Updated November 2026
There is no single 'Chichen Itza ticket'. Foreign visitors pay two fees at the entrance, the site has fixed opening hours, and many tours leave the fee out of the headline price. Here is what to expect.
Guides and tours for your visit
Chichen Itza On-Site Guided Tour with a Certified Local Expert
Driving yourself? Meet a certified local guide at Chichen Itza for a 1.5-hour tour of the site.
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Chichen Itza Early Access Guided Tour from Cancun
Want to see El Castillo before the crowds? This tour leaves Cancun very early so that you reach Chichen Itza around opening time, when the site is quiet and the light is soft. You visit with a guide and are back in Cancun by mid-afternoon — about 9 hours in total instead of 12. Expect a wake-up call well before dawn.
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Chichen Itza Tour from Cancun with Cenote, Valladolid & Lunch
The most-booked Chichen Itza tour from Cancun by far, with almost 9,000 reviews. A coach picks you up in Cancun or along the Riviera Maya, a guide takes you round Chichen Itza and explains El Castillo, the ball court and the Maya calendar, then the day continues with a swim in a cenote, a buffet lunch with a tequila tasting and a walk around colonial Valladolid. A long day of about 12 hours — but everything is organised for you.
Book This TourHow the entrance fee works
- Federal fee (INAH): charged by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History.
- State fee (Yucatán): charged by the state of Yucatán for foreign visitors.
Together they come to roughly 650–700 Mexican pesos per foreign adult at the time of writing. Mexican citizens and residents pay less, and on Sundays Mexican residents can enter the federal part free. Fees go up most years, so check the current price shortly before your trip.
How to pay
You buy the fees at the ticket windows at the entrance; cards are generally accepted, but bring enough pesos in case the terminals are down. If you are on a tour, your guide will tell you whether the fee is included or how to pay it on the day.
Opening hours
Chichen Itza is open every day from 8 am to 5 pm, with last entry around 4 pm. The quietest time is the first hour after opening; from late morning the site fills up with tour groups from Cancun and the Riviera Maya. The evening light-and-sound show has changed format over the years — check what is running during your visit.
Do tours include the entrance fee?
Some do, many do not. On GetYourGuide, open “What’s included” on the option you select. Low prices often mean the fee is paid separately on the day; a higher price may include it. Either way, compare the total.
Visiting on your own
If you drive to Chichen Itza yourself, you can still have a guide: book a certified local guide for a 1.5-hour tour of the site, below, and avoid the unofficial guides at the gate. Read how to get from Cancun to Chichen Itza for the drive, the bus and the train.
