I am not sure why more people do not visit Valladolid, This little town of 49,000 people is pure Mexican magic… Maybe why Visit Mexico have named it as one of their Pueblos Magicos (Magical Towns).
It is the perfect place to set yourself up for a night or two and explore the many cenotes in the region and experience an authentic Mexican town yet still be close to the action of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
It is under a 2 hour drive from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Merida and Chiquila (The town where you catch the ferry to Isla Holbox) and only 40 minutes from Chichen Itza – One of the new 7 wonders of the world.
We drove an hour from Merida to Chichen Itza in the early morning so we could be there as soon as it opened at 8am to avoid the crowds and scorching heat. After a few hours exploring one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico, we continued on our way to Valladolid with a few stops along the way at cenotes such as the famous Cenote Ik Kil … You know the famous one you see plastered all over social media with the vines hanging down. It is truly beautiful but be prepared, this site is extremely busy… We were actually shocked at how many people where swimming in there when we arrived. We had to be very patient (Easy enough when there is a big ledge to jump off into the water, I could of kept doing that jump for hours) and creative to get a photo for the gram without anyone else it.
We stayed at El Zaguan Colonial for the night which was clean and comfortable. It is a basic 3 star hotel with parking, a pool and restaurant on site and it only cost around $45. If you are happy to spend a little more and want to increase your standard, I recommend Hotel Posada San Juan.
Aside from being a great base for Chichen Itza, The town itself is beautiful to wander, It is one of the most colourful and iconic colonial cities in the region.
There are also SO MANY cenotes close by… My absolute top one that I have ever been to anywhere in Mexico is Cenote Suytun. Make sure you visit after the morning as that is when the tour buses come through, In the afternoon you may get lucky like we did and have the place to yourself. Can you imagine the ceremonies that would of taken place in this wonderland???
I hope you visit Valladolid and please tag me in any of your posts, I would love to see what you get up to there.
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