If you're contemplating a trip to Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula but want to keep it on a car-free, true backpacker mode, I got you covered! While many people quickly ascribe the pricey resort town of Cancun to be the whole experience of the Yucatán region, there is in fact so so much to this area and if I were you I would skip Cancún altogether
In this post I will outline a fun 4 day, 4 night adventure I took from Cancún > Tulum > Valladolid + Chichen Itzá > Mérida, all on a tight budget and on public transportation. This area of Mexico does have slightly higher prices because it is an easy plane flight from the US and Cancun is a big entry point from other international destinations.
Although very touristic in the big beach towns, the Yucatán is a very worthwhile adventure because of the incredible number of Mayan archaeological zones, fairly good public transportation that links the two cities of Cancun and Merida (soon to be even better with the Tren Maya), and so many cool opportunities to splash in the water, from bright blue lagoons, the Caribbean Sea, and cenotes (sinkholes!)
When to go?
We traveled here in the off season (May- October) so definitely had greater hotel availability and lower prices, but be warned! The temperatures in July were absolutely scorching and definitely limited how well we could see some of the local attractions (we're talking over 100ºF temperatures BEFORE the humidity factor!) Read on for my learning experiences and travel hiccups so you can have a smoother adventure....
Day One: Cancún Airport > Tulum
On this particular trip that I shared with my mama, we decided to skip out of Cancun altogether and took a bus directly from the airport to Tulum, about 2 hours south. If you don't have much interest in seeing Cancun, I recommend you do the same and skip out on an expensive taxi ride by heading to your destination straight from the airport. The same bus also passes Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen.
Once arriving to Tulum, we stayed in the very affordable Wish Hotel Tulum, with a refreshing pool and fairly well located in town.
Day Two: Tulum Ruins > Valladolid
We woke up in paradise, took a dip in the pool, and found ourselves lined up for the Tulum archaeological site first thing in the morning. I had chosen the hostel for the proximity to the beach and ruins, so we walked a little bit and hailed a cheap combi van to arrive at the entrance.
Unfortunately, Tulum is very awkwardly shaped and it just makes it hard to get around without a car or bike. For instance, the town center is a good 2-3 miles from the beach, so you kinda gotta choose what your vibe is depending what you wanna do. If you don't consider this, you will probably be losing a few hundred pesos to taxis every time you want to go somewhere....
When at the entrance of the ruins, you have the option to pay for just the archaeological site, or the archaeological site and beaches (it’s an extra cost to enter a protected natural area). Since the ticket booth is still quite a walk from the ruins and beach, we decided to pay for both since we figured why not? That being said, the beach was kinda a bust for us and we were in a rush so didn’t stick around to enjoy — there wasn’t much to do other than sit under an umbrella and I think there are much more beautiful beaches in other parts of Tulum.
It was technically not my first time ever at the Tulum ruins because I went in 2020 when they had a very limited schedule and we got caught in a rainstorm, but this was the first time I got to see it for real! For being the third most visited ruins in Mexico (after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itzá), Tulum is a pretty small archaeological site with a handful of structures that look very pretty against the beach backdrop. It is very crowded with people and tours, so don’t expect to get the place to yourself!
In just under an hour, we felt we properly enjoyed the archaeological site and read the accompanying Wikipedia page to educate ourselves on what we were looking at (a good cheap travelers trick if you don’t have the time/money/interest for a tour guide!)
We walked on further to the beach(es) that were included on our ticket but once we arrived, it was just a kinda kelp-covered beach with not much to do, so in the future I would skip out on these particular beaches.
After a little recharge and a lunch in downtown Tulum (where we got really ripped off!), we attempted and failed to find a combi heading to Coba, another amazing archaeological site. Instead, we scrapped the stop to Coba and hopped on a bus to Valladolid, another major town on the Yucatan peninsula. In about 1.5 hours, we arrived to this beautiful colonial spot.
Valladolid
Valladolid is a very historic and pretty city that comes alive on Sundays! If you can manage to visit on a Sunday evening like we did, you will really be in for a treat. The evening we spent in the main plaza of Valladolid has got to be one of my favorite experiences in Mexico to date— we’re talking the most perfect tropical temperatures, families out enjoying the ambiance, ballet folklorico dancers, and vendors selling Yucatan style handicrafts all in one magical moment. We simply ate some street food and people watched for a few hours to entertain ourselves all in the plaza.
Beside the main church and plaza, you’ll want to stroll a ways down the pretty street “Calzada de los Frailes” which has a more artsy, upscale vibe that resembles the streets of San Miguel de Allende. The street ends up in another central plaza with the historic convent San Bernardino de Siena, that also has the iconic “Valladolid” letters. It was really pleasant to roam around in the evening since the middle of the days are so hot, and we felt totally safe the whole time!
We stayed in this simple bed and breakfast with a great location and a free nutritious breakfast. For me, Valladolid was the highlight of this 4 day trip and so I think it is a must-see!
Day Three: Chichen Itzá > Mérida
If you’re in Valladolid, your natural next stop has got to be Chichen Itzá! Only about 45 minutes away, you wanna take the combi that seems to be leaving all day long to the ruins. If you aren’t in a rush, your best bet may be to buy the roundtrip combi ticket to Chichen Itzá that also includes transport and entry to the nearby cenote Ik Kil.
As we were continuing onward from Chichen Itzá, we didn't go for this option but it seems like the easiest way to see it all. If you’re coming from elsewhere, there do seem to be regular buses that service Chichen Itzá regularly, since we departed the ruins on a charter bus headed to Merida.
Arriving at Chichen Itza, be warned that the admission is a little more steep! Mexican residents still have to pay about 200 pesos and foreigners 600 pesos— that’s about 35 USD. The ruins are obviously worth every penny, but the price is significantly elevated from the admission to most other Mexican archaeological sites. They do take cash and card, so you will be ok either way.
We arrived around 9am to Chichen Itzá and I was absolutely amazed and grateful! For having spent a significant part of my life exploring Mexico, it was my first time at this Wonder of the World and the wait was so worth it and more special to share with my mama! We spent a good three hours roaming the site— Kukulcan, the famous pyramid, is only a tiny part of all there is to see! Because temperatures got up to over 100F in the hot Yucatan sun, we left around midday but I wish my body could’ve help up a little longer to fully take it all in. That being said, bring in at least 2 liters of water! Since you’ll be walking around a lot in the sun, you’ll need it and the few places they sell water inside the site are crazy expensive.
From Chichen Itzá, we caught another bus onward to Merida, on the western end of the Yucatán peninsula. I had big hopes for this city because I have heard it’s a great place for me expats and digital nomads.
Mérida
First things first, Mérida was *scorching* in mid July, I think it is also known as Ciudad del Fuego. And so once again, traveling in the middle of summer in this region might put a little damper on your experience. Just the walk from the bus station to the hotel was brutally hot, and I guess this is one of those cities that really does depend on A/C to survive (with the humidity, of course the heat index is even higher!) We stayed in this affordable hotel which was actually one of the cheapest options I saw on Booking.com, and had a small pool to help with the crazy heat.
Now exploring Mérida, we really had to wait until the sun started to set to explore on foot so that we wouldn't get heat exhuastion! The city is known for being pretty, safe, and clean, although frankly we found it to be pretty chaotic and crowded. The architecture throughout the city has colorful facades and high ceilings for the heat, which gives much of the city a glamorous look. Even still, the centro was just a few main blocks in every direction and unfortunately it was under pretty serious construction, which again tampered my experience a bit.
The main city plaza was big and definitely the place to be -- live music was playing from the Governor's Palace on one side, there are horse drawn carriages roaming about and you can find the Merida letters here. We roamed around for a few hours but I think after an absolutely magical time in Valladolid the night prior, Merida just didn't quite captivate me as much! Moreso than going out of your way to see this city, Merida makes for a great base for cenotes and archaelogical sites nearby...
Day Four: Mérida > Cenotes
I had a huge itinerary planned for this day but we were traveling on public transportation in soaring temperatures, so we just ended up doing one thing, a trip to cenotes! (Other considerations were Uxmal or Mayapan ruins, Izamal or Sisal pueblo magico, among others!)
From Merida, you can just head to the combi street block that has air conditioned shuttle buses going all over the region, leaving regularly. We hopped on a combi van headed to Homun, which is right in the heart of the "Ring of Cenotes" State Reserve. Prehistorically, a huge meteoroid landed off the coast of the Yucatan which opened up a bunch of sinkholes or cenotes, and now there are an estimated thousands of sinkholes in the region, the majority likely undiscovered still!!
Along the 1 hour ride, we passed another ruin that is in the middle of the town center of Acanceh, no big deal. We just told our combi driver our destination and he dropped us right off at Santa Barbara cenotes, which lets you see 4 cenotes + included lunch for a great price!
A lifejacket was required to swim in the cenotes because they can be super deep! At the Santa Barbara cenotes, a "horse cart" takes you from the reception out to the cenotes, which is a fun way to get around, but you can opt for a bike if you choose!
Cenote water is normally not warm, so my mom didn't stick around for too long, but I did enjoy the cool water as an escape from the suffocating heat. It's also awesome to float on your back and take in the cavernous views and the beautiful chirps of the golondrinas, or swallows, that inhabit the caves. The last cenote on this tour was my favorite and opens up wide to the sky, while the others are a bit more enclosed and cave-like and thus a bit colder.
And with that, we got a tasty lunch that was included on our entry-- it is just a few more pesos and the lunch is really filling and a nice refresh after swimming!
From here, this 4 day, 4 night Yucatan peninsula trip was essentially over. The combi that we caught back to Merida DIDN'T have any A/C and although maybe I sound like a baby, I got a little bit of heat stroke from that time out in the 100+ degree heat and spent the rest of the evening in bed with my electrolyte solution before heading home the next morning. All good things must come to an end.
This trip was certainly rushed and we were limited by public transport and the temperatures, but consider it just a taste of what there is in this stunning region of Mexico! Shout out to my awesome mama that made this experience better with her companionship and mutual love for this beautiful country. Saludos!
Is there something I left off this itinerary/region that you think I should include? Comment below!!
