. Then we did more research about how to visit without a tour. 

We’re both pretty independent people who like to travel with flexibility. We also wanted to do the trip on a budget. 

A self-drive trip ended up being the best option for us. I’ll outline exactly how we visited Chichen Itza without a tour from Playa Del Carmen!

But first, I’ll quickly mention what tours are like, as this may be a better option for some. 

When to book a guided tour to Chichen Itza

Though we decided to self-drive to Chichen Itza, I would recommend a guided tour for solo travelers, novice travelers, or those who just aren’t comfortable renting a car and driving around Mexico. 

If I were alone and didn’t have Matt with me, I definitely would have booked a tour.

A guided tour to Chichen Itza is a safe and affordable option. Tours usually depart from either Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, or Tulum on the coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico. 

You can also get tours from the nearby inland cities of Valladolid or Merida. 

It’s a 2-4 hour drive from the coastal cities to Chichen Itza, so it will be a full-day excursion. Most tours also stop in Valladolid for lunch and visit a nearby cenote for swimming. 

Tours also include local knowledge from an expert guide at Chichen Itza. Plus, you can enjoy a more social atmosphere and potentially make friends if you’re a solo traveler. 

In addition to the social and in-depth experience you get on a tour, I would also consider safety and cost. 

Let’s take a closer look at these factors.

Browse through the best Chichen Itza tours online!

Comparing the costs of Chichen Itza tours vs. self-driving

Chichen Itza day tours cost around $80 – $120 USD, while a self-drive trip costs around $160 USD. So the costs are similar whether you do a guided tour or go on your own.

Here is a breakdown of what it costs to visit Chichen Itza without a tour:

• $30 USD for full day car rental
• $35 USD per person for Chichen Itza entry
• $5 USD for Chichen Itza parking
• $50 USD for full tank of petrol
• $41 USD for tolls both ways
• $161 USD total

These prices may change based on exchange rates and which car rental company you choose. This is just what I personally spent!

Also note that the entry fee is per person. So for Matt and I, the total cost was actually $196 USD if you multiply the entry fee x 2. That makes it around $98 USD per person for the whole day trip.

I would also add some money for food. We brought our own protein bars and fruit so we didn’t buy any snacks at Chichen Itza. 

Chichen Itza tours are the cheaper option for solo travelers ($80 – $120 USD per person)

Self driving is about the same price as a tour for couples ($98 USD per person)

Self driving is the cheaper option for groups of 3+ ($75 USD per person or less)

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As you can see, it’s generally cheaper and overall much easier to just book a tour if you’re a solo traveler! 

You’ll get picked up at your accommodation, have an included lunch, and just have everything taken care of for you. Plus you can make friends on your tour, and learn more about the historic Mayan site from your local guide.

However, if you’re a couple or a group of friends, the self-drive option can be more affordable. 

You can divide the price of car rental, parking, petrol, and tolls between the group. So this can make the self-driving experience more affordable. 

Comparing the safety of Chichen Itza tours vs. self-driving

Another reason why a solo traveler might choose a tour over a self-drive trip to Chichen Itza is safety. 

Exploring a new country with a group is slightly less daunting than doing it alone. Especially if you’re a solo female, or new to traveling!

However, I felt that driving around the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico was very safe. There are lots of signs and police, and the main highway through the Yucatan was basically empty. 

Granted, I wasn’t the one driving. But my partner did a great job of navigating the foreign roads while I directed him with the maps on my phone. 

The highway that leads to and from Chichen Itza is long, wide, and easy. Driving in and out of the city traffic in Playa Del Carmen was more hectic, but Matt is a confident and safe driver so we had no issues. 

But if I were here alone, I wouldn’t feel so confident renting a car and driving around the Yucatan by myself.

So just consider how you feel about driving when you’re deciding to rent a car in Mexico!

Read next: 22 Solo Travel Tips: How To Travel The World Alone

How to visit Chichen Itza without a tour

The best way to visit Chichen Itza without a tour is to rent a car and drive yourself. Most travelers are staying in Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, or Tulum, and you can easily drive to Chichen Itza and back in one day. 

You could also stay overnight in the nearby town of Valladolid, which would break up the driving and give your trip a more relaxed pace.

There are also public buses to Chichen Itza from most major cities and towns around the Yucatan Peninsula. 

ADO is the main bus company in the area. Bus rides are cheap, but they are infrequent and take longer than driving. 

Most would recommend renting a car over taking the bus, unless you have lots of time to spare and are fine with longer travel days. 

Here are some things to know about planning your self-drive trip to Chichen Itza!

Renting a car

There are lots of car rental companies all over Mexico, especially in touristy cities like Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum. 

I recommend doing some online research and reading reviews to find your best option. 

We chose America Car Rental in Playa Del Carmen. They had lots of great reviews, decent prices, and they opened at 7am (which was the earliest I could find in town). 

It was around $30 USD for a full day car rental. The car was clean, basic insurance was included, and the staff were friendly and helpful. 

We picked up our car at 7am and were on the road by 7:30am!

Don’t forget travel insurance for your trip

Travel insurance is a must for any trip abroad. And for any trip where you plan on renting a car or doing other potentially risky activities, travel insurance is extra important.

Read my Budget Traveler’s Guide To Travel Insurance for a full rundown on my personal thoughts about insurance.

For my recent trip to Mexico, I bought travel insurance and added extra cover for car rental. Car rental companies also usually offer insurance as well.

For US residents, I highly recommend Squaremouth Insurance for finding the best plans!!

Arrive early

Try to arrive at Chichen Itza as early as possible. This will help you escape the crowds and the heat.

The ruins open at 8am and the last entry is at 4pm. 

We arrived around 9am and the ruins were already quite crowded, though we still found some pockets of quiet and got views of the famous pyramid without any people in the way. 

Luckily we didn’t have to wait in line to buy our tickets either. But I have heard that the lines can be insane if you arrive midday. 

So if you want fewer crowds, shorter lines, and slightly less intense heat, arrive early.

Time zones

It’s also important to note that Yucatan and Quintana Roo are separate states in Mexico and they are in different time zones!

Places like Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum are in Quintana Roo, which is one hour ahead of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan. 

Just make sure you are aware of the time difference when you hire your rental car, so you can return it on time. 

eSIM for directions

I have become a huge advocate for eSIMs while traveling in recent years. 

It’s just a super easy and cheap way to get data in almost any country while traveling. 

I use Saily for my eSIMs abroad. Whenever I travel to a new country, I just download the correct eSIM and buy a few GBs of data on the Saily app. It’s so simple!

For Mexico, I bought 1GB of data for 6 USD. That was plenty of data for me to use Google Maps and get directions to and from Chichen Itza during our drive. 

If you don’t want to buy data, just make sure you have the directions for your drive on some sort of offline app like Maps.Me or Google Maps. 

Get your eSIM for Mexico online with Saily – Code GABBY gets you 5% off!

Have cash

It’s a good idea to have plenty of Mexican Pesos in cash when you visit Chichen Itza. 

You’ll need these for tolls and parking. I’ve heard you need cash for the entry ticket as well, though I saw a card machine when I visited. 

Just have more cash than you think you need to make it easy. 

Here is the cash that we needed in pesos:

• 1,000 pesos to fill the gas tank
• 80 pesos for parking at Chichen Itza
• 671 pesos x2 for 2 Chichen Itza entry tickets
• 340 pesos for tolls to Chichen Itza
• 440 pesos for tolls back to Playa Del Carmen
• 3,202 pesos total for 2 people

If you plan to visit any cenotes after Chichen Itza, you’ll likely need a couple hundred pesos for entry to those as well. 

Read my guide for How To Exchange Money Abroad!

Cenotes

Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is famous for its cenotes. There are over 2,000 cenotes in this part of Mexico!

These natural, freshwater sinkholes are the perfect respite from the intense Caribbean heat. Some of them are underground and have stalactites and stalagmites, others are closer to the surface and have lots of lush greenery. 

Day trips to Chichen Itza often include a swim in a cenote on the way back home. 

Cenote Ik Kil is very close to Chichen Itza, so most tours stop here. It’s supposed to be gorgeous, but also pretty crowded. 

If you’re self-driving, I recommend researching the cenotes beforehand to find one that fits your driving route and budget. 

I decided to just wing it and pick a random cenote from Google Maps after our visit to Chichen Itza. 

But this wasn’t a great idea as the first one we was on a closed road (Cenote Los Bohos) and the second one required you to buy an expensive guided tour to enter (Cenote Chaak Tun). 

So we ended up driving further to Cenote Azul, which was a bit far out of the way from our route. 

Cenote Azul was stunning, and well worth the drive! But we could have saved time and confusion if we just researched which cenote to visit before we hit the road. 

Final thoughts on visiting Chichen Itza without a tour

So I would recommend visiting Chichen Itza without a tour if you have 2 or more people in your group, and one of you feels comfortable driving in Mexico! 

If you also love having freedom and flexibility to explore a place on your own, you will likely prefer visiting Chichen Itza without a tour. 

We had a great time on our day trip to Chichen Itza from Playa Del Carmen. It was a safe, easy drive, and we got to roam around without a set schedule. 

However, if you’re a solo traveler or don’t want to drive, a tour is a great option as well. 

And for solo travelers, Chichen Itza tour prices are actually cheaper than renting a car and going on your own. 

Just assess your own travel style and budget to ensure the day trip suits you! Chichen Itza is a fascinating wonder of the ancient world that is well worth a visit while exploring Mexico.

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