kja

As with so many things about planning a trip, a great deal depends on preferences -- what to see, at what pace, in what way, alone or with others, etc. FWIW, I think all the intercity buses I took were ADO autobuses, although I used a number of collectivos and an occasional taxi for local options. Oh, and have found MANY opportunities to get lost with just my own two feet -- no need for a car for THAT! ;-)

cybor

Yes, Before I became a spoiled car owner down here I did an incredible amount of walking, collectivo (aka combi) and bus riding.
The combis were always a bit more interesting than the buses. Everyone on the bus including little old Mayan women all seem to have headphones on or are immersed in their cell phones.
For some reason there's more interaction in the combis. This may be because there's simply no room to pull a smart phone into densely packed combi. lol
It's absolutely amazing how many people they fit into these vehicles. I recall one time being so packed that I had someone's toddler on my lap. It was incredibly hot and no cared. The radio came on and Aretha started singing RESPECT and the whole van sang in English along with her. A surreal wonderful moment.

kja

Oh, cybor -- what an amazing moment that must have been! And you made me recall one of my favorite memories from my trip: Once, when on what seemed to me to be a completely full collectivo, a bunch of elementary school children got on. Backpacks and book bags were put under everyone's knees and around feet. Children were handed around until we all had at least one on our lap, and maybe another shared with the next person over. I remember thinking -- OMG, all these little kids and no seat belts! And then thinking -- well, it's not like anyone could move even if we did have an accident!!! And somehow, at every stop, each child who got off knew EXACTLY where his / her bag was and how to retrieve it with minimal fuss. No Aretha that trip, but some priceless memories nonetheless.

suze

<Was it not you who advised not to drive in the Yucatan>

Actually no. I did not advise anyone not to drive. What I said was this:

"but I personally wouldn't want to rent a car & drive in Mexico" and gave my reasons.

I didn't advise anyone to do or not do anything.

SambaChula

I think it's more than a bit disingenuous to claim that posting an opinion on a forum such as this does not in practice constitute 'advice' to someone new to the country seeking recommendations here.

You stated "There's just a lot that can go wrong and it's easy enough to get yourself around using other methods (especially if you don't speak Spanish)".

A lot can go wrong anytime you crawl out from under the bed. However, if someone who is a competent driver at home undertakes to drive in the Yucatan, it is unlikely that they would have problems. I have had none, over multiple trips, and do not know anyone whose experience has been much different. (Note: People do have a tendency to publicize complaints, not good experiences, on forums, so those horror posts one reads are not likely statistically significant. Also, many posts are out of date as conditions improve.)
Don't know if you've ever driven Baja rte.1 from Insurgentes to Loreto, for one example, but my advice and opinion would certainly be different for those specific conditions.

As far as "easy", I do not think waiting around for transport in the extreme heat and humidity of the Yucatan is easy, nor is shlepping around luggage under those conditions.
Trying to figure out schedules and ask where buses/collectivos stop, conversing with Spanish-only speakers for such detailed info, is not easy without Spanish (IMO).
Being dependent on someone else's fixed schedule, making sure you are in a given place at a given so as not to miss transport, is stressful, not easy. IMO, of course.

Jumping in a refreshingly air conditioned car when I want to go exactly where I want, stopping where and when I want along the road, is easy.
Reading a map and following clear signage does not require Spanish language skills, and purchase of gasoline requires knowing only several numbers or having a pen and pad handy.

But the main point I am making is that it is unrealistic to generalize about travel in one part of Mexico based on experience in another area of the country. For example, driving in the Yucatan is not like driving in Baja or the DF or elsewhere in Mexico. (This is based on my personal experience.)
Not speaking reasonably good Spanish seems (to me) to be less of an impediment in the Yucatan than in some other areas of Mexico, in my experience. Yucatecans seem to be more open to trying to understand than those in some other areas, even touristy ones, in my experience.

So a bit less generalizing, and a bit more detail on the specific experience in an area, might go far in future posts.

MichelleY

Samba- we drove the Loreto/Insurgentes route and found the conditions not difficult at all. Matter of experience and opinion.

Give it a rest.

linda5

Playa del Carmen and Tulum will be nice for you. Cancun is a busy city. You can go to Playa del Carmen and it is lots of hostels with really good prices. Go to the ones are close to the beach and downtown. Don´t need a car. They charge you more and you have to give your CC. Just take ADO from Cancun and to go around you go on a taxi or walking. To go to Merida or Cancun or or towns around, you can take a bus on the main highway and go visit all the amazing places around.

csanchez

Thank you for all of your replies! A lot of great info to work with. We are postponing this trip until the near future it helps so we can start getting an idea of what we want to do. Again, thanks!

SambaChula

MichellY---
You say you drove Loreto to Insurgentes. That is "on the inside", at the base of the slope. That made a big difference in how things felt on the way back from Loreto, which I did not consider as bad. However, the route from Insugentes TO Loreto is on the edge of the cliff the whole way (until the road gets to the coast), narrow single lane with no shoulder and no fence/barrier between you and the drop, no pullouts, continuous tight switchback curves for about two hours, a whole different ballgame, one tire slightly out of place and right over, several thousand feet in places. I'm a very experienced driver in difficult conditions in many countries worldwide, including white outs in the mountains of Turkey and such. Drive it both ways before you comment on what it's like.

SambaChula

Also, MichelleY, I notice you said "we drove" not "I drove", so I suspect you were merely a passenger on the journey, not constantly experiencing the actual tension and responsibility of the driving conditions yourself, conditions which do indeed differ significantly from those straight, wider, flat roads in the Yucatan.

MichelleY

Yawn. So tired of your condescending and rude posts. You need to chill out.

MichelleY

Oh, yeah. We drove both ways.

tom42

<<Being inland it will be hot and even more so in June I would think.>>

You'd think so but April and May are the hottest months in Merida. Don't get me wrong - June and July are also hot, just not quite as hot as April/May. I want last year in early July and you just need to be prepared to sweat all the time. That being said, we loved Merida and the surrounding area.