Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Looking for group for Calakmul early next week

Country forums / Mexico / Mexico

Hi,
I'll be in Mexico City this week before heading down south early next week, ~11/20 or 21. Is anyone going to be in the area and interested in putting together a group for a trip to Calakmul?

Alternatively, how easy is it for a solo traveler to rock up and affordably see the ruins? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

I am a solo traveler and had no problem visiting the ruins and seeing mucho wildlife..
Only problem was walking from the interruptive center to the pyramids along a Maya sacbe,
the white plaster was covered with moss and it became quit slippery .....

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If you´re staying overnight in Xpujil (which has affordable accomodation), then walk around the town the evening before and look for other tourists to split the taxi bill.

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Thanks.

How about getting from Xpujil to Campeche same day after seeing the ruins? I see there is one direct ADO bus dep 12:55 but I'm guessing that would not work. So going to Escarcega and changing there still possible?

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There will be second-class departures not shown on the ADO online schedule, and colectivo vans. In Escarcega there are two bus stations: a central public station that serves several carriers; and an ADO station at the west end of town, a couple of km away. You will have to decide whether to wait at the desviacion for Calakmul for a passing bus or van, or return to Xpujil and pick up a vehicle at the start of their trip.

It´s about two hrs from Escarcega to Campeche, and an hr 15 min from the desviacion to Escarcega. There are one or two decent hotels in Escarcega centro, and some more at the west end of town. But as long as you´ve picked up a ride to Campeche before dark, you should be fine.

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desviacion, you mean turn of from the main road?

How much time do people typically spend at the ruins?

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I see you had some posts about doxycycline/malaria. I just tried to get some at a pharmacy in CDMX but only 250mg pills were available. Is that city wide? I was hoping to get 100mg because I'd be taking it nearly 2 months.

US CDC website says Campeche has major risk of malaria but they tend to err on the conservative side about everything. Is it a high risk area?

Cheers.

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Yes, by desviacion I mean the cutoff, or intersection of the local road to the ruins with the highway. That´s where you´d wait for local transport to Escarcega if you didn´t want to return to Xpujil. (Of course you should check the schedule in Xpujil the night before.)

I don´t know about malaria, except to rely upon CDC or other reputable sources (which says risk is low). I use DEET.

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OK, thanks.

One more question if you don't mind. If I wanted to go to Uxmal after Campeche, is the only way on public transport to go via Merida? I don't suppose there´s a back way directly north from Xpujil thru Hopelchen?

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I did visit Uxmal from Merida on a second class bus. I don´t remember the destino of the bus. So perhaps it continues to Campeche, or there´s another bus from Campeche.

You´d better check at the bus station in Xpujil about a direct route north from there. I´ve never heard it mentioned.

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OK, thanks for the info.

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