10-day trip itinerary through Yucatan peninsula which includes Mayan ruins of Uxmal, Ek’ Balam, Chichén Itzá, Cobá, and Tulum and the pueblo mágico of Valladolid.
Table of Contents
About this trip
The Yucatán peninsula is my favorite region to visit in Mexico. Below is a sample Yucatan itinerary to visit some of the most amazing places this region has to offer.
As it is my style, I’ll show you how to get to the best spots with the freedom of private, rental car in an unforgettable Yucatan road trip.
- Day 1: Uxmal ruins
- Day 2: Merida
- Day 3-6: Valladolid, Ek’ Balam, Chichén Itzá and Tizimín
- Day 7: Cobá ruins and cenotes
- Day 8: Tulum ruins and cenotes
- Day 9: Playa del Carmen & Cozumel
- Day 10: Cancún
Why you should go beyond Cancun and the usual travel spots
One of the most popular places to visit in Mexico are the beautiful beaches of Cancún and the Riviera Maya. The all-inclusive resorts and top notch restaurants and bars make for a fun, relaxing trip to the area. However, there is so much more to see and do in the Yucatán peninsula!
All you need is a car rental to explore all of what the peninsula has to offer. You can skip the crowds of Chichén Itzá and visit the ruins at Uxmal instead. How about discovering the natural beauty and clear waters of the Sian Ka’an biosphere? You can also go scuba diving in one of the many cenotes in the area.
With a little planning you can make this a truly unforgettable road trip.
Getting to the Yucatan Peninsula
This region is cheap to get to since there are several international flights to Cancún (CUN). There are several options to rent a car there.
TIP: Make sure to call the rental agency in advance to ensure you have a final cost for the rental. This will avoid learning of any additional insurance charges at the counter. Prices should be similar to renting a car in the U.S.
I also recommend ignoring all of the people trying to sell you timeshare as you exit the airport.
The best places to visit in the Yucatan Peninsula
Here is the list of the places you must add to your Yucatan itinerary. These are arranged by day, but of course you can re-arrange at your leisure. I also include links where I provide more information and other things you can do in the area.
Day 1: Uxmal, Yucatán
Transportation: It is a 4-hour drive from Cancún to Uxmal, through safe, well-maintained toll roads. This will be the longest stretch on the trip.
Lodging: You can actually decide to stay in either Mérida or Uxmal itself. We preferred staying in Uxmal to be closer to the archaeological park, and enter it when it opened in the morning. We stayed at Uxmal Resort Maya. It has an incredible view and it was very clean. The resort also offers spa services and other amenities.
Getting around: There’s plenty of parking at Uxmal.
Attractions: The incredible archaeological site of Uxmal is the main attraction here. In my opinion this is a very underrated site. I consider it better than Chichén Itzá given that it is very well preserved and the crowd sizes are much smaller. However, the fact that it is a little bit hard to get to, knocks it down a rating. Regardless, it is well worth the drive!
I highly recommend getting a guide. The guide can help point to a lot of details you would otherwise miss on your own.
Day 2: Mérida, Yucatán
Transportation: Mérida is about an hour away from Uxmal by car.
Lodging: We chose to stay in Uxmal and make a stop in Mérida on the way to Valladolid. However, you may want to seriously consider a longer stay in Mérida as there is so much to see and do around the area. Trust me when I say Mérida should be part of your Yucatan itinerary!
Attractions: Although there is a bit of traffic to drive through its small streets taking you to it’s charming downtown, it is worth it. You can find paid parking in a few places. You will enjoy its small, calm downtown. This is a place to enjoy an evening at its plaza or main square, or a horse carriage ride.
Day 3, 4, 5 & 6: Valladolid, Ek’ Balam, Chichén Itzá and Tizimín
Transportation: You don’t need a car within Valladolid. Most things are within walking distance. However, you will need your car for day trips to Tizimín, Ek’ Balam, and Chichén Itzá.
Lodging: We stayed at La Aurora Hotel Colonial in Valladolid. This is a charming, colonial-style hotel close to the mains square. The breakfast in the roof-top is very good!
Attractions: This is a great opportunity to see Valladolid, which is considered a pueblo mágico. This is a colonial city that serves as an excellent base to also visit Tizimín, Ek’ Balam, and Chichén Itzá.
Tizimín is also considered a pueblo mágico, and it is a great place to spend a half day or evening. You could visit Ek’ Balam early in the morning, and then spend the rest of the day relaxing at the main square in Tizimín.
There’s also, of course, Chichén Itzá. One of the most famous archaeological sites in Mexico. It’s is grand, but a bit overcrowded. I highly recommend getting a guide to get to hear the story and legends of this place. Even if filled with tourists, you cannot miss a stop here.
Day 7: Cobá
Transportation: Cobá is about an hour away from Valladolid. You can either leave early in the morning and catch Cobá when it opens, or you can leave Valladolid in the evening and stay in Cobá. Once at Cobá, you can rent a bike there and visit the several sites. You can alternatively pay a bike taxi to take you.
Lodging: We drove in early to Cobá, but we recommend you eat at Hotel Sacbe Cobá. You get to eat on a 2nd floor patio, and the food is very good. This is a family-operated, small restaurant/hotel. The food is home-cooked.
Attractions: The Cobá archaeological park is in my top 10 archaeological zones of Mexico. It has juegos de pelota, and it expands over a long area which you can explore at your own leisure. You can climb the Ixmoja pyramid, which is one of the tallest in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Cenote: A sink hole that exposes the ground water to the surface. Cenotes can be very large (tens of meters in diameter). They are popular for snorkeling and scuba diving.
Travel with Ivan
Exiting the Cobá ruins, you can go take a swim at some of the cenotes nearby. We visited the Cenote Multum-Ha, which is only about a 15 min drive from the park. This cenote is completely underground, and there aren’t many people. A local recommended it to us. Nice way to refresh after a bike ride!
Day 8: Tulum
Transportation: Tulum is only 45 minutes away from Cobá. There’s ample parking at the archaeological site. You take a tram from the parking to the entrance of the park.
Lodging: We decided to arrive in the morning and leave after visiting the park in order to spend the night in Playa del Carmen. However, there are a few hotels here in which you can stay and enjoy the beaches.
Attractions: Tulum is the archaeological site by the sea and one you must add to your Yucatan itinerary. It is not as grand as the others mentioned above, but it gets a lot of attention given its location next to the clear, blue ocean waters. If you decide to stay here, it is a small, calm town that is very close to a few cenotes. Cenote Dos Ojos is near-by, and you can snorkel or scuba dive there and check out its bat cave. I would recommend to add an extra day if you plan to visit the cenotes. I have gone with CenoteXperience a couple of times, and they’ve been great. Nico and the rest of the staff have been very accommodating for my cenote dives. You can also find them in Facebook!
Day 9: Playa del Carmen & Cozumel
Transportation: Playa del Carmen is near by Tulum. Several people make day trips between the two. Most hotels have ample parking.
Lodging: This could be a blog all of itself. For this road trip, this place is more of a base station rather than the final destination. Be careful of where you stay, though. We’ve had bad experiences staying in Playa del Carmen due to the noise. 5ta Coral Suites and Kuyaan CORAL Suites are a good options, though. I recommend them. We also had the fortune of staying at Playacar Resort. It was a bike ride away from 5ta Avenida. Air B&B’s have also been a good option.
Attractions: In Playa del Carmen you can be a beach bum, walk through 5ta Avenida (street with restaurants and giftshops), or take tours to some of the places we’ve mentioned on this page. In addition, you can take a ferry and travel to Cozumel island. There’s ferries leaving every 30 mins or so. It is very easy to take a ferry to and from Cozumel right in downtown Playa del Carmen.
Many tours and cenote guides can pick you up at Playa del Carmen and take you to place where you will be doing your diving. CenoteXperience, for instance, has their dive shop located there.
Furthermore, there are countless theme parks in this area geared towards tourism. We rather stick with the roads less traveled. 😊
This could be a good resting spot to get prepared before your drive back to Cancún, and flight back home.
Day 10: Back to Cancún
Head back to Cancún airport, and fly home!
I hope find this Yucatan itinerary useful for planning your next trip to Mexico. Be sure to check out my other itineraries for other locations in Mexico.