Hi everyone!

I'm from Vancouver, Canada and we have the winter olympics coming up in February... thankfully, they are giving all us university students the 2 weeks off and I am planning on getting the hell outta here... I'm looking for great ideas of places to go that are WONDERFUL and CHEAP.

First of all, what is the cheapest place to FLY to? What airline is good? where do you book your tickets??

What I am looking for:
- scuba diving
- beautiful beaches
- great laid-back atmosphere (I prefer more of a backpacker culture)
- historical sites nearby would be an awesome bonus
- of course, lots of culture
- and CHEAP (have I said that enough? lol)

Places I have considered so far:
- Mexico (because I know it is usually cheap to fly to... but where in Mexico is good??)
- Cuba - ok, it doesn't really fit in with my requirements but I would LOVE to go here
- Honduras (but I think flights are expensive? and is there still a political situtation going on there?)
- Belize (I also hear this is very expensive)

Mexico is probably your best bet. Fly into Cancun, take an airport bus to Playa del Carmen, and from there dive off Cozumel. There are ruins nearby at Tulum, Coba, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and a bit further south, Palenque.

Honduras is good too. Fly into San Pedro Sula (SAP), dive and party on either Utila or Roatan, and check out the ruins at Copan.

Thanks for the advice - I have just booked my ticket to Cancun, Mexico!!

A few questions:

- how easy is it to travel in Mexico independently
- how much is an average nights accomodation (I'm not doing an all-inclusive)
... basically, what sort of budget am I looking at?
- what are the best mayan ruins to visit?
- any idea of costs of scuba diving? (I have my PADI)

Thank you!!

Asheai wrote:- how easy is it to travel in Mexico independently

Extremely easy, particularly in the Yucatan. Plan on $3-4 per hour of bus travel. Buses are extremely comfortable - far better than Greyhounds in the US.

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- how much is an average nights accomodation (I'm not doing an all-inclusive)

$10 for a dorm bed, $30 for a low-end double. There are dorm-style hostels in Playa del Carmen (Palomar, Ruinas), Tulum (several, including Weary Traveler), Merida (Nomadas), Isla Mujeres and Cancun, and other cities.

... basically, what sort of budget am I looking at?

$30 bare-bones, more if you are going out at night and scuba diving. Hearty restaurant meals are $4-5, street food is cheaper.

- what are the best mayan ruins to visit?

Palenque is best, but also the farthest from the Yucatan. Uxmal is also very good. Chichen Itza is massively overrated and overcrowded. Tulum is minor, although nearby Coba is definitely worth it.

- any idea of costs of scuba diving? (I have my PADI)

Plan on $60 for two-tank trips, lunch and gear included. The best diving is around Cozumel. The island is pretty boring topside, and you can dive many of the same sites from shops in Playa del Carmen, opposite Cozumel on the mainland. There's a good Italian-run dive shop in Tulum, on the beach near the ruins, that I recommend too.


You'll probably want to get away from Cancun as quickly as possible. Isla Mujeres is a short ferry from Punta Sam in Cancun. I'd probably save that for the end of the trip, when you're getting ready to fly out of Cancun. Airport buses (Riviera is the company) run from Cancun's airport to Playa del Carmen, taking about an hour. Playa is very touristy, but a lot more tasteful than Cancun. It is a manageable size and pedestrianized, unlike sprawling Cancun with its homicidal traffic. Tulum is another hour south of Playa, and a very laid-back beach spot popular with backpackers. Tulum is just beyond the edge of the heavy development extending south from Cancun, at least for the time being.

Merida is the cultural center of the Yucatan. It's a city of just under a million, with a city center dating from the 16th century. Buses from the Caribbean (Cancun, Playa, or Tulum) take around five hours to get there. Merida is a good base for trips to Uxmal and nearby cenotes (water-filled sinkholes that dot the low limestone shelf of the Yucatan). Palenque is an overnight bus from Merida or Tulum, and easily the most spectacular Maya ruins in Mexico. Only Tikal, in northern Guatemala, surpasses what you'll see at Palenque. There are lots of agencies that arrange trips from Palenque to Tikal and Flores (the city nearest Tikal ruins). That may be a bit ambitious for a two-week trip though.

Wow thanks everyone for the great information!

Is this too ambitious for a 10-day trip?

- arrive in Cancun - leave immediately
- Tikal, Guatemala (2 days)
- Tulum (4 days) - including scuba diving
- Playa del Carmen (3 days)
- Cancun - fly home

How long and easy of a trip would it be to go to Tikal from Cancun? Is this possible? I didn't really plan on going there this trip, but it seems so close that it would be a shame to not go. What do you need to get into Guatemala? (ie do you need a visa?)

Asheai wrote:Wow thanks everyone for the great information!

Is this too ambitious for a 10-day trip?

- arrive in Cancun - leave immediately
- Tikal, Guatemala (2 days)
- Tulum (4 days) - including scuba diving
- Playa del Carmen (3 days)
- Cancun - fly home

How long and easy of a trip would it be to go to Tikal from Cancun? Is this possible? I didn't really plan on going there this trip, but it seems so close that it would be a shame to not go. What do you need to get into Guatemala? (ie do you need a visa?)

Depends on how much money you have. It's not difficult to get from Cancun to Flores by land. It takes 16 hours each way by bus. The route is Cancun - Chetumal - Orange Walk - Belize City - Melchor de Mencos - Flores. I think it's too much for 10 days, but that's a personal decision. You can also fly from Cancun directly to Flores, but I don't know how much tickets are. Guatemala doesn't require advance visas from US or Canadian citizens. Belize hits you with a hefty fee to transit the country though - I think I remember it being $27.50US each way, even if you're only in country for a few hours to transit.

A full week between Tulum and Playa is probably unnecessary. I'd actually suggest diving from Playa. Tulum's diving is quite good too, but it's spectacular out of Playa, and there's a wider range of dive shops there.

Okay, so I've cut Tikal from the trip. It is too unrealistic.

So this is what I am now looking at:

Cancun - Feb 15th
Chichen Itza - Feb 16th
Merida - Feb 16-18th
Uxmal Ruins - 18th
Tulum - 19-21
Cozumel - 21 - scuba dive
Playa del Carmen 22-25
Cancun - Fly Home Feb 26th

Any recommendations on places to stay, things to see/do, or anything else? Thanks again for all the great replies, this is making me very excited about this trip!

Asheai wrote:Okay, so I've cut Tikal from the trip. It is too unrealistic.

So this is what I am now looking at:

Cancun - Feb 15th
Chichen Itza - Feb 16th
Merida - Feb 16-18th
Uxmal Ruins - 18th
Tulum - 19-21
Cozumel - 21 - scuba dive
Playa del Carmen 22-25
Cancun - Fly Home Feb 26th

Any recommendations on places to stay, things to see/do, or anything else? Thanks again for all the great replies, this is making me very excited about this trip!

What time do you arrive in Cancun? You should stay in Piste the night of the 15th of you can, so you can get to the ruins the moment the park opens. Chichen Itza gets freakishly crowded when the tour buses from Cancun arrive later in the morning.

In Merida, Nomadas Hostel is a good bet. It's very centrally located, friendly, and secure. They arrange trips to Uxmal and nearby cenotes, and also host trova music and salsa lessons many evenings. Merida is a great place to buy hammocks and other handicrafts, as well as try Yucatecan cuisine. It's very different from what most people think of Mexican cuisine (which is itself very regional, although Yucatecan is probably the most distinct of regional cooking).

In Tulum, your biggest choice will be whether to stay on the beach or in town. The town is 3km and a 42-peso taxi ride from the beach. There isn't much in the way of facilities on the beach. If you're on a budget, you're looking at a very rustic beach hut - think sand floor, rough bamboo walls, and no electricity or private bathroom. You'll pay for it too. Huts for two people start at $25 at the very bottom, with $40 being more normal for the budget end. Food and drink are priced at a premium on the beach too. If you're alone, you'll find evenings on the beach very quiet - it's very couple-oriented at night. The town is better if you're on your own. There are a couple of bars, grocery stores, as well as the bus terminal. I usually stay at Weary Traveler near the bus station, which gets mixed reviews. It's very much a party hostel, with nightly barbecues winding down sometimes at 3 or 4 in the morning. They also have a free shuttle to the beach every day, although taking a taxi isn't that big a deal. If you want something quieter, there are a few other options in Tulum town. Don't miss takeout from Pollo Bronco, on the main drag in Tulum town. You can get half a roast chicken with salad, tortillas, rice, and sauce for a few pesos.

Cozumel sucks. Either you're bored to tears, or the place is overrun with people disgorged by whichever cruise ship is calling at the moment. When you dive there, find a dive trip to the places farthest from the mainland (in other words, sites you can't dive from Playa), and take the ferry back to Playa ASAP when you're done.

In Playa, there is a huge range of places to sleep. Las Ruinas is the cheapest place, right on the beach. Unless you drink yourself to oblivion, you won't get much sleep here, since Playa parties late. Colores Mexicanos is about two blocks from the beach, on 15th and Juarez, not far from the bus station. Playa is an excellent place to splurge if you can, as there are some really smart boutique hotels for under $100/night. Restaurants and clubs are quite good too, although can be somewhat expensive for Mexico. A general rule of thumb in Playa is the farther from the beach, the cheaper things are. Walk up Juarez to the 30s, and you'll find taquerias where you won't spend more than the coins rattling around your pocket. The streets parallel to the beach are avenidas, numbering in intervals of five. 5th (La Quinta) is a pedestrian mall adjacent to the beach, and the next one up is 10, and so on.

If you have enough of Playa, spend your last night or two on Isla Mujeres, which is just off the mainland north of Cancun.

Thank you Felix, I greatly appreciate your advice. I have no more questions at the moment (you've done an awesome job of answering them all!) but if I have any more I will post. Thanks again!

The only other suggestion I'd make would be to consider shaving off a couple of days of beach time to see Palenque, depending on how ambitious you are.