Elizabeth_S

Last minute trip next month. Looking at 6 nights in Cozumel then early morning rental car pickup in Cancun. We then have 4 nights plus most of day 5 (our flight departs Cancun at 8pm). Thinking of this but have only done a small amount of research

- pick up car in Cancun; drive to Uxmal; stay 2 nights. See Uxmal (and Merida? Other ruins?)
- drive to Chichen Itza: (Merida on the way?) stay 2 nights near ruins; time for Vallofolid?
- leave early day 5 morning. Drive to cancun via Tulum - coba?

We don't mind long drives which is why I am thinking of going to Uxmal the first day.

Suggestions/comments appreciated.

RAC

Maybe add a night or two from Cozumel to the mainland.

Have you looked at touring Calakmul?

Rohelio

I have seen all the ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula and would strongly suggest you drive to Merida and stay there for a few days. Preferably on a weekend and stay at the small hotel called El Peregrino, several blocks from the main square where all the action is, on Saturday night and all day Sunday. Uxmal is about 1 1/2 hours away and so is the Ruta Puuc where other ineresting sites will astound you. It would be better to stay in the area for the night so as to appreciate the whole Mayan Ruta Puuc venue... You will never forget this outing nor Merida for that matter You can spend a week in Merida and still have lots to see and do, it is an amazing city. The other ruins are ok but nothing compared to Uxmal and the Puuc route...

kja

Wow, you are going to have to be VERY VERY selective if you have only 4 nights + part of the next day! As RAC said, you might consider adding time to this part of your trip.

IMO, magnificent Uxmal deserves pretty much a full day -- at least 6 hours. The rest of the Ruta Puuc deserves the better part of a 2nd day, and can be really rewarding, as so few people visit the other sites (with the possible exception of the Codz Poop, which is definitely worth seeing). There is something quite awesome about having an entire Mayan ruin to oneself! I enjoyed staying at the Flycatcher Inn:
http://flycatcherinn.com

Merida is definitely worth some time, especially if you are there on a Saturday evening or Sunday day. Rohelio already gave you some info about that. If your aim is to focus on the Mayan ruins, then you might still consider going into Merida for a while, if for no other reason than to see its excellent small archeology museum.

From Vallodolid, you can see Chichen Itza (give it the better part of a day) and Ek' Balam (which requires several hours).

I found the Moon Guide to the Yucatan particularly useful when I planned my trip.

Enjoy!

kja

BTW, if you do add some time to the area, consider stopping at least briefly in Izamal between Valladolid and Merida and consider visiting the Cenotes Dzitnup outside of Valladolid.

Elizabeth_S

Thx all. I will look at adding possibly one night but we're going to Cozumel to dive so wanted 5 days there. Other comments are appreciated.

Elizabeth_S

OK - I took a night from Cozumel and added it to the Peninsula. Still considering the same basic itinerary but added the extra night at the beginning.......

- pick up car in Cancun; drive to Uxmal; stay 3 nights. See Uxmal (and Merida? Other ruins?)
- drive to Chichen Itza: (Merida on the way?) stay 2 nights near ruins; time for Vallofolid?
- leave early day 6 morning. Drive to cancun via Tulum - coba?

Have booked the Hacienda Chichen Itza so we have early morning access to the ruins - any other suggestions as it's a little pricey?

Thanks!

kja

I think you'll be glad you added an extra night!

For the Ruta Puuc (including Uxmal), 2 days is probably enough. I'm not sure how many days 3 nights will give you in the area. It is far enough from Merida that it might make more sense to stay a night in Merida rather than try to visit it from the area near Uxmal. You should be able to get a taste for Merida if you leave the Ruta Puuc relatively early and don't mind a late arrival at your next destination. BTW, I went out of my way to avoid driving at night while in the Yucatan -- at least when I was there, many roads were either poorly lit or unlit. Maybe that has changed.

For Chichen Itza, you can stay in Valladolid. I don't think you have time for Tulum or Coba, but maybe that's just me. As I mentioned above, you almost certainly do have time for an hour or so in delightful Izamal and a half-day or so for the unusual and quite spectacular Ek' Balam and Cenotes Dzitnup from Valladolid.

Elizabeth_S

Still sorting out itinerary but quick question - is the easiest thing to pick up and drop off the rental car at the Cancun airport?

Elizabeth_S

I've been looking into this more and it seems we could take the ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen and pick up a car there and return it to the Cancun airport - thoughts?

Elizabeth_S

Here's the itinerary:

Day 1 - depart Cozumel by ferry - pick up rental car near ferry dock approx 11:00am - drive to Hacienda Uxmal (0.5 miles from site)
Day 2 - visit Uxmal
Day 3 - drive Ruta Puuc
Day 4 - depart early AM and drive to Hacienda Chichen Itza (10 minutes from site) arriving by noon. Afternoon drive to Valladodid and Ek Balam
Day 5 - early morning visit to Chichen Itza
Day 6 - drive to Cancun airport for 6pm car drop off - drive by Tulum?

Thanks everyone for your help!

Elizabeth_S

Re rental car - ended up booking a pick up in Playa del Carmen near the ferry dock and drop off at Cancun airport - only a $35 drop off fee which made sense to me.

Good rate from Hertz too

kja

I'm not sure what your purpose would be in driving by Tulum. I don't believe you would have time to see the ruins. If what you want to see is the beach, keep in mind that the road by the beach properties can be jammed with very slow-moving cars.

Elizabeth_S

kja -- we have several hours after checking out of hacienda chichen itza until our flight. Thought it might be doable.

kja

For some reason, I was thinking you were trying to visit Chichen Itza on that day - I don't know why, since your post was perfectly clear. Sorry about that! So yes, it might be possible for you to see Tulum before returning your rental car. I must admit that I think you would do better to see Merida (including its small, but excellent, archeology museum) than to see Tulum. Just my opinion.