ColoradoChica

Planning about a week long trip to the Yucatan in April. I am desperate just to get this trip planned! There is so much info out there! We are flying into Cancun. Thinking of staying in Merida a few days, visiting the town itself and nearby ruins...then venturing to Playa del Carmen. I've heard Merida is fun to see on the weekend, Sunday in particular. Is it difficult to fly into Cancun and head directly to Merida? Rent a car or bus? How long a drive? What about Celestun? Campeche?
Any suggestions/advice about flying into Cancun and heading directly to Merida then to Playa del Carmen? or vice versa?
I think we are planning on arriving on a Friday and leaving on a Friday.
We're hoping to just make two lodging reservations to keep it simple. In Merida and Playa del Carmen. Any suggestions on places to stay around $40-50/night in these places?
We'd also like to save a little money by not renting a car for the whole time. What about renting a car for a few days? Can you just rent when you get there? We kind of like to play it by ear on vacations with some planning if you know what I mean!
What are some recommendations about taking buses? For instance, from Merida to Celestun? to Uxmal?
For the ruins, getting there early in the mornings seems like the best idea which is why we might want to rent a car for that day.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

ColoradoChica

I realize I am being unrealistic on my price range for lodging. What about lodging recommendations around $75-80/night???

nathan_ast

Playa del Carmen is about an hour drive from Cancun - Merida is about two hours.

I've been to Yucatan twice - in both cases didn't spend any time in Cancun. Got my rental car at the airport and drove away as soon as I could.

In Playa del Carmen, I highly recommend the Shangi La hotel. It's about 2 miles from the crowded part of the city.

I wasn't impressed about Merida - it's good to visit, but wouldn't use it as a base. With a car, you could spend spend a couple of days each in Chichen Icha and Uxmal. I stayed at the Villas Archeologicas (belong to Club Med) and loved them.

As for a rental car, I think your best chances are to rent something from here. Check Expedia, Orbitz etc.

pepper131

For lodging in PDC - check out playadelcarmeninfo.com - there are quite a few hotels in your range.

Have you looked into locogringo.com? I think they book some places in Merida and others.

ColoradoChica

Thanks for your replies! So is it crazy to pick up a rental car at the Cancun airport (we'll arrive @ 5:30am-taking a cheap overnight flight) and drive the 2 hours or so to Merida?? We were thinking of staying there thru Sunday then heading to Playa.

RobertSDF

Not crazy to pick up a car and drive to Merida--my only problem is, I wouldn't really want a car IN Merida. The buses are excellent--you can take a bus directly from the airport to the Cancun central bus station and then one of the many excellent buses to Merida.
Do plan to spend Sunday in Merida. The center of Merida is great on a Sunday. Unlike one of the other posts, Merida is one of my favorite cities.

ColoradoChica

thanks for the last reply, Robert SDF.
how long a bus ride is it to Merida from Cancun airport?
do you know how long a drive (by car) it would be?

RobertSDF

The bus trip is about 3:30 hours. Since these operate non-stop over the toll road, your driving time would be about the same.
If you want to check fares and schedules, go to www.ticketbus.com.mx
(the ADO buses are first class, the ADO-GL are luxury and the UNO, the top of the line. All are good.)

RobertSDF

I might add, those times are from the Cancun central bus station--it is about a 30 minute bus ride to the center from the airport. So, if you rented a car at the airport, you would save time since you do not have to go to the center enroute to Merida--this would probably cut your trip to about 3 hours.
The bus is a really good option if your are not really pressed for time.

ColoradoChica

Thanks again for the info Robert. We're looking forward to the trip!

norbrad393

We love Merida--so has everyone we have talked to. Very reasonable accomodation--couple hundred year old house converted to hotel called Posada Toledo, a few blocks from town center. Probably $25 to $40. No AC--ceiling fans. Or Hotel Caribe or Gran Hotel, both just a block from central park. Both more expensive than P. Toledo. Can find them on line and check prices. Used to be in Fromer's Guide Books--may still be.
In Playa try Playa Maya. On beach about $100 a day high season.
Norm

IndyMegan

I'm going to Playa in a few weeks, and I've just researched practically every hotel there. (I'm also a travel writer and have been to Playa a couple times, for what that's worth.) There are absolutely hotels in your price range, even lower mid-April. The best 3-star boutique hotels I found were La Tortuga, Riviera Caribe Maya, and Riviera del Sol. Communicating with each by email was easy. (The week I'm going, I could hardly find any availability at these or any other little hotels!) Tortuga has swim-up rooms - you can step from your patio into the river-like pool. Riveria Caribe Maya has something similar. La Tortuga is more in the center of town. Both Rivieras are on the north edge of Playa, more peaceful but only a few block to the heart of the action. I think Riviera del Sol is the closest of the three to the beach.

There's a category of funky, Euro-chic hotels in Playa, like Deseo and Mosquito Blue. There's also a 3.5-star category of little hotels that are a bit more expensive than the three I talked about: Blue Parrot, Shangri-La, etc. My friend recently stayed in 2/2.5-star called Hotel Del Fin and said it was fine, just basic. They got the penthouse for around $50 or $60/night in May.

I rented a car once at the Cancun airport and will never do it again. It was from Hertz or Alamo - some international chain. They wanted a $1,000 deposit - hold on my card - and we faced off for more than an hour before I got it to $400 and accepted. Other customers there said they've had similar experiences in Cancun, but I've never read anything like this in forums. I have also rented a car on Cancun's strip - across from the Omni - and it was a breeze.

CozAnnie

We recently drove from Cancun to Merida. We stayed at a B & B called Casa Esperanza. Words cannot describe how wonderful this place was. We had originally planned on spending 2 nights in Merida but loved this place so much, we extended our trip another night. Owned by a Canadia and her husband (Claudette & Sergio), they were the BEST hosts ever. Please check out their website: www.casaesperanza.com. Our deluxe room was about $80/night. We parked our car nearby and really never used it again until we left. Plus parking is almost impossible, once you find a space you don't want to lose it! We did drive to Uxmal one day and really enjoyed it. But the best part of Merida was just getting out and walking downtown and seeing what you can discover. We met some wonderful people, had great food, and found some really interesting and eclectic shops. All in all, a great little min-vacation.

Poppa

Yep, I love Merida, too.

Car is a good thing to get to sites outside twon. I recommend Uxmal and the Puuc Route.

Hotel Dolores Alba is near center and has offstreet parking.

Buses are fine, but tedious. If you don't want a car, ask at your hotel froma private driver. Should be reasonable.

Little_Man

We've rented a car in Cancun and had absolutely no problems. Can highly recommend Executive Car rental...

RobertSDF

Agree with Frankie--have never had a problem with a car rental at the Cancun airport. Also recommend Executive--good prices and great service.

swimmr

I've used Executive in Merida and Cozumel. Friendly staff and great service. The car (a Dodge Neon) held up very well after a week of driving around the Yucatan and Quintana Roo. I would use them again in the future.

YucatanVacation

On vacation recommend you take the buses and relax and save$$$
Here are some of our family's favourite Yucatan vacation places at
http://yucatanvacations.blogspot.com/

ColoradoChica

Thanks for all the replies. We leave this week for our Mexican vacation! Looking forward to using my Spanish!
Question: We have rented a car through Expedia for a few days.
Does anyone know anything about Mexican car insurance?
Is this covered through Expedia...meaning, have we already paid for this?
Thanks!

fromnyctomexico

Some of the information provided by others is incorrect. I live in Merida, so here is what I can tell you. It is a 4 hour drive (and about 4-1/2 hours by bus) from Cancun. Playa del Carmen is 45 minutes from Cancun; best to do a few days in Cancun/Playa del Carmen and then head to Merida.

If you dont speak any spanish and dont want to drive, the buses are perfectly safe and very nice, like charter buses(the companies are ADO and UNO and they both have websites). Check out casa mexilio (casamexilio.com) for a bed-and-breakfast experience or try hotel trinidad, hotel conquistador, or the holiday inn here is very nice as well. there are budget hotels that are also supposed to be nice, such as hotel colonial or mision merida. It is Mexico. you can just do everything when you get here, even your hotel. Merida is not a huge tourist destination, so dont worry about everything being all booked up. Have fun!