I was the one who posted that info regarding the VivaAerobus flight from Cancun to Villahermosa and then the ADO bus from Villahermosa airport to Palenque. It was extremely convenient. Personally, I would not drive it, it is a long long drive (and I have driven rental cars many times in MX, I have no aversion to doing so).

The plane and bus were so easy, and once you get to Palenque you don't need a car. We stayed at Maya Tuilipanes hotel in the nice tree-shaded "Canada" section of Palenque, which was an easy 10 min. colectivo ride to the ruins. Easy Peasy, all the way around. But check VivaAerobus schedule and how it jives w/your schedule as they only fly a few times a week on that route.

Thanks emd3, your information was most useful. I checked the VivaAerobus schedule before posting and they now three flights per week, M-W-F. We can make our schedule fit the flights.

Yes, that seems to be a better option than driving.

The Maya Tuilipanes also looks perfect.

Thanks much!

The restaurant at the hotel is good for all meals, bfast lunch and dinner. And drinks, but they also have a someehwat funky little bar attached to the hotel, I think it has kareoke at night bu it is quiet and we enjoyed a complimentary drink there. Re the restaurant, you can eat outside on patio overlooking trees and pool, which will be nice this time of yr., or inside the upstairs nice restaurant. And you can get anything from restaurant menu as room service, which was great after full day at the ruins and the wonderful museum there - do not miss the museum at the site!

Also there is a nice handicraft market at the corner of the road that goes to the ruins. You can walk there form the hotel, it will take 5 min. to walk it. (go out hotel, take left, walk to main highway, take left, walk by the big "Mayan head" sculpture and bear right another two hundred ft or so and turn right at the road that leads to ruins. Very nice small market w/locals w/stands selling nice Chiapas and other state's clothing, jewelery, bags, wooden goods that Chiapas is known for, etc. etc. I like to support those locals selling at their stands, they need the $, and the quality is good there.

Also right next to the hotel is a WONDERFUL coffee cafe. Really great coffee and dessert drinks, one made w/coffee and ice cream, OMG it was good. And they sell their own brand of Chiapas coffe by the bags there so that is one easy place to get Chiapas coofee. YUM, nothing like Chiapas coffee, do not miss it.

There are other good restaurants on the same st. as hotel. The town itself is kind of skanky, IMO best to stick to that Canada area and that street hotel is on, it's lovely and shaded by trees. BTW ADO bus is 4 min. walk to hotel. Form ADO station go left on road, turn right at highway (1 block down, by the Mayan head mentio above) and turn right on next st. That will take you directly to hotel 1 block down on left.

Palenque ruins are a magical place.

Thanks!

We are going to book our flights tonight. I think we'll spend a full week at Palenque, perhaps overkill for most people but that's our style.

This came up suddenly so perhaps I'll switch our Netflix queue over to Mayan documentaries for the next few weeks.

Really appreciate your info.

What are you going to do for a week? I am curius. Palenque ruins = one full day for ruins and museum, maybe you will wnt to go back again 2nd day, I think it is worth that. One day for Misol Ha and Agua Azul waterfalls. I think a day or two for the other ruins in the area (Bonampak, Yaxchilan/Frontera Corozal? I did not go to those but there are lots of tour operators who run combis to get you to those, are they done together in one day?)

Well, I guess you could actually fill 5 days. You might look at some of the hotels out towards the Palenque ruins, they are n the jungle and apparently have a much different vibe than in town (although I loved the Canada area in town). There are more bohemian places out by the ruins (like cabanas in Tulum, but in the jungle) and some very nice places too (see Boutique Hotel Quinta Chanabnal, very nice, w/spa services, and Chan-Kah looks nice too..maybe a nice slow-down take it easy day).

But if you wanted you could spend several days in Palenque area then leaving that area and going on to San Cristobl de las Casas by bus for couple days. Then depart from Tuxla Guittierez instead of Villahermosa; VivaAerobus flies from TG to Cancun and Mexico City and Monterry, depending on where is best to fly home from.

Yeah, you are right, we've been doing some more research and a week is too long.

Your suggestions are some of the things we came up with.

We have spent many days in places people usually do in a few hours. We enjoy a bit of birding and that can eat up a LONG time. In March we spent a few days in San Ignacio, Baja, a little town where there really isn't much to do, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are slow travelers generally, and always prefer the being there than the transit part.

But yes, we are going to rethink Plan A and trim down the time to several days. Thanks for your comments.

Nelson, if you like birding some and are going to be in Akumal for the wedding, please take a look at the birding tour of Sian Ka'an near Tulum that is offered by Sian Kaan Community Tours. Another fodorite on this board recommended this org's tours to us, and I had tours set up with them recently but had to cancel. Their birding tour was done by this fodorite recently and it was a big hit. And reviews on other internet sites of their birding tours are very good.

So maybe another option for you is to stay an extra day and do a birding tour (one of them is early morning, and I think one later in day) or do it the last morning there, and then head out and off to cancun to fly to Villahermosa (or Tuxtla G., depending on your routing once you get settled on routing)

SO many great options in southern MX and the Yucatan Peninsula. Every day I thank my lucky stars that this is the area where we decided to buy a place.

Thanks again emd3! Will definitely look into that tour.

... After all this, late last night we learned that Palenque is unfortunately in the CDC red zone for malaria. We don't particularly feel like dealing with that right now, though we have on many trips in the past. We may decide to just stay out along the coast. Film at 11.

It is the cool season there and not so many mosquitos like there might be in warmer weather...but you gotta do what you are comfortable with obviously. But there is Dengue fever potential on the coast, just fyi- entire Caribbean area of MX is in red zone for Dengue. Lots of spraying by local govt. in for mosquitos goes on, and it is due to dengue risk, not malaria (you can google that). Take precautions, recommended repellent, long sleeve shirts, etc. esp. while at the ruins. And this is a good reason not to stay in the jungle locations close to the ruins - it was part of our decision to stay in the Canada section of town instead in July since that was rainy season (I'm an R.N.). From what I have read, Dengue is much more of a threat in those parts of MX (Q. Roo and Chiapas) than malaria.

Thanks once again. We are aware of the dengue threat and will take precautions. Interesting how the dengue and malarial mosquitoes time their activity to ensure you are always at risk, the nasty little buggers.

For malaria our drug of choice is doxy, since my wife, a pharmacist for 30 years, saw too many bad reactions with the other stuff. It didn't seem worth it to take a full course of doxy for just a few days at Palenque. We'll wait until we visit Oaxaca and hit Palneque from that direction. In fact if it wasn't for the wedding in Akumal we'd chose to visit Oaxaca first.

Anyway, our plan now is to split our time between Akumal and Tulum. We love the beaches south of Tulum.

The original subject of this thread is no longer valid! Thanks again for all your info.

emd3, FWIW we wound up with a week in Akumal before / after the wedding, and a 8 nights near Mahahaul on the Costa Maya. It looks like there is a lot to interest us down there, including the Dzibanche and Kohunlich Mayan sites, substitutes for Palenque this round.

Should be a nice laid back vacation.

Thanks again for all your help.

oooo, a week in Akumal, lucky dogs. You will be like putty after that. I hope the sea turtles cooperate w/your snorkeling right off the beach. Love that big thatched roof restaurant right at the beach entrance to the right side, beachfront.

You can walk way down the to left of the main beach entrance and see remnants of Hurricaine Wilma, homes that were not rebuilt, and feel the power of the storm.

I don't know anything about Mahahaul, but you have led me know and I am going to research it. That is what I love abt this forum - you start out hoping to help someone and iends up that they teach you something new.

Let us know how it went after you get back. Buen viaje!

The turtles in Akumal Bay are always amazing! The Jungle Place, a monkey rescue, is quite close, in the quaint town of Chemuyil.

Be sure to visit Tulum for a long beach walk.


For a nearby adventure, we enjoyed the ruins at Ek Balam and a night at El Meson del Marques, in Valladolid. It is an easy drive or bus ride from the coast. I could have easily stayed several nights in Valladolid, it is a lovely small city.

Yes, we've been to the Jungle Place also. Anyone intrested in gong there, be aware it must be booked early, usually months before you go. The German woman and her Mexican husband who run it charge about $60 per person for the visit, and the $$ goes to support the monkey rescue. It is literally in the jungle, down a bumpy dirt road carved out of the jungle, not in a town. You need a rent car or a taxi to get you there, and if you use a taxi, make sure they wait for you or come back because you don't want to get stuck out there down that roqd in th jungle (like some people who were there the same day we were).

Kohunlich is great, and there is another ruin near Costa Maya called Chaccoben, only four structures excavated last time I visited. We stay in Xcalak but drove over to Majahual several times to eat lunch, etc. If you can do it, make reservations at Leaky Palapa restaurant in Xcalak, they are only open Thu-Sun and only in high season, cash only. Some of the best food I have ever eaten in Mexico ever and the prices are pretty reasonable for what you get.

Akumal is wonderful also, been going every year since 1999, love the beach and the people. Have a great trip.

Thanks for the info. I contacted The Jungle Place and they are fully booked for the week we'll be in Akumal next month. Next time...

jamie99, not sure if we'll make it to Xcalak, but if so will plan on the Leaky Palapa for sure. I checked out their website. Thanks.

I'm also planning to stop at the Muyil ruins on our drive south. Looking forward to it!

Nelson, please be be sure you use biodegradable sunscreen when you swim or snorkel in Akumal. YOu can get it before you go or if you are only bringing carry on luggage you can buy it at the market stores, one on the right side and one on left side just before the arch at the entrance to Akumal beach.

The bay is a very sensitive environment, and it is important not to pollute it w/sunscreen ingredients. The sea grass needs to grow in order fo rhte turtles to eat it and then nest and lay their eggs on the beach. Last time I went, in Sept., I only saw one sea turtle in an entire 7 hr day of snorkeling the bay off the beach I was very concerned bc I usually see many, like over a dozen, in a full day.

Nelson, Muyil ruins are terrific, been awhile since I went but we were the only people there at the time. There is a lake nearby where you can rent a boat and take a tour of Sian Ka'an, but if you are driving to Majahual and stopping en route you may not have time.
Be sure and get gas in Felipe Carrillo Puerto (two Pemex stations there, I like the one on the North end of town, clean restrooms, 30 pesos or so for the TP). The Pemex in Majahual is sometimes out of gas.