susan300

We will be traveling in January and instead of renting a car, should we base ourselves in Merida and do day trips to the nearby sites. Which sites would you recommend; or is a week too much in Merida? Any information and suggestions would be appreciated. We love nature, ruins, culture, the works-- but are not the type to lie on a beach for day's on end.
thanks,
Susan

qwovadis

yucatantoday.com/en/topics/merida

Plenty to do in Merida if you are into Colonial

and not into Beach...

www.hotelcasasanangel.com my fav boutique there

Car Rental for day trips or overnite to Mayan Ruins

doable anytime you get bored...

It is a city of almost a million counting suburban areas

So be sure you are up for the crowds.

Have fun,

susan300

Could you suggest another itinerary of staying Merida for three nights and somewhere else for three nights that would be accessible for day trips, etc. Or does it make sense to do Merida, Campeche and Tulum and then back to Cancun for our flight? Or is that too much?

hopefulist

I know exactly what I'd do based on our trip last summer. I'd head from the airport to Valladolid for 2 or 3 nights; visit Chichén Itzá as it opens and Ek Balam, enjoy the town and the cenotes, then head to Tulúm as a base for the ruins of Coba and Tulúm and some great snorkeling. Our trip photos, blog, and travelogue are below if you're interested. Happy trails!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

Fra_Diavolo

About 90 minutes south of Merida lie Uxmal and the Puuc Hills cities. These are among the most distinctive Mayan cities in Mexico, with wonderfully elaborate facades. If you are interested in seeing them, allow at least an overnight. You'll need a good half day minimum for Uxmal, and another for the Puuc cities, which are on a much smaller scale -- at least as far as excavations go.

susan300

How level are these areas of the ruins. My partner walks with a cane and I'm wondering if he'll have trouble. Also what about the towns.. are they hilly?

hopefulist

I haven't been to Cobá (later this month!) but Chichén Itzá and Ek Balám are quite level unless you want to head up a temple at Ek Balám (no climbing allowed at CI). Tulúm has level parts but you'd have to climb a bit to get the best sea views. Tulúm, Valladolid, and Mérida are flat - no problems there. Happy trails!

Fra_Diavolo

Uxmal was built on several levels, I'm afraid, but the climbs are not steep.

The Puuc city sites are fairly level, but do require short walks from the parking areas to the ruins.

I meant to say earlier that you should try to arrange matters so that you are in Merida for the weekend -- they close the main streets to traffic and have live music downtown.

susan300

We are close to deciding on our trip. Depending on when the plane lands in Cancun we can either stay overnight in the downtown area near the bus station (suggestions for hotel?) or try to get to Merida that same day. That said we will spend three full days in Merida doing day trips (Uxmal and flamingos) and spending a Sunday there when the streets are open. We will then take transportation to Valladolid and spend two nights there- making a trip to Chichen Itza on our full day there. Then depending on what time are plane leaves we will get up early and make a bus to Cancun and fly home. All total will be seven days. Does this make sense? Also recommendations for hotels in Merida and Valladolid and downtown Cancun would be appreciated.

hopefulist

We were really pleased with Hotel Zaci in Valladolid and I absolutely loved Las Arecas in Merida: http://www.lasarecas.com/

Both are well located and excellent values; you can read my reviews on www.tripadvisor.com

For what it's worth, we didn't really enjoy Chichen Itza very much, though arriving as it opened was a great call - cooler weather and the place was practically empty. The deal breaker is you can't climb in or on the buildings there, something we really enjoy and feel makes the experience more magical and more real at the same time. On the other hand, we LOVED Ek Balam which is also very close to Valladolid; the big temple there is 1/3 again as tall as the tallest at Chichen Itza. The cenotes are worth a visit, too! You can learn more at the link I posted above if you're interested.

Fra_Diavolo

In Merida we enjoyed our stay at Casa del Balam. http://www.casadelbalam.com/, but there are many choices.

In Valladolid El Meson de Marques http://www.mesondelmarques.com/ has a great location on the square and a good restaurant.

I would second hopefulist's recommendation of visiting Ek Balam. I would suggest however that one night is probably enough in Valladolid.

hopefulist

We were sorry to leave after 2 nights in Valladolid, though we were able to fit swims in 2 cenotes, visits to the 2 major ruin sites, a quick visit to the market, and some good eating in our brief time there.

susan300

I will have to postpone this trip now until April. Something has come up. Is it too hot to go that time of year? Thanks for all your comments. You all really helped me a great deal.
Susan

susan300

We are now preparing to go in April and now friends are advising us to forget Merida altogether and think about the Tulum area and the area near Chitze n'tzan.. Not sure what to do.. going to Merida, the ruins and Tulum in one week is too much.. rather do two different places and take day trips from those areas. Please advise.
thank you

hopefulist

See my 1st post above. ;-)

kja

I think it really depends on what you want to see and experience. And to state the obvious, and with all due respect to your friends, this is your vacation, not theirs!

If you really want to see Merida, Tulum, and Chichen Itza in one week you can - maybe 2 days in Tulum, a day in Valladolid to see Chichen Itza, 3 days for Merida and the Ruta Puuc.

If that's too rushed for you, then you have several options, each of which involves interesting experiences.

I enjoyed my time in Tulum, but I'm not much of a beach person, so if I had to choose between Merida and Tulum/CI, I'd go to Merida. It's a lively town, and I thought Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc sites were even more impressive in many ways than the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Ek' Balam, or Tulum. Also, from Merida, you can see the flamingos and/or Izamal.

But Tulum is beautiful, Chichen Itza and Ek' Balam are impressive, Valladolid is interesting, and the cenotes near Valladolid are gorgeous.

So even if it's a difficult choice, you'll have some great opportunities either way. Good luck!

susan300

thank you kja... I am leaning back to Merida- my first instincts. I think for us two stopovers should be enough.

kja

As a few other posters noted, if you want to visit Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc, then an overnight near Uxmal is a very good idea. Uxmal is quite impressive; the other sites along the Ruta Puuc are also quite interesting IMO, and get fewer visitors. If you are interested, I had a great experience at the Flycathcer Inn:

http://www.flycatcherinn.com/

susan300

I will check this out. I think the longer I stay home and plan the increase even more. But it is fun finding out about all the options you can have.

Michael

Years ago we based ourselves in Merida to visit Chichen Itza and Uxmal. We had no problems using van transportation from local travel agencies. We also stopped at a sisal factory and a local cemetery.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623026501426/