Yucatan Peninsula - short time to see
 

My husband and I just won a four night stay at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun - we're going to go in mid April. Winning anything is pretty great, but I have mixed feelings about being at a glitzy resort. We're definitely not the all-inclusive types, and have decided to spend an additional five days exploring the area after our resort stay. We plan to rent a car and drive to Chitzen Itza for an overnight, and then maybe on to Merida. We've traveled extensively throughout the Pacific coastal areas of Mexico, but have not ever been to the Yucatan. Anyone have suggestions for places to stay, sights we shouldn't miss in our limited amount of time? Hotels along the way?

Ugh ... I meant to write "Chichen Itza" -

A weekend in Merida is not to be missed. They close down the streets in the center and throw a fiesta -- dancing in the streets. We stayed in Casa del Balam and enjoyed it.

About an hour south the ruins of Uxmal and the Puuc cities with their distinctive architecture are worth a couple of days. Here you're better off staying at the larger hotels. We stayed at Hacienda Uxmal. Okay, but tour groups come in in the evening.

Think about staying in Valladolid instead of the resorts at Chichen Itza. You're about forty minutes away, in an off the beaten track town. The ruins of Ek Balam are ten minutes north and feature high relief sculpture unique in Mexico. Stay at El Meson del Marques.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

I can personally recommend Valladolid as a stop - cute town, newly updated, and it's actually only about 20 minutes from Chichen Itza. We actually preferred the ruins of Ek Balam. You might want to consider a visit to San Felipe - a really cute fishing village on the gulf coast - lots of tarpon and flamingos. Photos with blog and travelogue links below if you're interested. Have a great trip!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

If you're into active stuff, there's a ton of options on the Maya Riviera--cave snorkeling/scuba, the chance to swim with/near sea turtles at Akumal, several adventure courses/ziplines. And if you like monkeys, The Jungle Place shouldn't be missed.

Also, Xcaret is a great aquapark/aquarium with an incredible night show.

Hi sc -

I am in the minority but i really disliked Valladolid.

I suggest staying at the Hacienda Chichen at Chichen Itza. The rooms are ok but the grounds are glorious. It's about 100 feet from an entrance to the site, so you can get there right after breakfast before the crowds come.

Then on to Merida. Take the old road instead of the new highway. Really interesting to pass through Maya villages. But be careful of the speed bumps - topes!

Merida is pretty great. You could easily spend several days there but 2 is enough. Explore the city one day, go out and see Uxmal the next day. And as Fra suggests, definitely be in Merida on a weekend - my recollection is that Sunday is the weekly fiesta day but I could be wrong. The Casa del Balam is really nice - highly recommend it.

You mention that you won a stay in cancun. Does that mean that you're handling your own flights? If so, by all means check out the possibility of flying into cancun and out of merida. That will save you from backtracking.

Have a great trip!

Robertino - Yes, we are going to be making our own flight arrangements, so the idea of an open jaw into Cancun and back from Merida is appealing. I think it will also depend on the car rental - if there are prohibitive drop-off fees for a second location, that may be a problem.

Does anyone have recommendations for car rental? We've rented in the USA, Canada and Europe, but never in Mexico. I do know about the extra insurance requirements, but not sure whether it's best to arrange the rental in advance from the US, or wait until we're there.

I'll add my voice to those recommending Merida (especially Sat. night and Sunday), Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc, Valladolid, and Ek Balam. I'll also throw in a few other suggestions - Izamal is worth a few hours on your way to Merida and the cenotes Dzitnup just outside Valladolid are beautiful. BTW, if you do decide to visit Xumal and the Ruta Puuc, you might want to consider spending the night at the Flycatcher Inn:

http://www.flycatcherinn.com/

Enjoy!

robertino - when were you in Valladolid? Just curious as to whether it was before or after they put so much money into appearance and infrastructure.

Great suggestions from others, have not made it to Merida yet but have stayed in both Valladolid at Hotel Meson de Marques and at Hacienda Chichen Itza as well as Hacienda Uxmal (eat at their sister hotel, they only have overpriced buffet).

While in Cancun, definitely do a day trip to Isla Mujeres an island just north of Cancun really nice and laid back with lots of nice restaurants. Take the bus or taxi to the ferry at Puerto Juarez, spend the day and rent a golf cart for about $40 and tour the island, stopping at Punta Sur, Turtle Farm and Zamas beach club. Then turn in the cart, head to one of the beach bars for drinks and sunset (Sergio's Playa Sol is popular as is Buho's with the swing bars). Last have dinner somewhere, maybe Miramar for fresh seafood near the ferry, take ferry back and cab back to hotel.

All of these suggestions are great. We spent a week in Cancun in August 2009 (HOT!!!). Definitely take the ferry to Isla Mujeres and rent a golf cart to travel around the island (rental places right at the ferry pier). We also rented a car from Alamo that we picked upo from their office at La Isla Shopping Village on the main drag in Cancun for $55 plus CDW (you must buy the CDW in Mexico because if you have an accident and have no proof of CDW you can be arrested-read Fodor's and other sites about this). We reserved online from the US. We drove to Chichen Itza using the main toll road (use the bathroom at the toll booth as there are no other facilies before Chichen Itza unless you get off for Valladolid). We stopped in Valladolid both on the way there and on the way back. Have lunch in the courtyard of Hotel Meson de Marques right on the town square and order the lime soup and the guacamole made right at the table. We bought beautiful indigenous art from a store across the street from the square and half a block from the Hotel. From Valladolid take the old road to Chichen Itza rather than taking the toll road as it is much more scenic. We stayed in the Catherwood Suite for one night at Hacienda Chichen and ate dinner there. The Hacienda is beautiful, the grounds and pool are lovely. We missed the sound and light show at Chichen Itza due to rain but I understand it is worth seeing. The Hacienda arranged for a private guide to meet us early in the AM and we walked the short distance to the back entrance. The tour was 2.5 hours and well worth getting there at 8AM due to the intense heat (it will be cooler when you are there). Also, the day trippers come from Cancun by bus and the place was full of tourists by 11AM as we were leaving. We also visited Ek Balan, approx. 11 miles from Valladolid. It is less developed than Chichen Itza and a smaller area but you can walk to the top of the pyramid and the view is astounding. We plan to return and visit Merida and some of the other Mayan sights on our next trip.

Robertino, I hated Valladolid too. Not much to see really and it just seemed like a grim town to me. Merida was nice and lively, and we loved Izamal, which was much much nicer than Valladolid in my opinion.

MonicaRichards and robertino - When were you in Valladolid? Just curious as to whether it was before or after they put so much money into appearance and infrastructure.

Congratulations on your win and your planning.

I'll chime in to agree about Merida on Sundays, with the plazas full of free music and friendly people dancing. I went to Uxmal as a day trip by bus from Merida and it was my favorite of the 5 Yucatan ruins I visited--a great combination of impressive structures, vistas, and bird-filled jungle, without the mob scene of Chichen Itza. (All the ruins, Coba, Tulum, Ek Balaam in addition to the 2 above are worthy visits, but if I had to pick 1 or 2, I'd go w/ Uxmal and Coba). We stayed at Hotel Dolores Alba outside of CItza and took their bus to the ruins. Reasonably priced, friendly, with a poolside restaurant and A/C.

From Merida, I also took a tour to Cuzama, visiting 3 cenotes, including one accessed by horse-drawn carts. The tour guide said he actually preferred a different, off-the-beaten track cenote, but I don't know the name of that. Cuzama is atmospheric if somewhat touristy. I didn't make this journey, but if you are a birder, check out Celustun to the west for flamingos etc. And visit Merida's museum of anthropology.

I liked Valladolid esp. the Mercado Central (delicious breakfasts and licuados) and biking to Cenote Dzitnup.

If you do go to Isla Mujeres (a relaxing place to spend several days), try to do some snorkeling, one of the highlights of my whole trip. We snorkeled for free off the beach near Avalon Reef Club; be careful not to step on corals as you walk out. By golf cart we went to Hotel Garrafon de Castilla (skip the adjacent park), where you pay a small fee and also have access to lockers, food, drink. Last but far from least, for about $25 take a boat out to the reef for fantastic fish and corals. Had a lovely beachside dinner at Hotel Na Balam. Also went to an outdoor restaurant with absolutely fresh seafood served on big family-style tables. I think it was at Playa Lancheros but the name escapes me.

For a different experience, go south of Tulum to Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. A fairly pricey day trip from Tulum takes you by boat out in the lagoon, but if you can stay overnight, it's really worth it. Luxury platform tents on a spit between the lagoon and the Caribean. Expensive, but it was the most elegant, quiet, and relaxing leg of my trip.

Have also heard good things about Isla Holbox, if instead of renting a car and visiting ruins, you want to go to a single more remote spot.

car-free ... thanks for the great suggestions. I am beginning to realize we will have to come back again in order to see everything.

Right now, I have made plans for the first four nights at the resort in Cancun, and then to pick up a rental car and head for Chichen. We have reserved a night at Dolores Alba, and plan to see the ruins first in the evening and then to return the following morning before head to Merida. We have three nights at Luz en Yucatan in Merida - it looks like a really great small hotel - while there, we will take some day trips. Izamal for sure, and I will check out your suggestion for Cuzama.

Now, we're kind of stuck on what next. We have three more days before we have to fly home ... I would love to drive back east, see Coba, and then spend a couple nights near Tulum or Akumal, but that's a lot of hours in the car, and I hate to rush through that area.

Anyone have ideas on a good route for returning to Cancun from Merida in limited time without too much backtracking?

3 options are places we stayed last June:
San Felipe, a cute town on the gulf coast - great tarpon fishing and thoursands of flamingos

Tulum for the beach, ruins, cenotes, and good nearby snorkeling and access to the Sian Ka'an Reserve.

Isla Mujeres for snorkeling, beach, easy access back to CUN for your flight home.

Can't wait to read about your trip! Happy trails!

hopefulest, we were in Valladolid last summer (of 2009).

Thanks, Monica - we were there in June 2010 and found it to be lovely and lively - bright colors and new, clean sidewalks and streets, a beautiful, shaded parque central, beautiful, huge public market, great ruins and cenotes nearby, not grim or boring to us at all. To each her own!!

We spend part of the winter in Puerto Aventuras.....lovely little village (they refer to it as a tourist complex)-with a beach, 9 hole golf course, lots of restaurants, fishing boats and rentals, shopping and relaxation.

From PA it's only a few minutes to Akumal-a small complex with nice beach, a few restaurants, diving, and a few shops-also, very pretty.

Tulum is a 1/2 hr. from us and has an absolutely gorgeous beach, great ruins and small eco hotels with lots of nice restaurants.

Then to the north of us, is the town/city? of Playa del Carmen with a very lively 5th avenue loaded with shops and restaurants. Mariachis, etc. parade up and down the main street-touristy, yes, but lots of fun. We usually go there twice a week. Playa also has a beach, is near the Playacar golf course and has a lot of night life.

North of Playa is the small fishing village of Puerto Morelos that also has a nice beach and a few restaurants and shops.

Puerto Aventuras is an hour from the airport in Cancun, so it's very well located. From the airport there's only 1 turn to get onto highway 307 which is the N/S route between Cancun and Belize.

Wonderful suggestions ... I guess the real question is whether it's worth it to drive from Merida to Tulum or Akumal for only a couple days stay before having to to fly home from Cancun?