Merida, Cozumel, Tulum, and Cancun - Can it be done in a week? What to dive and see?

[rezoon]

The future wife and I will are going to the Yucatan. We've got a tendency to over pack both luggage and itineraries. Maybe some advice is in order here.

We arrive Cancun on December 25, 2008.

Friend's wedding is in Merida on the 28th.

Depart Cancun on January 2nd afternoon.

I'm soo sold on Cenote diving, she's not convinced, but willing to try. She's an openwater who learned about a year ago and has < 20 dives. I'm an AOW considering going for a rescue diver especially after reading the Accidents forum!

We'd love to spend time at Chechen itza, at least a day in Merida getting fat and soaking up some laid back culture and dance.

Lets not forget diving Cozumel itself!!

Any suggestions?

 

[halocline]

Well, definitely go to Chichen Itza, and it's on the way to Merida from Cancun. You should consider spending the night before in Valladolid. You could, in fact, go there directly from Cancun on the 25th, spend the 26th in Chichen Itza, head to Merida that night or spend another in Valladolid depending on how much you like it. Then you have 2 days in Merida, don't forget to go to the Cafe Habana. It's right in the center near the opera house and university. For a country that grow so much coffee it's always been a mystery to me why it's so damn hard to find a good cup in Mexico. Cafe Habana delivers in a big way.

On the 29th get up early and haul ass to playa for an afternoon cenote dive, maybe that turns into another day, so on the 30th head out to Coz for a couple of days of reef diving. Since your flight leaves Cancun in the afternoon you can dive on the 1st if you can find a dive op going out (likely) and you can even get to the Cancun airport by taking a morning ferry and a bus on the 2nd.

How's that for an itinerary?

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

Are you or your significant other in the wedding or just guests? Being just guests gives you more flexibility in your arrival in Merida. I would head to Cozumel for a day and half of diving when you first arrive, if you don't have to spend extra time at pre wedding activities.

PH

 

[deborahdelamar]

It's an ambitious schedule but Matt's itinerary is a great start. If you have nothing doing on the 27th, you may want to see Uxmal -- a beautiful archeological site not far from Merida. The music on all of the plazas in Merida is on the wedding day.

Unless you hit the road before dawn and arrange the cenote dive in advance, you may not make the Merida-Playa drive in time to dive that day -- dusk is very early this time of year and the cenote dive will require several hours of daylight. Adding Tulum at the end of the drive (another hour south of Playa) has the same problem -- you'll arrive with little time to see it.

As I'm writing, I'm thinking about this tweak: Go to Playa first and get the cenote diving on the morning of the 26th -- you won't be under a gun time-wise and should be well-rested enough to enjoy it. Leave Playa for Merida morning of the 27th -- if you have a good guidebook you can design an interesting drive as there are other ruins, caves and swim cenotes not far off the highway. See Chichen Itza on the way back from Merida on the 29th or 30th and head directly for the ferry to Cozumel. This leaves you plenty of time to explore the ruins and see Valladolid as the last ferry crossing leaves at 11pm.

 

[cavew0man]

It's an ambitious schedule but Matt's itinerary is a great start. If you have nothing doing on the 27th, you may want to see Uxmal -- a beautiful archeological site not far from Merida. The music on all of the plazas in Merida is on the wedding day.

Merida en Domingo (Merida on Sunday) is awesome people watching and street food!

Another good side trip from Merida is Izamal. It is about 45 minutes or so to the east, a small colonial town, but the entire place is painted yellow. It looks like a set from the X-Files or a Rodriguez movie. As my friend put it, "it looks like the Mayans were conquered by a pleasing shade of yellow". There is a huge monastery that was built on the site of the original main pyramid, and you can see stones used in the construction of it that were originally Mayan religious icons. The eye of Chac is a curbstone. Papa Juan Pablo visited there, and there is a statue of him in the massive courtyard. It's not a full day's sightseeing, but worth it if you have time to stop in.

Uxmal is stunning, and the surrounding area is really really pretty as you finally get into some topography after the unrelenting flatness of the tip of the peninsula.

 

[ggunn]

The future wife and I will are going to the Yucatan. We've got a tendency to over pack both luggage and itineraries. Maybe some advice is in order here.

We arrive Cancun on December 25, 2008.

Friend's wedding is in Merida on the 28th.

Depart Cancun on January 2nd afternoon.

I'm soo sold on Cenote diving, she's not convinced, but willing to try. She's an openwater who learned about a year ago and has < 20 dives. I'm an AOW considering going for a rescue diver especially after reading the Accidents forum!

We'd love to spend time at Chechen itza, at least a day in Merida getting fat and soaking up some laid back culture and dance.

Lets not forget diving Cozumel itself!!

Any suggestions?

The cenotes are great, but I'd be a little hesitant to take a diver with only a few dives there. A whole lot of the dive (at least in Dos Ojos) is in an overhead environment with no way to bail on the dive.

As far as "doing" Cancun, if it were me, I'd skip it entirely except for the necessary in and out at the airport.

 

[Gaviota]

Consider for that time of year - Christmas is a prime season. Many hotels have minimum stay requirements (some 2 to 3 days). And some may be already booked. This of course depends on your sense of adventure and flexibility. This would be more of an issue in Tulum, Playa or Cancun.

 

[NudeDiver]

Seems like a big plan to me. With a week, I'd concentrate my energies on just one place - two at the most.

Recommend slimming down your luggage - esp. if you're going to do all that moving around.

Highly do NOT recommend doing rescue diver course on vacation - esp. when you'll be there for only a week! Crikey! My RD class was about 3-4 weeks along. Do the RD class before you go, or after you come back.

 

[Sue Sue]

The future wife and I will are going to the Yucatan. We've got a tendency to over pack both luggage and itineraries. Maybe some advice is in order here.

We arrive Cancun on December 25, 2008.

Friend's wedding is in Merida on the 28th.

Depart Cancun on January 2nd afternoon.

I'm soo sold on Cenote diving, she's not convinced, but willing to try. She's an openwater who learned about a year ago and has < 20 dives. I'm an AOW considering going for a rescue diver especially after reading the Accidents forum!

We'd love to spend time at Chechen itza, at least a day in Merida getting fat and soaking up some laid back culture and dance.

Lets not forget diving Cozumel itself!!

Any suggestions?

Sounds exhausting. Perhaps stop by Chichen Itza on the way to Merida. Spend those first few days for R & R and the wedding, then high tail it to Cozumel for diving. Since the other half is not totally convinced on Cenote diving, save that for another time when she has more dives logged. Head back to Cancun the day before your departure and settle in to a nice hotel for your last night. This way you won't have any connection problems. In addition to this advice, keep in mind you are traveling during High Season dates. Hotels and Diving are booking or have been booked. So, you need to get on to reservations ASAP. Also, with High Season come more people and therefore, longer wait times that can slow up your travel times. Since vacation time is very expensive, time and money wise, the least amount of time waiting and traveling is best. If you are renting a car, then you will be on your own travel time. However, if you are going to rely on public transportation then you will really need to stay on top of time and time schedules. Another idea I have as well is to pack light. If possible, keep your belongings to carry on's. (Which is difficult with Scuba Gear) This way you won't have to hunt down luggage as well. Have a Great trip . SS

 

[scubajcf]

It all depends how fast you want to move. But, you can absolutely do what you want to do. While Chichen Itza is good, I much preferred Coba (about 45 minutes East of Tulum). The ruins at Tulum were nice, but you will definitely want to spend some time hanging on the beach ... right there at the ruins. Bring your beach towels and swim trunks.

As for the Cenotes, there are a lot of options. Dos Ojos is close to Tulum and a spectacular dive. Or, you can try Taj or Ponderosa if you are closer to Playa del Carmen.

I really enjoy Playa. However, if you like quiet and funky ... Tulum is a great place.

For Cozumel, you will be taking the ferry over from Playa.

Don't discount diving Playa. There are some great dive sites in Playa. Mama Vina is a FANTASTIC wreck. Tortugas is stunning for its bountiful turtle sitings. Moche Deep is a Very cool reef dive. Plus more. The GeoFish guys who I used and cannot say enough about helped me orchestrate my whole last Mayan adventure including Cenote Diving and Cozumel are pretty frequent contributors to the board and may be able to help you out.


Feel free to PM me with any questions.

jcf