A jungle Maya city between two lagoons, 45 minutes inland from Tulum.
Pedal its white stone causeways, climb the 120 steps of Nohoch Mul above the canopy, then cool off in a cave cenote.
Gate fees, spelled outWhich tours pay the two Coba tickets
Time at Coba, not trip lengthFrom one hour to two and a half
Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before, on every tour here
Checked for 2026The climb reopened, the fees doubled
Tours
Choose your Coba ruins tour
In the centre, the small-group day from Tulum with the best reviews of any Coba trip: two hours on the
site by bike, then spider monkeys and lunch with a Maya family. Either side, the cheapest Tulum and Coba day from Cancun
and a small-group day from Playa del Carmen with the Coba ticket in the price.
The most-reviewed Coba day: Tulum at opening time, two and a half hours at Coba, then a swim through a cave cenote. The $44 site fees are paid on the day, by card.
What's included
Guided visits to Tulum and Coba
Cave cenote swim, buffet lunch, chocolate and tequila tasting
Two hours at Coba by bike with a historian guide, then spider monkeys, a zipline and a canoe at Punta Laguna. Lunch is with a Maya family, and the entry fees are already paid.
An art historian takes you round Coba for two and a half hours, then a swim in Multun-Ha cenote and Tulum with the Mayan Museum. The Coba and cenote tickets are in the price.
Three questions sort it out. Where are you staying? How long do you want at Coba itself? And is the
price the whole price, or are the gate fees still to come?
"Fees extra" means you pay the archaeological site tickets on the day, usually by card, unless you
pick the operator's all-inclusive option. Private tours are priced per person and get cheaper with more people. Every tour
cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Before you book
One tour price, two tickets at the gate.
Coba is run by two owners. INAH, Mexico's federal heritage institute, looks after the monuments and sells the
official ticket: 209 pesos for foreign visitors since 1 January 2026, double the 2025 price. The land belongs to the
Coba ejido, the farming community around the lagoon, which has charged its own entry since 2021, about 120
pesos now. Add a bike or a tricycle taxi, because Nohoch Mul is 2 km from the gate.
That is why tour prices look so far apart. A $59 day from Cancun becomes about $103 once you pay the $44 site
fees on the day, by card. The $119 small-group day from Playa and the $184 day from Tulum have the Coba ticket in the
price already. Read the "Not included" line before you compare.
42
Metres to the top of Nohoch Mul, the tallest pyramid in the northern
Yucatan. Since 7 December 2025 you climb its 120 steps again, on a new wooden staircase laid over the worn stone.
Nohoch MulWhite causewaysBall courtsCarved stelae
Coba's temples still sit half inside the forest, roots and all.
01
Can I climb?
Yes, again. From 8:00 to 15:30, in closed shoes, and not in rain or strong wind.
02
How big is it?
About 2 km from the gate to Nohoch Mul. Most people ride a bike or take a tricycle.
03
What does entry cost?
209 pesos to INAH plus about 120 to the ejido: around 330 pesos, best in cash.
04
Who should skip it?
Anyone after a beach day. From Cancun it is four hours on the road for one to two hours here.
Your day
How a Coba day runs
Eight hours from Tulum, ten to twelve from Playa del Carmen or Cancun, where Tulum and a cenote are usually part of it.
01
An early start
Pickup at your hotel or a meeting point, then the drive inland on a straight jungle road. Cancun buses leave around 5 a.m.
45 min to 2 h 15
02
Ride the causeways
Past the Coba group and the ball court, a bike or a tricycle takes you along the shaded white sacbe to the far temples.
2 km to Nohoch Mul
03
Climb Nohoch Mul
120 steps on the wooden staircase, a few minutes at the top above an ocean of trees, then carefully down.
30 to 45 minutes
04
Cenote and lunch
A swim in a cave cenote, then a buffet or a home-cooked meal. Cancun days add Tulum or Playa del Carmen too.
Pesos in cash for the ejido fee, the bike and tips; site fees on tours are often card only.
Closed shoes for the climb, plus a hat and plenty of water.
Insect repellent: the forest is humid and the mosquitoes are keen.
Swimwear and a towel for the cenote, and a waterproof phone pouch for the caves.
From TulumAbout 45 min47 km inland on a straight road, the easiest base for Coba.
From PlayaAbout 1 h 30Around 110 km, via Tulum.
From Cancun2 h or moreAbout 170 km from the hotel zone, each way.
At Coba1 to 2.5 hThe number to compare between tours, not the 8 to 12 hour day.
Open8:00 to 17:00Last entry 16:00; the climb closes at 15:30.
Refund24 hoursFree cancellation up to a day before, on every tour here.
Where it is
Where Coba is
Inland, in the jungle
Zona Arqueológica de Cobá, Cobá village, Quintana Roo, 47 km northwest of Tulum
Coba is not on the coast. It sits in flat forest between Lake Cobá and Lake Macanxoc, at the end of a quiet road from
Tulum, with a small village at the gate. There is no train station here, and the buses from Tulum are few, which is
why most people come on a tour or in a rental car.
5.0★★★★★ 533 reviews · Coba, Punta Laguna and cenote day from Tulum Viator rating
★★★★★
Our second stop was Cobá, where we rented bikes and climbed the temple. An incredible experience!
★★★★★
The Spider monkeys were incredible, and saw a mother with her baby. Got to jump into a spectacular cenote. The walk through the jungle and biking around Coba were terrific.
★★★★★
We wanted a private tour to avoid the crowds, and we definitely succeeded in that! [...] We got to Coba early and really enjoyed biking through the jungle. The ruins were incredible, and our guide was extremely knowledgeable.
★★★★★
Tulum was great, Coba was even better (make sure you get a bike and ride immediately to the main attraction, Nohoch Mul, to have time to climb up the highest building at 42 meters!).
★★★★★
Great itinerary and such a fun day! Saw monkeys, zip lined, Mayan village and had a fantastic lunch in a Mayan family home. Coba is amazing and biking there was such fun!
★★★★★
Great tour of 2 sites: Coba was much more active (choice to bike through the site and climb) and Tulum was beautiful.
★★★★★
We are the first people of the day at Coba, no tourists only we! It was amazing! Very nice Cenotes! Nice to lunch at a local family!
★★★★★
I highly recommend having a hat, a lot of sunscreen and insect repellant for Tulum Ruins and I encourage you to rent a tricycle at Coba, suuper cool experience!
★★★★★
Coba is also a really special place in the jungle......but take insect repellent with you! The cenote was amazing and we got to swim through the caves.
Two wonders, one day
Add Chichen Itza
Coba in the morning, Chichen Itza in the afternoon. Long and rushed, but both great sites in one day.
Coba early, before the heat, then Chichen Itza, a swim in a cenote and a quick look at Valladolid. It is a long day and the hour at Coba is short. The $65 site fees are paid on the day by card, unless you book the all-inclusive option.
Coba gets a fraction of the crowds at Chichen Itza and Tulum, and it feels like it. Here is what you are
actually walking into.
A city of roads
At its height, Coba ruled the northeast of the Yucatan and held some 50,000 people around two lagoons. What made it
powerful still shows: the sacbeob, raised white causeways of packed limestone. Coba has the largest network of
them in the Maya world, and one, Sacbe 1, runs more than 100 km west to Yaxuna. Inside the site you ride on the same
lines, under trees that have grown up between the buildings since the city emptied.
Most of it is still unexcavated. You pass mounds that are clearly temples under the soil, a ball court with its stone
rings, and the carved stelae of the Macanxoc group, where Coba's rulers recorded dates in the Maya Long Count. The
American explorer John Lloyd Stephens wrote about the place in 1842; serious digging only began in the 1970s, when the
road from Tulum arrived.
Bikes and tricycle taxis wait at the entrance; the paths are flat and shaded.
The climb is back
For years every guidebook said the same thing: you can no longer climb at Coba. That changed on 7 December 2025,
when Mexico's culture secretary reopened Nohoch Mul on a new wooden staircase, made by craftsmen from the forest
community of Noh Bec from local hardwoods and laid over the central stone stairway. It protects the steps that
millions of visitors had worn smooth, and it gives your feet a flat tread on the way up.
The pyramid is 42 metres high, steep enough that you will be glad of the handrail. The climb is open from 8:00 to
15:30, needs closed shoes, and pauses in rain or strong wind. At busy times the staff let up a group of about 15 at once,
so a short wait at the foot is normal. Up top, the forest runs flat to the horizon in every direction, with the lagoons
shining to the south.
The honest small print: the tour price is often not the whole price. Several Cancun and Playa del
Carmen days add $35 to $65 per person in site fees, paid on the day and often only by card, and the bike or tricycle is
extra too. Each of our tour pages says what is included.
Bike, tricycle or on foot
From the gate to Nohoch Mul is about 2 km on flat paths, and the heat builds fast after 10:00. A rental bike is the
cheap and fun answer, and you can stop wherever you like. A tricycle taxi is a bench seat on the front of a
pedal bike, with a local driver doing the work; it suits families, older travellers and anyone who would rather look
around than steer. Walking is fine if you have time, but it doubles the hours you need. Our
bike or tricycle guide has the prices.
The cave cenotes near Coba are reached by wooden stairs.
Where Coba fits in your trip
From Tulum, Coba is an easy half day and the best match: 45 minutes away, with three cave cenotes on the road back.
From Playa del Carmen it is a full day, usually paired with Tulum. From Cancun it is a long one, and most tours squeeze
Coba between Tulum, a cenote and a shopping stop. If you can, base yourself in Tulum for a night and go at opening time.
Straight answers to what people ask most about visiting the Coba ruins.
Can you climb the pyramid at Coba in 2026?
Yes. Climbing Nohoch Mul reopened on 7 December 2025 after six years, on a new wooden staircase built over the worn stone steps. The climb runs from 8:00 to 15:30, closes in rain or strong wind, and needs closed shoes with grip. Expect a short queue at busy times, because only about 15 people go up at once. The rules are in our climbing guide.
How much is the Coba entrance fee in 2026?
There are two tickets. The federal INAH fee is 209 pesos for foreign visitors (it doubled on 1 January 2026), and the Coba ejido, the community that owns the land, charges its own fee of about 120 pesos. Budget around 330 pesos each, plus a bike or tricycle. Details in the entrance fee guide.
Do Coba tours include the entrance fee?
Some do, many do not. The cheapest Cancun and Playa del Carmen days list $35 to $65 in site fees as extra, paid on the day, often by card only. The small-group days from Tulum and Playa and the private Coba and cenotes tour include them. Each tour page says which.
How long do you need at Coba?
Two to three hours to bike to Nohoch Mul, climb it and see the Coba group, the ball courts and the stelae. Tours give you between one hour and two and a half: the Chichen Itza combo is the shortest, the Tulum and Coba day from Cancun and the small-group days the longest.
How far is Coba from Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun?
About 47 km and 45 minutes from Tulum, about 110 km and an hour and a half from Playa del Carmen, and about 170 km and two hours or more from the Cancun hotel zone. Valladolid is about 50 minutes away. See how to get to Coba.
Should I rent a bike or a tricycle taxi at Coba?
Nohoch Mul is about 2 km from the entrance, so most people ride. A rental bike costs about 60 to 80 pesos; a tricycle taxi with a driver who pedals two of you costs about 150 to 180 pesos. Walking is fine but hot. Compare them in bike or tricycle.
Is Coba better than Tulum or Chichen Itza?
It is different. Coba is a jungle city you explore by bike and the one big pyramid you can climb. Tulum is small and sits on a sea cliff. Chichen Itza is the grand, restored showpiece, with no climbing. Many day trips pair two of them; see Coba vs Tulum vs Chichen Itza.
What are the Coba opening hours?
Every day from 8:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:00. The Nohoch Mul climb closes at 15:30. Arrive at 8:00 for the coolest air and the shortest queue at the staircase; most tour buses from Cancun arrive later in the morning.
Which cenotes are near Coba?
Choo-Ha, Tamcach-Ha and Multun-Ha are cave cenotes 6 to 10 km from the ruins, each with wooden stairs down to the water and an entry of about 100 pesos. Tours from Cancun often swim at other cenotes on the way back. More in cenotes near Coba.
Is a Coba tour from Cancun worth it?
If you want the climb and the jungle, yes, but count on four hours or more on the road for one to two and a half hours at Coba. From Tulum or Playa del Carmen the balance is much better.
Can I cancel a Coba tour?
Every tour on this site cancels for a full refund up to 24 hours before the start. If the operator cancels, for weather or too few guests, you get a refund or a new date.
Ready to book
Pick your start, climb above the jungle.
Hotel pickups on every tour, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Lowest price
★ 4.612 hoursFree cancellation
