Hello beautiful people,

I will be traveling to Mexico for about 3 months starting the second half of December. I will be working remotely while traveling, so I am planning to stay at least a week in each stop to give myself enough time and will probably stay 2 weeks in Mexico City. I am not into super tourists places and all inclusive resorts, so I won't go to Cancun or Playa del Carmen. In general I love nature, hiking and areas with some topography more than flat cities if possible.

After doing my research, here are the stops that seemed interesting to me:
- Isla Mujeres
- Cozumel
- Akumal
- Tulum
- Merida
- Lake Bacalar
- San Christobal
- Oaxaca
- Puebla
- Mexico City
- San Miguel de Allende
- Guanajuato

Now here are some questions:
1) I was planning to stay 3 days in Akumal before heading to Tulum but since I will visit Isla, Cozumel and Tulum, is it worth it to stay in Akumal for few days or just visit as a day trip from Tulum?

2) I was thinking to cut one of the towns I am visting, so between Merida, San Christobal, Oaxaca, San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato which one would you cut?

3)Besides Mexico city, which of the cities above require more than a week to explore keeping in mind that I will be working while site seeing?


I am still in early planning stages so, please feel free to suggest any alternatives.

Thanks everyone in advance

Question #2: Using your "topography" criterion, cut Merida which is flat.

Mme I was thinking the same thing. As is pretty much all of the Yucatan. Merida however is not super touristy unlike the other places mentioned in the Yucatan itinerary. Not much hiking either.
Giicko, without getting too personal, will your work allow some flexibility? As in will you be working everyday, can you choose your own hours, weekends, etc.

Question 1: I don't think it's worth staying 3 days, it'll be better to do a one day visit, it's enough time to visit it's most popular attractions such as, Akumal Monkey Sanctuary and Rescued Animals, Cenote Santa Cruz.

Question 3: I think that none of them require more than a week, though as Mexico City, Oaxaca is a must to visit. Another city that is also a must however is not in your list is Chiapas, it has many places around to visit which you will fully enjoy.

My last trip was to San Cristobal de las Casas, on the list and if I'm not mistaken, in Chiapas (the state, not a city). I agree that Oaxaca is a must but have been reading that Covid is a real problem with some villages and attractions closed to travelers. That could make it less desirable though the city would be enough for me. But do check the Covid numbers. Trip Advisor has forums for every location with people on the ground posting about everything you'd want to know for planning purposes, like what sites are open or not.

Chiapas is a state, not a city, and the OP did mention San Cristobal de Las Casas.

Totally true baldone and MmePerdu

Puebla and surrounding area (Cholula) can take a week:

https://flic.kr/p/7oHi2g
I believe that there are hiking possibilities on the south side of the vlcano:

https://flic.kr/p/Du2QbE
And Puebla itself:

https://flic.kr/p/CW2KFc https://flic.kr/p/7oMkzs
Oaxaca deserves the same treatment:

https://flic.kr/p/7o3Js4 https://flic.kr/p/pUg53s https://flic.kr/p/7o3JEc

Hi baldone, I need to work everyday Mon-Fri but I can choose my hours everyday, like starting my work day later in the afternoon and work till the night or the other way around or even split my hours thru the day.

thanks everyone for the posts. I did check Chiapas and it looks like it has interesting stuff to do but it's very close to San Christobal, so depending on how many days San Christobal needs, I can add more days to explore Chiapas and the surroundings.

For Covid, honeslty I am trying to shut my mind and just ignore the whole virus invading the world thing . But I guess it's a good idea to check before finalizing my plan if there are any states that have high infection rates.

For Merida, I did read that it was flat, but it seems like it's a very liked city and it has interesting ruins in the area around and also the Celestun Flamingo Reserve, which seems interesting as well, so I thought to check it out.

What do you guys think of Patzcuaro lake, I will already go to Bacalar, so how does it compare?

Thanks everyone for your help

[QUOTE=Michael;17174897]Puebla and surrounding area (Cholula) can take a week:

Thanks a lot Michael for the volcano tip, will definitely check it out

Lake Patzcuaro is a polluted mess that looks nice from a distance. You for sure won't want to swim in it. But the town itself and the surrounding areas (Morelia, Uruapan, Santa Clara, etc) are quite attractive and well worth a week. Plus few foreign tourists.
I asked about your work schedule to try to see how day trips and travel days might fit your itinerary.
San Cristobal is a charming mountain town, but a long ways from other cities on your itinerary, and may require an overnight bus ride. But the area has its attractions such as Palenque, Sumidero Canyon, Agua Azul, Misol Ha, Comitan & the falls of El Chiflon.

This might be of interest:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izta-P..._National_Park

I may be reading too much between the lines, but it seems you might be interested in swimming? Most inland water sources in Mexico are polluted, with one exception being the Huasteca Potosína. No lakes per se, but rather turquoise rivers and waterfalls. You could easily spend a week in the area, or 2, if you included time in San Luis Potosí city. And the travel distances from San Miguel or Guanajuato, or even Zacatecas are not far, only 2-3 hours. I'll be posting an update to my Northern Mexico trip report that will include some attractions in the area. But here's one I posted a couple of years ago on the Huasteca.
San Luis Potosi & La Huasteca

{For Covid, honeslty I am trying to shut my mind and just ignore the whole virus invading the world thing . But I guess it's a good idea to check before finalizing my plan if there are any states that have high infection rates.}

As mentioned in post #6 - Trip Advisor destination forums has people on the ground in these places, willing to help you plan, find places to stay, etc. You might want to ignore the pandemic, but it may matter as far as closures and restrictions in some areas. It's not only about infection rates or you getting sick, rather not being able to do something you had planned on doing, restaurants being closed, usual local festivals canceled, things like that.

Bacalar is really nice for swimming. But as I recall the road to get there was not much fun. Maybe you would be flying to Chetumal instead?

In addition to a tour to the flamings at Celestun from Merida, you could also do a tour to Uxmal. In fact maybe you could do that instead of Tulum.

All depending on what is open and COVID situation, of course.

I'd stay in Akumal, maybe get a nice condo on Half Moon Bay in north Akumal although if traveling around the Chrismas holidays you may well run into minimum stay requirements in addition to prices almost triple the normal prices. If in early December you are good to go. From Akumal you can travel to Tulum ruins or hit up some of the clubs on the Tulum beach road. I'd also visit Coba ruins (you can still climb) along with a stop at a cenote afterward. Tulum itself has gotten way to expensive considering what you get (not a good value for money) but fun to visit. Punta Laguna Monkey Preserve is near Coba ruins and is open.
Isla Mujeres would be a long trip from Akumal, stay overnight or a couple of days. The ferry leaves from Puerto Juarez just north of Cancun, or you could head there first depending on when your plane lands in Cancun.
How do you plan to get around Riviera Maya? Rental car, taxis, bus, etc. The ADO bus does not stop in some places, like Akumal and in Tulum it only stops in the Pueblo. To get to the beach you have to take a taxi or rental car, although some folks rent bikes to ride. Be VERY careful as the beach road is very congested nowadays.

Akumal and Tulum are 1/2 hour apart, stay in one or the other. Akumal for low key vibe, snorkeling in a calm bay, a handful of fun restaurants within walking distance. Look at the Hotel Akumal Caribe if you want a small non AI beachfront hotel. Tulum has a much bigger livelier pueblo, and vast stretches of white sand beach with a fairly good surf. Lots of yoga spas, beachfront cabanas,etc. Either town is great.

Hi, having been to Mexico many times at several of the destinations you've listed, hopefully I can provide some good insights.
Isle Mujeres is a very beautiful, small and laid back island off the coast of Cancun. It's a short ferry ride and once you're on the island, most people get around by golf cart. The beaches, snorkeling and scuba are fantastic.
Cozumel, larger island off the coast of Playa Del Carmen/Cancun. It's more laid back than Cancun, but it's very touristy, and without much to do. There are some great restaurants with live music, but it can be really slow, especially without the cruise ships. There are some nice beaches, but nothing super special.
Tulum and Akumal are great to spend the day exploring, but it does get very hot! They were a bit crowded when I've visited in the past, but may be much more open now with Covid. Certainly worth the time driving out to explore.
Mexico City is massive, and I've only spent time around the airport and Plaza de la Constitución. The Plaza de la Constitución is fairly central and has a lot of sights to see and is usually busy with locals and tourists. I would also say the Plaza is very safe, which can be an issue in other parts of Mexico City. The city is high elevation, and I did experience some headaches due to altitude, but these went away after a night.
Guanajuato:Has a few interesting plaza'a and some colonial architecture, but I wouldn't spend much time there, unless you're using it to get to and from San Miguel. It is very local, and while there are tourists, the tourists will most likely be from Mexico and not on the scale of some of the other places listed.
San Miguel de Allende: I saved the best for last, as this is truly one of the best destinations I've visited in the world. It's a bit out of the way, but well worth it. It's a small colonial town in the foothills and has amazing architecture and cobblestone lined streets, colorful buildings and lots of cultural activities. Aesthetically, it's one of the most beautiful cities I've been, and you find yourself being impressed around every corner. There are a lot of Europeans, Americans and Canadians living here, but you still get an authentic old Mexico feel and charm. The best part, it's very safe. Even walking around late at night we never felt threatened or in danger. Always be careful in Mexico, but this city felt the safest to us. I highly recommend it during your trip. I have a travel blog and I wrote about our time in San Miguel de Allende during the Day of The Dead. You're welcome to please check it out:
https://www.thetravelinglocals.com/p...ead-san-miguel