Most Riviera Maya day tours choose one site: either Tulum or Coba. The reason is logistics -- both are full destinations that take time to appreciate properly. Our Coba, Tulum and Cenote tour is designed to do both in a single well-organized day without rushing either site.

The itinerary is structured so that you visit Coba in the morning -- when the jungle is cool, the site is at its quietest, and the pyramid climb is manageable before the midday heat. Tulum follows in the late morning to early afternoon, arriving after the first rush of day-trippers from Cancun, with your certified guide making the most of the time available. The cenote swim comes at the best moment of the day -- after the physical activity of exploring two archaeological sites.

Coba is one of the most underrated archaeological sites in Mexico. Located 40 kilometers inland from Tulum in the middle of the Yucatan jungle, the ancient city is built around a series of lakes and connected by a network of raised stone roads called sacbes that radiate outward for over 100 kilometers -- the most extensive road network of any Maya city.

At the center of Coba stands Nohoch Mul, at 42 meters the tallest climbable pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula. Chichen Itza's El Castillo (30 meters) has been closed to climbing since 2006. Nohoch Mul remains open. The climb involves 120 stone steps with a rope along the center for assistance. From the summit, the view is an unbroken jungle canopy stretching to the horizon -- the same view Maya rulers had when this city was home to an estimated 50,000 people at its peak.

To reach the main pyramid at Coba, you travel through the site on a bicycle or a tuk-tuk style pedicab. The 1.5-kilometer jungle path is one of the most scenic approaches to any archaeological site in Mexico. Bicycle rental at Coba is an optional extra cost. Our guide leads the way regardless of which option you choose.

After Coba, you drive 40 kilometers to Tulum on the Caribbean coast. By the time you arrive, the most crowded morning wave of tour buses has passed. Your guide leads a focused tour of El Castillo, the Temple of the Frescoes with its preserved interior murals, the Temple of the Descending God, and the cliff edge lookout over the turquoise sea. Free exploration time follows the guided section.