What a delightful surprise. From online photos, I pictured a small cluster of crumbly buildings. Instead, Ek Balam offers many structures to climb and explore, some very tall. We had slotted 1 hr for the ruins, but greatly wished we had set aside more time. 2+ hrs would have been great. One can get a true feeling of adventure and... more

My wife and I arrived in Ek Balam in destination of the famed Genesis Oasis "Retreat" (it's not much of a retreat, unless you prefer the smell of barnyard in your list of retreat itinerary), and ended up, thankfully, at the Dulcemente Hotel and Restaurant. My wife had come down with Montezuma’s Revenge and Daniel, the host, treated us as... more

We did Ek Balam on our way to Chichen. We left Cancun in the morning (we had a rental car), arrived at Ek Balam by noon. Before heading to the ruins, we decided to have lunch. Saw a sign pointing to an Italian restaurant 2km from the ruins, and went there for lunch. The restaurant is located in the main... more

I recommend Ek Balam - and the Eco-Genesis Retreat - to anyone who comes this way. It's truly beautiful. more

Ej Balam is a recently-excavated Maya site off the main tourist track but easily accessible. While not nearly as large as the better-known Chichen Itza (less than an hour away), it is also cheaper, much less crowded and without the hordes of vendors. Unlike Chichen, you can enter the ruins and climb most of the structures. The outstanding features are... more

Best ruin I've seen!! Still shrouded in jungle, with two large structures not yet excavated, this ruin was the most mysterious and awe-inspiring I saw. When we were there only about 10 other people were at the ruin. You can climb on everything, even all the way up the top pyramid! From the top is definitely the way to see... more

We visited Ek-Balam in December 2007 as one of the tours included with our stay at the Playacar Palace in Playa del Carmen. We also visited Tulum, Chichen Itza and Coba (from the Xpu Ha Palace.) If you are wondering whether it is worth seeing Ek-Balam, given that your priorities have taken in the other three major sites in the... more

Like the other headlines I've read here, I agree that Ek Balam steals the show. I've been to Tulum, Coba, Chichen Itza and Ek Balam, and enjoyed Ek Balam the most. It's compact, quiet, gorgeous, peaceful... the Acropolis, newly unearthed, has statue work that looks like it was done last week, not in the 800s. The wide open serpent's mouth,... more

If you want to visit Chichen Itza you should visit this place first its much closer and is much better than Chichen. The ruins are amazing and as this place has only been open a year it very quite unlike chichen. There are no venders here waving the items for you to buy so you are able to have and... more