Some advice on travelling around Mexico

It's around 5 hours, which is pretty easy in a luxury vehicle... the thing about San Cris (apart from how enjoyable it is) is that it combines really nicely with Palenque and can also be used as a stepping stone to fly out of Tuxtla... which has daily flights and also offers a lot more flexibility. Just food for thought! Y&B is also an epic option, of course.

San Cristobal looks good but seems too far for a day trip from Palenque?

Agreed. Too far for a day trip from Palenque. And the water is pretty chilly in the highlands, you won´t be doing any wild swimming up there.

Yaxchilan and Bonampak both seem to be 2-3 hours away though so there's good potential to see one or even both on the second day.

I believe tour operators package them both together for a long day trip from Palenque. Figure 600 MXN or so. There go your savings from the cheap hotel near the ruins.

Also, a small additional question: is the ADO from Cancun airport to Merida on New Years Day evening likely to be full? There's one that departs just under two hours after we're due to arrive, which would be ideal - but we don't want to book it and then miss it and have to pay again for the next option two hours later.

You may find that you´re unable to book it if you´re overseas anyway, and of course your flight could be late, so just wait until you arrive. If in the unlikely event the shuttle is full, you also have the option of busing to Cancun centro and picking up a direct Merida bus there.

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