Hello everybody!! I'm going to Cancun for the first time and have a few questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will be renting a car, probably from cancuncarrental.com since they have the cheapest rates, and would like to drive to chichen itza and ek balam. I've seen several maps online, but would like to know more on the directions how to get there. Also, on how to get to Ik-kil. I have seen mapchicks site, but I will be arriving in Cancun on the 25th and am worried that I won't get her maps in time. There will be four of us going. Would it be better to rent a car or take taxis or bus rides to locations outside of Cancun? We are also planning on visiting Xcaret, Tulum and Cozumel, but we would like to do them on our own time and not on tours. They seem easier to get to than Chichen Itza and the other two. I saw how renting a car would also be cheaper than private tours. Thank you. Can't wait for Cancun!!!
You didn't list your location in your profile for us to know if you would get your mapguides in time. I would suggest emailing Laura directly with your current location and she would be the best one to tell you right away if you would get them in time....or if it's too late, where you might be able to get them once you get to Cancun. I agree with you that a car is best for the type of sightseeing you want to do. But you NEED Laura's mapguides......they are invaluable!! Michelle
Directions from Cancun: Chichen Itza - You can either go south from your hotel, like you are going to Playa del Carmen, just follow the signs and a few miles after the airport you will see the sign for the toll road to Merida. Just stay on the road to Merida and it is impossible to miss Chichen Itza. or, Go to downtown from the Hotel Zone and pretty much stay on the same road until you come to Lopez Portillo where you take a left. It is about 2 miles after you pass the big Soriana store, followed by the mall with City Club, which is like a Costco or Sam's, all on the right. From Lopez Portillo you will see the option for the free road or the toll road. Bear left onto the toll road and stay on it until you see the signs for Chichen Itza. With either of these options it is about 30 minutes after the exit for a cool little colonial town called Valladolid. Ek Balam - One of my favorite places as they are still escavating. Like you are going to Chichen Itza but take the Valladolid exit and go right for about 18 km or 12 miles. Then take a right and go another 10 km / 6 miles. Take some bug spray for the mosquitos. You will love this place. Cenote Ik kil is 3 km/3 miles east of the eastern entrance to Chichen Itza. Nothing against Laura's maps, that are great, but for driving where you want to go you will be better served with a travel guide like Lonely Planet or Fodor's. I prefer LP. A Mexico road atlas is a big help. I have one that is yellow on the cover but I am in the states until Friday and cannot tell you its name. Good luck.
TJ, Now you've got me curious. What info does the LP guide have that Laura's doesn't? I've got the C-Itza map and can't think of a thing that I'd need to know that isn't in the mapguide. It's got 2 alternate routes to C-Itza and indicates the differences between going both ways, it's got the gas stations, cenotes, clearly marked, it's got the cities along the way, restaurant recommendations , hotels, prices, all sorts of tips. I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering what the heck is in the LP guide? Michelle
Michelle, I love Laura's maps and they are loaded with info over and above what you would find in a map. I admit that I have not seen the Chichen Itza map but I am sure it is at least as good as the others that I have seen and or purchased. But to answer your question, I guess I need to expand on what I was trying to say. Lonely Planet is a complete travel guide available for a more widespread area. For example, in the LP guide to the Yucatan Peninsula, it has maps, general and detailed (THOUGH NOT AS COLORFUL OR LARGE as Laura's, which are more localized to the areas she offers). You can travel all over the Yucatan, for example, with LP and have maps, hotel prices and ratings, restuarants, cultural things, travel warnings (like for Chiapas). So if you are going to Chichen Itza you might want to look at what you can also do to or from that journey. Like go to Ek Balam, or Coba,or stop for a night in Valladolid, or go on to Merida for a day or two. And if you are driving the scenic route, and you come to a little town you will probably find all the info you need to see if there is anything in or around that town that you might want to do. Jules original post had to do with going by car to Chichen Itza and Ek Balam. My suggestion to grab a Lonely Planet travel guide meant nothing negative to Laura, for whom I am still holding a special bottle of tequila that does not seem to be available any longer in the airport duty free shop, and someone I consider an un-met friend as I also consider you. But I believe LP would give Jules a bit more information that I think would be even more helpful, or certainly to supplement a Mapchick map. So, if someone like Jules wants to go to the ruins, like Chichen Itza, an option would be to go there first, come back to Valladolid and stay in this beautiful colonial town in a hotel (Meson del Marques is my favorite) at the town square. The next day, head up to Ek Balam, where they are still excavating and whose tallest structure is taller than the big boy, El Castillo, at Chichen. This is about a 20 minute ride. On the way back to Valladolid check out some of the cool cenotes in and around Valladolid. Then head south to Coba, maybe 45-60 minutes away which has the tallest ancient structure in all of the Yucatan, and newly opened cenotes as well. Exploring is one of the things I love to do when I go on road trips and I just love LP. But I cannot get enough info when I do these adventures. Too much info is better than not enough for me. I have used them for Belize, Guatamala and Mexico City that I can think of off the top of my head. If all I wanted to do was to go to Cancun, Playa, Riviera Maya or anywhere else where a Cancun Map (Laura's map) is available then they are all you need. However, on a journey as far away as Chichen Itza, there are so many other options that are worthy of consideration. Since Jules mentioned two archeolocial zones I feel that LP would be a better choice in this case, or at least a supplement to a Mapchick map. Also mentioned was Tulum and this has the makings of a "road trip." Now Michelle, take yourself over to Borders, get a cup of java and sit down for a few minutes with an LP or of Foders and see what they are all about. I simply prefer LP but don't ask me why. I am simply out of words for now. LOL. I hope this gives Jules even more info and answers your question as well, although Jules has certainly come and gone by now.
Actually if you had a copy of Laura's mapguide to C-Itza you would find all of that information that you just discussed in it. It's NOT just a roadmap from point A to point B...... It breaks down into BOTH routes to get there and describes the difference between the 2 routes, it covers where the gas stations are, the cities along the way, restaurants & hotels in each....the same stuff that you say Lonely Planet offers is in her mapguide and it's more up to date. I've got LP guides to other places as that's what I use when I go someplace that Laura doesn't cover in her mapguides.....but for what this tourist wants to do, I still say that Laura's mapguide is the way to go. But...to each, his own. Michelle
I guess since I'm sitting here looking at Laura's C-Itza map, I'll be explicit about what's in it. It has a map of the following cities: Piste This section tells shows you where every hotel is, every restaruant is, taxi fares w/in town as well as to other destinations. A bus schedule, location of the Dr.'s office, gas station, grocery store, church, bus station, colectivo stop, taxi stand, a writeup of each reastuarant & hotel along with a cost guide. Ek Balam This section shows you the layout of the entire archiaeological site, what is where, where the cenote is & cost of it, where parking is. Coba This section has info on parking cost, admission cost, guide cost, bike rental cost, where the bathrooms are, where the ClubMed Coba is and a blurb about the hotel, taxi fares to various places, where the police station is, where the crocs are, where to rent a bike... C-Itza This section has info on park hours, cost of admission, light show admission, parking cost, guide cost, bathroom locations, food locations, ATM locations, Where & what hotels there are, hotel cost guide, restaurant locations & cost of them & if it's buffet or menu, how to get to chichen viejo, where to go for the horseback tour, .....I could go on for DAYS! Valladoid Same type of information as for the other places..... There is an index to attractions you pass on the road to C-Itza, going either way. There is a separate section for Ik Kil, Balankanche, Dzitnup & Samula cenotes If your into rapelling or zip lining, it shows you where you can do all of that.... OK....I'm tired of typing, but I sure hope this has helped someone out there who is an independant traveler and likes to do things unconnected to a "tour"... Michelle
I took my car to Cozumel on the car ferry from Calica. It was really worth it I thought. We brought our own cooler, our mtn bikes, our sun umbrella. And we were able to wander all over the island and find all kinds of deserted beaches. I recommend Cozumel by car. Most ppl go there and rent a Jeep and drive around the island just once, but that's not enough I don't think. Ek Balam rocks, regardless of the map you have. Ek Balam is my favorite nearby Maya ruin. The ruins at Tulum are small and imho boring. The beach there is nice and the location (on the cliff) is great. If you go to Tulum make time to swim there.
MT You are such a pimp. Thanks for your comments though. I was thinking the other day that I need to update my mapchick inventory. The Chichen product sounds a bit different than some of the others but as I said, I have not seen that one. But trust me on this. LP for the Yucatan is hundreds of pages of useful information on the entire peninsula. I think the update these things but I am puzzled that the LP site says 2006. So let's agree that we need them both, especially if going on a wider path than the roads to Chetumal or Merida. Does the mapchick Chichen product fold up to like roadmap size or has she changed the format. Laura contacted me not long ago and we had some emails back and forth about the Terminal 3 layout, that they were going to update their airport into. Well they were mainly between Perry and me. It's great to be considered such an expert. Don't you have somebody to sue or something. I have to go be productive now.
