Almost the first thing we did with our waking hours in Cancun was to leave the city. After a brutal day of travel starting with a 3:15am alarm, we again got up early (4:15am Cancun time, which is 1:15am back home!) to catch a bus to Chichén Itzá, which was chosen as one of the New7Wonders of the World in 2007.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2018 challenge. Make sure to click on the photos!

We booked a tour through Viator, both for the archaeological tour guide and for early access – we knew it was going to be high season and hot, so the earlier we could see the ruins the better. In addition, our tour guide happened to be Mayan, so we feel like we got a really good deep-dive into how the Mayan culture worked, and what Chichen Itza must have been like when people lived there.

Even considering the poor planning on my part and the exhausting schedule we had to keep, this side trip was totally worth it. If you’re in the area and like old ruins like we do, we can’t recommend it enough.