While the majority of visitors to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula spend most of their time on the Riviera Maya enjoying the Mexican Caribbean sea, many do venture away from the perfect white-sand beaches to visit one or two ancient Mayan ruins. In this article we’ll be looking at the ruins in Quintana Roo, seeing which are easily visited from the most popular vacation destinations on the Caribbean Coast: Cancun (hotel zone), Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Bacalar. 

The most popular to ruin to visit is, of course, the Chichen Itza ruins but this ruin, one of the new seven wonders of the world, is actually located in the nearby state of Yucatán. In this article, we’re focusing on the Mayan ruins in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. 

_{There are affiliate links in this article. If you click and make a purchase I could make a small sum at zero cost to you. Thank you!}

Ruins in Quintana Roo

📌 INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia) controls almost the all ruins and many museums in Mexico. They set the prices and the opening times.

📌 Mayan ruins in Quintana Roo are open 8 am to 5 pm every day and Mexican residents can enter for free on Sundays.

📌 Two ruins from this list make it into my top 10 ruins on the Yucatán Peninsula that you have to visit.

This article groups the ruins of Quintana Roo according to which main tourist destination they’re near:

➡️ Ruins around Tulum

➡️ Ruins around Cancun (including Isla Mujeres)

➡️ Ruins around Playa del Carmen (including Cozumel)

➡️ Ruins around Bacalar

➡️ Inland Ruins

🚗 While it is possible to take tours to the bigger named sites, if you’re interested in visiting the smaller, less famous ruins you’ll need to either rent a car, hire a driver or rely on public transport.

Ruins Around Tulum

🏝 Tulum is more than just beautiful beaches and swanky restaurants. In the gorgeous beachside pueblo magico of Tulum there are two important Maya sites to visit: Tulum and Muyil.

Tulum Ruins

The Tulum Maya archaeological site is one of the most visited sites in all of Mexico as well as the most visited archaeological site in Quintana Roo. Not only is it popular because of its great location and easy access for people vacationing along the Riviera Maya but also because it is the only Mayan city built on a cliff top overlooking the gorgeous, and sparkling Caribbean Sea. 

Where are the Tulum Ruins?

🚗 The Tulum ruins are just north of the modern city of Tulum, some 130km south of Cancun and 60km south of Playa del Carmen.

Tulum Ruins Information

📌 This site was built in the late 13th century during the Mayan post-classic period as a seaport and trading center that dealt mainly in turquoise and jade.

During its heyday, Tulum was a major trading post for nearby city states including Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, Coba and other states in Central America. Thanks to its location on the coast it was considered to be an extremely powerful city-state that was likely still powerful when the Spanish arrived in Yucatán. 

The Maya people called the site Zamá (Place of the Rising Sun) – if you’re thinking you’ve heard this word before, you’re entirely right, it’s the name of a modern residential area of Tulum.

This is the only (known) Mayan city built on a coast. It’s also the only Mayan walled city ever found. The site is surrounded by a thick wall on three sides (7m thick and between 3 – 5 m high).

The biggest and most imposing remaining structure is El Castillo (The Castle), located on the edge of a 12 meter cliff. 

Don’t miss the Temple of the Frescoes where, if you look inside you’ll find a mural representing the Mayan understanding of the world: the worlds of the dead, the living and of the gods.

Take your time to explore the site, and be sure to head down to the private beach (steps by the castillo) if it’s open – when the sargassum gets too much this beach is closed off.

Honestly, Tulum’s secret beach is not so secret anymore but when I first visited in 2016 it was still considered something of a (badly kept) secret. Take your bathing suit and a sunscreen and enjoy!

Similarly, there is a turtle breeding site within the Tulum ruins so be careful there too. Note that there are hundreds of enormous iguanas on the grounds so enjoy that.

​Tulum Details

✅ Best time to visit first thing or for the final hour. The site receives up to 2,000 visitors a day so be warned, it’s busy. It’s also hot and there isn’t much shade so take water and a hat.

🥨 💦 Of all the ruins I’ve ever visited in Mexico, Tulum offers the most in the way of facilities. There is a large car park, plenty of tourist souvenir stores and snack shops. There’s even a Starbucks on site. Last time I visited, my friends and I got there at 8 am and enjoyed a happy coffee before strolling up to buy our tickets.

From the entrance there’s the choice to walk or take a cute bus to the ticket office.

MexicoCassie Tulum Hotel Recommendation

➡️ Check out other Tulum hotel options

Muyil Ruins

📌 While the Tulum ruins might be heaving with tourists, on the other side of Tulum pueblo is Muyil, one of the best Mayan ruins on the whole of the Yucatan Peninsula according to my kids. They first visited when they were 2 and 4 years old and it remains their favourite spot in Tulum. They always ask to return to the dense jungle of Muyil to explore and play.

Where are the Muyil Ruins?

🚗 The Muyil ruins are on the south side of Tulum pueblo, on the edge of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere. 20 minute drive from Tulum, 2hr15 from Cancun and just over an hour from Playa del Carmen.

Muyil Ruins Information

Note that you may also see Muyil referred to as Chunyaxché, which is the name of the nearby lagoon (you can actually access this lagoon by walking along the wooden paths at the very back of the ruins site, should you wish to).

This quiet Mayan site with Peten style architecture sits in the jungle surrounded by nature. When you enter the site you first come to the tall pyramid (no climbing anymore) and then you turn to enter into the jungle to find the rest of this quiet Maya ruin. 

Muyil is one of the earliest and longest inhabited Maya sites on the east coast of Yucatán. It was inhabited from around 300 BCE to 1450CE, far longer than Tulum or Chicén Itzá. 

Muyil Details

If you’re looking for an “off the beaten path” ruin to visit, this is your top pick.

There are no facilities on site except bathrooms and a small carpark. 

Muyil Tour Information

Ruins Around Cancun

All the ruins in and around Cancun are relatively minor ruins. If you’re in town and feel like checking them out, they’re nice enough but there’s a reason most people leave Cancun to see the ruins of Chichén Itzá and Tulum.

El Rey

El Rey Information

📌 El Rey (The King) was named after a statue found at the site. Settlement began here in about 200 AD and during the post-classical period it was an important trading centre. This small ruin is perfect if you don’t have the time, energy or inclination to leave Cancun. It’ll take you about an hour to explore thoroughly.

Where are the El Rey Ruins?

🚗 They are located near the gorgeous Playa Delfines in Cancun.

San Miguelito

San Miguelito Information

📌 Your museum ticket gets you access to this ruin. San Miguelito, along with El Rey, was part of the trading network of the post-classical period.

Where is San Miguelito?

🚗 Next to El Rey, part of the Museo Maya complex in Cancun

El Meco

El Meco Information

📌 The pyramid here is dedicated to the Mayan god of rain, Chaac. This site was a powerful port city and controlled access to the Ix-Chel site on Isla Mujeres. Its pyramid is also the largest in the Cancun area and since very few people visit this site, you’ll likely be here all alone. Climb he pyramid for awesome views.

Where are the El Meco Ruins?

🚗 North of Cancun, just before Punta Sam, 18 km (20 minute drive) from Cancun’s Hotel Zone.

Isla Mujeres

📌 The ancient temple of Ix-chel is located at the southernmost point of Isla Mujeres. If you’re hiring a golf buggy and driving yourself around the island, sure, head down to see this but don’t expect much as it’s small. The site was constructed to honor the Mayan goddess of fertility, Ix-chel. It was also used as a lighthouse for the ancient Maya given its location on the rocks at the south of the island. 

⭐️ Buy ferry tickets to Isla Mujeres

➡️ Check out Cancun hotel options

Ruins Around Playa del Carmen

Like the ruins in Cancun, the ruins in Playa del Carmen are not going to hold your excitement or win any awards for grandeur or pyramid size, however, they’re there and you’re there so…

Xel Ha

📌 Halfway between Tulum and Playa del Carmen stands the ruin of Xel-Ha. Some of the buildings have stood since 300-600 AD and still have discernible murals on their walls for you to admire. 

Playacar

📌 There is a small ruin to see within the privada of Playacar in Playa del Carmen. Honestly, the only reason to visit it is because claiming you wish to see it is a good tip for getting into the privada to access the beach here. 

​Cozumel

There are two Cozumel Mayan Ruins sites open to tourism, San Gervasio and El Cedral.

San Gervasio 

📌 This ruined sanctuary to Ix-chel is located east of San Miguel de Cozumel. It was founded around 300 CE and remained occupied until around 1450 CE. It was a sacred Mayan center, as well as a strategic site for trade and political development. Maya women would try to get here at least once in their lives to make an offering.

San Gervasio consists of various groups of buildings linked by a network of “sacbés” or Mayan roads. The most prominent structure of these Cozumel Mayan Ruins is Ka’na Nah or “High House.”  When the Conquistadors arrived on Cozumel they held the first ever religious mass in Mexican territory right here.

This site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

San Gervasio’s pre-Hispanic name was Tantun Cuzamil, Mayan for Flat Rock in the place of the Swallows. 

El Cedral

📌 El Cedral is a much smaller site but it’s older than the bigger San Gervsio. If you only have time for one, choose San Gervasio.

⭐️ Buy ferry tickets to Cozumel

➡️ Check out Playa del Carmen hotel options

Ruins Around Bacalar

Deep in the south of Quintana Roo lies the gorgeous small laguna-side pueblo magico of Bacalar. While thousands of visitors arrive here every year, most of them never realise there are fabulous Maya ruins just down the road that they could visit.

Chacchoben

Where are the Chacchoben Ruins?

🚗 Chacchoben is 177 kilometers (110 miles) south of Tulum and 50 km from Bacalar

Chacchoben Information

📌 This site, by 360 CE, had become the largest Mayan civilization the region as well as being one of the most prestigious ceremonial centers until it was abandoned in 1000 CE. It is thought that the earliest human settlements here were around 1,000 BCE although evidence has only been found dating to 200 BCE.  

While much of this site is as yet, unrestored, it is possible to visit and explore the Maya ruins hidden in the jungle, making it a joy to explore.

Other Ruins Near Bacalar

📌 There are a number of other, almost never visited ruins in the Bacalar/Chetumal area that include Oxtankah, Dzibanche, Kohunlich, Ichkabal and Limones.

➡️ Check out Bacalar hotel options

Inland Ruins in Quintana Roo

Coba

Where is Coba?

🚗 Coba is located about half way between Tulum and the gorgeous city of Valladolid. For me the Mayan cities hidden in the jungle hidden like this are really very special. Coba was also one of the very first ruins we ever visited on the Yucatan Peninsula, when the kids were just 2 and 4 and I’ll never forget the experience of climbing the great pyramid with two tiny yet intrepid children. 

​Coba Ruins Information

Coba means “waters stirred by the wind” or “choppy water” depending on whether you translate it on a whimsically romantic day or a tough sea captain kind of day.

Archaeologists believe that Coba was one of the most important sites on the Yucatan Peninsula. While its inland location means it doesn’t receive as many visitors as other nearby sites, it really deserves more love.

Coba’s two main draws are its enormous Nohoch Mul Pyramid (which they keep on claiming they’ll be closing to climbers but haven’t yet) and the numerous sacbes (white roads) found within the site. Apparently there are over 50 with 16 currently open to the public. These raised stone pathways run/ran across the whole peninsula connecting the Maya cities with each other, with Coba at the center of it all. There are also many engraved stelae from the Late Classic Period (600 – 900 CE) found in this jungle city. 

Coba is located around two large lagoons, Lake Coba and Lake Macanxoc (don’t swim in them, there are crocodiles)

Coba Details

There are three options for exploring the giant Maya city in the jungle: walk, bici-taxi or bicycle. We chose to hire a bici-taxi because the kids were little-little. Although the riders aren’t officially guides, if you’re friendly and chatty with them, they’ll almost certainly have great information about the site to share with you. 

​Day Trip Recommendations to Coba

⭐️ Full day tour to Coba and Tulum ruins

⭐️ Coba, Punta Allen and Cenote tour

​