1st time to Yuccatan- what's your favorite hidden treasure?
May 16th, 2006, 06:18 PM
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1st time to Yuccatan- what's your favorite hidden treasure?
My boyfriend and I are planning our 1st trip to the Yuccatan peninsula in September, basing ourselves in Tulum, and we are wide open to suggestions. We love nature and ideally would spend our time primarily A) swimming/relaxing at secret beaches B) eating seafood at hole in the wall treasures, and C) exploring mayan ruins & the jungle (guided, of course). Is this a fantasy or can it be real? what are your secrets to the Yuccatan peninsula for two wilderness loving foodies on a budget?
May 16th, 2006, 07:33 PM
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Love the Yuccatan and will go there for the sixth time this June!! We love Xel-Ha! It is a great place to snorkel and see tons of fish, if you make sure you go into the inlets. Love it and will go for my third time in June! Chichen Itza is by far the best ruin site. There are many ruins to see with a pyamid to climb, and cenote. If you get a good guide they have lots to tell!
IK-KIL is a mystical cenote that is absolutely beautiful. It was part of a bus trip that I took to Chichen Itza! It is held in my memory as one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!! The cenote sunk down 150 feet. You can go down into it and look up to see the opening. Below, it is a beautiful clear swimming pool. The sun shines through the large hole above with long dangling plants from the ceiling to the water.
Take a trip over to the island of Isla Mujeres. It is quaint and fun shopping with many little shops to get authentic MX items.
Playa del Carmen also has fun shopping, and your usual Senior Frogs, and such... with beautiful beaches!!
Tulum is another ruin to see. It has much less to see than Chichen, but it is on the water front and breath taking. Also, you can swim there!
Cozumel has a lot to offer for snorkeling or scuba. It has MX National Parks to swim and preserve the reefs. Like Isla Mujeres, it is a ferry ride from Cancun.
Once we took a guided tour with Apple Vacations through the jungle to a Mayan village. Very Interesting! We also we monkey finding through the jungle and saw Coba ruins too.
Enjoy there is much to do!! And, the Yuccatan is paradise!
IK-KIL is a mystical cenote that is absolutely beautiful. It was part of a bus trip that I took to Chichen Itza! It is held in my memory as one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!! The cenote sunk down 150 feet. You can go down into it and look up to see the opening. Below, it is a beautiful clear swimming pool. The sun shines through the large hole above with long dangling plants from the ceiling to the water.
Take a trip over to the island of Isla Mujeres. It is quaint and fun shopping with many little shops to get authentic MX items.
Playa del Carmen also has fun shopping, and your usual Senior Frogs, and such... with beautiful beaches!!
Tulum is another ruin to see. It has much less to see than Chichen, but it is on the water front and breath taking. Also, you can swim there!
Cozumel has a lot to offer for snorkeling or scuba. It has MX National Parks to swim and preserve the reefs. Like Isla Mujeres, it is a ferry ride from Cancun.
Once we took a guided tour with Apple Vacations through the jungle to a Mayan village. Very Interesting! We also we monkey finding through the jungle and saw Coba ruins too.
Enjoy there is much to do!! And, the Yuccatan is paradise!
May 17th, 2006, 03:40 AM
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venice - you will love Tulum. We were there this March and will be back late August and early Sept. Just a few minutes away is Manatee Cenote at Tankah Bay. It is an easy cenote to snorkel. No entry fee...but we did pay a young man $1 per person to watch our stuff. Then walk across the street to the beach and snorkel where the cenote empties into the ocean. Situated right there on the beach is Casa Cenote, a great little inexpensive restaurant. Grand Cenote, on the Coba Rd. about 5-8 minutes out of Tulum, was one of our favorite places to snorkel. We snorkeled through caves and the cave formations were outstanding. Entry fee was $8. We ate at Don Cafetos on the beach in Tulum. Reasonable prices and good food. Try the nopales...yummm. Have a great trip!
May 17th, 2006, 06:44 AM
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There are so many treasures...I hope you'll have a car and at least a week. We usually go for 10 days in August for the last 4 years. The beach will suck you in where it'll be hard to get up and do anything...but there's plenty to do.
For ruins:
*Coba - 45 minute car ride from Tulum along the Coba Rd. The ruins are in a jungle; not all has been excavated. You rent bikes to get around easier. You can stop at Gran Cenote on the way back.
*Muyil - 30 minute car ride from Tulum along Hwy 307 south. You find smaller ruins and an interesting boardwalk w/ observe tower through the jungle. On the way back, 2 cenotes to visit: Escondido and Cristiallo (keep an eye out; the sign faces you as you drive south, not north).
*Chichen Itza is a spectacular ruin, but a very long day trip. Smaller ruins near there (30 minutes away) at Ek Balam. We've done both in one day - it's a killer day. Ik Kil looks amazing; haven't stopped yet. City of Valladolid is also on this day trip - colonial city with lovely square and cathedral.
Snorkling at Yalku Lagoon is my recommendation over Xel-Ha. It's at the north end of Akumal and is much smaller. While in Akumal, Akumal Bay has good snorkling too - sea turtles are known to swim in front of Lol-Ha restaurant in the turtle grass.
You should do a guided tour of Sian Kaan through Cesiak - you'll travel through canals, see small ruins, wildlife, etc.
You should order a couple of maps from cancunmap.com - the Riveria Maya map and the Chichen Itza map (contains Coba info, too). There's excellent info on small foodie places - like a taco stand here or there.
Sept is the height of hurricane season. Hope you'll have a car to make a get-away if anything comes your way. My advice is to go inland towards Merida (west of Chichen Itza). There is an airport there and it's a nice place to visit - colonial city. Ruins of Uxmal are nearby.
For ruins:
*Coba - 45 minute car ride from Tulum along the Coba Rd. The ruins are in a jungle; not all has been excavated. You rent bikes to get around easier. You can stop at Gran Cenote on the way back.
*Muyil - 30 minute car ride from Tulum along Hwy 307 south. You find smaller ruins and an interesting boardwalk w/ observe tower through the jungle. On the way back, 2 cenotes to visit: Escondido and Cristiallo (keep an eye out; the sign faces you as you drive south, not north).
*Chichen Itza is a spectacular ruin, but a very long day trip. Smaller ruins near there (30 minutes away) at Ek Balam. We've done both in one day - it's a killer day. Ik Kil looks amazing; haven't stopped yet. City of Valladolid is also on this day trip - colonial city with lovely square and cathedral.
Snorkling at Yalku Lagoon is my recommendation over Xel-Ha. It's at the north end of Akumal and is much smaller. While in Akumal, Akumal Bay has good snorkling too - sea turtles are known to swim in front of Lol-Ha restaurant in the turtle grass.
You should do a guided tour of Sian Kaan through Cesiak - you'll travel through canals, see small ruins, wildlife, etc.
You should order a couple of maps from cancunmap.com - the Riveria Maya map and the Chichen Itza map (contains Coba info, too). There's excellent info on small foodie places - like a taco stand here or there.
Sept is the height of hurricane season. Hope you'll have a car to make a get-away if anything comes your way. My advice is to go inland towards Merida (west of Chichen Itza). There is an airport there and it's a nice place to visit - colonial city. Ruins of Uxmal are nearby.
May 17th, 2006, 11:05 AM
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From Tulum, you can take a tour of the Si'an Kaan wilderness area. Don't miss this. What we did was drive down to the Muyil Ruins, about 1/2 hour south of Tulum. This is a small, not well touristed site just along the highway, easy to miss. At the site, the park guard will offer to get you on a tour of Si'an Kaan for $25 a person (about 1/3 of what most of the bigger tours charge). It was great fun boating thru the remote mangrove swamps, and floating down a crystal clear canal while our gude waited for us.
There are a handful of fun places to eat in downtown Tulum. Charlies has great seafood, and an outdoor couryard with live music on Saturday nights.
There are a handful of fun places to eat in downtown Tulum. Charlies has great seafood, and an outdoor couryard with live music on Saturday nights.
May 17th, 2006, 09:08 PM
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Don Cafetos is on the beach????? It's on the main Tulum drag, nowhere in sight of the beach. The nopales they serve are CANNED there!! Where the heck were you granbury??? DC's pollo a la parilla is excelente though as is their super limonada.
To the Op, venture a little south of Tulum to the ruins of Muyil and take a boat ride into Sian ka'an and the ancient Maya canals. You can see the temple, or ancient aduana station, and jump in and float down the river with the current. Check out the carvings on the road to or from the landing. The ruins of muyil are great too, with a frescoe of garzas at the top of the main temple. You won't find the crowds here. Also, eveyone talks about Xel-ha lagoon...where dolphins swim in sun screen tainted water...I wonder how many people know about the ruins on the other side of the road??? I've never seen anyone there but researchers. There are still vivid red paintings on the grupo de pajaros. I did see many people however flying by it on along the shoulder of the road on the four wheeler tours. Good God!
To the Op, venture a little south of Tulum to the ruins of Muyil and take a boat ride into Sian ka'an and the ancient Maya canals. You can see the temple, or ancient aduana station, and jump in and float down the river with the current. Check out the carvings on the road to or from the landing. The ruins of muyil are great too, with a frescoe of garzas at the top of the main temple. You won't find the crowds here. Also, eveyone talks about Xel-ha lagoon...where dolphins swim in sun screen tainted water...I wonder how many people know about the ruins on the other side of the road??? I've never seen anyone there but researchers. There are still vivid red paintings on the grupo de pajaros. I did see many people however flying by it on along the shoulder of the road on the four wheeler tours. Good God!
May 18th, 2006, 03:05 AM
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belle -
"Don Cafetos is on the beach????? It's on the main Tulum drag, nowhere in sight of the beach."
Don Cafetos is indeed in town, but they also have one on the beach. Lighten up a little. Its ok if I liked the nopales. You don't like them...then don't eat them. There are lots of good places to eat in Tulum. I was just telling the OP where we had eaten.
"Don Cafetos is on the beach????? It's on the main Tulum drag, nowhere in sight of the beach."
Don Cafetos is indeed in town, but they also have one on the beach. Lighten up a little. Its ok if I liked the nopales. You don't like them...then don't eat them. There are lots of good places to eat in Tulum. I was just telling the OP where we had eaten.
May 24th, 2006, 12:15 PM
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Hi Venice. I'm one of your neighbors in Santa Monica and I'm going to Cozumel and Tulum next week on May 31st. 2nd time to Cozumel and 1st to Tulum. Will be happy to share any info with you when I return on June 8th.
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