We call our style of travel "Through the Screen Door". What does this mean?
1) Do it yourself. We make our own plans. This saves money, but also cuts out activities such as shopping or cooking demonstrations that hold no interest to us.
2) Extensive Preplanning. Before we travel, we investigate the entire area, reading guide books and checking websites to find the highlights of our destination.
3)Reservations ahead of time. Yes, making reservations locks us into a specific itinerary. I have talked with people who are fond of spontaneously wandering through a country, going wherever their fancy leads. This can result in unplanned but delightful surprises, but it will also result in idle days or missing nearby attractions because of being unaware of their existence, or simply missing a tour due to lack of reservations. We want to see as much as we possibly can.
4)We usually eat a light lunch of granola bars, apples or poptarts. This maximizes our sightseeing time. The Mayan sites are open from 8 AM to 5 PM, our goal is to use all the daylight hours.
5)Start early. We wake up early and eat breakfast and get on the road.
6)Although other parts of Mexico may be dangerous, the Yucatan area seemed completely safe. Most people in the tourist business speak English, and we managed to survive with gestures and pointing to maps when communicating with people who only spoke Spanish.
7)Carry lots of Pesos. Never give your credit card to anyone at a gas station. Also, we only used our credit card at upscale restaurants, where they bring a handheld credit card machine out to your table. We got pesos in the States from our bank, but you can also get currency thru AAA.
7)Don't drive at night. Street lights are rare. The towns all have gigantic speed bumps - if you hit one of those in the dark you can do some serious damage to your rental car. Also a lot of pedestrians, cyclists and animals are on the roads at night, and no one has reflectors or any thought about safety. Driving at night should be avoided!
8)Mosquitos were not a big problem. We traveled in February, which must be the dry season. Mostly we had ideal weather.
9)Drink only bottled water. We always made sure we got our softdrinks without any ice. We also skipped uncooked salads and fruits.
We found this description of driving tips in Mexico to be full of excellent advice. Only once did the Pemex gas station attendants try to run the scam on us where they don't reset the pump before filling your car. In Piste, just outside of Chichen Itza, I pulled into the Pemex and got out of the car. I could see M$110 was still on the meter from the previous customer. The attendant kept asking me "Fill up?" and I kept saying "Reset to zero" and pointing to the meter. But despite the fact that I was wise to their scam, they didn't reset the pump. They did a great job of distracting me and acting funny, but I kept saying "Zero", and it became clear that they wouldn't reset it. So I said "No gas" about five times, and finally they took the nozzle out of the car and we drove away without any purchase. It is a good idea to never let your tank get below 1/4 full so that you can always drive to the next station. Note that this was the only time the Pemex workers tried to cheat us. All the other stations had friendly people who deliberately pointed to the zeroes on the meter before pumping to reassure me that we were not being cheated. The meter is supposed to reset when the attendant lifts the nozzle from the pump. If he puts it into your car and it still reads the purchase price of the previous customer, then beware! I thought about it later, and what I should have said to the attendants at Piste when they asked me how much gas I wanted - I should have said "50 pesos". Since the pump already showed M$110, he would have been force to reset the pump. Then I would have asked him to fill up. I would advise paying in cash at all gas stations.
We were told the toll for driving on 180D between Chichen Itza and Cancun is M$400. But the old route 180 runs parallel to the toll road and is free. It is true that the old road is slower because you drive through several small towns with their huge speedbumps, but we weren't in any hurry. The pavement of the old road is in great shape.
Item | Pesos | US dollars | cash | Comments |
| Round trip tickets to Cancun | $1,089.00 | ccard | Two tickets on American Airlines, via Dallas- Fort Worth | |
| Shuttle Express | $54.00 | ccard | 4:00 AM shuttle to Seatac airport | |
| Pemex gas | M$325 | $25.49 | cash | 30 liters of gas |
| Pemex gas | M$329 | $25.80 | cash | 30 liters of gas |
| Pemex gas | M$430 | $33.73 | cash | 39 liters of gas |
| Pemex gas | M$414 | $32.47 | cash | 38 liters of gas |
| Pemex gas | M$265 | $20.78 | cash | |
| Tulum Parking | M$60 | $4.71 | cash | Parking in Tulum lot |
| Uxmal Parking | M$22 | $1.73 | cash | Parking in Uxmal lot |
| Loltun Cave Parking | M$22 | $1.73 | cash | Parking in Loltun lot |
| Coba Parking | M$40 | $3.14 | cash | Parking in the lot at Coba |
| Dollar Rent-a-Car | M$4299 | $337 | ccard | 2247 km over 10 days of rental of Renault Salva. Includes PLI insurance |
Transport Total | $1630 | |||
| Cabanas Puerto Morales | $90.00 | Paypal | Prepaid room for one night in Puerto Morales | |
| Rio Bec Dreams | M$2,400 | $188.24 | cash | Three nights @ $800 for Junglelow Luna |
| Best Western Del Mar | M$1,220 | $95.69 | ccard | One night in Campeche |
| Hotel Hacienda Uxmal | $173.74 | ccard | Prepaid for 2 nights at Uxmal | |
| Hotel Mayaland | $164.22 | ccard | Prepaid for 2 nights at Chichen Itza | |
| Hotel El Meson Del Marques | M$810 | $63.53 | cash | One night in Valladolid |
| Tip to enter El Meson Del Marques | M$20 | $1.57 | cash | Tip to get key from hotel employee |
| Hotel Posada El Moro | $70 | paypal | Prepaid 1 night in Puerot Morales | |
Lodging Total | $847 | |||
| Blue Mesa Tacos | $14.00 | cash | lunch in Dallas Fort Worth airport | |
| La Terraza | M$250 | $19.61 | cash | Dinner in Puerto Morales - 2 BBQ chicken dinners. Includes M$50 tip |
| Market | M$58 | $4.55 | cash | Apples, rice, yogurt at Puerto Morales market |
| Rio Bec Dreams Dinner | M$214 | $16.78 | cash | Two Spaghetti dinners, includes 10% & 16% taxes |
| Packed breakfast for Calakmul | M$151 | $11.84 | cash | Rio Bec Dreams makes breakfast to go (includes 26% taxes) |
| Dinner at Hotel Calakmul | M$475 | $37.25 | cash | Includes M$50 tip - chicken & beef fajitas, 4x Diet Cokes |
| Packed breakfast for 2nd day | M$151 | $11.84 | cash | Rio Bec Dreams makes breakfast to go (includes 26% taxes) |
| Mirador Mayan dinner | M$200 | $15.69 | cash | Chicken, fries,black beans, rice, tortillas |
| Marazango Dinner | M$420 | $32.94 | cash | Includes tip. Pechunga dinner and Filet Maraganzo for me |
| Best Western breakfast | M$104 | $8.16 | cash | French toast + bacon for me, pancakes for Mel |
| Ice cream bar & diet pepsi | M$55 | $4.31 | cash | Snack outside of Uxmal |
| Touristo Restaurant | M$320 | $25.10 | cash | Includes M$29 tip. |
| Breakfast buffet at Uxmal | M$248 | $19.45 | ccard | Breakfast buffet |
| Tip for breakfast buffet | M$20 | $1.57 | cash | Tip for breakfast |
| Hotel Uxmal Dinner | M$291 | $22.82 | ccard | Grilled chicken for Mel, Puc Chuk for me (pork loin) |
| Tip for dinner | M$30 | $2.35 | cash | Tip for dinner |
| Breakfast buffet at Uxmal | M$248 | $19.45 | ccard | Breakfast buffet |
| Tip for breakfast buffet | M$40 | $3.14 | cash | Tip for breakfast |
| Hotel Mayaland Dinner | M$393 | $30.82 | ccard | All you can eat buffet for dinner |
| Tip for Mayaland Dinner | M$50 | $3.92 | cash | Tip for dinner |
| Hotel Mayaland Breakfast | M$350 | $27.45 | ccard | Breakfast buffet |
| Tip for Mayaland Breakfast | M$50 | $3.92 | cash | Tip for breakfast |
| Restaurante Las Mestizas | M$300 | $23.53 | cash | Includes M$40 tip. Grilled chicken for Mel, Beef tortillas for me |
| Hotel Mayaland Breakfast | M$350 | $27.45 | ccard | Breakfast buffet |
| Tip for Mayaland Breakfast | M$50 | $3.92 | cash | Tip for breakfast |
| Dominos Pizza | M$209 | $16.39 | cash | Large Hawaiian pizza, plus two 2 liter bottles of Diet Pepsi |
| El Meson Del Marques breakfast | M$170 | $13.33 | cash | Includes M$23 tip |
| El Pirate dinner | M$300 | $23.53 | cash | Includes M$30 tip. Fried chicken + fries for Mel, fish tacos for me |
| McDonalds | $17.28 | cash | Lunch in Dallas Fort Worth airport | |
Food Total | $462 | |||
| Tulum Admission | M$114 | $8.94 | cash | 2 Tickets to Tulum |
| Kohunlich Admission | M$110 | $8.63 | cash | 2 Tickets to Kohunlich |
| 1st Admission to Calakmul | M$112 | $8.78 | cash | Calakmul requires two separate admissions |
| 2nd Admission to Calakmul | M$112 | $8.78 | cash | This is the second admission to Calakmul |
| Hormiguero Admission | M$0 | $0.00 | cash | Free Admission! |
| Becan Admission | M$92 | $7.22 | cash | 2 tickets to Becan |
| Chicanna Admission | M$84 | $6.59 | cash | 2 tickets to Chicanna |
| Edzna Admission | M$92 | $7.22 | cash | 2 tickets to Edzna |
| Oxkintoc Admission | M$84 | $6.59 | cash | 2 tickets to Oxkintoc |
| Uxmal Admission | M$364 | $28.55 | cash | 2 tickets to Uxmal, includes light show tickets |
| Kabah Admission | M$84 | $6.59 | cash | 2 tickets to Kabah |
| Sayil Admission | M$84 | $6.59 | cash | 2 tickets to Sayil |
| Labna Admission | M$84 | $6.59 | cash | 2 tickets to Labna |
| Loltun Cave Admission | M$210 | $16.47 | cash | 2 tickets to Loltun Cave |
| Loltun Cave Guide fee | M$250 | $19.61 | cash | English speaking guide in Loltun Cave |
| Mayapan Admission | M$70 | $5.49 | cash | 2 tickets to Mayapan |
| Merida Museum of Anthropology | M$92 | $7.22 | cash | Wrong museum! Not Mayan artifacts. But no refunds. |
| Mundo Maya Museum | M$300 | $23.53 | cash | 2 tickets for Mayan Museum |
| Chichen Itza Admission | M$364 | $28.55 | cash | 2 tickets to Chichen Itza |
| Coba Admission | M$114 | $8.94 | cash | 2 tickets to Coba |
| Coba T-shirt | M$150 | $11.76 | cash | Souvenir |
| Coba magnet | M$50 | $3.92 | cash | Souvenir |
| Ek Balam Admission | M$196 | $15.37 | cash | 2 tickets to Ek Balam |
| Snorkeling Trip | M$650 | $50.98 | cash | Guided snorkeling trip on reef |
| Tip for Snorkeling guides | M$200 | $15.69 | cash | Tip for snorkeling trip |
| Two T shirts | M$312 | $24.47 | cash | Souvenirs |
Entertainment Total | $343 | |||
Grand Total | $3282 |
We used the Moon guide book and the Rough Guide book. The Moon book is indispensible. It contains maps and a brief writeup for almost all of the Mayan sites that we visited. (The Uxmal and Chichen Itza descriptions cover several pages.) The Yucantan map was the only map we needed. The road signs mark everything pretty well.
All the graphic images are my own design, but the textured background is taken from a site, EOS development, that offers non-profit users free use of their graphics. Click below to visit their site.
