10 Reasons to Holiday on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Beach, culture, wildlife and culinary experiences
My idea of a holiday is to feel like I’ve seen a snapshot of the country. I like a mix of beach, culture, wildlife and culinary experiences – and the Yucatán Peninsula offers all this and more.
1. Affordable Flights
Cancun is a tourist hotspot so flight prices can be competitive. It’s particularly attractive for North Americans in winter months as it’s a short hop to reach the sun. We travelled during the peak school Easter holidays but our flights cost 35-40% less than flying direct because we flew via Canada and stayed overnight in Toronto.
2. Snorkel the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
This is the second longest barrier reef in the world and runs down the eastern coast of Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. We stayed in Playa del Carmen to have easy access for the ferry to Cozumel island where snorkel trips go out to the reef in 12-person boats. Towards the end of our holiday, we snorkelled around the reef off Isla Mujeres too. Both trips were the best snorkelling I’ve ever done - so many fish, so many big fish, so much colour! Seeing turtles was an absolute highlight.
3. Paddleboard at Sunrise on Bacalar Lagoon
The lagoon is long and narrow with clear, turquoise water that rivals any picture postcard paradise. I was drawn by the stunning photos I’d seen online and the reality did not disappoint. We paddle boarded across to the other side of the lake that’s around 2km at its widest. We paused for coffee and fruit while standing in the warm shallows and watched the sun rise and emerge through the haze. It was so peaceful – and we were even back in time to have breakfast at our hotel.
4. Visit Chichén Itzá Ruins
This is a UNESCO world heritage site and was voted one of the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’ in 2007. There’s something surreal and almost other-worldly looking at the size and scale of these structures and imagining the Mayan civilisation that lived here. It was extremely hot the day we went and there’s little shade, and when the tour buses arrive late morning it gets busy - so go early.
5. Swim in a Cenote (sinkhole)
Cenotes are formed from collapsed limestone that exposes underground caves of water. The Yucatán Peninsula is said to have more cenotes than anywhere else in the world and they were revered by the Mayan people. We saw four cenotes but disappointingly didn’t actually get to swim in one due to choosing a poor tour and bad planning. Hopefully my picture of Cenote Zaci in Valladolid will inspire you and I’ll be more organised next time…
6. Flop on a Beach
The beaches in Playa del Carmen and in north-west Isla Mujeres had the softest white-gold sand and balmy clear blue sea. The waves can be strong depending on the location and weather. For instance, it takes fifteen minutes to walk from one side of Isla Mujeres to the other, where you trade a rocky coastline with wild seas for a sandy beach fringed with palm trees.
7. Authentic Food
As well as the choice of tacos, burritos and fajitas, we were introduced to chilaquiles, antojitos, sopes, all variations on tortillas with meat or vegetables. Some of the best – and cheapest – food we had was the street food in Isla Mujeres. We tried a trio of taco de pastor, soft tacos with bite-size pieces of grilled pork garnished in pico de gallo, a tomato-onion salsa. I also wished I’d discovered marquesita earlier in the holiday. It’s a wafer thin crepe rolled into a cone that I had with sliced banana and chocolate.
8. Easy Travel by Public Bus
ADO is the bus company for travelling around the Yucatán Peninsula – it’s similar to FlixBus. Routes link the main towns and cities and we were able to book our tickets online months before our holiday. You’re given a seat number and a QR code, which you show on your phone or print out to have scanned. Buses have a toilet, they’re air-conditioned, run on time and even show a film that you can watch on reclining seats!
9. April Sunshine
We experienced averages of 28-29°C on the coast and with a warm breeze. Inland, temperatures leapt to the late thirties and evenings were sticky and humid.
10. Read a Book Set in Mexico
OK, so you don’t have to wait until you’re on holiday! But I was keen to find a story that would fully immerse me in my location and enhance the sense of place that bit more. Girls’ Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke was the perfect fit. The psychological thriller is set in Tulum, a beach resort south of where we stayed in Playa del Carmen. Highlights were the scenes in the cenote and at Chichén Itzá, which I read a few days before we visited. I could fully appreciate the horrors that might unfold…
Look out for my two-week itinerary for more details on this trip.
Happy holidays!