Mexico for many people is associated with a dream trip, it comes up on many websites, flights are cheap and it promises everything you would want for a vacation - sun, palm trees, fresh coconuts, cold beers and margaritas and as many tacos, nachos and burritos as you could possibly imagine. Weirdly, I did not have any expectations when going to Mexico, my only criterion was a cheap flight and warm weather - and these two criteria were fulfilled - + 28degrees and 200Euro flight ticket from Brussels.
Altogether we spent 18 days in Mexico and went to 5 cities, all being in Quintana Roo and Yucatan regions. Firstly, I have to say that all the people who say that they love Mexico - these are usually not the places they say they love - Mexico is a huge country and this is just a very small part of it, but most of the tourists only go to Cancun and Tulum. As a backpacker - I have failed Mexico, but it some years I might give it another chance.
Cancun was our first stop and and also the last stop in Mexico, because of its incredibly cheap airport. You can either stay in downtown Cancun, which is a little bit like a small Las Vegas, with parties happening all the time and nice beaches, but, of course, bigger pay tag for food and accommodation, or stay out of it and just take cheap local buses to get there. In general Cancun is perfect for people who likes partying in the beach clubs and laying on the beach, in my opinion 3 days is more than enough, but a lot of people might disagree. Maybe, if I was 21 - I would think differently, but this definitely was not a place for me.
After spending some days in such a touristy place - we wanted to go somewhere where it would feel more authentic, so we found out about Valladolid, it is a perfect place for visiting Chichén-Itzá and some cenotes around it. When reading about Valladolid - a blog post say that it is 'off the beaten path' and ' undiscovered' which is really not true, because if you can find a place to stay on Hostelworld (app used to book hostels) and menus in English - the place is visited by backpackers a lot. But with that being said - Valladolid is a very beautiful city that is definitely worth a visit.
To get to Chichén-Itzá, which is one of the new seven world wonders, you can take a Colectivo - it takes 45 minutes and 2 dollars. It used to be the center of pilgrimage for the ancient Mayan people for over a 1000 years. I have no idea how this is even possible, but, if you clap your hands at the base of El Castillo's stairs - it makes an Echo that resembles a sound that Mayan sacred bird - Mexican quetzal - made. The temple has 365 steps - one for each day of the year. Each side has 91 steps and top platforms makes it 365. Twice a year, on spring and autumn equinoxes, a shadow falls on the pyramid in shape of a serpent, in honor of Serpent God - Kukulkan. As the sun sets - the shadowy snake descends the steps to eventually join a stone serpent head at the base of the great staircase up the pyramid's side - and this proves how advanced Maya' s astronomical skill were at 600AD. Also there are multiple smaller pyramids inside it, but, unfortunately people are not allowed to climb it anymore or enter it. As beautiful the place is - lets not forget all the human sacrifices that were made here whenever a new building was built or a new ruler came to power. The most common ways were decapitation and heart removal.
while in Valladolid - another must-do thing is checking out the cenotes. A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The one that I think is impressive - Cenote Suytun. We took bicycles and got up at 7 to be the first ones there - the atmosphere is so much nicer without other people around. Depending on the time of the year - the platform is either submerged or above the water and if you look at Instagram posts from other people- at 12pm - sun is right above it, so there is a light beam shining in straight on the platform. There are many different cenotes around the Yucatan region with crystal blue waters -so if you enjoy swimming - you will love it.
After spending 3 nights in Valladolid, we went to Tulum. Getting between cities are easy and cheap enough - for smaller rides you can choose Colectivo (12 people van) and for longer ones - ADO buses. The difference is - ADO buses have a scheduled time, which approximately is the time it will leave, but Colectivo just waits till it gets full and then leaves. I thought I was disappointed in Cancun, but Tulum just exceeded my expectations of being disappointed. If you Google Tulum or check it out on Instagram - it truly looks like a paradise and if You are rich or willing to spend a ton of money on vacation - it might actually be. As a backpackers - we were on a budget, but in Mexico we were still spending around 800 Euros a week without even doing any kind of attraction parks and staying in hostels. First weeks backpacking, after being home for so long, are always hard and getting to a place where budget meets your expectations of traveling are hard. So back to Tulum - there are things to do here - many cenotes around it, beaches, Tulum Archeological site, Nature reserve, but firstly, it is hard to get from one place to another, there are no Ubers, only taxis and they are not cheap, we were living in between center and beach and it was an 8 km walk to the beach, constantly being in sun. And then the beaches everybody says are absolutely gorgeous - are okay, but there are many beaches in Asia I would rather go to and also many beautiful beaches in Central America, so I do not get the hype around them. If you go to beach and try to rent a chair - cheapest ones we got offered were 50$, they do put 50% of it towards your tab, but food and alcohol in places like that have a very nice price tag. Food in Tulum is also gonna be more expensive then most of the other cities in Mexico, there are still good, cheap street food, but it all depends on how many times a day you actually want to eat tacos, burritos and fajitas. In my opinion - Tulum is a place where staying in resort on the beach is the best option. Weirdly, when I was reading about how safe the countries we will travel to are - Mexico came up as one of the safest, but in reality Tulum been a very dangerous city lately with tourist being shot in resorts and in restaurants, so if you go - definitely be careful.
After days in Tulum - we just wanted a pretty place to chill in for a bit, so we took a bus down to Bacalar. The most famous thing is Bacalar is the lake of seven colours. It can appear turquoise, royal blue, sky blue. In the 1700s this lake was used by pirates to import illegal goods into Mexico. The town itself was invaded and destroyed by pirates in 1642 and only rebuilt in 1726. Now the city is visited by tourists like me that go on all-you-can-drink cruise trip around the lake. You might want to call me a hero, but I am just doing my part. Bacalar is nice and beautiful place with good food, that you will love if you like kayaking, swimming and beautiful nature.
The plan was to go from Bacalar to Belize, but as Belize needed PCR test - we decided to go back to Cancun to fly from there, but before we made a stop at Playa del Carmen. Playa del Carmen is usually used by nomads to work. The 5th avenue is the most famous street in the city and it reminds a bit of Las Vegas strip with all the lights and nightlife. Playa del Carmen is either a hit or a miss and I have to say - I really liked the vibe of the city. There is not much to do - beach, walking around, eating and tequila tasting - there are so many tequila shops on the avenue and they will all try to get you in to try some, some of the shops call themselves - tequila museum, which means they have stands with empty tequila bottles at the back of it. Either way - my favorite museums in Mexico by far.
One day I will go Mexico another chance, because there are many beautiful places to go, that I did not visit and I feel like I should have done better as a backpacker, but the places I have already been to - I am happy I got to see them for myself, but I do not think I would come back to them.
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