Hi

We are three guys renting a car and traveling in the Yucatan for 8 days.
We need some help on which route is the best to take for ruins, as well as how long you think we stay in Merida

Many thanks

Cobus - Cape Town , South Africa

www.mayan-traveler.com

2 days Merida max...

Hi, cobus -

I think most people would find about 2 days right for Merida itself. Do try to make one of those days a Sunday, when the heart of town is closed to vehicles and the streets are filled with markets and dance performances and so forth.

As for the best route for visiting ruins, it depends on which ruins you want to visit and where you will be arriving and departing. Tell us more!

Thank you for your reply ! This is what we plan to do, but have NO IDEA where to stay or how long in each area

TOWNS to research: (not in order of direction traveling):
Valladolid
Playa del Carmen
Akumal
Tulum
Coba

RUINS to visit ( might be close to above mentioned town or have own accommodation close by ):
Dzibilchaltun
Uxmal
Loltun Cave
Labna
Chichen Itza
Coba
Tukum
Ek Balam (a must!)

Dear Kja.

I see you have been assisting some other people on similar issues and you are an authority on it! What luck for me!

It would highly be appreciated if you can give some guidelines(only if you have time)

We driving for 8 days starting at Cancun ending at Cancun, via Merida and all the sites. But I have no idea what direction to go and where to stop. We obviously want to go past Tulum and all the small towns on the coast back to Cancun.

Can you help with a rough itinerary ?

Many many thanks

You need a good map if you don't have any idea which direction to go in. There is a main highway both south and west of Cancun. The highway south will take you to Tulum and then you can head west to Valladolid and Chichen Itza. You could also head west on the toll highway to Merida first and then south. The toll highway is quite expensive.
So, for the ruins. I have visited Tulum, Coba, Chichen Itza, Muyil and Ek Balam. If you head south on highway 307 it will take you about 50 minutes to get to Playa del Carmen. Depending on what time you get into Cancun this could be a first stopping point as there are plenty of hotels and places to eat/drink. If not, continue on south past Akumal (good snorkeling) and to Tulum. It will take you about 1 1/2 hours to get to Tulum from Cancun. If you get into town in Tulum and want to go to the beach or stay on the beach turn left at the Coba road and head east out to the beach. There will be a fork in the road at the end. Head south to plenty of beach clubs and small hotels. Head north (left to my favorite beach club El Paraiso or other small hotels).
If you decide to go to the ruins in Tulum as you drive south on 307 you will first see the entrance to the ruins on your left before you get to the town. This is a smaller site and will not take you long to see it. You cannot climb on the structures. If you want to get to the beach while at the ruins you can do so by either walking to the left of the ruins and down a hill to the beach. From Tulum, there is a smaller site called Muyil south of Tulum which is very rustic. It is on your left and if you look fast you'll miss it. It is called Muyil. You can walk the ruin site and then take the boardwalk out to the beach. There are boats out there that will take you out on the lagoon to snorkel. Not much to see in the way of fish here but very nice/quiet. Ok, on to Coba. Again, when driving south on 307 and into the town of Tulum you will see a sign for the Coba road. There is a San Francisco de Assisi grocery store on the right. At that corner (which has a light) you would turn left to go to the beach (see above) or turn right to go to Coba, Chichen Itza, Valladolid, and Ek Balam and then eventually Merida. This road also has many cenotes and small towns along the way. Driving west on this road until you come to a roundabout. Drive 3/4 of the way around the roundabout until you are heading south and that road will take you to Coba. There is a small town there, lake, and ruin site. Very large. You can take bikes to see the site or have someone pedal you in a pedicab or walk it yourself. You can still climb the castillo here. It is still in a jungle setting with wide dirt paths. There is a charge to park (minimal), an entry fee and a fee to use the toilet. Once done with Coba go back out to the roundabout and go 3/4 of the away around again so that you are heading west. Take this road to the end and then turn right at the intersecting road. This will take you further west to Valladolid. This is where you might need a map unless someone else has better directions. Ek Balam will be to the north of Valladolid and then slightly east. Excellent site! You can hire a guide (which I forgot to mention at Coba) or walk it yourself. Smaller site but quite impressive with the King's Palace. It is a bit off the beaten path so look for directions on this one before you go. There is also a cenote nearby that I've been to but darn if I can remember the name. Going back to Valladolid, there is a central square where you can park and look at the park, have something to eat (there is a large, open air food court on the north side of the square), and stay overnight. I don't know about any of the hotels there as I've not stayed in any. Traveling west again out of Vallodolid you will come to Chichen Itza. It's very large and impressive, quite manicured compared to Coba and the ball court is amazing. You can no longer climb the castillo here. There is a higher price for entry here than the other sites and there is a charge for parking. There is also a restaurant inside. The hotels in the area that are adjacent to the site seem to get good reviews. Now, from this point someone else will have to jump in on how to get to Merida as I have not done that yet.

As far as driving in Mexico. Watch out for topes that are marked or unmarked. They are the bumps in the road that will take off the bottom of your car.
Be careful when going to the Pemex (the national gas station). There are several scams that the attendants try with rental cars including not zeroing out the pump, switching the amount of money you gave and then claiming you didn't give enough, or changing the amount on the pump after they start pumping. They will try and distract you with questions as they are pumping so do these things. Just be watchful, get out of the car if necessary and observe, and then pay only a set amount (do not ask them to fill it up as that's when many of these things seem to happen). The Pemex in Puerto Aventuras south of Playa del Carmen seems to get a lot of complaints for this.
Do not speed! Even though everyone around you will seem to be speeding, the police know the rental vehicles and will pull you over even though you may not be speeding. They will be looking for money. If your were speeding then that's your problem. If you were not and it is obvious you are being stopped just for money then you have two choices - pay them, or be polite and insist that they take you to Cancun to pay the ticket. That will usually end up with them just giving you your license back. Actually, I've never heard of them actually taking someone to the police station in this case.
Do not leave valuables visible in your car - put them in the trunk.
These are just heads up kinds of things ... not necessarily a worry.
There may also be police checkpoints or military checkpoints along the highways. Especially recently. Don't be nervous about this unless you are carrying drugs. Then I would be very nervous.

Have fun. The ruins are amazing, the food is outstanding and the beaches are beautiful.

Colokid !

I am you Eternally grateful. We are going to follow your plan. Thank you SO much for taking the time to write all of this to me, I really appreciate your help.

Cobus
Cape Town - South Africa

ps. where you from ?

Hi again, cobus -

colokid has given you excellent advice!

While in the Valladolid area, you might consider stopping in Dzitnup for its two amazing cenotes. I wasn't driving, so I can't give you directions, but it is just outside of town. The cenotes are Cenote X'keken and Cenote Samula.

Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc are best seen in 2 day trip from Merida. Two days would give you enough time to see the ruins at Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, and Labna, as well as the Loltun caves. You can stay in Uxmal or in nearby Santa Elena. These are magnificent sites, well worth the trip IMO.

I didn't go to Dzibilchaltun or Coba so I can't advise you on those ruins. The Yucatan Today Web site is quite informative. See:

http://www.yucatantoday.com/eng-destinations.php

BTW, depending on your time and interests, you might consider stopping in Izamal on the way from Valladolid to Merida - very charming!

Hope that helps!

Thanks. I've done this several times and those were the cenotes I went to. I live in both the U.S. and in PDC, MX.

Hi kja and colokis

We have 8 days and 9 nights to spend in Yucatan, where would you spend a spare day?

currently we have

cancun 1 night
merida 3 nights
Valladolid 3 nights
Tulum 2 nights

I know you said 2 nights max in merida,and maybe 3 nights in Valladolid is a bit to much ? But I had to allocate 2 spare days somewhere. Do you perhaps know of other nice places we could stay at that could help fill the time ?

Once again, thank you for your valuable information

Cobus

I think 3 nights in Valladolid is too much. See my other post but if I had some extra time and a car I would either stay more time in Tulum if you want the quiet, laid back kind of thing. Or head north and snorkel in Akumal bay and hang out there, or head further north toward Cancun and stay in Playa del Carmen which is a bit more busier, has lots of good restaurants and places to hang out and people watch and beach clubs or you could take the ferry over to Cozumel from PDC, or you could head further north and stay in Puerto Morelos which is on the water but a quieter town, or you could head up to Cancun and ferry over to Isla Mujeres and stay there or head to the ferry to Isla Holbox. Not been to IM or IH but they sound wonderful. Or if you want to snorkel and take a boat ride go up to Cancun and take a boat over to Isla Contoy which is a bird sanctuary and snorkeling tour which I've been wanting to do for years and just haven't gotten to it yet.

I think you might better spend the two extra nights at Uxmal, as suggested above. I think the ruins of that city and the smaller Puuc sites are perhaps the most interesting in the Yucatan, excepting maybe Ek Balam. So maybe:

1 Cancun
2 Merida
2 Uxmal
1 Valladolid
2 Tulum

On the morning you leave Uxmal you can stop at Chichen Itza, continuing on the Valladolid in the evening. See Ek Balam the next morning, then proceed to your beach destination.

I think that would give you the most time in the most interesting areas. Oh, make sure you're in Merida for the weekend!

Read our suggestions for road trips:
The Puuc Route: http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinat...puuc-route.htm
and, The Convent Route:
http://www.yucatantoday.com/destinat...vent-route.htm

They can be taken over the course of a few days, or as day trips from Merida.