This holiday was a little bit of a mooch around the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. I set off alone in Cancun and then continued with my friend, travelling around the area a little bit. Here’s some things that we did and what was cool on this wander around Mexico.
Travel
The cheapest place for me to fly to in Mexico at my time of travel (December 2022) was Cancun, at £527.86. On the way there I changed at Montreal (a 40 min changeover but I just let the staff know and I somehow made it!) and on the way back I changed at Toronto (you went through security a second time in Canada and they confiscated everyone’s Mexican duty free!). When I was trying to check in to my flight to Mexico, it wasn’t letting me. It turned out that even though you don’t need a visa to get from the UK to Mexico, an eTA or Electronic Travel Authorization ($7 CAD) was required to make the transfer so I had a panicked 30 minutes doing it on my phone at Heathrow.
I used three main methods of travel within Mexico. There were big coaches, which were air conditioned, had TVs and were quite nice but cheap but UK standards. I normally booked these on ADO. There were buses in Cancun which were 12 pesos (~51p) for ~30 mins. Then there were colectivos which were dodgy minibuses that drove very fast and were very cheap. Neither of the last two are on Google Maps and the colectivos can be difficult to use and find, especially if you don’t speak Spanish!
Day 1 – 5 Cancun
- Hostel: Mayan Monkey Cancun
- Food: Cocina La Chaya, Taquería Los Chachalacos, The Surfin Burrito
I flew in quite late on Day One and stayed in the Cancun area for 5 days / 4 nights. I wasn’t sure if I would make my flight or not so I ended up having to pay a lot for a shared taxi from the airport to my accommodation.
My hostel had free activities, so most mornings I did meditation and/or yoga on the beach. I had one day that was a beach day, one day in Cancun Downtown, one afternoon diving at the MUSA Underwater museum and on the Manchones Reef and I went on a coach trip to Chichen Itza, one of the 7 wonders of the world.
To get to Downtown, I got either the number 1 or number 2 bus. The fare was only 12 pesos per person.
While in Downtown, I went to Kabah Urban Park, a free to enter 410,000 sq m forest reserve with lots of wildlife (although I didn’t see anything), including birds, spider monkeys, iguanas, and coatis. I also visited a few markets, Mercado 23 for local food like fruit and Mercado 28 and Plaza Bonita for touristy gifts from over 100 stalls. Be prepared to be called to and remember to haggle!
The hostel was really nice, my favourite one of my Mexico trip. It had a rooftop bar and a nice deking area. I really enjoyed the breakfast, the staff were really nice and I really enjoyed the free activities.
Day 5 – 7 Isla Mujeurs
- Hostel: Les Trois Singes Hostel & Bar
- Food: La Lomita
On Day 5 my friend Izy and I took the ferry to Isla Mujeurs quite late at night so we were all ready to go on a really long walk around the entire island on Day 6. That night we ate at La Lomita, Av Juárez, Aeropuerto, 77400 Isla Mujeres, Q.R., Mexico. It was my favourite meal of the trip. The enchiladas were delicious!
Day 7 – 8 Akumal
- Hostel: ITZA Hotel Akumal
- Food: Taquería La Lunita
On Day 7 we did a bit of relaxing on Isla Mujeurs, spending the morning at the beach at Playa Norte before then taking the ferry back to Cancun and then a couple of colectivos to Akumal (one Cancun – Playa del Carmen then another Playa del Carmen – Akumal).
Day 8 was specifically reserved for hunting for turtles, something Akumal is well known for. Unfortunately, it seems quite tricky to do. The turtles flock to one particular area of the sea, which you have to pay for a tour to get on to. If you try and sneak over the buoys to this area, a guy in a speedboat will chase you down. We were fortunate, however, and managed to spot one illegal turtle!
Day 8 – 10 Tulum
- Hostel: Day Tripper Hostel
- Food: Tacos y Tortas El Tío at the Trendy Food Stand Area, La Coqueta
I really wanted to see some jungle but I wasn’t too keen on the touristy parks because it didn’t seem like the most authentic experience. Instead, on Day 9 we headed into Zona arqueológica de Coba, some less well known Mayan ruins. It was only 100 pesos (£4.27) for entry but it was amazing! I’d actually say better than Chichen Itza! We even saw a spider monkey or two! Well worth a trip. It was worth noting though that the colectivo didn’t run on Sundays (there’s no info or anything telling you this) so you will have to get the coach instead.
While in Tulum I recommend going to Trendy Food Stand Area, C. Geminis Sur, Tulum Centro, Col Huracanes, 77760 Tulum, Q.R., Mexico for some tasty and super cheap street food.
Day 10 – 11 Cancun
- Hostel: Selina Cancun Downtown & Cowork
- Food: La Parrilla Cancún
I had an early flight on Day 11 and a late arrival back from Tulum via the coach so didn’t plan to do that much on this stopover. Just eat some lime soup, something I had seen on menus around Mexico but hadn’t had chance to try yet- turns out it was kind of like a chicken soup.
The hostel was very close to the coach station. And the wristbands for it were really cool keepsakes!
