My Chichen Itza road trip from Cancun took less than 3 hours, including a quick lunch break.   After speaking with the concierge at Le Meridian resort and spa where I’m staying, I decided to skip on the tour bus option and rent a car for the trip.  I was told it would take 2 to 3 hours to drive from Cancun’s hotel zone to Chichen Itza and that it was a perfectly safe drive.  They were right, and I would even classify the drive as “scenic.”

There are not a lot of gas stations on this drive, but one well over 100 kilometers from Cancun, that also has a number of convenience stores, and a cafe that had really great tamales.

Tolls on the highway from Cancun to Chichen Itza: There were 2 toll stops on the trip to Chichen Itza.  One was about $22 USD and the other was about $5 USD.  We stopped at the tourist information center located at the first toll stop where we talked to a helpful man working for a tour company.  After answering our questions, giving us free maps and information about Chichen Itza, we inquired about pricing and tours they offered.  We happily purchased a package from them for $30 usd each that included tickets to the archeological park at Chichen Itza, parking, lunch for 2 at the Mayaland hotel, and a 10% shopping discount.  A significant discount, but also a time saver- we drove the last 30 minutes to Chichen Itza and went right to the park.

One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life, I see why Chichen Itza has been declared one of the New 7 Wonder of the World.

Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing more on my trip to the Yucatan and photos of the Chichen Itza ruins.

Cancun islas mujeres attractions: we’ve rented a golf course & r touring the island. Pic Floating bottle island http://twitpic.com/1w9udj

Cancun ferry to Isla Mujeres reminds of an intl flight- same seats, beverage service, & “in case of emergency” video… But with commercials

Cancun – Isla Mujeres:  Today we headed off to the infamous Isla Mujeres.

Getting to Isla Mujeres was pretty simple.  A taxi from Le Meridian in the hotel zone  to the ferry port was about $22 USD and a round trip ferry ride ran about $20 USD and took only 15 minutes.   The ride was rather easy, although if the winds were up, I would advise dramamine for those who suffer from sea sickness.

I have to admit,  I was not expecting the island to be so… incredible.  Just a few miles from Cancun, I suppose I expected Isla Mujeres to be more Cancun-ish.  Instead, the grassy cliffs and dark tide pools reminded me of photos from the northeast coast of the states.  The beaches of Isla Mujeres were what set it apart- tranquil, crystal clear turquoise waters and white sand beaches.

Immediately after docking, there is a long strip of restaurants on the beach.  We were starving and tempted to stop, but that’ll teach us to leave the hotel so late.  We didn’t have much daylight left and decided to see as much of the islands as we could.  We tossed a coin and decided to rent a golf cart as our mode of transportation around the island.  Just over $60 USD for a few hours, we were off and racing.  Well, I may be using the word “racing” a little lightly- I’m pretty sure the max speed of our golf cart was around 5 mph and even slow walking grandmas were passing us on the sidewalk.  We laughed hysterically for 2 solid hours… drove to the ruins at one end of the island, past the yachts and the turtle farm, and to the other side where we crossed over a rickety bridge surrounded by locals swimming in a postcard setting.  When we finally, and regretfully, returned our golf cart, we took a taxi to Sunset restaurant to catch the sunset.  It was $200 pesos for the beachfront table, but I’m pretty sure the unobstructed view of a firey red sunset was worth it.

Recommendations for visiting Isla Mujeres:

Arrive earlier than we did. Surprisingly, there’s a lot to see and the golf cart and scooter rentals, are not fast enough to see the island in 2 hours!

Bring swimwear if you want to swim, but definitely bring sun protection; hats, sunblock, or a full fledged umbrella with fringes- whatever works for you.

Bring small change for tipping and shopping.  Souvenirs are for sale along the beach and in shops around the island but change is not always easy to come by.

Come hungry.  The food is fantastic and the service is friendly.  I would definitely recommend the Sunset restaurant we went to, but food options are in abundance on the island.

The weather in Cancun was not exactly what I was expecting.   It seems hot one day, and cooler the next.  The humidity is inescapable but the breeze… makes it all worth it.  Nearly every morning is beautiful, with sunny skies and just enough clouds to make photos more interesting.  It’s June, so rain showers have been pretty frequent, but not strong enough to send you running.  I happen to not mind the rain, so I stay in the pool while it sprinkles and I don’t run from a tour of the ruins to keep my hair from getting wet….

Today, after a long day chilling in the Cancun Le Meridian spa, i’m hoping for great weather tomorrow- Isla Mujeres and the Chichen Itza pyramids are calling.  Harder to take photos with an iPhone when it’s raining.

I understand this is typical off and on again showers, in June.  It was raining pretty well when I landed in Cancun on Tuesday, which awful humidity and heat.  The following day however, the storm had pushed the clouds away and we had perfect beach weather.

A few hours of rain and wind haven’t been a problem this week.  The temperatures have been surprisingly cooler than we expected- around 85 with a cool breeze that made it feel under 80.  For a while, I was actually chilling under a cabana with a towel over me because I was too cold!

Weather advice for June in Cancun?  Bring a small umbrella “just in case” and ditch any fabrics you don’t want to wear in the humidity.  Dress for warm weather but bring that shawl in case the breeze gets a bit much for you.