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Yucatan Driving Itinerary Advice

I will be flying into Cancun and have 2 months to travel around the Yucatan. I was planning on renting a car but was thinking for the first part of the trip, I probably will not need a car as I plan to stay on the islands of ISLA MUJERES, ISLA HOLBOX AND COZUMEL and the mainland area of Playa del Carmen.

QUESTION: If arriving into Cancun, what routing would make the most sense with transportation so I can visit Isla Mujeres, Isla Holbox, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen and not have a rental car during the visits to these islands. What is the most efficient way to get to all of these places?

For the remainder of the trip, I was thinking of beginning my rental car in Playa del Carmen or Cancun and then proceeding to Tulum, Vallidolid, Merida, Uxmal, Celestun, Bacalar, Mahahual and returning the car in Cancun. Any other places I should stay overnight during my Yucatan roadtrip. We have plans to visit some of the main ruins but not really interested in visiting all of them.

Thanks so much for any tips on this Yucatan journey. I really appreciate it.

Was thinking about going to Belize from the Yucatan but am unsure of the best routing to get there as to whether to fly or take a bus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hallen (Post 16990137)

Any other places I should stay overnight during my Yucatan roadtrip. .

Izamal? Campeche?
Calakmul is magnificent, IMO, but a bit far from your other destinations.
Before committing to Celestun, be sure to check on whether the majority of flamingos will be there or in Rio Lagartos at the time.

The Cancun airport is about 15 minutes south of Cancun and about the same for Puerto Juarez to ferry over to Isla Mujeres. That would be my first choice. Coming back from IM you would then need to take the bus from Cancun (ADO bus line) over to Puerto Chiquita to ferry over to Isla Holbox, about 2 hours drive by bus. On your way back from Holbox, you would be better off to continue on to Merida city and head down south to Uxmal ruins From there you can easily tour back towards Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Coba ruins and onwards to Tulum from which you then enter PDC. Cozumel is just across from Playa. Logistically speaking, this is imo the best way to get around for your itinerary. Mind you, there are dozens of places for you to stop over and visit but are too many to list. Two months is plenty to for what you want to do including busing over to Belize. By the way, you are unable to cross over to Belize with a rented car unless you make arrangements with the rental company for the appropriate paperwork. That said, you have more than enough to do and visit in the Yucatán peninsula without going over to Belize...