3 wks for Mayan ruins, colonial cities, markets, culture and nature
 

I am at the beginning stage of planning a 3 week trip for a family of 4 with kids aged 10 & 12. Before I deep dive into researching all the details, can you please let me know if this is viable at a high level?

My basic plan is to fly RT to Cancun and rent a car. Would like to do a big loop heading counterclockwise starting with chitchen itza and merida. Can we make it all the way to San Cristobal de las casas and then come back through a bit of guatemala (antigua and chichi) and belize (beach)? Is this too ambitious, keeping in mind we have 2 kids with us. I mention the kids, because we'll carefully "curate" our itinerary so they get a real dose of the area, but not overdo it with churches and cities. I would plan to visit world heritage sites and waterfalls/nature opportunities to keep them engaged and tired.


Is it a bad idea to go to Chiapas and not see tuxla guitierrez?
Is it realistic to take this trip in a rented car - provided we don't travel at night?
Are there safety considerations, beyond the obvious precautions and respect for locales?

Many man thanks. Any advice is welcome.

It really depends on what you want to see and experience, but FWIW, I think you are being a tad ambitious. In 3 weeks, I made from from the Mayan Riviera "only" as far as Tuxtla Gutierrez -- and I was traveling solo. But if you are selective, you might be able to do it. (My route: Puerto Morelos, Tulum, Valladolid, Izamal, Merida, Ruta Puuc, Celestun, Campeche, Calakmul, Palenque, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapa de Corso & Tuxtla Gutierrez.) While I enjoyed Tuxtla Gutierrez, I thought it more "skippable" than the other places I visited.

Hope that helps!

That seems like WAY too much time on the road for 3 weeks. When I'm planning my trips I take a good, hard look at what my travel priorities are. What do I want to be doing with most of my time? Generally the last thing on my list would be 'sitting on my backside looking through grimy bus windows'. If you're averaging less than 3 nights per spot, that's what you'll be doing for ~half of the days of your trip. In other words, you'll be doing that more than all your other travel interests combined and the transition days can be surprisingly long and tiring in that part of the world. Some of the distances are so great you'll end up with full days in the car - something I try to avoid even without kids in tow.

Lots of folks feel like they want to cram in as much as possible in the time they have. By trying to see too many places and moving on every few days, or by choosing places that are geographically distant and require long road times, you'd actually be diluting your time to explore and enjoy. If you really want to pack nearly every day full of cool adventures, pick a smaller geographic area and/or fewer stops.

Given 3 weeks and flights in and out of CUN, I'd either stick to the Yucatán Peninsula (including Valladolid and maybe Mérida) or head down to Belize and over for a visit to Tikal. My photos with blog, travelogue, and review links on the main page of each collection are below in case you're interested - all my recommendations are embedded there.
Happy trails!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

It is possible to rent a car in Mexico and take it to both Belize and Guatemala, but, there is significant paper work involved and most car rental agencies won't allow it.

Also, I'm pretty sure you will be completely uninsured while traveling in Guatemala.

If Tikal is a must, I'd visit from Belize, with local transporation.

Lots of really good information here and must I agree with everything mentioned. With the kids in tow, I would stay in Mexico because of all the basic reasons stated. A reasonable relaxing 3 week trip (for example) would be Cancun airport to PDC or Tulum, Coba, Valladolid, Chichen Itza, Merida, Uxmal and on your way back, Izamal and Ek Balam. That is, IMO enough travelling and Mayan ruins to last a long time and you've only done two provinces in the Peninsula (Yucatan and Quintana Roo). I would also strongly suggest concentrating on Merida if you want colonial cities, markets culure and so much more. Merida IS the place to appreciate for all that. By the way, Coba and Ek Balam are the only Mayan sites where you can still climb the pyramids... Coba being the tallest in the whole Yucatan Peninsula. As for car rentals is concerned, NO PROBLEM. Beautiful safe highways and lots of parking except for Merida.

I would suggest staying in Mexico but do the itinerary in the opposite direction,a big circle starting with Valladolid (from Cancun airport) and ending with some time relaxing on the beach in Tulum.

Thanks so much every one. All the valuable input has made me realign my thinking and definitely focus on quality over quantity. I love spending some time in a car and on local transportation, but not as much as this itinerary would require. I'll check back soon when i have a modified itinerary and hope you can help me fine tune it.

Thanks again

"Coba and Ek Balam are the only Mayan sites where you can still climb the pyramids... Coba being the tallest in the whole Yucatan Peninsula. " -

I thought Calakmul had taller pyramids -- the tallest Mayan pyramids other than those at Tikal -- and they were still climb-able when I was there (2008). And pyramids at Edzna could also be climbed at that time, and some of the Palenque pyramids could be climbed then, although that site isn't part of the Yucatan Peninsula. Permissions to climb could have changed since I was there.....

We did something vaguely similar-flew into Villahermosa and spent 4 nights in Palenque, took a bus to Campeche for one night, then rented a car and drove to Tulum, where we stayed for four nights. Then we drove to the Cancun airport and dropped off the car there.

Architecturally and artistically, the ruins in Chiapas are much more compelling than those in the Yucatan. Nature-wise Yucatan is more coastal in orientation--whereas the part of Chiapas we were in is more rainforest. I'll dig up the trip report and post the link.

"Architecturally and artistically, the ruins in Chiapas are much more compelling than those in the Yucatan."

I'm not sure I agree. For example, I thought Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc offered some outstanding examples of Mayan art and architecture and would not like to have to say whether they were more or less compelling than those of Palenque. They were different. JMO!

http://www.fodors.com/community/mexi...ruary-2012.cfm

Pictures:

https://m.facebook.com/ryanacandee/a...02686048494661

https://m.facebook.com/ryanacandee/a...3343087338294/

Just IMO there's a grace and harmony in the Late Classic sites that was never captured in the post- classic sites, both in the buildings and the carvings. You raise a good point re: Uxmal et al, as opposed to Tulum and even Coba.

> "You raise a good point re: Uxmal et al, as opposed to Tulum and even Coba"

Although I haven't yet seen Coba, I was very glad that Tulum was my "first" Mayan ruin -- from my perspective, it was a good introduction to Mayan ruins, but except for the setting, every other Mayan site I saw seemed more memorable for me. JMO.

For your information kja...

Enjoy the View at Coba

Visitors who brave the steep climb up the highest pyramid in Mexico's Maya world reap the reward of a breathtaking vista. At more than 130 feet in height, Nohuch Mul, which means “large mound” in the Mayan language, is the tallest pyramid at Coba archaeological site and in the Yucatán Peninsula. Coba, an easy half-hour drive inland from the coastal city of Tulum, is well worth a visit.

Thanks, Rohelio.

So, at 148 feet, Structure 2 at Calakmul is, indeed, taller than the highest one at Coba.

I must say, sitting at it's top, and seeing Tikal's El Mirador in the distance as I listened to the roars of the resident howler monkeys, was a special experience!

I don't doubt it for a minute kja, I am sure that the view must have been quite spectacular. This said, there is definitely a problem here as all the information I have seen and read through the years, do indicate that Coba does have the tallest pyramid in all of the Yucatan Peninsula. Now, I have climbed it on 3 different occasions with friends and family and I have most certainly never measured the thing... This does prove to be intriguing and I will have to research it a little further.
Thank you kja

In a Google or Bing, type "highest pyramid Yucatan". What comes up is article after article about Nohoch Mul at Coba.

Very interesting, as similar entries into Wikipedia (and at least some of my guidebooks) lead to Calakmul...

I'll look forward to a resolution of these discrepancies.

In the meantime, I don't think either site would disappoint, I suspect that Coba is easier to reach.

Not this Wikipedia site, for one example:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coba

(Not trying to "take sides", but like Rohelio, everything I've read says Coba is "the highest", but specific height info for Calakmul does give the number 148 you cited. Maybe info is from before Calakmul was as well known as today?)

The locogringo site calls Structure 2 "the largest in the Maya world" and/but adds "there are multiple construction on top of each other, enabling incredible heights". Perhaps Coba is considered "stand alone"?