Suggestions for Yucatán Peninsula

Funny you should post this now! I’m on the Yucatan Peninsula right now. We’re touring with a company called Lawson’s Yucatan and having a great time. We’re basing in Valladolid and Merida and seeing lots of cenotes and archaeological sites. My blog - with tons of detail and pics from yesterday and today is linked in my bio. Click on my name for this posting and my bio will appear. We’re also doing Playa del Carmen at the end but I don’t think we’re doing many sites from there. We chose a small resort right near the town.

Thank you for the tips, Valerie! I’m very excited to stay posted on your blog. What a great resource!

Chichen Itza is a must see.

Coba is great. It’s situated in the jungle with a lot of shade. Not sure what is going on there now but in the past you could walk it, bike it and or have a guy do your peddling for you. It’s on the highway out of Tulum about 30 minutes. You can also get to Chi Chen Itza on this road as well.

I stayed in Ek Balem so can’t help with what you actually asked for, but since you’re going to Chichen Itza anyway, you might consider a stop at the Ykodzonot cenote that’s just a bit further on. It’s a nice one and has a pretty good restaurant inside as well. I think the story was it was developed by local women but don’t quote me. Ek Balem was also nice (both the cenote and the site), but the ruins are less developed than others you’ll see and it’s a bit out of the way.

One other note, although we are not there yet, we booked the Mahekal Beach Resort in Playa del Carmen. I liked it because it is right in town for easy wandering around AND right on the beach. I also liked that it was a smaller resort and had kind of jungle/treehouse architecture that appealed to me.

And take advantage of the cenotes. I do one everyday and they are a highlight of my entire life. They’re everywhere around here. Try to find a driver to take you to a few. There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. We went to one today that had the fanciest locker area, a gorgeous walkway down with butterflies everywhere and then a gorgeous pool. And we were the only ones there. Every day as we drive around, we pass dozens and our driver says many of them are magical but you need someone who has scoped them out.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I read about recent murders in Tulum, and am a bit apprehensive about staying there now, but every time I read more about the location I am eager to see the beaches, jungle and cenotes! We will spend five days in Cancun and then venture south but still not sure where. We will definitely want to visit Tulum ruins and Chichen Itza on the second half of our trip, and will rent a car. I look forward to reading more tips!

We found Chichen Itza very commercialised in comparison with other sites. Not to say don’t go, but you could check out the equally interesting sites of Edzna, Kabah and Uxmal which are just as interesting and have them, in our experience, pretty much to yourself.

Also the coastal city of Campeche is a delight!

Ian

Totally agree with Ian above and would happily re-visit Uxmal, without missing Chichen Itza at all.
Good luck Flannery.
I am done. The end.

Thank you all! Two more weeks 🤞

Double check that Uxmal is open. They closed it last week for some COVID cases in tour guides. I tried to look quickly for you to see if it's open again - or if there is a projected date - but didn't see anything.