Yucatan - April 2015 Mayan Ruin week trip - Need help planning
#21
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Looks good. And if you do get the extra night, I would definitely add it to Merida.
If for some reason the Flycatcher Inn doesn't work for you - booked up or whatever - the Pickled Onion is just down the road. We stayed their and really liked it. Even if you stay at the Flycatcher, go to the Pickled Onion for dinner. Their restaurant has a nice outdoor dining room set on a small hill so you get nice breezes in the evening. When we were there, they were also adding a patio, which I am sure they have finished. The food is very good and the people are nice. We met several people there at dinner who had come over from the Flycatcher (which they all reported was a good place to stay).
If for some reason the Flycatcher Inn doesn't work for you - booked up or whatever - the Pickled Onion is just down the road. We stayed their and really liked it. Even if you stay at the Flycatcher, go to the Pickled Onion for dinner. Their restaurant has a nice outdoor dining room set on a small hill so you get nice breezes in the evening. When we were there, they were also adding a patio, which I am sure they have finished. The food is very good and the people are nice. We met several people there at dinner who had come over from the Flycatcher (which they all reported was a good place to stay).
#22
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I just wanted to thank everyone for the help in brainstorming this trip. I'm working on printing photos of various places that we will visit so I can wrap up for Christmas. We are booked to fly into Cancun on Wed April 1 and will fly home on the 7th. We will take a bus directly to Merida for 2 nights and then rent a car on the 3rd am to head toward uxmal and ruta Puuc. We'll stay st Flycatcherinn for 2 nights, then Valladolid for 1 night and drive back to Cancun for the last 2 nights on the beach. If we can get in Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, uxmal and the others on Rita puuc, then we have accomplished a lot I believe.
Please let me know if there is anything else I want to wrap up as a gift for him to open. He still has no clue!
Thanks
Please let me know if there is anything else I want to wrap up as a gift for him to open. He still has no clue!
Thanks
#23
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I'd purchase together a package that has things for the trip - maybe a cool, wicking travel shirt, a neck cooler, an extra SD card for his camera, a headlamp, a nice, small set of binoculars, a map, etc.
#26
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Sounds good! Your plan is ambitious, but IME, doable, and yes: If you can get in Chichen Itza, Ek' Balam, Uxmal and the others on Ruta Puuc, then you will have accomplished a lot.
BTW, have you looked into the Cenotes Dzitnup? There are really close to Valladolid, and don't take much time to see....

#27
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Based on my own first experience in the Yucatan, I would rent a car from Easyway on arrival at Cancun.
Day 1 If you arrive in the afternoon, you can be in Valladolid (2 hours) to enjoy the music and dancing Sunday night on the plaza.
Day 2 Ek Balam and a cenote. Overnight Valladolid.
Day 3 Chichen Itza early and drive on to Merida perhaps stopping at a cenote.
Day 4 Uxmal and overnight Merida.
Day 5 Drive to Tulum via Coba. Overnight Tulum.(pueblo or beach hotels)
Day 6 Tulum. Beach at ruins. Overnight Puerto Morelos or Playa del Carmen for return of car next day and departure.
We actually didn't do Merida or Uxmal on our first trip in favor of spending more time on the gorgeous beach in Tulum, a place we have gone back to time after time, and snorkling with giant turtles and rays in Akumal. If you are a beach person, you will not be able to leave Tulum easily, and the 4 ruins (CI, EB, Coba, Tulum) are plenty for one trip (without overload). So you could change night 3 and day 4, or add days. Beachwise, Progresso is nothing compared to Tulum, IMO.
btw Coba pyramid (which is NOT the tallest in Yucatan as many articles claim; recently explored/opened Calakmul actually turns out to be higher)has a stout rope up the middle to help ascend and descend; EkBalam has an impressive sculpture half way up, steps in better shape, but no rope.
Day 1 If you arrive in the afternoon, you can be in Valladolid (2 hours) to enjoy the music and dancing Sunday night on the plaza.
Day 2 Ek Balam and a cenote. Overnight Valladolid.
Day 3 Chichen Itza early and drive on to Merida perhaps stopping at a cenote.
Day 4 Uxmal and overnight Merida.
Day 5 Drive to Tulum via Coba. Overnight Tulum.(pueblo or beach hotels)
Day 6 Tulum. Beach at ruins. Overnight Puerto Morelos or Playa del Carmen for return of car next day and departure.
We actually didn't do Merida or Uxmal on our first trip in favor of spending more time on the gorgeous beach in Tulum, a place we have gone back to time after time, and snorkling with giant turtles and rays in Akumal. If you are a beach person, you will not be able to leave Tulum easily, and the 4 ruins (CI, EB, Coba, Tulum) are plenty for one trip (without overload). So you could change night 3 and day 4, or add days. Beachwise, Progresso is nothing compared to Tulum, IMO.
btw Coba pyramid (which is NOT the tallest in Yucatan as many articles claim; recently explored/opened Calakmul actually turns out to be higher)has a stout rope up the middle to help ascend and descend; EkBalam has an impressive sculpture half way up, steps in better shape, but no rope.
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