When planning the trip, being a beach bum I wanted to spend a lot of time in coastal areas for the beaches but also wanted to make sure we did a city to get a real feel for traditional Mexico. Merida is the most popular town/city to visit but that would have been quite a lot further for us to get to so after doing some research into Valladolid, we decided this would be a good alternative and a lot closer too. It was a good decision as we loved Valladolid! Quite a sleepy locals town, rich with history and not overrun with tourists it was the perfect base to visit Chichen Itza and explore some of the best cenotes the Yucatan has to offer.Ā
How did we get there?
We caught the bus from Chiquila direct to Valladolid. The buses to Valladolid arenāt as frequent as ones to Cancun so make sure you check the timetable in advance. The journey took about 2 hours and we arrived into the central bus station in Valladolid, a very close walk into the centre of town.
Where did we stay and for how long?
We stayed at āCasa Tia Michaā a boutique guest house with about 10 rooms. Located a 2 minute walk from the main town square, you enter through a locked gate and just off the road is this little paradise of a garden that all the rooms are located around. Super pretty, the garden has a little pool and a traditional Mexican breakfast is served outside under the trees every morning. The staff here were amazing – would definitely recommend this place. Otherwise I would recommend staying anywhere that is close to the main town square.
What did we do whilst we were there?
The town of Valladolid is quite small but so pretty and rich with culture. The streets are lined with pastel coloured buildings and there are lots of independent little shops. We spent an afternoon exploring and discovered a beautiful shrine to the Virgin de la Candelaria. Close to the centre of town is an old castle-like building which is the Convent de San Bernadino and throughout the week in the evenings once it gets dark they put on a free ālight-showā where the convent is lit up and they project a short film onto the castle walls about the history of the Mayan people and the Yucatan which was really interesting!
Valladolid is the perfect base for visiting the famous Chichen Itza. Just a few doors down from the central bus station is a pick up point where lots of mini buses (collectivos) leave for Chichen Itza. We woke up early and got the second bus of the day. They basically wait there until they have enough people to fill the bus then they go, much cheaper than a taxi, it was a couple of pounds each. We got to Chichen Itza just as it opened which I would definitely recommend as it gets super busy with tourists in no time. Itās not that big to walk around so you can do it in a morning including travel there and back.
Another great activity to do around Valladolid is to visit the cenotes! You could get a taxi but we chose to hire bikes and cycle to the local cenotes. We did a bit of research and instead of going to the famous one close to town that gets super busy we found some more remote ones: Oxman and Xākeken. Oxman was my favourite cenote of all 4 that we went to during our trip. It was a deep hole with no ceiling so you could float in the water and look up into the sky! We also had it to ourselves and there was a pretty cool rope swing.
Restaurant Recommendations:
One amazing restaurant that I would definitely recommend in Valladolid is Maison de Marques in the town square. It is quite hidden but is a lovely traditional restaurant situated in a garden courtyard. We ordered guacamole to start (of course!) and they actually made it at the table for us. They also have lots of flame cooked dishes which they cook in front of you which was pretty cool. This place is definitely worth a visit.
Adventures with H 