Combining scuba + cenotes + archeology

[driftwood]

Glad you found it useful. Now, if your schedule is tight and you are relatively flush with funds, check out,

Aerosaab, Airplane Tours from Playa del Carmen to Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins, Holbox

Becky and I did it back in 2001 and it is the way to tour CI. We were back in PDC around 1pm.

Didn't mention it before because divers are notoriously cheap on everything but diving.

 

[wnissen]

There are some great possibilities. I've done two out the three on various trips (sometimes cenotes and ruins, sometimes cenotes and reef diving), and I guess 'efficient' is somewhat in the eye of the beholder. So, if I were planning a trip for all three activities, I would start with deciding which Mayan sites you want to see and work from there. It's hard to imagine a trip to Mayan sites without Chichen Itza on the list, and Tulum as well.

Playa Del Carmen is a good base in that you can hop on the ferry to Cozumel and there are some very good cenotes close by. But it's a long way for day trips to Chichen, Coba, and Tulum. People do it, but you might want to spend a night in Valladolid if you visit Chichen, and a couple of nights in Tulum for the ruins there and Coba, and there are good cenotes close by Tulum as well. It's not too difficult to get on the ferry from playa early in the morning, dive on Cozumel, and take an afternoon ferry back, but again it might be more fun and relaxing to spend a night or two in Cozumel as well.

That reminds me of a couple other things. One, Valladolid is often used as an overnight for for Chichen Itza, but we spent four days there and could have spent more. It's smaller, quieter, more residential than Merida, but still with plenty to do. Much more walkable, though the food and architecture weren't as good. We were also able to get Chichen Itza in the morning when it opened, which made for a great couple of hours before the tour buses showed up from Playa del Carmen and Cancun. Maybe that's not as much as a thing since the cruise ships are largely idle. You want to be there early anyway because it is brutally hot, at least 30C every day and very humid.
Two, there's no train service (yet) on the peninsula, but the ADO buses are extremely comfortable, safe, and cheap (like EUR20 round trip between Cancun and Merida). We didn't rent a car. Though if I had to choose between a masked bus ride and an unmasked rental car, I guess I would choose the latter. Renting a car can be pretty fraught, the insurance is different and you can get ripped off pretty easily. Unlike Europe, Mexico is generally a "low social trust" area.

 

[Chavodel8en]

I know you asked about archeology, but I co-sign that Merida is a beautiful, romantic colonial city with the best food and great shopping (artisan, guayabera tropical shirts, hammocks, panama hats, etc).

I've never visited Uxmal, but understand the frescoes there are interesting, and its close to Merida. No ocean diving near Merida.

 

[ibj40]

I've never visited Uxmal, but understand the frescoes there are interesting, and its close to Merida. No ocean diving near Merida.

We’ve been to all the major Mayan archaeological sites in the Yucatán (most of them at least twice). I would rank Uxmal as the most impressive of them all.

If you choose to do Uxmal, research the Puuc region. Within a short drive of Uxmal are numerous minor sites which really make the trip well worth it.

 

[wnissen]

We’ve been to all the major Mayan archaeological sites in the Yucatán (most of them at least twice). I would rank Uxmal as the most impressive of them all.

If you choose to do Uxmal, research the Puuc region. Within a short drive of Uxmal are numerous minor sites which really make the trip well worth it.

That’s interesting, thank you. Do you have a recommendation for a city to stay in west of Valladolid, toward the city of Campeche? We would like to explore the ruins out there. Thanks.

 

[horn34]

We’ve been to all the major Mayan archaeological sites in the Yucatán (most of them at least twice). I would rank Uxmal as the most impressive of them all.

If you choose to do Uxmal, research the Puuc region. Within a short drive of Uxmal are numerous minor sites which really make the trip well worth it.

Uxmal is a must see.

I've never visited Uxmal, but understand the frescoes there are interesting, and its close to Merida. No ocean diving near Merida.

lol, that's like saying the Grand Canyon is nice because of its interesting colors.

 

[ibj40]

That’s interesting, thank you. Do you have a recommendation for a city to stay in west of Valladolid, toward the city of Campeche? We would like to explore the ruins out there. Thanks.

Your route from Valladolid (on the toll road - unless you are going to stop in Chichen Itza) would take you west to Merida (have to admit haven't spent much time there, but understand it is a wonderful Spanish colonial city), and then you can either go directly to Campeche, or bear south through Muna to Uxmal. There are several hotel/resort complexes in Uxmal, as well as accommodations in Muna.

From Uxmal, you would take a winding southerly route past (or close to) several of the minor sites I referred to previously (Kabah, Sayil, Labna, Xlapak), and then west to Campeche (with a slight detour taking you past another minor site, Edzna).

Not sure how much time you are planning to spend, but the site at Uxmal, with a guide, is easily a full day. If you stay in Uxmal, visiting the closer minor sites would also be about a day.

 

[Diverspoint]

Your route from Valladolid (on the toll road - unless you are going to stop in Chichen Itza) would take you west to Merida (have to admit haven't spent much time there, but understand it is a wonderful Spanish colonial city), and then you can either go directly to Campeche, or bear south through Muna to Uxmal. There are several hotel/resort complexes in Uxmal, as well as accommodations in Muna.

From Uxmal, you would take a winding southerly route past (or close to) several of the minor sites I referred to previously (Kabah, Sayil, Labna, Xlapak), and then west to Campeche (with a slight detour taking you past another minor site, Edzna).

Not sure how much time you are planning to spend, but the site at Uxmal, with a guide, is easily a full day. If you stay in Uxmal, visiting the closer minor sites would also be about a day.

If and when you go to Uxmal to stay there do what we do. We stayes at the Uxmal Resort maya. Lots cheaper than the other that are right at the entrance of the Uxmal ruins.

Also if you understand Spanish go to the night show at Uxmal, it is pretty amazing.