Hello all, We have been to Mexico several times but never to Cancun. Business takes us there in mid-March, 2001. We are not "sun and fun" folks (mid 50s and fairskined, and the altitude is of great concern--get very bored lying in the sun at the beach) but are interested in the history of the area. We will have a 4 day meeting in Cancun and will stretch it into 7 days total. No Spanish (but Italian) and we live in California so Mexico is not that foreign. We could rent a car or do an organized tour. Any suggestions? Just want to relax but also learn a bit of the culture in lovely surroundings. Thinking some of the Mayan ruins and possibly Merida? Thanks for suggestions.

I would recommend a day trip out to Chichen Itza to see the Mayan ruins. We read a book about it before we left (I think it was "Incidents of Travel in the Yucatan") and I thought it was fascinating to see when you knew their rituals. We took an organized tour which was fine, they gave us plenty of free time to wander around after they showed us the highlights. <BR> <BR>We also visited Tulum to see the ruins (much less impressive than Chichen Itza of course) and Xelha to snorkel by car. <BR> <BR>A friend of mine raves about Uxmel, also in Merida, but it might be too far from Cancun for a day trip.

Thanks, Kris. That sounds like something we would want to do. Any thoughts about weather in mid March?

Warm and breezy in Cancun. Rather hot inland.

We rented a car and drove to Chichen Itza - Loved the ruins but the drive was a bit scary. There are lots of small towns and all of them have speed bumps (and big ones). So be careful when driving. Try to not drive at night as we found in the Yucatan, they do not use headlights at night unless they want to warn you about something. Xel-Ha is wonderful snorkeling - like swimming in a big aquarium. In Cancum, where are you staying? The peninsula is very long and if you are far down the pen. it can be a costly taxi ride to town. Try to stay closer to the town. We were in Cancun in 1991 and found it already a bit "jaded" - be careful about getting ripped off, especially on a car rental. Happy to help you further if I can. Cheers and have fun!

Do a loop in a rental car from Cancun south to Tulum (small but spectacularly situated on the Pacific ocean) then east to the ruins of Coba (less developed but still nice), then connect with Hwy 180 West to Valladolid then on to Chichen Itza (the biggest & the best ruin) then on to Merida with a stop at Tulum (exquisite). Then blast back to Cancun. Try to hit the more popular ruins in the morning early before the bus tours hit the place! <BR> <BR>Adios! <BR> <BR>[email protected] <BR>www.choice1.com/villamontana.htm

Unfortunately, we don't know as yet where we will be staying in Cancun since that is at the mercy of the business meeting. Does 3 days of daytrips sound right? Should we plan to check out of our Cancun hotel and stay elsewhere or should we return each night. Won't do any nighttime driving--know how difficult that is. Thanks all of you. BTW, what is warm and breezy, rather hot inland in comparison to California? Can anyone give me exact temp variations and what about dress? I'm hoping that it won't be "resort casual"---hoping that this will be more than the regular issue trip to Mexico. I am also interested in thoughts about whether we should take an organized tour, private tour or rent a car by ourselves. We really would like to learn as much as possible about this area. Thanks.