The ULTIMATE Yucatan Road trip
Our 2-week itinerary exploring Mexico’s southern peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula is a northeastern projection of Central America, with the Gulf of Mexico to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The peninsula is made of porous limestone rocks, and where the rocky surface is perforated, there are natural sinkholes and caverns around which the Maya had built their cities. With some of the best beaches in the world, thousands of cenotes, and a lot of historical significance, it’s no wonder why the Yucatan Peninsula has become such a tourist hotspot and an ideal location to road trip around.
Playa Del Carmen
Home base
Playa Del Carmen is centrally located to so many great activities in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico that it made for a great jumping off point for loads of adventures. We feel like we TOTALLY lucked out and found an Airbnb with a Jeep included. It saved us money on a Mexican rental car (which is VERY expensive due to required insurance). This airbnb is in a great and central location to explore from, it has great wifi (good for digital nomads), air conditioning in all the spaces, and so many cool amenities like a gym, pool, sauna, tennis courts etc. All of this for $103 USD a night and the unit can sleep 5 people.
Highlights in Playa del carmen:
Playa Public Beach
Scuba diving Playa Del Carmen
Cozumel
2-3 days
On the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula is Cozumel. We chose to visit this beautiful island to get open water diver certified.
How to get here? Hop on 1 of 2 frequently running Ultramar ferries, you can check the schedule here. There are several places on the island that rent scooters, open-top Jeeps, and cars to get around with. We hired a scooter and explored the whole island on our day off while getting paddy certified through Scuba Tony.
There are a whole bunch of boat excursions that don’t involve scuba/snorkel too that take you out along the reef. Need a little more adventure? Rent a jet ski, kayak, or try out surfing! Visit Mr. Sancho's Beach Club Cozumel for all your rentals and excursions.
We shared a condo with some friends, Casa Phoenix, and it was the best way to save money.
Tulum
3 days
Head back to home base in Playa Del Carmen to get ready for a road trip through Tulum to Bacalar.
Tulum is located on the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula, and is about 45 minutes south of Playa del Carmen and 90 minutes south of Cancun by car.
Tulum has very much become a tourist and digital nomad hotspot during the pandemic, but there are many reasons why so many flock to this part of the peninsula: mayan ruins, world class cafes and restaurants, nightlife, and proper island vibes. This all comes at a price though as Tulum has recently become one of the most expensive parts of Mexico.
We stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment in Tulum that was around $57 USD a night, with an $80 USD cleaning fee, called Sonido del Mar and we booked it through Agoda.com. It was very close to the Mayan ruins and some cenotes.
Tulum highlights:
Cenotes: Cenote Azul, Cenote Xunaan-Ha, Car Wash cenote, Gran cenote (most popular and expensive). The rule of thumb for cenotes: get there as early as possible to avoid the crowds.
Akiin beach club (get the surf and turf platter)
La buena vida - Akumal treehouse.
For a more detailed blog on Tulum, visit this link.
Bacalar (Quintana roo)
2 days
Bacalar is a town 3 hours drive from Tulum, right on the Mexican-Belize border. It is home to a freshwater, 35 mile long lake. Often called the “Lagoon of 7 Colors” due to all of its shades of blue, this lake is one of Mexico’s best kept secrets.
We stayed at the world-famous Seashell house, kayak and longboards were included and we had direct access to the lake.
Bacalar Highlights:
Los Rapidos (river rapids)
Pirate channel (Canal de los Piratas)
Sailing lake Bacalar ($30-$50 USD which includes an open bar so…worth it)
For more on Bacalar, visit our blog post here.
Isle Mujeres
2 days
Isla Mujeres is a little island less than 5 square km in area! This tiny island is only 13 km off the East coast of Cancun. If you’re in the Cancun area, it is a must to visit! Isla Mujeres is the definition of small but mighty.
Ultramar ferry runs every half hour to Isle Mujeres from Playa Del Carmen for $13 USD round trip. There is a parking structure at the port too, where you can park your car for about 100-200 Pesos ($6 USD) for 24-hours. If you want to bring your vehicle across to Isla Mujeres, there is a car ferry also available
We booked a budget hotel called Casa Coco for $62 USD a night for 2 bedrooms.
Isla Mujeres Highlights:
Seahawk scuba dive (or snorkel)
North beach
MUSA Underwater museum
For more details on Isla Mujeres, visit our blog post here.
Isle Holbox
3 days
We have visited many beaches during our adventures around, but one of our FAVORITES so far has been Isla Holbox. This car-free island is located on the very north tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and separated from the mainland by a Nature Reserve that is home to flamingos, pelicans, sea turtles and whale sharks. You won’t find much cell signal or wifi and it’s not unusual to lose power out here.
The ferry runs out of Chiquilá every half hour. It costs about 200 Pesos (about $8 USD) and is a 30 minute trip to the island.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel right on the beach called Villas El Encanto, for around $120 USD a night. There are cheaper accommodation options inland closer to town as well.
Holbox Highlights:
Riding bicycles around the island
Sunbathing and lying on the white sand beaches
Reading a book and taking a nap in a hammock
Bioluminescent plankton at sunset
What more do you need?
For more info on Holbox, visit our more detailed blog post here.
Rio Lagartos
1 day
This is a small fishing village on the north side of the Yucatan peninsula recently made popular because of the pink salt lakes at a local salt mine in Los Colarados
There isn’t a ton of stuff to do in this region but that’s what makes it special. The area surrounding Rio Lagartos has been designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and so the main aim is for you to enjoy the untouched nature around you, the lakes and lagoons, flamboyances of flamingos, and the pristine beaches.
Entrance to the salt lakes is around 100 pesos ($5 USD) per person and guides are required as it is private property. Make sure to visit on a clear and sunny day at around noon for the best views. There is a newly opened ecolodge called Piña Coloradas you can stay at overnight, we just chose to do it as a day trip.
We did this entire road trip in 6 weeks, but you can easily do it in 2 weeks at a much faster pace. If you’re looking to visit other parts of Mexico - visit the rest of our Mexican blog posts below
