Thanks to all of you who have provided input on our second trip to Mexico. I though I would post our final itinerary as it may be of some interest to other planning Mexico trips.

We leave from London mid October via Madrid. The reason for flying via Madrid is that it used half the Avios points and cost half the taxes to fly business class with Iberia from Madrid compared with direct from London via BA. The saving in taxes alone covered the cost of LHR-MAD flights and Madrid hotels.

This final version is radically different from where I started. I found it very difficult to plan, partly because it is much shorter than the trips we used to take, partly because wanted to be in the right place for the Dia del Muertos celebrations, partly because we wanted to meet up with nieces who are on their gap year their and finally because domestic airline schedules didn't really fit with what we wanted. Anyway, this is the final cut;

Madrid- 2 nights

Puebla - 5 nights (side trips to Tlaxacala & Huamantala)

Oaxaca -4 nights

Merida - 6 nights (side trips to Celestun and Izamal)

Campeche - 4 nights ( side trip to Edzna)

Uxmal/Ruta Puuc - 1 night

Merida - 1 night

Mexico City - 4 nights (maybe 1 day trip)

Madrid -1 night

We have been to Puebla and Oaxaca before, but upon reflection, whilst we covered many of the key sights , I feel we didn't not make the most of our time there. May revisit some sites but are v interested in any out of the way places. Hence some of the side trips.

I am not looking for input on the actual itinerary as such but would love suggestions on sights to see, places to eat and more "off piste" experiences /places. Serious foodies , we enjoyed everything from Michelin starred restaurants to street stalls and everything in between. Friends are treating us to dinner at Pujol on our penultimate night in CDMX but equally happy with tacos at hole in the wall places, market stalls. Adventurous eaters, we will try anything (though I draw the line at Brussel Sprouts that I saw on one menu!).

​​​​​​​Never been to the Yucatan before and I was thinking of following in mlgb's footsteps and doing a road trip around the peninsula but , for a variety of reasons, we decided to take a more relaxed approach, basing in Merida and Campeche and taking trips out from there. One burning question is whether or not to rent a car from our last day in Merida to go to Campeche , Uxmal and Ruta Puuc - any thoughts. Happy using buses but did wonder about the cost of hiring a driver guide.

Any thought would be much appreciated.

It's been quite I while since I was in the Yucatan (2008), but FWIW:

Merida: 6 nights might be a bit much, even with a day trip to charming Izamal and a day trip to Celestun ... though Celestun itself did not strike me as that interesting, except for the flamingos, and they are seasonal. More precisely, IIUC, the most mature of the flock tend to stay in Celestun year round, but the majority leave for part of the year, so what you see depends on when you go. I went just after the majority of the flock left Celestun, and was still gobsmacked, but maybe that's just me. And if you DO want to see the flamingos, you might have to overnight as they are best seen in the morning, IIRC.

Campeche: Again, 4 nights, even with a day trip to Edzna, seems a lot too me.

The Ruta Puuc is, IMO, one of the gems of the area. It was certainly a highlight of my time in the Yucatan! I would strongly recommend renting a car for a one-night / two-day exploration of this magnificent set of Mayan ruins. I enjoyed an overnight at the Flycatcher Inn, but a quick check suggests it is now closed. (Do check!) Many other Fodorites have recommended the Pickled Onion. I visited the Ruta Puuc from Merida -- I picked the car up early one day and returned it late the next afternoon, leaving just enough time to use public transportation to reach Campeche in time for a late dinner.

If you trim your time in Merida and/or Campeche, you might consider adding time for Valladolid (perhaps my favorite of the colonial cities I visited in the Yucatan) or, in the other direction, utterly awesome Palenque. (If you opt for Palenque, I'll have other recommendations.)

I didn't post a trip report of my time in the Yucatan and Chiapas, but I did post on my meals. Be forewarned: it's ancient! Restaurant notes – the Yucatan peninsula and Chiapas

I'm sure you'll have some memorable moments in this part of Mexico!

I think it might be hard to visit Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc on the same day. Not knowing the details of your arrival day, I suppose you could fit one of them into an afternoon, then spend the next morning at the other before departing. We hired a driver from our hotel for the Ruta Puuc, making sure he included all the sites we wanted to see. I'm afraid the price we paid, as well as that for the drive from Merida to Uxmal, is lost in the mists of time, but it was not expensive.

Beware of hot salsa.

LOL Nelson

At Celestun there were beach palapas where you could have grilled fresh catch.

Main Flamingo season is a little later than October but there should be some around. Might want to arrange in advance.

Nelson "Beware of hot salsa."

kja - Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate that the time spent in some of these places would eb too long for many. However , we tend travel at a much slower pace than the majority. Until the last few years our trips would always be > 6 months and we would think nothing of staying in one place for weeks rather than days. I think one of the main reasons that I have found planning this trip so difficult is that is is for just one month.

On top of that major reason for the 6 nights in Merida is that I need to tie it in with the flights from Oaxaca which happen only on Tues & Sat. I picked Tues 29 October which hopefully will see us there over the period of the Hanan Pixal celebrations, a key reason for being there. I ddi look long and hard at Valladollid , mainly for the Cenotes and Ek Balaam but chose Campeche instead partly for the town but also to satisfy our cravings for seafood on the coast.

Interesting comments re your way of visiting Ruta Puuc. I shall look further into that. Not averse to renting a car as far as driving is concerned as I have driven in much worse places, it is more my not wishing to deal with their off car rental providers/scams of which I have heard there are many in Mexico1

Fra-diavolo - Thanks for your thoughts on Ruta Puuc/Uxmal. From what I gather these can be seen in one full day from Merida. Current plan is to drive the 2-3 hours from Campeche and stay one night at a hotel by the ruins in Uxmal (maybe se a few sites en route). Explore the ruins as soon as they open next morning and then follow the Ruta Puuc back to Merida dropping the car back in Merida where we will spend out last night before moving on toe CDMX. Sound like a plan?

mlgb - as I said, my original plan was to more or less follow the route you took through the Yucatan but for a variety of reasons , we decided upon a more relaxed type of trip this time. We shall be in Merida 29-Oct to 4 Nov . if we miss the birds then its no biggie as we have seen flamingos elsewhere but would still enjoy a boat trip through the mangroves etc and, especially the catch of the day! Carolyn never fails to remind me that when we first started travelling in South America , I promised here a $3 lobster in Ecuador . Never did find it - am hoping she will settle for a 100 peso grilled octopus under a palapa in Celestun or Campeche ​​​​​​​

OK, I'm confused: Are you planning to rent a car or not? Either way, I agree with Fra Diavolo that one really can't see Uxmal and the other glorious Mayan sites along the Ruta Puuc in a single day, no matter how much you pack into that one day. JMO.

Sorry you are confused kja, I obviously did not make it clear that I am open to all options. Current intention is still to rent a car when leaving Merida , use it to travel to Campeche and then leave Campeche early and take in a couple of RP sites on on to Uxmal where we would overnight. Visit Uxmal ruins as soon as they open and then travel the Ruta Puuc back to Merida. That would allow us the best part of two full days for Uxmal/RP - are you saying that is not enough?

The alternative would be to take buses to Campeche from Merida and take a tour/taxi to Edzna. probably wont need or want a car in Campeche town. Bus or tour to Uxmal from Campeche, stay overnight and tour or private driver back to Merida along RP.

I am just considering my options and looking for input from those with more experience of the Yucatan than I. Whilst I have travelled in Mexico before and found it very easy, I have never rated a car there. On the one hand. I enjoy the freedom that our own transport affords, but would like to avoid the car rental scams that I have read so much of if that really is a big deal.

You have now helped eliminate my confusion. (I think.) If I now understand, your intention would be to rent a car at some point (Merida or Campeche -- see below) and use it to drive from Campeche to some of the Ruta Puuc sites -- I would guess Sayil, Labna, and Kabah. Then, after an overnight stay in that area, spend as long as you want at Uxmal before returning the car to Merida.

If that's your plan, I agree it should work!

(And BTW, unless you are a true fanatic about caves, you can probably skip the Loltun Caves -- interesting, IMO, but also sadly damaged.)

FWIW: I think I mentioned that I took a bus from Merida to Cempeche. I took a collectivo from Campeche to Edzna. So I used a rental car just for Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc. But to (agan) put that decision in context, that I was there in 2008 -- many things could have changed!

You are, I think, correct that you would not need a car in Campeche.

I don't think there's a clear "best answer" to the question of where or whether to rent a car for your purposes. Are you considering renting the car in Campeche and returning it in Merida? I have no idea whether that's an option or what it would cost, but it could be worth exploring. So I think we can now say that confusion is back in your court. ;-0

One thought about driving in the area: There are (were?) many speed bumps -- "topes"-- along the Ruta Puuc. At certain times of day (late afternoon? sorry -- it was a long time ago!), I found it extremely difficult to differentiate them from shadows of trees. Until, of course, I hit one. Yikes!

While in Oaxaca, if you've not been, the ex-convento culiapam de guerrero I thought was worthwhile, if for no other reason for a bit of macabre history. It was where Vicente Guerrero was imprisoned and then executed. Maybe too the Casa De Cortés nearby. I'm a beer guy, and always make La Santísima Flor de Lúpulo a go-to place while in Oaxaca.
When we were in Atlixco, we had a Mole pizza at Vittorio's. It was really good. It's a chain, but they have locations in Puebla. Speaking of Atlixco, if you have the time, you should check it out. Beautiful town.

Thanks baldone. La Santisima looks like my sort of place. I am compiling a list on cantinas etc. I all of the locations we are visiting so any more suggestions would be most welcome.

Will certainly have a look at Atlixco. I had earmarked Tlaxcala and Huamantala as side trips from Puebla . Would Atlixco be a better choice do you think! Doesn't seem to be in my guide books which may be a good sign.

I think I already recommended this restaurant but will put it here, again. I had no luck with online booking,, so call them if you have the same problem. try to go for a weekend lunch and find out when you can see the process of burying the meat in the pit. You have to drive or take a taxi or collectivoñ there are no taxis in the tiny town so if you do take taxi, they need to wait or just take the collectivo back. Or just use a driver.


https://pueblopibil.mx



I had a great driver but have to look up his name let me know if I should try to find it....
Uber is popular and very reasonable in the city of Merida and also in DF:

And remember to take lots of time for those cenotes! Next time I will do a couple of week there and try a different center every day!

I´m quite excited for you!

I wrote a trip report but it was about 9 years ago...to DF, Puebla, Oaxaca.
In DF, you know to look for the tacos al pastor and the tacos de canasta, and the carnitas although they are not local to that city.

I also love barbacoa de borrego....look for that in specialized barbacoa restaurants, open only on weekends, in DF, and in the weekend market at Tlacolua. And I suppose you already know that you do not need a guide for any of the markets.

As far as Atlixco v Tlaxcala, we've been to both but probably if I had the option to revisit one, I'd go with Atlixco. But tastes & interests vary, and it doesn't mean we didn't like Tlaxcala, just that we liked Atlixco more. Probably can't go wrong with either. We haven't been to Huamantla always thought we might but just never made it.
Here's a trip report that included our time in Atlixco:
Zacatlán, Tepoztlán, Oaxaca & Atlixco

I briefly discuss two interesting day trips from Puebla, Caxcaxla's ruins and also Cantona's, in this recent Trip Advisor thread:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...ulf_Coast.html

Thanks ekscrunchy and yes you did already give me that link in another post - it has been logged in my ever expanding spreadsheet. There may be an issue with a weekend visit as I need to make sure to be in Merida for the Hanan Pixal parades and wont know the date of these until mid October apparently. Pig cooked in a pit! Whats not to like?

Thanks for the reminder re barbacoa etc. Rarely use a guide for anything and certainly not for markets where we always seem to spend a disproportionate amount of our time. We do plan on spending time sourcing bags of dried chiles, spices and other ingredients from the markets so we can try and replicate salsa and dishes back home. Also a few kitchen equipment pieces like tortilla presses, grinding stones (love the chefs knife I pick up from a knife maker in Oclatan near Oaxaca whom think was recommend by yestravel on this very forum.

Thanks for the link Chris . We have already spent a day in Cholula on our last trip so I shall throw those places into the mix for a day trip along with Tlaxacala , Atlixco etc

Ekscrunchy,

Could I trouble you to look up the contact details of that driver and either post here or send me a message? I am trying to nail down whether to rent a car for part or all of our time in the Yucatan (rates seem very reasonable) or just hire a car and driver as and when needed.

Also, are there any Cenotes you particularly recommend? We would definitely like to visit a few and hopefully, dive in at least one. Depending upon the eventual timing of the Hanan Pixal celebration, I may even steal a couple of days from Merida or Campeche to visit Valladolid which, I understand is Cenote central.

Two of my favorite Yucatan cenotes are right outside of Valladolid in Dzitnup, and they are separated by just a short walk -- Cenote X'keken and Cenote Samula. I don't know if you can dive in either / both, but I'm sure you can find out.

Crellston I will get you that name of the driver, and the cenotes he took us to near Merida. It's driving me crazy that all I remember is his first name: Mario.
Even have his photo but no name, so far.
Never fear, I am on the case and will also give you the names of the cenotes; one was, I believe, Santa Barbara:


Ekscrunchy loved this driver in Merida..now we need to track him down!

I suggest the Ka Kutzal cenote.