Mexico has stolen many hearts! We would like to share this route with you. A 27-day road trip, to visit Yucatan and Chiapas. You fly out and back at Cancun Airport. Starting in an undiscovered paradise: Isla Mujeres . From there you set off on a road trip along well-known highlights and lesser-known pearls: Chitzen Itza , Uxmal and Campeche in Yucatan. It then go to San Cristobal de las Casas and Palenque via Kolem Jaa . Then you return to Yucatan via Calakmul, a little-visited Mayan complex in the middle of the jungle. And end up in laid back Puerto MorelosAkumal , two jewels on the Riviera Maya. You can easily make an independent car tour through Mexico. You can book the flight, hotels and car separately. We will share a route from day to day with you and some tips.
About this car tour through Mexico: Yucatan and Chiapas
This self-drive tour starts in Cancun and ends there as well. You can make this trip in this order. You can also do this trip in reverse, clockwise. Then of course you have to find out exactly how to return the car and the transfer to Isla Mujeres. The prices mentioned in this route are indicative and may vary per travel period. The listed hotel rooms or apartments always state the price for two persons and the price for four persons. You can also make this road trip through Mexico with children , they will really enjoy it!
Day 1 – Departure and arrival Cancun
The trip starts in Cancun. This is the international airport where most flights are going to.
From Cancún airport to Isla Mujeres
Be prepared: you will probably be exhausted from the long flight, and on top of that the heat. It is very helpful if you know in advance how to get from Cancun Airport to Isla Mujeres .
From Cancún airport to Isla Mujeres
There are three ways : by ADO bus (and a short taxi ride), by shared minivan, or by pre-booked transfer.
By ADO bus : Walk out of Cancun airport. You will find the ADO bus station nearby. You must buy tickets for Cancun Downtown. A single ride costs USD 5 and the bus runs every half hour. Once in Downtown, you can’t miss the waiting taxis. You must ask the taxi to drop you off at the Puerto Juarez ferry . A ride costs 5 USD (negotiation allowed!). This is the cheapest option if you are alone or with two.
With shared mini-bus : This is slightly more expensive. The biggest drawback: you have to be prepared to wait. The mini-bus does not leave until it is full and most tourists get off in Cancun’s hotel zone. The stop for Isla Mujeres comes next, so you may have a long wait.
Pre-Booked Private Transfer : This is of course more expensive if you are traveling alone or in two, but if you are traveling as a family this is a good alternative. With a private transfer you pay for the entire vehicle. A ride of about 30 minutes to the ferry.
Take the ferry to Isla Mujeres
Gran Puerto Cancun (Ultramar) ferry is located in Puerto Juarez, minutes from Downtown Cancun. The boats depart every half hour from 5:00 AM to 9:30 PM and then every hour until 11:30 PM. The crossing itself takes 20 minutes. Conversely, the first crossing from Isla Mujeres to Cancun is at 5:30. Ferries run every half hour from then on until 9:30 pm. Then they go every hour until 00:00 (22:00, 23:00 and 00:00). You pay $250MXN / €12 pp for a return ticket.
Overnight on Isla Mujeres
You will sleep 3 nights on Isla Mujeres. Here you can recover from the flight and get used to the azure blue sea, the palm trees and the sun!
Our choice: Itzé Hotel
This is a nice deal! With a score of 8.2 and great value for money. Nice, clean rooms and a very good location. You sleep there for $68 in a double room, by far the best deal on this island! You can also book a bed in a dormitory here for $29. Oh yes, and the breakfast is delicious! Book here !
Day 2 – With your feet in the sand on Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres or “Women’s Island” is a real paradise, with white sand, an incredibly blue sea, palm trees, and not yet overrun by tourists. Funny detail: the best way to explore the island is with a golf cart! That is what you are going to do today: you rent a golf cart (for rent everywhere) and cruise around the island. Enjoy the sun, the sea and the relaxed atmosphere. You can stop anywhere you want.
Day 3 – Swim with whale sharks near Isla Mujeres
You are going to do something very special today: you’re going to swim with whale sharks ! A thing that will probably on your bucket list.The cheapest option departs from Isla Mujeres and costs USD 140 pp. Tours departing elsewhere are more expensive because the distance to be covered is greater.
You can pre book a tour through Carey Dive Center . But our tip is usually not to book a tour in advance, because the tours are much cheaper on the spot. However, for swimming with whale sharks, we definitely recommend doing that. Places are really very limited , so make sure you have a spot and enjoy an encounter with these special, gentle giants. Each year, between early June and mid-September, these beautiful animals flock to the waters near Isla Mujeres, Holbox, and Contoy. Although they are wild animals, you are almost guaranteed to see at least one whale shark during this time. Tours from Isla Mujeres start at approximately 8:00 AM and end at approximately 2:00 PM, and can accommodate a maximum of 8-10 peoplealong on a tour.
Whale shark info: A whale shark can live to be 70 years old and 14 meters long. You get really close and you can swim and snorkel with them (respect your distance). You will find it very impressive.
Day 4 – From Isla Mujeres to Chitzen Itza
+/- 200 km and 2.5 hours drive
Today you have to get up on time. You will go back to the mainland by ferry and pick up your car. Often it will turn out to be cheaper to rent a car at Cancun Airport and return it there. Check the prices in advance : you can also rent a car in Cancun Downtown and return it at another location. A good site to compare is Rental Cars. Their prices are all inclusive. You have no worries on site and you do not need to take out any additional insurance. Barely 15 minutes after you arrive in the office, you will be already on your way. Aprox $1500 for the rental car, for 23 days.
You will drive via Valladolid , where you can have lunch in the center and look around, after that you can go to your hotel in Pisté.
Spend the night near Chichén Itzá
Pisté and the villages around it are the base for a visit to Chichén Itzá. Most tourists come from the Riviera Maya or from Valladolid to visit Chichén Itzá, on an (overpriced) day trip. Staying close to Chichén Itzá really has its advantages, as we have already described above. We recommend to stay for 2 nights .
Our choice: Hotel Puerta Chichen
2 km from Chitzen Itza, the wonder of the world! With a nice swimming pool, free parking in front of the door and air conditioning, a great hotel! With a score of 8.7 on Booking.com no less! You already have a room for two people for the incredible price of aprox $61 (breakfast to be paid separately). Yes, hotel Puerta Chichen is highly recommended.
Day 5 – Wonder of the World Chichén Itzá
Chichén Itzá is called one of the New Seven Wonders of the World . Today you are going to see this with your own eyes! Chichén Itzà opens at 8:00 sharp, Advice: to stand at the entrance around a quarter to eight. It may seem like an exaggeration, but trust us, it’s not. The average number of visitors is 8000 people per day. That is excluding the many sellers, who come from far and wide with their market stalls! If you want to take beautiful pictures, without hordes of tourists or countless market stalls, come early! Moreover, you still have a few hours before it gets very hot. You’re well on your way when the big tour buses arrive. This happens around 10 a.m. and then continues throughout the day until about 2 p.m.
Day 6 – From Chichén Itzá to Mérida via Izamal
+/- 130 km and 1 hour and 45 minutes drive (via Izamal)
A short travel day today. You will visit Izamal, a small, colonial town. Maybe you have already seen pictures of it, but in real life it is even more beautiful. The town is dominated by the truly enormous Convento de San Antonio de Padua, dating from 1561. The convent is located in the middle of the center and has several entrances that all lead to the beautiful courtyard. After St. Peter’s in Vatican City, this is the largest courtyard in the world. The monastery is painted mustard yellow and the houses, shops are too. A beautiful whole. After visiting the monastery, we advise you to get lost in the yellow streets, find shade in the parks, and take a horse-drawn carriage ride through the center. The horses are neatly dressed and waiting on the square next to the monastery. You agree on a price in advance,
Izamal is really a typical Mexican town, where only a few tourists wander around. People here are still genuinely friendly and surprised when they see white tourists. You might get stormed by the police, who, often just want to have a chat with you and explain what beautiful things their town had to offer. If you have the time, you can also visit the typical Mexican shopping center: with food stalls, fresh fruit, a meat hall with shoe shops and numerous stalls with trinkets.
After this you will drive on to the city Mérida!
Mérida is a large city, with a beautiful colonial center, where you can easily stay for a few days. From here you can plan a lot of trips.
Spend the night in the heart of the city
In the heart of the city at only 1 block from the main square we found a great place to stay! This Airbnb named Casa Naranjo is located in the centre of the city but is very quite and peaceful. You can stay with 6 persons maximum and will have a great pool to cool down after a hot day of exploring this beautifull city. On Airbnb Casa Naranjo has a rate of 4.78 out of 5!
You can BOOK CASA NARANJO HERE
Day 7 – From the Mérida area to the Uxmal area
+/- 100 km and 1 hour and 15 min drive
You will drive from the hacienda to the surroundings of Uxmal. On the way you visit a hacienda, hacienda Yaxcopoil . This is a very beautiful hacienda, which has been lovingly restored. This hacienda aims to preserve the industrial heritage. You see the living quarters, the gardens, the stables, but you can also visit the old factory halls. In these factory halls, the leaves of the agave plant were processed into sisal. Sisal was then used to make rope, which was used everywhere… until modern techniques replaced rope and the plantations were abandoned. In the 19th century Yucatan was the center of the world for the production of sisal.
On the Riviera Maya there are caves. These are real tourist attractions, with a high theme park content. To visit a cave there, you quickly pay 80 to 90 dollars pp (not kidding!). A crazy price and nothing authentic. If you are looking for an alternative, there are a number of beautiful, non-touristy caves in this region. You can visit the Grutas de Calcehtok. These are naturally formed caves in a jungle setting, which were used as a place of sacrifice and sanctuary by the Maya. On site you can opt for the family or ‘caving’ tour.
The family tour is also very fun and here too there is scrambling, climbing and crawling! The tour was will take 40 minutes, but sometimes take 1.5 hours, because the guide (Spanish speaking) can adapt the tour on the spot. When we left the cave, the guide can show you the most beautiful viewpoint over the jungle. It will be breathtaking!
Spend the night near Uxmal
Also at Uxmal, most tourists visit this complex from Mérida. A bit the same as Chichén Itzá. We wanted to do it the same way we did with Chichén Itzá, although Uxmal is much less crowdy. To be close to Uxmal for an early visit you can stay take Santa Elena as your base. You can relax a bit and stay here for two nights .
We chose: The Pickled Onion Eco-Boutique B&B
The Pickled Onion Eco-Boutique B&B is a lovely place with a beautiful location. Here you have everything: nice accommodations, nice breakfast (included in the room price), nice swimming pool, nice hostess. A great B&B, which is rated with a 9.1! You can stay here for about $80 per night (including a delicious breakfast) for two people, for four people you can book a family bungalow for about $89! Book The Pickled Onion here.