museum – Blog about Mexico's Must Have Seen

WHAT ?

Bacalar and his seven shades of blue lagoon is just a magic town, perfect to snorkeling, swim or dive. The meaning in Mayan of the name Bacalar is “surrounded by reeds”.

You can leave Playa del Carmen in the morning and come back at the end of the afternoon, or you can spend a night there to enjoy 2 full days there.

Bacalar is the perfect place for families or friends, as you have restaurants, kids playground, kayak renting, 1h30 boat trip to visit the lagoon and others magic places around, the San Felipe Fort and museum is just breathtaking ( 30min visit ), the Bacalar Rapids with his colors from green to turquoise, you should visit Bacalar before it get too touristy!

WHERE ?

Bacalar is located 4 hours south of Playa del Carmen.

To get there you can go by car or take the bus ADO ( 7 to 15 us$ depending on the departure hour ).

HOW MUCH ?

The round-trip with ADO is between 15 and 30 us$ depending on the departure time.

WHAT ?

The Maya name Chichen Itza means : at the mouth of the well of the Itza (The Itza are Guatemalan people of Maya affiliation).

The impressive Chichen Itza archaeological site, chosen as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, is without a doubt a must-see of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Clasico Tour is the perfect alternative to get to know this millennial Mayan city in a unique duet of nature and culture with the quality, safety and service our visitors are accustomed to.

While the rest of the world was immersed in the Middles Ages, the Maya built this majestic city, primary political center of the Mayan region. Its icon, “El Castillo“, a pyramid dedicated to the god Kukulcan, is a testimony of this important culture’s impressive mathematical and astronomical precision, which still baffles visitors today.

The 91 steps on each side of “El Castillo” and 1 on the altar add up 365 steps, the number of days in a year. The round structure of the Observatory is a surprising and unusual shape in Mayan architecture.

Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities. The buildings of Chichen Itza are grouped in a series of architectonic sets, the three best known of these complexes are the Great North Platform (which includes the monuments of El Castillo, Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court), The Osario Group (which includes the pyramid of the same name as well as the Temple of Xtoloc) and the Central Group (which includes the Caracol, Las Monjas, and Akab Dzib).

It was one of this touristic site that you HAVE TO visit if you spend your holidays in the Riviera Maya!

WHERE ?

Chichen Itza is located 2,5 hours driving from Playa del Carmen, or you can choose to go with the bus ADO (4 hours to go, same to come back) or by Tours that will stop a few hours at Chichen Itza and then an hour in Valladoid (founded by Francisco de Montejo “The Nephew”, this colonial town is one of the oldest in Latin America. The beautiful face of colonial architecture, in its stately old mansions and plazas is also found the warmth of its people and captivating places worth to visit).

HOW MUCH ?

The ADO is around 30 us$ round-trip, but a lot of tours offers you to visit Chichen Itza, prices varies a lot from one to another (100 us$ & up).