I've been looking into travel options around the Yucatán Peninsula and noticed that a lot of the places I'd want to visit are spread out between different towns.

Places like Valladolid, Mérida, and the cenotes nearby look interesting, but I'm not sure how practical it is to get around without a car.

For people who've traveled around this region, did having a rental car make the trip noticeably easier, or were buses and organized tours enough? I'm also curious whether parking, tolls, and fuel costs add up more than expected.

Would love to hear what worked best for you!

Cuál ha sido la ciudad no turística y no tan conocida de México q han visitado? No sé si me di a entender
Vivo en una ciudad petrolera en la costa y hoy me sorprendí al atender un ruso en mi trabajo, ya que mi ciudad no es turística y me hizo tener esa duda 🤔 que los lleva a visitar ciudades no turisticas? (Sin sonar mal obvio)

This is my 2nd time visiting Mexico. I absolutely fell in love with Riveria Maya, but Cabo? I hated almost every minute of it.

First off, everything here is outrageously overpriced. Transport from the airport to the hotel alone cost almost $100! You pay top dollar for mediocre experiences, and honestly, there is barely anything to do compared to Cancun/Riveria Maya. In Riveria Maya you have endless cenotes, incredible ruins, massive eco-parks like Xplor and Xcaret, and unbelievable beaches. Cabo has... what? A boat ride to look at a rock? The Cabo Arch is insanely overrated. You look at it for 5 minutes, take a picture, and realize you just spent a fortune for nothing. Next, Theme park called Wild Canyon Adventures, honestly Xplor is 100x better than this.

But the absolute worst part about Cabo is the toxic tip culture. EVERYONE IS LITERALLY ASKING FOR A TIP. I swear, the next time I breathe near someone here they’re going to ask me for a tip. Drivers, tour guides, staff at every turn—they don't just leave a jar out, they actively beg, pressure, and harass you for cash. If you don't hand over money every 2 minutes, their attitude flips instantly.

Riveria Maya actually felt like a real vacation where you could relax and enjoy the culture and activities. Cabo just feels like a giant, overpriced tourist trap designed to squeeze every last dollar out of your wallet while offering a fraction of the value.

Never again. Next trip to Mexico is 100% going back to the Riveria Maya. Anyone else feel this way?

Para mi amigos Mexicanos, especialmente Los Tapatíos- yo encanta con sus País, sus cultura, sus GENTE! Y muy respetuoso por que los problemas con sistemas de agua. Tengo amigos quien fueron los manifestaciones y sus envío mi corazón y espero el futura es mejor.

Lo siento para mi español! Aún aprendiendo!

On the plan back to Dallas from Guadalajara - damn, do I love this city.

Quick review of pics and places:

Walking night around Col. Americana, started at my gf Apt which is at the edge toward Centro.

1-3: Barra Peggy Lopez.

Amazing super local spot. Inexpensive solid cocktails and food (tacos, lonches). Live music/DJ in the other room (about same size as this, small spot - was e-psychedelic music. Trippy and good). People spilling onto the sidewalk, it’s as much a local hang spot with friends as it is a “bar”

4-6: Night time walk to our next spot….

7-8: Bar Fandango. A new spot (upstairs 8 months downstairs 4) by the folks from Gallo Antenero (one of my fav all time bars).

In many ways the opposite of Peggy’s. Super sleek, pretty expensive (drinks between $180-280 pesos and have some spirits that go well up from there!). It was Monday so mostly locals but I’m guessing this draws a good number of tourists as well especially on weekends.

Some very interesting bottles though!

9-10: Staycation between nights at my gf’s apt. Great new boutique hotel, Brada Collection. Nice rooftop pool and bar, amazing service, immaculate vibes. (Warning: staying on a top floor will have sound from the bar/lounge above you!)

11-12: My GF is an angel and sat through four quarters AND overtime for the Ravens game. Ravens Flock GDL was not messing around. Probably 60-70 people at RockIt bar, Patria. What a game! Go Ravens!

13-15: Party time! Can’t go to GDL and not stay out until pushing dawn! Started at a couple new cocktail bars. Zona Industrial with some very interesting yet balanced concoctions and a very… industrial vibe. Small speakeasy behind a kitchen and down the stairs of a traditional Mexican tacos/birria type spot.

Then we went to an amazing new spot with a tremendous vibe and room, WhatIf Cocktail Bar. This one’s another speakeasy (it’s the new thing in GDL I guess, but super quality spots) and it’s a totally non descriptive office lobby you have to find (look for a random guy just sitting there inside) and you walk down the corridor of the after hours closed office building to get there. Great bartenders and people! Can’t wait to go again.

Then it was my GFs time to choose. Some performer (singer/DJ) at Fever - a gay club though quite the mixed crowd due to the headliner. Good I hate vodka, but when in Rome (or GDL?!? Hey, it wasn’t my table so free vodka is free vodka)!

16-17: a more refined and restrained Saturday as we recovered. Dinner at Alcalde, one of our long time favorites (now with a Michelin star though I am not a fan of their system. Love Alcalde though followed by a drink at Luperca which is a super cool cocktail bar in the former wine feller of Matera steakhouse (very good fwiw) above with brick columns and vaulted ceilings. Lively spot, cocktails not o. Par with the best in town but super fun.

18-19: local lunch and dinner on our final day around Col. Americana. First spot is Habenero Negro Restaurant and Bar. Heavy on the mariscos but have some meat tacos as well. Solid drinks, very reasonably priced.

The other was lunch at a fantastic local spot called Loncherdos. Carne en su Jugo Loches! Soooo good.

20: last shot, Alcalde again.

Hello everyone,

My partner and I are planning our first trip to Mexico in February, travelling from Amsterdam. Here’s our potential plans:

Mexico City – 3 nights
Oaxaca – 3 nights
Valladolid – 2 nights
Tulum or Cancún – 2 nights
Isla Mujeres – 3 nights

We love a mix of culture, sightseeing, local food and beautiful beaches! We enjoy exploring colourful towns, markets and restaurants, but also want some time to relax and swim in turquoise water. We prefer lively places with a local vibe over big all-inclusive resorts.

My main questions are:

Is 13 nights enough for this route, or would it feel too rushed?
Would you choose Tulum or Cancún for a 2-night stay?
Is Valladolid worth staying overnight, or should we visit it as a day trip?
Would you change anything or skip a destination?

Would love to hear your recommendations! Thanks!

Has anyone flew from united states to Mexico with a niece or nephew that are under 18. What documents did the airlines ask you besides passport and a child travel consent form from their parents? We are both US Citizens. On the airlines website only says for mexican citizens but no for us citizens

🍫 If you visit Oaxaca, don’t miss our delicious frothy Mexican hot chocolate! Made with water or milk, just the way you like it. 😋

Here in Oaxaca, we love it with water and a slice of traditional pan de yema or seasonal pan de muerto. ❤️🇲🇽

Tell me: water or milk? With bread or without? 👇

That’s the delicious taste of Oaxaca! ✨

Because of the visa guidelines and stringent measures want to avoid USA layovers

Hola buenas tardes por si nos visitan en puerto Vallarta y necesitan coche estamos a la orden, fácil rápido y seguro solo necesitamos licencia de conducir y tarjeta de crédito o débito internacional, estamos ubicados justo enfrente del aeropuerto si me mandas msj o llegas preguntando por mi a las oficinas te dejo promoción de auto compacto 3 días por 1950 normalmente ahorita los tenemos en 800/900 MX por día, tenemos carros para 5 pasajeros, de 7 pasajeros y xjv a sus órdenes, val rental & LG rent a car

Traveling to Mexico for a couple day vacation at an all inclusive resort. Has anyone successfully been able to get some gummies through customs? Nothing crazy at all- CBD to help sleep. I just wonder how to package them?

Mexicans consider all estadounidenses (Americans) to be gringos. If you are white, you are a gringo. If you are Black, you are a gringo. If you are Japanese-American or Arab-American, you are a gringo. It's about nationality and passport/wallet privilege, not skin color. I've seen some gringo travelers try and suggest otherwise (sometimes when attempting to defend long-term travel or digital nomadism), which is bizarre and may lead to confusion when they reach Mexico and start having conservations with Mexicans.

If you're planning a trip to Cabo, do yourself a massive favor and skip Wild Canyon Adventures. I bought their "Ultimate Pass" thinking for $300 I’d get a seamless, all-inclusive day. Instead, it was an absolute cash grab from start to finish. First off, they nickel-and-dime you for every single thing. They force you to buy a $7 bandana, and then tried to charge me an extra $50 just for an automatic UTV instead of a manual. Paying $300 should mean no upselling, but it literally never stopped. The tipping pressure here is borderline extortion. Every 5 minutes someone is shoving their hand out or explicitly begging for cash: the pickup driver, zipline guides, ATV guide, UTV guide, lunch staff, animal sanctuary staff, horse guides, photo team, customer service reps, and the drop-off shuttle driver. When I told the UTV guide I didn't have cash on me for a tip, he literally asked if he should follow me so I could get him money. When I didn't tip the horse guide, his entire attitude did a 180 and he got completely cold. Hey owners: PAY YOUR EMPLOYEES A LIVING WAGE instead of forcing them to harass guests who already dropped $300 on a ticket! To make matters worse, the timeline is a complete lie. You start around 9:30 AM (ours was delayed till 10) and finish at 3:30 PM. In 5.5 hours, it is physically impossible to complete the "Ultimate Pass." I didn't even get to do the bungee jump, the camels, or the water park. Total waste of money. The operations are a total clusterf***: * Ziplines: They forced everyone to wait around doing nothing until 10 AM to start. There are only 3 lines (2 require pairs), and you have to do severe hiking between them. * Wasted Time: Spent half the day waiting for other groups. Waited 15+ minutes just for ATVs to prep, and the shared shuttle had 11 people in it, wasting another 30 mins waiting for everyone to get loaded. * Photo Scam: On the ATV beach ride, they explicitly told us NO PHONES ALLOWED. I left mine behind like a rule-follower, only to see other people taking photos with their phones on the beach. Meanwhile, their photographer didn't even shoot photos on the beach portion, so I walked away with zero pictures from the best part of the ride. Honestly, if you've been to Xplor in Cancun, this place is a joke by comparison. Save your $300 and book with literally anyone else in Cabo.

Hi, looking for advice, we (couple both 28yo) are travelling from eastern Europe to Mexico in late february-march.

We are considering such itinerary:

- Mexico City (land and stay 4-5 nights). Preliminary exploring city and surroundings, Teotihuacán, Tepoztlán, Grutas Tolantongo
- Valladolid (flight to Cancun or Merida) 3 nights. Chichén Itza, Cenote Oxman, Suytun/ Zací
- Isla Mujeres 4 nights. (Looked into holbox, and surroundings, but Mujeres turquoise water kinda won our hearts)
- Puertos Morelos 4 nights. Also considering Playa del Carmen, but unsure, we are more interested in a smaller town. Cancun/Tulum rejected

We are not staying on resorts only airbnb or bookings. For our stays budget is kind of important too, not hostels but adequate rooms are considered

Besides CDMX we are mostly staying in Yucatán, traded (not easily) Oaxaca for more beach time/swimming/snorkeling in the carribean sea. Also we wanted to limit travelling so that we are not hurrying everywhere.

anything we should reconsider? Any other tips, safety concerns in those areas? (Besides usual touristy city problems). Feedback is very welcome, thanks!