Yucatan - Forced change of itinerary - some questions
Replies: 18 - Last Post: Oct 7, 2012 8:33 AM Last Post By: johanna33
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Yucatan - Forced change of itinerary - some questions
Hi all, and thank you in advance for your helpful answers (they are always helpful!)So we are going to Yucatan for our honeymoon at the end of November, and I had a great itinerary planned:
- Thursday - Arrival in Cancun / First night in cancun
- Friday - Bus in the morning to Valladolid (Visit of the city / Cenote / and Ek Balam if time) / Night in Valladolid
- Saturday - Bus to Chichen Itza early in the morning / Afternoon free / Night in Valladolid
- Sunday - Bus to Merida in the morning - Enjoy Sunday in Merida / Night in Merida
Then, there was 3 more nights in Merida (enough time to see the city, take a day tour to Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc, maybe Celestun etc.)
Then, 3 nights in Tulum followed by 4 nights in Akumal where we will be snorkeling, diving in the sea, diving in Cenote and simply enjoying our time.
NOW, thanks to LastMinute.com and the airlines changing their flights, we are now flying and arriving on the 23rd of November....... :(
Which means that we have a few options:
Option 1
- Friday: Arrival in Cancun / First night in cancun
- Saturday: Bus in the morning to Valladolid (Visit of the city / Cenote / and Ek Balam if time) / Night in Valladolid
- Sunday: Bus to Chichen Itza early in the morning / Afternoon free / Night in Valladolid
= We arrive only on the Monday to Merida and we miss the "Sunday" in Merida - We only spend 3 nights in Merida instead of 4.
Option 2
- Friday: Arrival in Cancun / First night in cancun
- Saturday: Bus in the morning to Valladolid (Visit of the city / Cenote / and Ek Balam if time) / Night in Valladolid
- Sunday: Bus to Chichen Itza early in the morning / Visit of Chichen Itza / Bus from Chichen Itza to Merida at the start of the afternoon Night in Merida
= We have to leave our luggages at Chichen Itza (I've heard there was an area for that) and we have to hope that there will be a bus from Chichen Itza to Merida, with spaces for us, not so late that we can still enjoy Sunday in Merida (we will be pretty tired at this stage I think)
Option 3
- Friday: Arrival in Cancun / First night in cancun
- Saturday: Bus in the morning to Valladolid (Visit of the city / Cenote / and Ek Balam if time) / Night in Valladolid
- Sunday: Bus to Merida in the morning / Enjoy Sunday in Merida / Night in Merida
= We cancel completely Chichen Itza (but we'll go to Uxmal) OR we take a day tour from Merida to Chichen Itza (but further away and more difficult)
For me, I would probably choose option 3 because I would prefer enjoying Merida on the Sunday... But my husband wonders if it's really worth it compared to missing Chichen Itza.
And I've been fighting with Last Minute for a week now, and there is no chance they will reverse our flights back to the 22nd at this stage.
Thank you very much!
2
I agree with Robert, do Option 3, Uxmal is lovely as is Ek Balam.4
But you don't need to miss Chichen Itza at all. If you don't want to visit Chichen Itza on the way from Valladolid to Merida, then visit it on the return. I wouldn't miss either Chichen Itza or Merida on a Sunday. Note there is a tremendous anti-Chichen Itza sentiment on this forum because it attracts so many mass-tourists from Cancun, but that doesn't make it any less important, just more crowded.5
I can't comment on Merida, as we didn't go there and I don't know what's special about Sunday there, but we loved Valladolid and we really enjoyed Chichen Itza. I wouldn't miss it. It's fascinating and so different from Tikal and Copan. Ek Balam was also interesting, but Chichen Itza was great. Just get there early, before 10, and it will be quiet.6
Thank you all for your replies.mclarjh, so you mean that instead of doing Merida > Tulum, we do Merida > Chichen Itza > Tulum...
Interesting. I suppose there will be an early enough bus from Merida to take us there before the crowds?
Or do we reduce our stay in Merida to 3 nights, spend the 4th night in Chichen Itza, visit it in the morning, get our luggages back and take the bus to Tulum?
I have to say that if we had a car, it would be a lot easier... But with the buses, I feel "edgy" adding more stops with our luggages with us.
7
Interesting. I suppose there will be an early enough bus from Merida to take us there before the crowds?Check the ADO website at http://www.ado.com.mx/ I saw a 6:30 AM departure from Merida to Chichen Itza, but you may have to change buses in Valladolid as you continue to Tulum (admittedly, it is more convenient to visit in the other direction, from Valladolid to Merida.)
8
Thank you. That's very early but I suppose we can decide what if we really want to do at that point.The next one is at 9.15am so I suppose it's a bit too late? We would arrive around 10.45am there.
Is it safe to leave our luggages at Chichen Itza?
Also, I am more worried about the bus from Chichen Itza to Tulum.
ADO website says there is one at 4.30pm... But what if it's full?
Are they any other types of buses?
It really makes it so much more complicated now to go... It was so perfect in my initial itinerary.
Option 4
- Friday: Arrival in Cancun / First night in cancun
- Saturday: Bus in the morning to Valladolid (Visit of the city / Cenote / and Ek Balam if time) / Night in Valladolid
- Sunday: Bus to Merida in the morning / Enjoy Sunday in Merida / Night in Merida
- Monday: in Merida or Day Tour / Night in Merida
- Tuesday: in Merida or Day Tour / Night in Merida
- Monday: in Merida or Day Tour / Night in Merida
- Tuesday: bus to Chichen Itza at 6.15am / Bus to Tulum at 4.30pm / Night in Tulum
Option 5
- Friday: Arrival in Cancun / First night in cancun
- Saturday: Bus in the morning to Valladolid (Visit of the city / Cenote / and Ek Balam if time) / Night in Valladolid
- Sunday: Bus to Merida in the morning / Enjoy Sunday in Merida / Night in Merida
- Monday: in Merida or Day Tour / Night in Merida
- Tuesday: in Merida or Day Tour / Night in Merida
- Monday: early bus (6.15am) to Chichen Itza / Night in Chichen Itza (But it would probably be impossible to bring luggage to hotel before visit)
- Tuesday: early bus (8.25am) to Tulum / Afternoon in Tulum / Night in Tulum
Edited by: johanna33
9
mclarjh, just saw you added something to your comment. I think the bus going to Tulum from 4.30pm is passing through Valladolid, but according to the website there is no change. It would just be a very long day but I suppose it would cut the bus journey in two.10
The 430 bus originates in Merida to Chichen, Valladolid and on to Tulum. Since its first class with reserved seats, always possible it will be full. But buy your tickets in Merida or elsewhere in advance and no problem.12
There are also 1 PM and 3 PM departures from Valladolid to Tulum, as alternatives (you don't really want to spend eight hours at Chichen Itza, do you?) but you'll need to take a colectivo or second-class bus to get to Valladolid.Alternatively depart from Cancun to Valladolid on the day you arrive, or is it too late?
Or revisit an earlier alternative, travel early morning on a Sunday from Valladolid to Chichen Itza, then depart to Merida in the early afternoon, arriving to enjoy Merida by evening, which is the best part of the day.
13
Well, flight is arriving at 7.30pm in Cancun... After a 19h journey and two stops... So I guess we will really need to get a hotel room, get some sleep before waking up jet lagged at 5am and take an early bus to Valladolid :)But we can indeed do it on the way to Merida if it doesn't require more than 4-5hrs to see Chichen Itza or on the way back.
I don't know if 8hrs is too much or not actually... The thing is that if we decide to go on the way back, we would probably book our bus tickets the day before in Merida, so we can't really say "We'll take a colletivo to Valladolid if we are bored."
Is there not a Cenote within Chichen Itza we can access?
Anyway, we've decided not to stay in a hotel near Chichen Itza, but do it "on the way" and using their luggage facility.
The hotels are overpriced as well as the restaurants and I don't think it's worth it really. I'd rather put the money in a nice day tour from Merida.
Actually, if I may...
What's the best way for us to see Uxmal ?
- Rent a car for the day?
- Take a bus down to Uxmal and take a bus back?
- Book a day tour including Uxmal and other sites?
What other day tour would you advice from Merida. Celestun ? An hacienda ?
Thank you again for all your replies. It is really helping.
14
To see Uxmal take a tour and see other sites. I just returned from Merida and found a room with AC and TV right downtown for $300.00 pesos It wasn't fancy but was clean and had a good shower and a really good restaurant upstairs. You could walk to the zocolo in 5 minutes..ADVERTISEMENT
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