Quick facts

---

Our Map

This map includes the places we visited during our short stay in Palenque, from where we stayed to the spots we found around the town centre. We only had a day and a half here, so we kept things simple, walking around the centre, trying local food and visiting the night market in the evening.

We hope this map helps you discover a few good spots in Palenque and makes planning your visit a little easier.

All our favorite places in Palenque. Save it to your Google Maps!

---

Palenque Ruins: What We Didn’t Know Before Visiting

Palenque is a Maya archaeological site. It was a major Maya city during the Classic period and one of the most important political and ceremonial centres of the time, with temples, palaces, plazas, tombs, sculptures and hieroglyphic inscriptions. The most famous structures include the Temple of the Inscriptions, where the tomb of the ruler Pakal was discovered, and El Palacio.

The entrance price surprised us

One thing we didn’t realise before arriving in Palenque was that visiting the ruins involves more than one entrance fee.

The archaeological site has its own entrance fee, and there is also a separate fee for entering Palenque National Park, where the archaeological site is located. The official INAH information currently lists 210 MXN for foreign visitors for the archaeological zone, while the additional CONANP fee is 215 MXN per person. That means around 425 MXN per person in total, before any other expenses.

For two people, that would already be around 850 MXN (70AUD) just to enter.

And this was something we hadn’t expected.

So, why we didn’t visit?

The price wasn’t the only reason.

Earlier in our Mexico trip, we had already visited Chichén Itzá, another major Maya archaeological site. We knew that Palenque was also Maya, and after experiencing Chichén Itzá, we decided that we didn’t need to visit several Maya archaeological sites during the same trip, just because they are famous.

For us, it made more sense to experience one type of ruins properly rather than feel like we had to tick every archaeological site off the list.

So we decided to skip Palenque’s ruins and spend our short time in the town instead.

And honestly, we really enjoyed it.

Palenque felt less touristy and more local than some of the other places we visited in Mexico. We walked around the centre, ate tacos, had a marquesita at the night market and visited the Parroquia de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. It was a completely different experience from visiting another major archaeological attraction, and for our trip, we were happy with that choice.

Is it worth visiting Palenque if you don’t visit the ruins?

That’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself.

If the archaeological site is the main reason you’re coming to Palenque, knowing the total entrance cost beforehand might help you decide whether the town is worth adding to your itinerary.

For us, it was.

We liked the town, even without visiting the ruins. But if you’re travelling specifically to see the Maya archaeological site, you might prefer to spend your time and money somewhere else if you’ve already visited similar ruins.

That’s one of the things we like about travelling slowly: you don’t have to see everything just because you’re there.

---

Restaurants we enjoyed

Price guide: $ = very cheap · $$$ = very expensive

---

Places we stayed

---

Our Cost

*2 nights · 1.5 days · 2 people

Category	Total (2 People)	Per Day (2 People)	Notes
🛏 Accommodation	88 AUD	42.5 AUD*	Hotel Naj Kin
🚌 Transport	84 AUD	56 AUD	Tren Maya, ADO
🍽 Restaurants and cafes	50 AUD	33 AUD	Local spots & restaurants
🛒 Groceries	23 AUD	15 AUD	Daily basics
🎟 Attractions	–	–	–
🧺 Extras	–	–	–
Total	245 AUD	104 AUD	–

* Accommodation is calculated per night, while the other categories are calculated per day. All prices are approximate.

---

Gallery

---

CONTINUE READING