My parents went to Cancun last year and they loved it so much that they wanted to go back again with me and my siblings! Our top priorities were to see some ancient Mayan ruins, cenotes, and relax on the beach. Cancun was a lot different then I thought it would be! There actually isn’t a lot to do in the main city of Cancun besides shopping and eating out. All of the cool adventurous things to do are about 1-3 hours outside of Cancun. So I thought I would put this guide together with some tips for anyone traveling to Cancun!

Valladolid

Valladolid is about an hour and a half outside of Cancun and it’s the perfect stop to or from Chichen Itza. We stopped by this little town on our way back to Cancun after visiting Chichen Itza. It’s a charming, colorful town with a beautiful square in the heart of downtown. The town square is right across from a gorgeous cathedral. The town actually has its own cenote, Cenote Zaci, a few blocks away from the square. We were starving after walking around so we popped into La Casona de Valladolid for a delicious buffet.

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza was one of the top destinations on our Cancun trip. I was so surprised to find out that it was a whole park of ruins not just the main step pyramid. It was really cool walking around the park and seeing all the different ruins. There are plaques with info in front of all of the buildings where you can read up on the architecture of the buildings but I would recommend paying for a guide if you want the nitty gritty details of the ancient city. Tickets were $250 pesos ($13) at the entrance. A lot of hotels will arrange van tours to the ruins for about $95 pesos).

TIP: When we visited, we drove from Cancun. My mom got tricked right before entering the park. Some people were standing outside of the entrance with fake uniforms on, acting like they were directing traffic. They told us that the main parking lot was full so we would have to park in the overflow parking lot, which we did. They charged us 50 pesos and told us we would have to walk to the park from there. We realized they tricked us after we saw cars zooming into the main park. We went back for our car and surely enough, there were a ton of spots available in the main parking lot and they were only charging 30 pesos for parking! Just beware of people scamming tourists.

Tulum

Tulum is a little over an hour outside of Cancun. The main town is a little bit off of the coast but the area you want to be in is the strip right on the beach! The strip is full of bohemian boutiques, amazing beach front restaurants, and boutique hotels and it goes on forever. We only got to spend a few hours here but if I had known how cool this area was, I would have rather spent a few days there. If I were to go back to that area of Mexico, I would honestly pick Tulum over Cancun. The beach there was absolutely amazing and the vibes were so cool. I definitely recommend spending some time there!

Tulum Ruins

The Tulum Ruins are super close to the main town of Tulum. They’re the only Mayan ruins built by the beach! The site is much smaller than Chichen Itza, so it’s really easy to walk around and see everything in a few hours. There’s a beautiful beach that you can access by stairs right next to the ruins. What I loved about the site were all of the palm trees! It was just a really pretty place to visit. Tickets are 75 pesos (about $ USD) at the entrance.

TIP: There is about a 15 min walk to the main entrance from the parking lot and about a 10 min walk to the site so wear good shoes!

Gran Cenote

El Gran Cenote (or Grand Cenote) is a beautiful cenote just outside of Tulum. A cenote (in case your not sure) is a cavern filled with beautiful blue water. There are a ton of these pools all over the area! There are also some on the way to Chichen Itza and on the way to Coba. We chose Gran Cenote because it was on the way to Coba. The entrance fee was $75 pesos ($4 USD).

TIP: There are two entrances to the cenote which I didn’t realize when we got there! The second entrance (just past the first entrance) is the better spot for photos so I would head there first! Also, they make you shower your body and hair before entering the pool so don’t bother doing your hair if plan on taking photos!

Xcaret

Xcaret is one of the many adventure parks in the Cancun area. We decided to do this park because we heard it was really pretty and it did not disappoint! There were so may cool animals to see including giant sea turtles, dolphins, manatees and more! There is something for everyone from snorkeling and scuba diving to rafting and shows. I think we did just about everything in the park except swimming with dolphins which was one of the extra activities you could do. We had a meal included with our tickets (I think most do) so we used it for a buffet at a beach front restaurant. The food there was amazing! The tickets are about 140 pesos each.

Coba

Coba is another ancient Mayan city a little over two hours outside of Cancun. The step pyramid in Coba is the last Mayan pyramid that you can actually walk up. It looks super high up but the climb is surprisingly quick and relatively easy! It’s a little nerve-wracking with all of the people climbing with you, but as long as you are self-aware you will be fine! There is a rope in the center of the steps if you need a little more assurance to make the climb. The view from the top is amazing so I definitely recommend doing it. It’s definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

TIP: The walk from the entrance to the main pyramid is about 25 min long. They do have bikes and tuk tuks that you can ride for about. We were in a rush so we went ahead and paid for the bikes which I thought was worth it.

Itinerary

I want to give you guys an idea of a realistic schedule to see all of these places so here is how I would plan out your days:

Day One:

Coba: About an hour outside of Tulum so I would swing by here first then head back towards Tulum and hit the Gran Cenote.

Gran Cenote: You only need about an hour here unless you plan on doing a lot of swimming!

Tulum Ruins: The Tulum Ruins are very close to downtown Tulum. You will need about 2 hours just to see the ruins and maybe hit the beach. If you have extra time, you could check out downtown Tulum.

Day Two:

Tulum Beach/Boutiques: Trust me, you will want a whole day to explore this super cool strip!

Day Three:

Chichen Itza: These ruins are about 1 hour and 45 min outside of Cancun. Most of the tour buses arrive in the morning so I would say a good time to head here would be around noon. There are a ton of cenotes on the main road to Chichen Itza so if you have time you could hit some of those on your way to or back from the park.

Valladolid: If you have time, this town is definitely worth stopping by. We stopped by for dinner on our way back to Cancun.

Day 4:

Xcaret: You will need a whole day at the park!

Tips

-Be sure to pick up some bug spray when you get to Cancun. The flys are absolutely horrible and they ate us alive on the first night!

-You will want to apply SPF 50-75. The sun there is no joke! If you do get burned, aloe vera is great for soothing your skin.

-The water in Mexico is not safe to drink. I would recommend picking up a few big containers of water from Walmart and buy one bottle to refill throughout the trip.

I hope you guys find this blog post helpful! Have any of you been to Cancun?

XOXO