Chichen Itza Tickets and Entrance Fee 2026

Chichen Itza admission prices 2026

Prices in Mexican pesos (MXN), with rough US dollar and euro equivalents in brackets. The ticket is valid for one day across the whole zone; it combines the INAH fee and the Yucatán state fee.

* Discounts and free Sundays apply to Mexicans and residents of Mexico only; foreign visitors pay the full price, Sundays included. Prices according to INAH and La Jornada Maya (19 September 2026), as of September 2026; INAH adjusts its fee at the start of each year, and the state of Yucatán raised its fee during 2026 from 571 to 592 pesos. Euro and dollar figures are rough conversions (rate of 25 September 2026). Parking, the light show and the shuttle are operators’ prices and change.

The equinox and Noches de Kukulcán: are they worth it?

• Equinox: At the equinox the north-west edge of the pyramid casts seven triangles of light onto the balustrade, which join the serpent head at the foot to form a serpent. According to INAH, though, the effect is not tied to one day: it runs from 12 February to 29 October, clearest in the weeks around 21 March and 22 September, roughly between 3 and 5 pm. At the spring equinox of 2025, 32,872 people came; INAH then closes areas from 3.30 pm and bans tripods, drones and ceremonies. To see the serpent, come a week before or after the date, without the crowd.
• Noches de Kukulcán: From Wednesday to Sunday at 7 pm the state of Yucatán projects a half-hour light and sound show onto the pyramid. It is a separate ticket from the organiser, at the Parador or online, about 730 pesos according to 2026 press reports, reduced on Sundays; the exact prices appear only after registering on the organiser’s site. The show is entertainment, not a guided tour; it is worth it if you stay overnight in Pisté or Valladolid.
• Sundays: Admission is free for Mexicans, so the site is packed. If you can choose, come Tuesday to Thursday and be there at 8 am: the coaches from Cancun arrive between 10 and 11.

Chichen Itza opening hours

INAH lists 8 am to 4 pm daily as the admission window for the zone; clearing begins at 5 pm, at the equinoxes at 5.30 pm. Old Chichén (Serie Inicial) is temporarily closed according to INAH. Around 21 March and 22 September special rules apply: areas close from 3.30 or 4 pm, the museum shortens its hours, and tens of thousands of visitors come.

Buying tickets: online, at the booth or with a tour

Just the ticket? Buy it at the booth: at the main entrance in the west (Parador Turístico) or at the visitor centre in the north by the Gran Museo. Since January 2026 a single ticket covers both the INAH fee and the state fee, so one queue instead of two. Or buy ahead on the INAH ticket portal: there the listing is called “Zona Arqueológica y Gran Museo Chichén-Itzá”, the ticket “Acceso General y Extranjero” costs 697 pesos, both fees together, dated, with no exchange or refund; same-day online sales close at 3.40 pm, and reduced and free tickets are sold only at the booth with ID (as of 25 September 2026). Current hours and prices are on inah.gob.mx.

With a guide or transfer? Then a package makes sense. Providers such as GetYourGuide bundle pick-up in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum or Mérida, the drive, admission, a guide, a cenote and Valladolid in one day. The value lies in the transport and the guide, not the ticket: a reseller’s “skip-the-line ticket” costs more than twice the booth price. If you arrive without a tour, book an on-site guided tour with a certified guide.

Note: Bring pesos in cash. Card terminals at the booths fail, and the state fee is charged without exception, even with an international student card. There is no re-entry on the day ticket, no climbing on any structure, and no tripods without a permit.

Free admission and discounts

• Children under 13: free, with ID or passport.
• Over-60s, pensioners, people with disabilities: exempt from both fees; for seniors the Mexican INAPAM card applies in practice, and foreign pension cards are not always accepted.
• Students and teachers: free with valid ID; the state law names no nationality, but the booths expect Mexican credentials.
• Sundays: free only for Mexicans and residents of Mexico with a residence permit; residents of Yucatán never pay the state fee. Foreign visitors pay 697 pesos.
• No combined ticket: the ticket is valid for one day in the zone; there is no pass covering several Maya sites. Ek Balam, Uxmal and the cenotes charge their own admission.

Chichen Itza with a guide: from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Mérida or Valladolid

INAH’s panels are brief, and two cities in one place do not explain themselves. A two-hour guided tour puts the Kukulcán pyramid, the ball court, the Temple of the Warriors and the cenote in order and explains why researchers now date the city differently from the guidebooks. Most tours start in Cancun or on the Riviera Maya and run in English and Spanish; choose the language when booking. German-speaking guides are available on site for private tours.

Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: we may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Prices, languages and availability change; the provider’s listing prevails. Selection checked on 25 September 2026.

Getting there: from Cancun, Mérida, Valladolid and Tulum

Chichen Itza lies in northern Yucatán on Highway 180, 115 kilometres east of Mérida, 45 kilometres west of Valladolid and about 200 kilometres west of Cancun, two kilometres east of the village of Pisté. The easiest way without a tour has been the Maya Train since 2024: Chichén Itzá station is in Pisté; from Cancun Airport the ride takes just over two hours (Turista class 502 pesos), from Mérida-Teya about 1 hour 40 (330 pesos), from Valladolid 25 minutes (111 pesos). From the station the official shuttle runs to the site and the Gran Museo in 20 minutes for 55 pesos. Timetables and tickets are on the Maya Train website.

By bus, ADO runs from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Mérida to the Parador at the main entrance, about three hours from Cancun; afternoon return departures are limited, so book the way back at the same time. From Valladolid the cheapest option is the colectivo from Calle 54 to Pisté, 40 to 60 pesos, 40 minutes, returning until about 5 pm. By car, take the 180D toll road Cancun–Mérida to the Pisté exit, a good two hours from Cancun, or the free 180 via Valladolid; car parks at the Parador and the visitor centre. If you would rather not organise the day yourself, take a tour with hotel pick-up.

Entrances, visitor centre and car parks

Main entrance (Parador Turístico)

In the west on the old Highway 180, two kilometres east of Pisté. Ticket booths, lockers, toilets, restaurants and craft market; ADO buses, colectivos and taxis stop outside. From here it is 400 metres to the great platform with the pyramid.

CATVI visitor centre with the Gran Museo

In the north on the Highway 180 bypass: the Gran Museo de Chichén Itzá, opened in 2024, a second craft market and the large INAH car park. The shuttle from the Maya Train station stops here. The path into the zone leads past the Sacred Cenote.

Sacred Cenote

At the northern end of the processional way, 300 metres from the pyramid. At the equinoxes the link between the zone and the museum, with re-entry.

Old Chichén (Serie Inicial)

The southern group behind Las Monjas is temporarily closed according to INAH; the Caracol, Las Monjas and Akab Dzib remain open.

Both entrances, the 19 highlights and three routes are on our Chichen Itza map. How a Puuc town became the city of the Kukulcán pyramid, and why it fell, is told in our history of Chichén Itzá.

Around Chichen Itza: Gran Museo, cenotes, Valladolid

The Gran Museo de Chichén Itzá at the visitor centre in the north, opened in February 2024, shows more than 1,000 objects, 400 of them originals from Mérida and from the rescue excavations for the Maya Train, in 14 sections: ceramic chronology, trade routes, the Sacred Cenote with a multimedia room, astronomy, architecture. Open 8 am to 5 pm; INAH sells the ticket expressly for “Zona Arqueológica y Gran Museo”, so the museum is included in admission. If you want to see the finds from the cenote, allow an hour.

Three kilometres east lies Cenote Ik Kil, the stop of almost every coach tour and crowded from midday; quieter are Yokdzonot 18 kilometres west or the cenotes around Valladolid. Valladolid itself, 45 kilometres east, has the convent of San Bernardino, the Zací cenote in the middle of town and hotels from which you can be at the booth at 8 am. To compare two Maya cities, continue to Ek Balam, 30 kilometres north of Valladolid, where the acropolis may still be climbed.