Maroon10

Dear all,

Never been to this area. We're planning on sight-seeing, not beaches. Pretty seasoned traveller but mostly in Europe; don't know what to expect in spring break. Have made hotel reservations for our first two nights but would like to leave it at that. Booked a rental car, so will not have to schlep from place to place if our first choice is full.

So, I'd appreciate hearing what you think -- particular places where one *should* be making reservations?
Also - should I be worried about this being right before Easter? Will things be closed?

Thanks very much for your suggestions!

jw2

Yucatan (the peninsula, not the State(?) is a pretty big place, with transportation options ranging from 4 lane highways to cowpaths with speed-bumps, and sights to see ranging from gringolandia in Cancun to fairly remote haciendas - and of course ruins which run a spectrum from Mayan versions of Disney to humps still (or not at all) being chopped out of the jungle...

I'm sure you can go "naked" without reservations, especially in the less-visited areas, and Spring Breakers seldom get far from the beaches and big bars.

However, unless you are posessed of a very reliable set of directions and a bit of a plan, you might be roughing it... or out of luck.

I'd say you "should" make reservations ASAP for the more 'developed' resort areas - and the more popular hideaways as well. 'No caliente' properties with a mosquito-net and a bugspray - well, you probably won't be able to phone for reservations anyway...

So - what areas, what "sights" did you have in mind, over what time period, and how far afield (Cancun - Merida - Valladolid - Campeche? Chichen Itza or Uxmal?) Are you backpackers or do you dress for dinner? and so on.

colokid

Definitely make plans ahead of time for this area. The week before Easter is our spring break and it will be busy. Resort areas will not be closed.

Maroon10

Thanks so much for your responses already! First reply shows how clueless I am, I suppose! I mean the peninsula. Planning on getting away from Cancun upon arrival, and seeing, in a week, a bunch of the archaeological sites (maybe a colonial hacienda or two if they are not tourist traps?).
So, I did already make reservations near Chichen Itza, because I thought those might be a problem. On the list are Tulum, Coba, Uxmal, Merida for now, as all within easy driving reach. We have 8 days. Tulum could give reservations issues, I suppose. But a town like Merida, away from the beaches?
Backpackers vs. dress for dinner: have done the backpack thing. But now, happy to change for dinner and enjoy a good (local, not touristy) meal. Rooms should have beds that don't fall apart when you point at them, but no tv-s or jacuzzis needed. I really don't enjoy cockroaches, though.. MUCH prefer historic, old, rickety over modern concrete. Don't have the $500 a night budget for authentically-restored-historic-spa type stuff. Hoping to spend (much?) less than $100 per night on the room.
Oh -one last thing: I think I can read maps.

konczykp

We'll throw our two cents in. Make reservations, unless you plan on staying in hole-in-the-wall type places. We manage www.enjoycozumel.com in Cozumel, and while it's not in the same area you're going to, we've been very pleasantly surprised by how busy we've been this year. We are pretty much booked completely through March. So, plan ahead...

colokid

I just went to Merida in January and stayed at Dolores Alba. Very reasonable, close to the zocalo and clean/comfortable. They have a place by Chichen Itza also. With the exchange rate it was $37/night. It had a pool and tv. Nice indoor courtyard also to sit in and enjoy. I would suggest reservations for Tulum also. Elton John is playing at Chichen Itza on April 3rd. Just be aware of that. Be careful driving, especially since you haven't driven there before. Make sure when picking up the car that the tags are current, there is a spare tire (check for it), make careful note of all the defects/scratches/etc.. Watch for gas stations carefully as they are not as plentiful as in Canada or the U.S. The rules of the road are a bit different in Mexico so please do a search on information for that. Take the insurance on the car.

jw2

Thanks for clarifying / expanding your query. You definitely should make reservations in Merida and also in Tulum. Properties you indicate you woulpd enjoy are small, and it seems as if more US and EU travelers are getting away from CUN-CZM. Check out Valladolid for a night (has a "colonial" feel to it and some less crowded bits of culture). Merida / Valladolid / Tulum would make for a very nice 6 or 7 nights -

AJMelheim

Chichen Itza is fascinating, but you can no longer climb up the main structure. We have really enjoyed he ruins of Ek Balam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ek%27_Balam. You can climb the big structure and the carvings are incredible.

The city of Merida has a market and evening street dance in the main square on Sundays.

Maroon10

Hi again, everybody!

Because this is our first time in the area, we decided to side with the people who preached caution and have made reservations for the entire trip now. I'll report back after.. AJMelheim -- we're certainly going to Ek Balam.
In the end, we're skipping the beach entirely! It's Chichen Itza, Merida, Santa Elena (for Uxmal and Ruta Puuc), Valladolid (from which we do Ek Balam, I think), if I get them right, off the top of my head..

Thank you again for all your advice.

kja

> Valladolid (from which we do Ek Balam, I think)

Yes, you can visit Ek' Balam from Valladolid. You can also visit Chicheen Itza and the cenotes de Dzitnup from there.

Enjoy!

Continental_Drifter

Hacienda Chichen (if you're still considering places to stay in Chichen Itza) is wonderful with a lovely restaurant, terrific service and clean, neat hotels. It is a restored hacienda and was the original camp for the first archeologists who discovered Chichen Itza. If you're not staying there, be sure to stop by for lunch or dinner and enjoy the gardens.

Maroon10

Hi mom23 -- thanks for the tip, but we have indeed made all our reservations now. So now I'm trying to avoid reviews for a bit (hoping any loud a/c, bad mattresses, roaches, mosquitoes, renovations we encounter will be intermittent Wish us luck!

emd3

Elton John is playing at Chichen Itza? What? OMG. It's aa archeological wonder of the world. I like Elton, but geez. I guess his promoters love the idea if Mexico is going to allow people to congregate at Chichen Itza for a rock concert.

colokid

Very expensive tickets too. Don't know how anyone local could afford to attend.

cocontom

But emd3, the acoustics at Chichen Itza are so cool- I even considered going, and I've never considered an Elton John concert before.

Maroon10, I know you already made your reservations, but I hope you saw my note about the area. Make sure you go to Chichen Itza after Tulum and Coba (and Coba after Tulum), because after it, the other two are just some old rocks. It's not really that bad, but they just aren't all that impressive after seeing Chichen Itza in all its size and glory.

This is colored by the fact that we had Chichen Itza to ourselves for several hours (Sunday morning), and it wasn't that crowded even after that, but there were 20 tour buses at Coba when we got there (apparently Wednesdays are bad at Coba, but I don't know if that was a guide just telling someone that to shut them up or if it's true).

We didn't make it to Ek Balam (I wish we would have, but it was too late in the day), but I would do it before Chichen Itza as well.

Any way you do it, get there as soon as they open at 8 as possible- we got to Chichen Itza at 9:30 and I think we were the 8th car in the tourist lot.

kja

I'm not sure I would worry about the order of Chichen Itza and Ek' Balam - they are so different! Yes, Chichen Itza is the grander and better preserved of the two, but you can climb the structures at Ek' Balam (you can't at Chichen Itza) and the frieze at Ek' Balam is unlike anything you will see at Chichen Itza. I visited Ek' Balam second, and was not disappointed. I think you can decide based on what works best with your schedule.