We will be spending 5 weeks in Mexico this winter.
~2 weeks will in the Yucatan in February. Other than visiting Cancun eons ago this will be our first visit to the Yucatán and no desire to see Cancun again. We are not beach people and enjoy museums, ruins and just exploring the area and learning more about the culture. My preference is not to do 1 nighters, staying longer in one destinations and doing day trips about an hour+ long. However if a 1 nighter works I'll do it. We enjoy driving ourselves and have driven many times in Mexico.

Currently I am thinking 1 week in Merida at an AirBnB without a car.
Then we would pick up a car and drive to Valladolid stoping at Izamal and Chichén Itzá and ending in Valladolid, for 2 or 3 nights. I have read to try and get to Chichén Itzá early so would it be worth it to spend 1 night there, see Chichén Itzá in the early am and then go on to Valladolid for 2 nights?
In Valladolid we would spend one day exploring the town and the other seeing close by ruins and a cenote. Suggestions?

I found a place in Seyé that I would like to stay for 3-4 nights and do some day trips from there including Celestún and the Puuca trail with Uxmal being the highlight. Other suggestions for places to visit from there?
For Celestún would it make sense to visit it from Merida? We could pick up the car a day early in Merida and and do a day trip from there instead of from Seyé?

From there we fly onto Mexico city and bus to Puebla

What do you think of the distribution of days? Ideas for ruins, cenotes and towns not to be missed?

Thanks for your thoughts!

When we visited Yucatan we stayed in Merida and took day trips to Chichen-Itza and Uxmal, arranging for transportation with local tourist agencies; in both instances it turned out to be taking a van with half a dozen other people. Once at the sites we were on our own, with just a pre-arranged return time. That was in 1983, so locales like this market may have changed:

I am tagging along for the ride as I am planning something very similar. So far I am looking at circa 10 days , 5 in Merida and then?? Maybe some day trips out of Merida and then Ruta Puca/Uxmal etc. Celeste. Mlgb commented on my post re day of the dead and a tour taken around the Yucatan covering some of the places you mention and others so I am using that as a starting point though I wont have time for all the places on that tour but am thinking a number can be visited from Merida. May skip Chichen Itza as I haven't heard good things (overcrowding etc)Very much in the initial stages so invested to see what comes up.

Thanks! I bet the ruins will have a ton more people these days.

I think I will spend the night at Chichen Itza and get there first thing in the am. Or even late in the day which we find to have way less tourists at most places. Seems like 10-3 is when the hordes are at most sites.

I would consider skipping Chichen Itza to spend more time on the Ruta Puuc. Did you see the article I linked for crellson?

Kabah and the Codz Poop. We stayed In Uxmal rather than Merida.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/travel/e...oliday-season/

Check the drive time Merida to Celestun. Flamingos will be around in February. Might be worth an overnight. The guide we used, Alex Dzib, has an Airbnb listing in Celestun. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/38522588

He can also set you up with tours. If you have access to Planet Earth 3, Episode 8 Coasts, includes flamingos and Alex was involved with the drone photography.

mlgb - "I would consider skipping Chichen Itza to spend more time on the Ruta Puuc. Did you see the article I linked for crellson?"
Thank you! Skip CI because of crowds or other reasons? Yes, I saw the article you linked for crellston

Yes, crowds.

We spent the night at Chichen Itza and had the entire place to ourselves for a couple hours in the morning .... in 1984, a year after Michael (!). Guess that is unlikely to happen these days. By staying overnight we also saw the sound & light show, which we thought was way cool at the time. Looks like that is now only on Friday - Sunday.

From Merida we did day trips to Uxmal, which was fabulous, and Izamal, which was excellent, especially because we were there at Easter for a crucifixion reenactment. Wonder if that still goes on? But even without this we thought Izamal was really nice. We had fun on the horse-drawn carriage ride.


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Our hotel in Merida is still there (!), though it looks like they have done some modernizing since I took this picture.
https://www.doloresalba.com/nueva/merida.php


We had one of our most memorable meals in Merida: a fresh tortilla, an avocado, and tomato from the market. Sit on a bench in the square.

Sorry, no current information, but nice to reminisce. Have a great trip.

In Tulum there is also a very photogenic Mayan temple right by the sea. The whole coast there is very beautiful with white sand.
There are also many cenote caves around Tulum with crystal clear water where you can swim, snorkel or dive. A trip to the island of Cozumel might also be worth considering...