1 Strategies for Seeing the Yucatán

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Rule #1: Choose, you can’t lose. The Yucatán’s attractions arediverse enough to keep you comingback again and again, but the regionstill offers two basic vacation pro-files—sand and sun or history andculture. The coast from Cancún

south to Tulum is known as the Riv-iera Maya. With its blue water andperfect white sand that doesn’tburn your feet when you walk bare-foot, it’s graced with some of thebest beaches in the world. Inland,travelers encounter impressiveMaya ruins and native villages,

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Strategies for Seeing the Yucatán

Previous page: An old form of travel on a beach lost to time.

The Yucatán is home to pearl-white beaches and deep green jun-gle, as well as pre-Colombian ruins and breakneck modern develop-

ment. It’s home to three states—Yucatán, Campeche, and QuintanaRoo—encompassing 134,400 square kilometers (84,000 sq. m) and has3,500 years of civic history since the Olmec developed the region’s firstlarge-scale human settlements in 1500 B.C. It’s also the setting of fiveUNESCO World Heritage sites. The Riviera Maya’s paradisiacal seashore,luxury hotels, fine dining, and exciting nightlife have become the mostpopular reasons to visit, but the region offers so much more to see anddo: Explore ancient Mayan ruins, watch the world go by at a corner cafe,explore cenotes and other unique natural wonders, or just relax on thebeach and think about all the things you’re going to do—mañana.

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Y U C A T Á N

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charming colonial towns, lots of nat-ural beauty—and last but not least,lower prices. Choose one region ifyour time is limited or combinethem for the broadest experience.

Rule #2: Decide whether tohotel-hop or just flop.Decide whether to book accommo-dations in one place and take daytrips, or change hotels frequentlyand venture farther afield. Forshorter stays, it’s better to hole upin Cancún, the Riviera Maya, orMérida and explore from there.Lodging in one place gives you thegreatest stability but limits the dis-tances you can traverse. Wanderingallows you to cover more groundand follow your whims, but you may end up feeling that you needanother vacation to recover from allthe packing and traveling around.Decide which approach suits youbest or combine them for the bestof both.

Rule #3: Pick the key activityof the day and then planother activities in the sur-rounding area.Regardless of whether you’re asightseeing fool or a beach bum,plan your fun around the key activityyou’ve chosen for the day. For

example, a visit to the ruins ofTulum in the heat of the day couldbe accompanied by an afternoon ofsnorkeling at Xel-Ha. Or a boat tripto see the flamingos at Rio Lagartoscould include a stop at the Ek Balamruins, on the way, just north of Val-ladolid. Better yet, plan your dayaround lunch. Checking out theAktun Chen caverns? Arrive earlyenough to go to Oscar y Lalo’srestaurant at nearby Playa Soliman.In Mexico, lunch is often a big meal,and dinner can be a lighter late-evening affair.

Rule # 4: Remember youprobably came here torelax—so keep your optionsopen. Travelers who enjoy their south-of-the-border vacations most are thosewho understand and accept thatthings don’t always work on sched-ule or according to plan. Use thisbook as a reference in planning, butdon’t try to do everything. Roll withthe punches and you won’t be dis-appointed when plan A bites thedust; just move on to plan B (or, ifnecessary, C). Cultural differences inMexico offer visitors the chance tolearn and appreciate an alternativeview of what’s important in life. Slowdown and enjoy more.

Rule #5: Expect the unexpected.The Yucatán is a safe destination to travel around as long as youobserve the same precautions youwould in any major North Americancity. Driving is a good way to see thecountryside; the roads are flat andwell marked. But keep your speeddown. A superhighway toll roadknown as the Cuota runs betweenCancún, Chichén Itzá, and Mérida.Expect to pay about $25 in tolls forthe entire distance. Valladolid andChichén are 2 hours from Cancún onthe Cuota; Mérida is about 4 hours

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The Mayan Ball Court and Pyramid atUxmal.

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or a little more. A parallel route isthe Mérida–Libre, a two-lane localroad through small towns and vil-lages. Try it if you have the time, butwatch the topes—speed bumpsthat announce you’re approaching atown. You might also consider trav-eling to major destinations by bus;first class is fast, inexpensive, andcomfortable.

Rule #6: Don’t drink thewater.That’s a bit of an old folk axiomabout Mexico, but, the water is safein Cancún and all the major hotelsup and down the Riviera Maya, andin large cities such as Mérida aswell. Ice everywhere is made frompurified water, so you don’t need toask. We do recommend that youuse bottled water for drinking, butdon’t freak out if you brushed yourteeth using tap water. Wash yourhands frequently, and, if you getsick, have your hotel contact a localdoctor. Most speak English, andmany have trained in the U.S.

Rule #7: You can get therefrom here. Street addresses in Latin Americaare often determined by the dis-tance from someplace else. TheCancún Hotel Zone, for instance,has just one road (Kukulcán), andthe street numbers are determinedby the number of kilometers fromdowntown. In more rural areas, youdon’t need exact addresses; oftenthere’s only one road with lots ofsigns.

Rule #8: Don’t worry abouthurricane damage. In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma,the strongest storm ever recorded,stalled over the Yucatán peninsulaand pounded the Riviera Maya withwinds in excess of 161km per hour(100 mph) for more than 36 hours.Despite extensive damage, all thearea’s hotels, restaurants, andattractions were up and running byearly 2006. Ironically, many of thebeaches are now better thanbefore.•

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The Estrella del Norte sails from IslaMujeres to Isla Contoy.

A palapa on the beach at Sian Ka’an.

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