Looking for recommendations for things to do in the Mayan Riveria area with teens. Its our first time visiting the area so haven't tried anything previously. Looking for 2-3 day trips. What would be your top recommendations....?

Zip lining

Do not get suckered into going to the jewelry place....I've heard amazing things about Xcaret and if you want to swim with dolphins, dolphinaris is beautiful (but the photos after are ridiculously priced)

The Coba ruins are awesome - you can still climb them and the view is worth the climb. Apparently you can rent bikes now to bike around the ruins and there's ziplines near there too (a friend just did this)
Eta: I've asked my friend what she booked

Xplor was great. We did it last year with 5 kids from 11-18. Its a full day and food and drinks are included.

Most deff ruins and cenotes !!! Life changing

Ok she booked a tour called: Coba Mayan Encounter....they paid 130 US per person....her words "it was AMAZING!!"
So it was biking the ruins, your guide @ the ruins, ziplining, and swimming in the cenotes
Her words:
started off at the ruins...had a 45 min guided tour then we had over an hour to bike and climb the ruins....then off to the jungle for 2 ziplines, canoe, rapelling into the cenote cave, traditional mayan ceremony and Mayan meal.....it was awesome

Xel ha and xplor kids loved them both.

Coba was amazing and great for teens. It's the only ruin you can still climb. Chitchen itza is worth a stop simply because it's a modern 7 wonder of the world. Xelha is a great natural water park with inclusive snorkeling, biking,food,and other activities. Discover scuba class is fun for teens too. Scorpio divers is excellent.

oh ya I forgot about Chitchen but you cant climb anymore at least 3 yrs ago we couldnt? Maybe they reinforced and opened it up again.

Xel-ha is a short taxi ride, and is a great water park area. Tubing down a lazy river, snorkelling, swimming with dolphins etc. pay admission and you can stay all day. Restaurants on site. Lots of fun!

Xel-ha and excaret are my favourites!

Xelha is not worth it. The snorkeling is not that good and everything else is extra $$.

For lack of time and dollars which would you choose between: Xel-ha or Excaret and then which between Coba ruins and Chichen Itza?

Xcaret and Coba

Allison Is Xplor the same as Xcaret?

Coba trip - includes ruins, canoeing, zipline, cenote, Mayan village and lunch

take a collectivo to the ruins at tulum, lunch in the town of Tulum and then a taxi to a nearby cenote for a cool swim
Also take a collectivo to the town of Akumal to see how locals live then walk across to the resort side for fresh seafood and swim near turtles.

Xcaret and stay for the show at the end. One time experience

Isla mujeres , rent a golf cart and tour the island.

Xplor is not the same as xcaret. The best way to see what each is about is to look on trip advisor or look each one up on line.http://en.xcaretexperiencias.com/xplor.php

Xplor has more adventure type activities so maybe active teens especially boys would be more interested. coba is definitely more interesting because you can actually climb the ruins and it's an adventurous climb. there is a rope laying on the ground going up the middle of the pyramid but otherwise, no other help to go up or down.

Another great inexpensive trip is taking a taxi to Akumal bay and go snorkelling with the turtles right off the beach. You can combine that with a half day tour of Tulum as well if you want a full day.

We did the mountain bikes/ziplines/cenotes/Mayan lunch with outer kids. Well worth it!
The reef off the coast is the world's second largest, and is designated a national park. Snorkeling or diving off the reef is amazing!

Heather ... was that the Coba Mayan Encounter that Sarah referred to?

Carrie - here's a link. We did the "Jungle Maya". They picked us up at our resort, and it was a whole day's worth. It's $109 US each, and given all that you do, we thought it was a good deal.
http://www.cheapcaribbean.com/.../Mexico/327/activities.html
Not sure what resort you're staying at, but most of them have a bunch of free activities that would appeal to the teens - snorkeling, scuba lesson, etc.
If you are up for a little splurge and want to impress the teens, skip the resort bus that picks you up at the airport and book a limo. We've used Lomas which has a stretch SUV (cool factor for the kids). Sitting in a limo sipping on a beer is a much better start to a holiday than a bus stopping at every resort along the highway before it gets to yours, in my opinion!

Here's the link to Lomas too, if you're interested!
http://www.lomastravel.com

Dos Ojos cenote is amazing. Wouldn't recommend swimming with dolphins unless they are in their natural habitat, research if your considering that.

my teens did Xcaret a few years back and would recommend it.

We did a tour with Riviera Adventours -- they were fantastic (https://www.riviera-adventours.com/index.php.). Went to a monkey reserve, Si'an Kann, Yal-ku, cenotes, and Coba. So much to do that is in nature and not constructed or choreographed just for tourists.

Tulum is closer than Chichen Itza

Would you recommend buying ahead online to get the 15% discount or wait to see what offers your resort has?

Xcaret (stay for the night show), Tulum Ruins (awesome beach & warm water), Xplor, snorkel tour at Akumal or Isla Mujeres & if your close to the Cancun end Wet N Wild - Cancun. Have fun, there's so, so much to do.

Carrie - we've always found in our experience that the prices at the resorts were higher!