Hmmmm what would I do?.....

[joyinthesand]

Hello all- Posting a question, looking for some advice. Starting to think about day trips and where to go. Hoping to do one full day trip and one maybe two half day trips, depending on weather. We are in Tulum 4 day, Akumal 2 and pdc 3.
I have searched and studied both posts and trip reports and starting to copy and paste into a word doc.

But really what would you do? what ruins, cenotes, pueblos etc would you combine to make a great day.
Places i'm excited about: Sian Ka'an, Ek Balam, Chichen Itza, Coba, Vallodolid, Punta Allen, the Spider Monkeys, in no particular order. I'm not counting Tulum Ruins as we will make it there sometime I'm sure.
So lets make this a great thread that will end up as a sticky for best day trips! Thanks for sharing your ideas.

[PhyllisB]

Gosh, that's kinda tough!

Our first trip to Tulum we did a day trip to Chichen with a stop in Valladolid to poke around and a stop at the prison nearby for a coupla hammocks. That was a good day trip--I really enjoyed it.

BUT I like the ruins at Coba better. And after seeing the pix here of Ek Balam and Muyil, those look really great too. I like the idea of exploring ruins that haven't been totally manicured & uncovered.

(The main reason we went to Chichen when we did was that it was right after Hurricane Wilma, which had really taken a hit on Cancun's tourism, so I knew it would be totally empty. Too hard to pass up having Chichen to ourselves. But even still, we probably would have stuck with that plan with or without the tourists because I was dead set on visiting the prison for the hammocks! And if we were going that far, then might as well keep going!)

1/2 day things--I'd definitely do the Sian Ka'an, and a cenote. I haven't visited any cenotes yet... I know, shame on me... Every trip we think we're going to, and every trip we find ourselves stuck on our beach chairs like bumps on a log. Each time I swear to myself I'll visit a cenote. And after seeing some of the great pix of cenotes that folks have posted, I really WILL go on my next trip.

Can't do everything though... gotta leave some things to explore for your next trip!

[joyinthesand]

thanks Phyllis, I agree it is really tough, Chichen is a place I have wanted to see since I was in 5th grade and studied the Mayans. I know the other ruins with less people are much more appealing to me also.

[PhyllisB]

One thing I enjoyed about that day trip was that we got to see a different part of the Yucatan. I liked the towns and the scenery, and stopping in Valladolid. It was definitely a good day! Long... we left early in the AM, skipped breakfast & brought some snacks in the car. Went straight to Chichen, then did Valladolid & the prison for hammocks on the way back. Got back to Tulum for a late dinner at Zamas around 6 or 7 I think.

[hummingbird_206]

One thing I enjoyed about that day trip was that we got to see a different part of the Yucatan. I liked the towns and the scenery, and stopping in Valladolid. It was definitely a good day! Long... we left early in the AM, skipped breakfast & brought some snacks in the car. Went straight to Chichen, then did Valladolid & the prison for hammocks on the way back. Got back to Tulum for a late dinner at Zamas around 6 or 7 I think.
I'm really glad we did the day trip to Chichen, too. Wouldn't ever do it again, but glad to have been there, done that, got the ($5) T-shirt. Highly recommend going EARLY! It opens at 8:00. We got there about 9:00 and there was only 1 bus in the parking lot. Left 3 hours later and the bus parking was full. It wasn't wall to wall people when we left, but we definitly got better pics early w/out lots of other folks around. Also, there are tons of things vendors inside...t-shirts, pottery, wood carvings...and prices seemed pretty reasonable.

We stopped at Ik Kil cenote (about 5 minutes from Chichen). It was very cool (pun intended :)) Their buffet lunch was $15 per person, but really hit the spot since we ate very little breakfast that day.

[joyinthesand]

thanks hummingbird, I noticed you are from Seattle, Im freezing right now listening to the rain in Sammamish. No wonder im spending the night researching day trips in Mexico. They said 10 more days like today on the weather today. Why do I live here?

[hummingbird_206]

Hey Joy, we live here for the times when it's not raining...no better place when the weather is nice. But the only way I can survive the rain and gray chilly days is to jet off to visit the sun. I was going nuts before we left on Feb 29 for 10 sun filled days in Mexico. Now that I've gotten my fix for a while I think I can hold up. Hope you stay warm until your trip!

[AdGuy]

I think we've covered all your wish list in past trips. A few combination recommendations (in no particular order) for outstanding day trips would be:

Coba Ruins/Punta Laguna Monkey Reserve - Be at Coba ruins first thing when it opens (about 9A) get a guide and then rent bikes. You can cover the entire thing in 3 hours. Stop at one of the great Mayan restaurants in the town of Coba (just down the road from the ruins) and have lunch. Drive over to the monkey reserve (about 30 minutes) and get a private guide to take you into the jungle for a couple of hours.
Muyil Ruins/Cenotes - Grab breakfast in the Tulum pubelo (Don Cafetos) and drive about 20 minutes south of town to the Muyil Ruins (bring bug spray!). You'll probably only need an hour to self-tour the place. Head back up 307 and stop at Cristal and sister cenote, Escondido. Then continue up to Gran Cenote (two miles west of the the 307/Coba intersection. Afterwards, stop back in town for a late lunch at Bronco Pollo.
Ek Balam/Vallodolid - Get an early start and head right for the Ek Balam ruins. This is a 2.5 hour trip but well worth it. Definitely get a guide (about 250 pesos for a two hour AMAZING tour). Head back down to Vallodolid (about 1/2 hour trek) and have lunch at the El Meson hotel on the square. Shop at the merchants set up right on the square and then travel over to the prison to check out the amazing hammocks, bags, and purses.

[PhyllisB]

Those are all great options! I think if I were choosing for my next trip, I'd do Muyil/cenotes first and Valladolid/Ek Balam second. Although I do love Coba. Toooooo much to do, too little time!

[TnTWalter]

Lee if you're there in May, can I hire you! LOL.

Your tours sound perfect.

I am trying to figure out how I can pull it off without having to do a tour company because while they have things I like they have things I don't like. As we aren't renting a car, it's quite difficult.

Joyinsand...I'm doing 3 days Tulum/ 3 days PDC. I almost feel like the day of checking out and in will be an adventure in itself. LOL.

DH wants to zip which would be ok if it was like into a cenote or something....I'd like to see ruins but can't imagine needing >2 hours. I'm not into flora or fauna, etc. Monkeys would be cool....just feel so 'ho hum' abou it anymore.

Tours that I like aren't on any days where we'd do them....

Hoping you get some great ideas.

[luvthesun]

Hmmm.. I kind of liked Chichen Itza over Coba.

The cool thing about Coba is you get to walk in the jungle... but you can do that when you go to one of the cenotes. Try Dos Ojos. Gran Cenote is getting to crowded.

all of your options sound great though!

[beachreader]

Lee, those are great options! Next trip, I'm definitely getting back into the jungle. And down into the biosphere for the bird thing. Why is it that I have these great intentions and then just flop on the beach and do nothing all day?

[PhyllisB]

I'm just like you, BR. Always good intentions, and then I just can't seem to budge!

:)

p.

[AdGuy]

Lee, those are great options! Next trip, I'm definitely getting back into the jungle. And down into the biosphere for the bird thing. Why is it that I have these great intentions and then just flop on the beach and do nothing all day?

I'm just the opposite...if someone put a book in my hand and sat me down on a beach, I'd start rocking nerotically within five minutes. Way too much to do and see! With the exception of Coba, we actually did every one of those items (plus the Sian Ka'an canal trip) on our last weeklong visit.

We're seriously looking at end of October or beginning of November for our next visit and Punta Allen will definitely be on that list...with a side visit to Xamach Dos. Gotta start figuring out what other day trips to plan...maybe Balankanche Caves?

[Armchairshrink]

These are all good suggestions. In my first two trips to the area I:

Visited Xel-Ha (great for kids and first time snorkelers, but definitely skippable for adventurous Tulum folks)

Went to Coba/Valladolid/Cenote Dzitnup - An AMAZING side trip but probably way too much for one day (we're also not the type of people who can be on the road at 6am - I think we left Tulum at 8:30, early for us). We stayed overnight in Valladolid but it gave us more time to explore this very charming city.

Snorkeling in Akumal bay/Yal-Kul Lagoon - Seeing turtles was great and Yal Kul was cool and refreshing in the the July heat given that even the ocean was almost "too warm" and had a great variety of fish. Neither of these places would probably be too exciting for experienced snorkelers as there's not a lot of colorful coral, but if you want to see the turtles....

CESIak Kayaking - Instead of going on the tour, we simply rented a kayak. It was interesting, but I wish we'd done the tour, as we didn't know what we were doing really and didn't have the kind of commentary or direction that could've made this easier. However, our "self guided" tour was only $30 for both of us as opposed to $70 each.

Day trips for the future:
Cenotes, cenotes, cenotes: I want to see them all!!

Ek-Balam: We chose to miss this the first time and slightly regret it now (although we were exhausted at the time). It's a must-see for our next trip.

Punta Allen: I've been dying to visit but we didn't have a car we felt comfortable with on that road last time.

Of course this is exluding all the non-day trips that would require overnight stays, like Merida, Campeche, Isla Holbox, Xcalax, Palenque, San Cristobal De Las Casas....

[beachreader]

OK, Lee, my next trip will be as long as I can make it, and could well be at the end of October/early November. So maybe you can help drag my azz off the beach chairs and toss the books aside for some real-time adventures! I'll happily go to Punta Allen with you and maybe some fishing at Xamach? I'm sure we can find a small troupe to play along, but I will want some beach time at La Luna at some point. I figure if I take 10 days instead of 7 I'll feel like I have enough time for both adventures and beaching (and pueblo-ing). And I definitely want more cenotes, as I've really only been to the ones at Pac-Chen.

[joyinthesand]

I am loving all the info, all the ideas are something we would love to do. My husband is the one who starts "rocking" when I suggest sitting on the beach and reading. That is why Akumal, i sit, he snorkels or builds sand castles or something. Also the half day trips like Coba or Muyil are real appealing, out by 7 back by 2 for beach,drinks,dinner etc.
Now Adguy I noticed you didnt mention the Sian Kaan on your doables. There is one tour that snorkels and lunches in Punta Allen.
Has anyone ever done Chichen Itza or Coba out of pdc? James feel free to chime in on this idea. We were originally thinking a day trip to Cozumel from pdc but now bouncing around the ruins day trip. I dont think we are "tour" people; when I am ready to move on I am ready!

[joyinthesand]

I'm doing 3 days Tulum/ 3 days PDC. I almost feel like the day of checking out and in will be an adventure in itself. LOL.

Trish dont worry about the day. If you are ready to leave early, leave early. If you want to hang out, hang out. It is only a couple hour drive and you will be on vacation.

[AdGuy]

Now Adguy I noticed you didnt mention the Sian Kaan on your doables. There is one tour that snorkels and lunches in Punta Allen.
Has anyone ever done Chichen Itza or Coba out of pdc? James feel free to chime in on this idea. We were originally thinking a day trip to Cozumel from pdc but now bouncing around the ruins day trip. I dont think we are "tour" people; when I am ready to move on I am ready!

We went to Coba (and Coba only) one time when we stayed for a couple of days at Luna Blue in PDC. You just need to add 90 minutes extra drive time (round trip).

I didn't mention the Sian Ka'an trip as you can't really combine it with anything...it's a complete day. The canal tour picked us up around 8:30am and dropped us off at 4:00pm. After a pretty full day, we just felt like grabbing dinner and drinks.

I didn't realize there was a Punta Allen-Sian Ka'an trip...sounds interesting, but like you, we're not really tour people. The only tour we've taken in Mexico was during a family reunion gathering in Cancun. Yes...I know...double torture to be with the in-laws AND in Cancun. They organized a bus tour to Chichen Itza. We've explored a bunch of Mayan ruins and, while CI is impressive, it's way to manacured and Disney-like for our tastes.

I've toured Cozumel a few times (never stayed on the island though). With the exception of the diving, I'm not a big fan of the place BUT if you've never been I'd suggest grabbing the ferry and renting a car once over there. Still, it's not on the top of my list for newbie explorers...too many better places to discover!!

[Lynnette]

We are beach bums, but pick up and do an "adventure" if we get a little stir crazy. It's great to have the options (already mentioned) and not have to specifically plan out each day. The best part is knowing you can't do everything in one trip, and looking forward to the next time!!!!

[farmboyswife]

I keep seeing the Yal-kul lagoon come up as a recommended place and I scratch my head. On our last trip (much too long ago now, sigh) hubby and I snorkeled the Yal-kul lagoon and were completely unimpressed. The only fish we saw were little ordinary ones that were begging near the entry because a family was there feeding them. We snorkeled all over the danged place, up to where the ocean comes through and were bored stiff.

The clarity of the water was disgusting. There was a six inch film of stuff sitting on top of the water, like when you have vinegar and oil dressing. If that was from people using non-biodegradable sunscreen I clearly see what a hazard it is for the marine life.

Yes, the setting was nice and the sculpture were interesting, but the only other interesting thing was the self-composting toilets. And I wasn't there to see that!

So, did we go on a bad day? What makes a good day to go?

[AdGuy]

I keep seeing the Yal-kul lagoon come up as a recommended place and I scratch my head. On our last trip (much too long ago now, sigh) hubby and I snorkeled the Yal-kul lagoon and were completely unimpressed. The only fish we saw were little ordinary ones that were begging near the entry because a family was there feeding them. We snorkeled all over the danged place, up to where the ocean comes through and were bored stiff.

The clarity of the water was disgusting. There was a six inch film of stuff sitting on top of the water, like when you have vinegar and oil dressing. If that was from people using non-biodegradable sunscreen I clearly see what a hazard it is for the marine life.

Yes, the setting was nice and the sculpture were interesting, but the only other interesting thing was the self-composting toilets. And I wasn't there to see that!

So, did we go on a bad day? What makes a good day to go?

Amen FBW!! I don't think many experienced divers/snorkelers mention Yal-ku in their Top 5 list. I agree with everything you said. I'd only recommend it to novice swimmers or families with smaller kids.

[bellydancer]

I wasn't too impressed with the variety of fish there either. I think the water is filmy like that because of the fresh water meeting the salt water. I also didn't like not having a place to sit or lay out either except on the rocks.

[Armchairshrink]

I keep seeing the Yal-kul lagoon come up as a recommended place and I scratch my head. On our last trip (much too long ago now, sigh) hubby and I snorkeled the Yal-kul lagoon and were completely unimpressed. The only fish we saw were little ordinary ones that were begging near the entry because a family was there feeding them. We snorkeled all over the danged place, up to where the ocean comes through and were bored stiff.

The clarity of the water was disgusting. There was a six inch film of stuff sitting on top of the water, like when you have vinegar and oil dressing. If that was from people using non-biodegradable sunscreen I clearly see what a hazard it is for the marine life.

Yes, the setting was nice and the sculpture were interesting, but the only other interesting thing was the self-composting toilets. And I wasn't there to see that!

So, did we go on a bad day? What makes a good day to go?

See, when I went in July 2007 there were TONS of colorful fish everywhere. You couldn't move without seeing fish. And the water was very clear. Some spots had a weird "shimmery" effect but I've heard that's because of the freshwater mixing with oceanwater.

My memories of Yal-Kul may be somewhat better than most because it was a ridiculously hot day, and we'd been snorkeling in Akumal bay which was very warm. The cool water of Yal-Kul just felt amazing and I thought it was very beautiful there, just fun to swim around in. I wouldn't recommend it for serious snorkel enthusiasts but it's a great, safe place for beginners - far better than the Xel-Ha lagoon I'd seen several years earlier which really was somewhat murky and had very few fish.

[beachreader]

When we did Yal-Ku (1993?), I was also very disappointed. Not many fish, and I couldn't see a thing because the shimmery fresh/salt water thing was everywhere I looked, not just on the surface (and it was long enough ago that I don't think it was a sunblock issue--there wasn't a soul there other than us). It started giving me a headache because I was looking so hard, trying to see the wonderful fishies I'd heard about.

So I guess it depends on the day, how stormy it may have been recently, the tides, I don't know, but I was disappointed.

[Lynnette]

What time of day were you there? There are so many people that visit now, that the water tends to be stirred up and the fish disappear. I feel that Akumal Bay isn't all that great for snorkeling either.....except for the tortugas. The snorkeling in Soliman Bay is MUCH better with fewer people. Akumal in general, has become just too crowded IMHO.

[beachreader]

This was 15 years ago, no one else was anywhere near the place, so I really don't think it was stirred up in that sense. I really think that natural forces influence the clarity of the water, and that's OK. I mean, of course nowadays it could be from crowds or sunblock or whatever, but back then? I don't think so.

[AdGuy]

Beachreader-Beachraider-Beachsnooper is right. :) It's a natural phenomenon when salt water hits fresh water. The brackish water creates a haze that creates a fuzzy effect in the water.

[TnTWalter]

I almost stayed at Isla Holbox this trip but weren't going at right time for the whale shark swim which sounds awesome...but man Isla Holbox looks cool and cheap and their cabanas have pools which Tulum is lacking...something about a drink in hand and a pool late in the day [no sand worries].....


OK I had planned on hitting Akumal because I really want to see turtles....but now it doesn't sound so promising [we were going to do Yal ku after]....

any other place to swim with turtles? thanks. did i already ask this? lol.

[minniemex]

Ok, what everyone is encountering is "halocline"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halocline

This is where salt water does not mix with freshwater.

I would still do Akumal Bay for the turtless - they are not to
be missed!!

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k83/Minniemex/Akumal%20Snorkeling/DSC00930.jpg

And while there, take in the fish ball as well!!

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k83/Minniemex/Akumal%20Snorkeling/DSC00945.jpg

There is plenty to see in Akumal Bay to pretty much make a good day of snorkeling.!! The turtles are fascinating to watch!!

[susan]

We were just there and did both. I was with 12 and 16 year old boys but we saw tons of fish in the lagoon of many different varieties. My kids liked it so much we snorkeled there for 3 hours almost non-stop. You couldn't find a sot without fish, there are also some interesting rock formations in the water. The layer everyone is referring to wasn't bad at all the day we were there.

In Akumal bay we did get to see the turtles and one surfaced right in front of us so it was a pretty cool experience.

However by far the coolest place we went snorkeling was the reef at Punta Allen, the water clarity, reef, and fish were amazing.

[AdGuy]

any other place to swim with turtles? thanks. did i already ask this? lol.

Between Yal-ku and Akumal Bay you can also check out Half Moon Bay to spot some tortugas. http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_5_8v.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNxmk762YYUS)