I am glad to over my opinions; you are welcome to decide what their worth.
A few suggestions...
Don't buy round trip ferry tickets as there is no benefit and you never know when each ferry is going to run until you arrive really. They're very unpredictable. See about leaving most of your luggage with the Coz hotel for the two nights you're away. Have you already booked that flight? I would take all of my luggage, rented a large car from Easyway with no drop charges, and fly out of Cancun - but we'll do it your way. Do not count on your credit card or ticket booking site for collision insurance; that's a whole 'nother story, but make sure you get that from the car rental company. There's a lot more about renting cars in Mexico, but I'll skip it for now.
Don't drive after dark. I have, but it's dangerous.
Get the "Mayan Adventure" map
cancunmap.com-Your complete information source for Cancun, Mexico and note the gas stations are rare. Hit them early and often. There is a lot more info on there, and you may want others.
I don't know anything about Tulum hotels, but I see there are several dozen to shop based on price, etc. See
Sidestep Hotel Search I have my map loaned out but it seems like it's only an hour from PDC to Tulum. It might be easier to stay in PDC, or maybe even in Coz with the 5 or 7 am ferry depending on how early you can pick up your car? You want to avoid having the car 2 days and 2 hours as each hour is 1/3 of a day in cost.
This High-Def map is pretty good for a general view too:
http://www.locogringo.com/lgunet/images/maps/roads/masterQR.png Click the map to zoom. There is a San Francisco grocery at the intersection in Tulum where you turn to Coba. Pick up a couple of gallons of water each and anything else that sounds good. We took 1 Qt plastic jugs and mixed up Kool-aid and Crystal Light to ice down in a cooler, and back packs. You may want to buy all Liter bottles. I suggested my bud drink 1 Qt in the parking lot at Coba, then carry 2 more in his backpack; he only carried 1 -
big mistake! The rental bikes at Coba are the way to go but tie something to yours when you park it at a stop.
Don't drive thru Valladolid unless you change your plans to explore the city. Take the loop around it! We drove thru for a look-see. :silly: Never again!
I really enjoyed Hotel Mayaland at the back gate of Chichen Itza a lot. Lovely old hotel, very nicely updated, delightful restaurant, nice grounds, etc. I don't remember how good the lobby wifi was tho? I got a pretty good rate, but for that night - Villas Arquelogicas is about half as much, or Hotel Chichen Itza is a little more than VA. Be careful to book one in
Inmediaciones Zona Arqueoloqica Chichen Itza but booking site maps are not very accurate, using Google maps which sucks, so check the hotel's site for location.
We spent 3 hours at Chichen Itza and then 3 more at nearby Ek Balam north of Valladolid - not to be missed! They're both at Cenotes along the fault line from the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs, but I'm drifting. Ek Balam's acropolis has such marvelous artwork. Sunset for that date is 5:58 PM tho, which means the roads will be dark in the jungle by 6pm, so you don't want to overdo it up there.
Hope that helps you with planning. Whoever studies the maps and makes the plans needs to be co-pilot, not the driver. I cannot get my bud to study plans at all, therefore he is worthless at map reading as I drive. Works better if I navigate, he drives, and I threaten him severely for missing turns I request. :cool2:
