Swim in a cenote
Choose a community-run one near Valladolid and get there before the tour buses. Still water, limestone cathedral, and the money stays with the families who protect it.
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Yucatán & Caribbean · The wanderer's guide
Mexico
Cenotes, Maya cities, and Caribbean colour past the resort gates.
01 · Overview
A first look at Mexico.
The Yucatán is bigger and stranger and more tender than the all-inclusive brochures let on. My favourite morning there was spent in a community-run cenote outside Valladolid, swimming in water so still it took a minute to believe it was real, while the family who owns it made coffee over a stove. Then a Maya city at dusk, then Mérida at midnight with music coming out of every doorway. If you only have a week, spend three nights inland. It changes the whole trip.
MexicoNovember — April
02 · Best time to wander in
November — April
Warm and mostly dry
Winter gives you comfortable humidity and long clear days. Late April and early May run hotter but emptier, which suits me fine. September and October are the wettest — cheaper and greener, if you can shrug off an afternoon downpour.
03 · Top adventures
Make time for these.
Stand in a Maya city
Uxmal, Ek Balam, or Cobá — with a guide who can make the stones talk. Ek Balam's unrestored masks are the ones I still see when I close my eyes.
Wander Mérida
Pastel façades, shady plazas, a street musicians' contest on a Sunday, and some of the best cooking in the country. It deserves more than a stopover.
Slow down on an island
Holbox or Isla Mujeres, where the transport is a bicycle and the schedule is the tide. Sand streets, so no heels, and no regrets.
04 · Passages & itineraries
Routes I'd walk again.
Copy these whole, or steal the shape of them. Each one is the order I'd do things in, not a checklist to tick off.
9 days
The Yucatán Loop
MéridaIzamalValladolidRío LagartosHolbox
The inland half of the peninsula, where the crowds thin out. Pink flamingos at Río Lagartos, the yellow convent of Izamal, cenote-hopping between them.
6 days
Cenotes & Caribbean
MéridaUxmalBacalarTulum
Ruins, then the lake, then the sea. Bacalar's seven shades of blue are the reason to skip straight past Cancún.
05 · Wander with intention
Where to put your money, your time, and your attention.
Wellness
Temazcal, hammocks, and siesta
A Maya steam-bath ceremony before dawn, then a hammock afterwards. Yucatecan rest isn't laziness, it's strategy — copy it and you'll come home actually rested.
Culture
Yucatecan kitchens
Cochinita pibil, sopa de lima, and a cooking class with a family who will correct your tortilla technique with great affection. Take the class.
Sustainable
Protect the water you're in
Shower without products before a cenote swim and use biodegradable sunscreen — these are freshwater systems, and the reefs depend on what runs off the coast.
06 · Practical notes
Before you set off.
Getting around
Comfortable ADO buses link the major towns; a car opens up the small cenotes and ruinas you'd otherwise miss.
Currency
Mexican peso (MXN). Pay in pesos, not dollars — you'll be charged worse the other way.
Where to base
Two or three nights inland — Mérida or Valladolid — then the Caribbean coast.
Know before you go
The midday sun is merciless. Carry more water than feels necessary and start early.
The wanderer's kit
What I pack for Mexico.
The unglamorous bits that make a trip run smoothly. Where a link is attached, it may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Sun care
Biodegradable SPF and a wide hat — cenotes and coastlines both ask for it.
Water
A refill bottle with a filter; you'll fill it at markets and hotels all day.
Insect defense
A good repellent with picaridin for the mangrove islands and the Petén.
Cash
Small pesos for cenote guards, market stalls, and colectivo fares.
Keep wandering
A different coast is calling.
Found something here that helped? That's the whole point. Tell me where I should wander next — I read every note that comes through the newsletter.