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I am planning a two week family trip to Mexico for next year, and would really appreciate some advice. There are just too many places that look interesting, with huge distances between them, and I am not sure what to pick and what to miss out.
So far I am thinking:
– fly in to Cancun, chill for a couple of days somewhere around Riviera Maya/Tulum to get over jet lag; do a day trip to one of the islands; swim in some cenotes; see some wildlife.
– on to Valladolid and then Chichen Itza (I think you can now do this by train, or should be able to by next year) – This site has been on my list ever since some family went there when I was a child and I was stunned by their photos; but then there is conflicting advice on which ruins are “best”. I would personally do several, but think my teen would protest at any more than two.
– back to Cancun to fly to Chihuahua City (I wanted to go via Merida but no direct flights as far as I can see, so back to Cancun it is).
– Visit Creel, then spend a couple of days seeing Copper Canyon via the Chepe Express train, including the adventure park
– Fly from Los Mochis to Mexico City. A couple of days there, taking in museums and food. Then fly back to the UK (Avios availability looks better than for Cancun).Does that sounds like a good plan? Too much? Am I missing out something obvious? What would you do/have you done with two weeks in Mexico? We are unlikely to return in the foreseeable future so would like to get as much out of the trip as possible, but without leaving everyone too grumpy and exhaused.
Definitely too much for 2 weeks with family if you want some R & R!
I would decide whether you want Mexico City and environs, or Yucatan (though @JDB will hate this!). 20 years ago we did a 2-week trip, the first week was an organised tour of Merida and the major archaeological sites, (which was amazing and you could do under your steam), then had a week in a condo in Cancun. We did a couple of things from there as well, e.g. took the ferry to Isla Mujeres and OH did the cenote dive.
The only thing I would caution is that Cancun sounds like it can be a bit of a dump these days and there is a huge seasonal issue with sargassum weed on the beaches. Cozumel might be a better option for the R & R?
If you’re struggling for avios availabilty, Cancun and Cozumel are well connected to Miami and other US cities.
Thank you. I was worried it may be too much…
We are not really big R&R or beach people on holiday, so not too worried about the sargassum. I am aware the area gets a bit of a bad press these days, and that there are better coastal parts of Mexico. But for us the coast isn’t really the main attraction (other than maybe to see some turtles etc). The idea in Yucatan was to avoid some of the most overcrowded resorts, and focus on the archaeological sites, wildlife and cenotes. Cozumel might be a good shout.
I really want to see the Mayan ruins, and I think that means we can’t really avoid Yucatan. I may be wrong though.
“so not too worried about the sargassum”
Be careful with this. If it’s around (I don’t think this year has been a problem) apparently it absolutely stinks. So make sure you’re not paying extra to be in a hotel on the beachfront.
We were in Belize last month. Weather was exceptionally kind to us and we did a great fly-in day trip to see the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. The advantage of this was it was very, very quiet – had the place to ourselves until the last half hour.
@slonik – as a Mexico aficionado since about 1997, I think you are probably trying to squeeze in too much and a disproportionate amount of time would be spent in transit for relatively little benefit. I would note also that Chihuahua is an FCDO no go state. There are many more Mayan sites around the Yucatán peninsula that will be much less busy than Chichén Itzá which I’m afraid will look very different today vs old photos, principally because of huge visitor numbers and barriers. CI is the granddaddy of them all but may not impress the most?? Tulum is incredible principally for its setting but has been spoilt by tourism. Cobá, Uxmal and Ek Balam (which I think you probably had in mind with the mention of Valladolid) may impress. Re potentially uninterested teens not sharing your enthusiasm, that’s a sales job. If it’s a boy, the rather gorier aspects of Mayan life seem to appeal! Our experience has been to get a guide that will both bring places alive for us and engage youngsters as well. You will be thanked for the opportunity later! Guides get you in and out plus to the right places and vantage points at the right time to avoid tours that follow fairly standard patterns. Mérida and Campeche are somewhat more Mexican and agreeable than anywhere around Cancún/Mayan ‘riviera’. Nevertheless, prepare for everything around there to be very Americanised and teeming with them.
Two days in CDMX, even if it is two full days is quite little really, depending on what interests you. For you, the collection of pre-Hispanic artefacts made by Diego Rivera displayed at his Anahuacali museum is pretty amazing as is the building. Entry is included with the Frida Kahlo house. While she’s perhaps a rather marmite painter, her extraordinary and tragic life story and the directness of her works seem to have appeal even to youngsters. The pyramids at Teotihuacán make a good day trip from CDMX but you ideally need to go very early.
What’s the best time to take the return flight home from Mexico City to attempt to mitigate jetlag as much as possible?
We’ve got nearly a week in CDMX at the end of November and I’ve had to be selective – I’ve booked the (early) trip to Teotihuacan, a walking tour of the historic district and have 3 museums on the itinerary (I prefer the old stuff to the modern!) Also planning to go to the Basilica de Guadalupe as I am fascinated by the psychology of religion and relics! We “collect” Bond locations as well as a bit of light-hearted fun so will be adding to our “collection” by visiting the location of the opening scenes of “Spectre”.
After all that we’ll be chilling on the Pacific coast for 10 days, as we are definitely also R & R folk – though there will hopefully be whale-watching trips plus diving for my OH.
@CJD, presume you mean BA or IB? We are on the BA flight – it leaves around 9 pm so hoping for 8-ish hours sleep then come round over the next few days, lol. I tried a method I read about once going to NZ – basically you were supposed to fast for 16 hours then eat your next meal at destination time. It did seem to help but I’ve not been organised enough to repeat the exercise!We’re back to Mexico City to see the Killers in October.
Our list trip was cut short and we missed out on our visit to Teotihuacan so we’re going to try again this time.
@NorthernLass what time is your ‘early’ tour? I can only see 8am?Definitely too much for 2 weeks with family if you want some R & R!
I would decide whether you want Mexico City and environs, or Yucatan (though @JDB will hate this!).
Cozumel might be a better option for the R & R?
Actually Yucatán is great as long as you avoid Crapcun, the Mayan Rubbishiera and surroundings which would also have been lovely at the time of the photos of CI the OP references but have now been decimated by excessive tourism to which add sargassum, guns and drugs; a delightful cocktail. Yucatán top place to be if interested in Mayan civilisation.
The mention of R&R in Cozumel sounds totally exhausting!
Thank you so much for all the advice, it is hugely appreciated.
You have convinced me to drop the Copper Canyon. (Interesting that the area is no go according to FCDO – it is prominently featured in a photo exhibition outside the Mexico embassy in London, which I passed the other day, and which was actually what inspired me to try and add it to the trip in the first place. I am clearly easily influenced by beautiful photos!!!)
We will spend longer in Yucatan and Mexico City instead; that way we can explore both properly.
@NorthernLass please can you post a trip report when you are back? Would love to read it.
@JDB which areas of Yucatan would you recommend as a base? Is around Tulum still (comparatively) OK? You make a very good point re “selling” the ruins to the teen. I will do that and will aim for Tulum, Chichen Itza and one other (plus Teotihuacán once we get to CDMX).
@CJD, presume you mean BA or IB? We are on the BA flight – it leaves around 9 pm so hoping for 8-ish hours sleep then come round over the next few days, lol. I tried a method I read about once going to NZ – basically you were supposed to fast for 16 hours then eat your next meal at destination time. It did seem to help but I’ve not been organised enough to repeat the exercise!Yeah, we’d be flying IB from Madrid.
Flight out appears to be a no brainer – 13:20 flight from Madrid, arrive in Mexico City at 18:40, try and stay up until 10 or 11pm local time and hopefully be into a new routine quite quickly.
Flights back are at 12:50, 20:30 and 00:05 – instinctively the early flight looks rubbish as we’d be in the air from 1pm to 11pm body clock time, which is unlikely to be conducive to sleep, then arrive in Madrid at 6am right around the time where we’ll want to be going to bed.
20:30 seems the best option – hopefully get some sort of sleep, arrive at 13:50 which gives decent options for getting home.
We did 8 nights in the Riviera Maya area last summer and felt like that was about the right amount of time to get in both some relaxing and some exploring. We split our time between the excellent Conrad resort and a few nights in Playa del Carmen to get some nightlife, but could easily have done something like 5 nights in one hotel on the coast and 3 in Valladolid for example. The drive from Valladolid to the airport in Cancun is just slightly longer than from Tulum, so it’s completely doable to go from Valladolid to anywhere else in Mexico without wasting a full day 🙂
I feel like the area tends to get talked down a bit more than it deserves – beyond Cancun itself it’s not completely overrun by tourists to the extent many popular places in Europe are, and the sargassum is only an issue if you plan to spend most of your time on a beach. If you’re happy with swimming in pools and cenotes you’ll be just fine! We did not notice any particular smell from the sargassum, even thought there was a lot in some places.
We rented a car while we were there and the traffic was completely fine – and for some of the less crowded cenotes it’s basically a requirement unless you’re going as part of a tour, as there will be no taxis waiting outside 🙂
@slonik – where you base your will depend on which sites you ultimately decide to visit. Tulum or nearby may be a good initial base and Cobá is in easy striking distance. Mérida is a good base for many of the other sites and is a more Mexican but obviously not resort experience. It has a good range of hotels and restaurants – you can also stay on the coast nearby. Campeche is quite a bit further away. I don’t know if, as you are missing Chihuahua, you might be contemplating Palenque? For Chichen Itzá you could get there from Tulum or Mérida or stay on site so as to get in before the hordes and/or for you to get extra time there.
Certainly will post our CDMX trip report – from a sun lounger in Puerto Vallarta, maybe 😎
@smitrax, 8 am is early for us these days 😂. Hopefully the very end of November won’t be too busy. I’ll be popping with excitement just to be there though, after all these years of watching documentaries (and reading theories about possible constellation alignments)!I recall that one night of our Yucatan tour was spent at the incredibly romantic Hacienda Chichén just outside the archaeological site – accommodation was individual cottages in the grounds of a rambling estate. We had early and late access to Chichén Itzá which was magical.
@NortherLass – thank you. Have a great trip.
Two weeks really is a tiny amount of time. You would struggle to do just DF with two weeks if you have a modicum of interest in culture and food and want to do a couple of day trips.
Perhaps a better option would be to just do a week in Oaxaca city and San Cristobal. You’d miss out on a lot but at least get to see two of the best places in Mexico.
Any other itinerary doesn’t really make much sense with only two weeks. I’d want about a month to do DF and Jalisco perhaps with a few days in Guanajuato.
Another classic trip with 3 weeks would be to fly into Cancun, base yourself in Merida and visit Valladolid and Bacalar (I hear it’s not completely overtouristed still). If you’re into water you could add on 10 days and do a week of scuba in Cozumel and some of the more hidden cave dives around Merida and Valladolid maybe even a few nights in Holbox. The actual local city of Cancun is excellent but obviously avoid the touristy resorts on the coast and Tulum is an utter waste of time these days.
Apart from Chichén Itzá, Cobá, Uxmal and Ek Balam it’s worth going to Palenque and some of the Chiapas sites if you have the time. I will say it’s incredibly easy to avoid the crowds at CI if you just go early.
You can see a lot and cover a lot of ground in only 1 day too! Just depends on what type of holiday you want. I have a busy job and can rarely travel for more than 1 week at a time, but I still feel like I get so much out of visiting the places go to. Very few cities need more than 2 days for example, although of course more time would have been nice in many cases!
On the contrary side, I’d say almost no city is small enough anywhere in the world for 2 days to feel close to enough. Especially if you’re interested in food and culture, that’s not physically enough time to even try the shortest shortlist of dishes/eateries and makes it incredibly unlikely an event you’re interested is on the one night you are there.
Mostly importantly, apart from not having enough time to see major sights and attractions, it gives you no chance to interact with the local scene or to begin to get a feeling for the vibe of the place, scope out favourite spots or connect with local people.
Is @Cin3 AI without the I, whatever that’s called?
I can’t give you any current advice, as the last time we went was around 1986. It was me and the future Mrs AFKAE and we had a wonderful time. Apart from the fabulous Yucatan peninsula and sights, the thing that sticks in my mind is a bus trip from Veracruz to CDMX. I’m sure we arrived at some ungodly hour in CDMX and started walking from the bus station to a hotel on Republica Uruguay. The room was almost the whole floor of the building and we paid £4.60 for the night. The downsides were having used the toilet in then wouldn’t flush and the concierge asked us if we would be willing to share our room with a complete stranger! Unsurprisingly we declined the offer. The things you’re prepared to do when you’re young, compared to a much more risk averse approach these days! Hey ho.
Is @Cin3 AI without the I, whatever that’s called?
@JDB I don’t know about ‘artificial’ (read all today’s posts so far and judge for yourself https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/users/cin3/replies/) but anyone talking about one month long trips, particularly where the OP was specifically referring to a two-week family holiday, clearly doesn’t live in the ‘real world’…Is @Cin3 AI without the I, whatever that’s called?
Why the unnecessary rudeness?
And GG – I gave multiple 2 week itineraries as well. A significant proportion of families would prefer a trip to SCdlC and OC to the standard recommendation of the Yucutan as you’d know if you’ve every visited either.
Is @Cin3 AI without the I, whatever that’s called?
Why the unnecessary rudeness?
And GG – I gave multiple 2 week itineraries as well. A significant proportion of families would prefer a trip to SCdlC and OC to the standard recommendation of the Yucutan as you’d know if you’ve every visited either.
OK – I’ll bite – normally I’m really supportive of any contributors on here – it’s a forum after all, so it’s all about asking for and giving opinions. I also admit I haven’t been to Mexico and it sounds like you have a lot of experience in the region … BUT …
that being said, your suggestions lack any detail and focus and seem somehow detached from the real world.They included an abbreviation (DL) without explanation and two previously unmentioned in-land cities (in a different area to the ones being discussed) as your recommended 2 week itinerary, without any detail as to why you consider them “two of the best places”. All this after OP had specifically mentioned a “focus on the archaeological sites, wildlife and cenotes” in the Yucatan. Then you go on to suggest tacking on a 10 day diving holiday!
It’s great that you want to contribute but generally your advice smacks of someone who is living a very different life from most of the ordinary folk on here. As a result, your recommendations are rather unrelatable and, I’m afraid, therefore also pointless.
OK – I’ll bite – normally I’m really supportive of any contributors on here – it’s a forum after all, so it’s all about asking for and giving opinions. I also admit I haven’t been to Mexico and it sounds like you have a lot of experience in the region … BUT …
that being said, your suggestions lack any detail and focus and seem somehow detached from the real world.They included an abbreviation (DL) without explanation and two previously unmentioned in-land cities (in a different area to the ones being discussed) as your recommended 2 week itinerary, without any detail as to why you consider them “two of the best places”. All this after OP had specifically mentioned a “focus on the archaeological sites, wildlife and cenotes” in the Yucatan. Then you go on to suggest tacking on a 10 day diving holiday!
It’s great that you want to contribute but generally your advice smacks of someone who is living a very different life from most of the ordinary folk on here. As a result, your recommendations are rather unrelatable and, I’m afraid, therefore also pointless.
I’m not sure what you determine the “real world” but there are hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting Mexico, many of which are families and many who decide to take trips longer than a couple of weeks. Regardless, the spec was for a family trip for a couple of weeks and that is what I have answered in addition to giving some context for my choices.
DF was the abbreviation I used (not DL) – it stands for Distrito Federal i.e. Mexico City. Even though it’s now been renamed, DF is more common and most Mexicans know it as this.
I didn’t “tack on a 10 day diving holiday”. I said “if you’re into water you could add on 10 days and do a week of scuba in Cozumel and some of the more hidden cave dives around Merida and Valladolid”. This is a direct reference to the interest in cenotes (“cave dive”). There are some touristy cenotes that are still worth diving in and around Tulum and Valladolid, but the best ones are nearer Merida and require transport and often someone to take you to the entrances. Many of the best cenotes (there are hundreds) can only be accessed by cave diving.
One of the other aspects mentioned was Cozumel because of the request for wildlife. There is not much interesting wildlife in Mexico (compared to somewhere like Guatemala, Honduras, CR, Colombia, etc.) just monkeys and Sciurus yucatanensis. However, Cozumel is a world highlight for aquatic wildlife which, if you like diving, I would say is a must see if you’re nearby on the coast and definitely the best option for wildlife spotting.
Oaxaca (and especially OC which you’ll note is very frequently included on guided itineraries) is famous for good reason and one of the most popular states for visitors to Mexico so I don’t think I really need to justify why it was mentioned with the restriction of a 2 week trip.
San Cristobal was mentioned because it is one of the most charming colonial towns to visit, has beautiful sights, amazing nature and culture nearby (natural parks, plentiful traditional festivals, great markets and the influence of the local indigenous population). Anyone who has studied humanities will also be fascinated by visiting a nearby caracol. It’s also a great location for the other thing the OP mentioned – archaeological sites. Again I explicitly mentioned several in my suggestions but Chiapas has one of the best known in Mexico in Palenque which most people prefer to CI for reasons alluded to by other posters. It also has more hidden gems such as Chinkultic, Lagartero, Tenam Puente and the attractions of Comitan, Chucumaltik and El Chiflón.
Mexico is a vast country with an embarrassment of spoils. Just because a handful of posters haven’t mentioned these places doesn’t make them obscure or less worth visiting. Again, these are well-known and popular spots on the tourist trail. I’m a bit confused what you’re getting at as if you go to the places I recommend, you’ll see that very ordinary people visit them all the time. I didn’t mention them because I’m “not ordinary” but because the OP might well decide after a little research that they are more interesting options than the ones already given.
OK – I’ll bite – normally I’m really supportive of any contributors on here – it’s a forum after all, so it’s all about asking for and giving opinions. I also admit I haven’t been to Mexico and it sounds like you have a lot of experience in the region … BUT …
that being said, your suggestions lack any detail and focus and seem somehow detached from the real world.They included an abbreviation (DL) without explanation and two previously unmentioned in-land cities (in a different area to the ones being discussed) as your recommended 2 week itinerary, without any detail as to why you consider them “two of the best places”. All this after OP had specifically mentioned a “focus on the archaeological sites, wildlife and cenotes” in the Yucatan. Then you go on to suggest tacking on a 10 day diving holiday!
It’s great that you want to contribute but generally your advice smacks of someone who is living a very different life from most of the ordinary folk on here. As a result, your recommendations are rather unrelatable and, I’m afraid, therefore also pointless.
I’m not sure what you determine the “real world” but there are hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting Mexico, many of which are families and many who decide to take trips longer than a couple of weeks. Regardless, the spec was for a family trip for a couple of weeks and that is what I have answered in addition to giving some context for my choices.
DF was the abbreviation I used (not DL) – it stands for Distrito Federal i.e. Mexico City. Even though it’s now been renamed, DF is more common and most Mexicans know it as this.
I didn’t “tack on a 10 day diving holiday”. I said “if you’re into water you could add on 10 days and do a week of scuba in Cozumel and some of the more hidden cave dives around Merida and Valladolid”. This is a direct reference to the interest in cenotes (“cave dive”). There are some touristy cenotes that are still worth diving in and around Tulum and Valladolid, but the best ones are nearer Merida and require transport and often someone to take you to the entrances. Many of the best cenotes (there are hundreds) can only be accessed by cave diving.
I hope that people appreciate that people other than the OP read these threads and use the content for their own trip planning.
One of the other aspects mentioned was Cozumel because of the request for wildlife. There is not much interesting wildlife in Mexico (compared to somewhere like Guatemala, Honduras, CR, Colombia, etc.) just monkeys and Sciurus yucatanensis. However, Cozumel is a world highlight for aquatic wildlife which, if you like diving, I would say is a must see if you’re nearby on the coast and definitely the best option for wildlife spotting.
Oaxaca (and especially OC which you’ll note is very frequently included on guided itineraries) is famous for good reason and one of the most popular states for visitors to Mexico so I don’t think I really need to justify why it was mentioned with the restriction of a 2 week trip.
San Cristobal was mentioned because it is one of the most charming colonial towns to visit, has beautiful sights, amazing nature and culture nearby (natural parks, plentiful traditional festivals, great markets and the influence of the local indigenous population). Anyone who has studied humanities will also be fascinated by visiting a nearby caracol. It’s also a great location for the other thing the OP mentioned – archaeological sites. Again I explicitly mentioned several in my suggestions but Chiapas has one of the best known in Mexico in Palenque which most people prefer to CI for reasons alluded to by other posters. It also has more hidden gems such as Chinkultic, Lagartero, Tenam Puente and the attractions of Comitan, Chucumaltik and El Chiflón.
Mexico is a vast country with an embarrassment of spoils. Just because a handful of posters haven’t mentioned these places doesn’t make them obscure or less worth visiting. Again, these are well-known and popular spots on the tourist trail. I’m a bit confused what you’re getting at as if you go to the places I recommend, you’ll see that very ordinary people visit them all the time. I didn’t mention them because I’m “not ordinary” but because the OP might well decide after a little research that they are more interesting options than the ones already given.
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