- Joined
- Nov 1, 2011
- Posts
- 1,752
Just a few comments......
Can swim with whale sharks if you're there at the right time of year (we did it during September, 2013). but it's a great experience. They are massive and you can get close enough to touch them. Boats leave from Isla Mujures, not far from CUN. Lots of boats converge on the area so it can be crowded plus there is often quite a swell so seasickness can be a problem. It helps to make sure you book a newer, faster boat - the slower ones roll around in the swell more and exacerbate the sickness.
The ruins at Chichen Itza are great and there are large open areas where you can stand back and appreciate the scale of them but there can be lots of tourists; plus the obligatory souvenir sellers. Admission to the ruins included lunch at the restaurant run by the locals. It was unexpectedly good - multiple food choices (BBQ'd fish and meat etc etc.) of good quality. We self-drove (180km from CUN) and the freeway is one of the most boring drives you could imagine - it's a divided road but the trees are very tall either side so you get to see virtually nothing at all for the whole trip. On the way back we took the alternate route through Valladolid (?) and boy do you get to see how the other half live on that road! Lots of poverty and squalid living conditions. Watch out for the speed humps too - they are everywhere and not painted so you can be airborne before you even know they are there.
I would definitely recommend a swim in a cenote while you're near Chichen Itza. It's a unique experience to go swimming in a hole deep underground. They had good change room facilities and were well organised too.
CUN is just a row of hotels and not very interesting (the tourist markets are cr^p). Playa Del Carmen is much nicer but, as someone else mentioned, it is becoming a bit too commecialised but very clean and good restaurants.
Tulum wasn't very interesting compared to Chichen Itza and on a much smaller scale but I guess if you travel all that way it's sensible to take a look - plus the views over the very blue water are worth a few pics.
As a general comment I'd be wary of getting too far off the main tourist routes if you are self driving. We never actually felt at risk but you definitely get a sense that lawlessness is part and parcel of the place - police always remain in groups (for their own protection?) and many carry machine guns. Even when you see routine car searches one or two always stand back with a machine guns ready.
Can swim with whale sharks if you're there at the right time of year (we did it during September, 2013). but it's a great experience. They are massive and you can get close enough to touch them. Boats leave from Isla Mujures, not far from CUN. Lots of boats converge on the area so it can be crowded plus there is often quite a swell so seasickness can be a problem. It helps to make sure you book a newer, faster boat - the slower ones roll around in the swell more and exacerbate the sickness.
The ruins at Chichen Itza are great and there are large open areas where you can stand back and appreciate the scale of them but there can be lots of tourists; plus the obligatory souvenir sellers. Admission to the ruins included lunch at the restaurant run by the locals. It was unexpectedly good - multiple food choices (BBQ'd fish and meat etc etc.) of good quality. We self-drove (180km from CUN) and the freeway is one of the most boring drives you could imagine - it's a divided road but the trees are very tall either side so you get to see virtually nothing at all for the whole trip. On the way back we took the alternate route through Valladolid (?) and boy do you get to see how the other half live on that road! Lots of poverty and squalid living conditions. Watch out for the speed humps too - they are everywhere and not painted so you can be airborne before you even know they are there.
I would definitely recommend a swim in a cenote while you're near Chichen Itza. It's a unique experience to go swimming in a hole deep underground. They had good change room facilities and were well organised too.
CUN is just a row of hotels and not very interesting (the tourist markets are cr^p). Playa Del Carmen is much nicer but, as someone else mentioned, it is becoming a bit too commecialised but very clean and good restaurants.
Tulum wasn't very interesting compared to Chichen Itza and on a much smaller scale but I guess if you travel all that way it's sensible to take a look - plus the views over the very blue water are worth a few pics.
As a general comment I'd be wary of getting too far off the main tourist routes if you are self driving. We never actually felt at risk but you definitely get a sense that lawlessness is part and parcel of the place - police always remain in groups (for their own protection?) and many carry machine guns. Even when you see routine car searches one or two always stand back with a machine guns ready.
