Published: 16.03.2018
We have been in Mexico for 5 weeks now. After almost four months of traveling, time flies by quickly and we still have 5 more weeks ahead of us.
On 01.03.18, my brother arrived in Mexico and spent two weeks with us. We picked him up from the airport in the evening and stayed in Cancun for three nights to settle in. We hadn't been to Cancun before, so it was a good fit for all of us. Our hostel was located in the center of Cancun, so we had to take the public bus to the beach. It only costs 12 Pesos per ride and takes about 20 minutes. The beaches are where the big hotels are located. We went to the Delfines beach - there is no hotel in the background and it wasn't very crowded - perfect for relaxation. At the same time as my brother, two friends from Hamburg also arrived in Mexico - Christian and Sarah - and we met them at the beach as well.
The next day, the five of us went to Isla Mujeres. The island is easily accessible from Cancun by ferry. The ride takes about an hour and costs 440 Pesos round trip. We decided to go for a day trip. We spent the day relaxing on the beach in the northern part of the island. Highly recommended. Of course, you can also spend a night or two in one of the hotels or hostels there.
After three days in Cancun, we spent four nights in Tulum. We really liked the place when we visited for a day, so we wanted to explore the area around Tulum for four days. This time, we booked a room for the three of us through Airbnb. It was located right in the center, but to reach everything better, we rented bicycles for the time being, as the beach, the ruins, and the surrounding cenotes are a bit further away. Nils had his birthday during this time and he wished to go wakeboarding. So we rented a car and drove towards Playa del Carmen. In the evening, we met up with a few people from our language school who were also there for a few cold drinks. The next days, we visited the ruins in Tulum (70 Pesos entrance fee), which we actually liked better than the ones in Coba, the Cenote Grande, where we even saw turtles, and the Cenote Cristal as well as the Kaan lagoon, which is about 10 kilometers away and looks very nice.
After much back and forth, we decided to take the bus to Chichen Itza and visit the ruins. We spent a night there and went directly in the morning, which was a very good idea, as it got extremely crowded and hot later in the day. We found it extremely interesting to see the huge Mayan ruins live.
Afterwards, we took the bus to Bacalar. We spent three days there and among other things, we took a sailing tour on the lagoon, where we visited various points, such as the Cenote Negro and the Pirate Lagoon. Our hostel also offered the same tour, but we watched the sunrise and were active ourselves with stand-up paddleboarding.
Then we went to Los Rapidos - a rapid where you can let yourself drift and is popular with both locals and tourists.
Our tour continued with the bus and ferry to Isla Holbox. We spent two nights there and it was a relaxed end to my brother's two-week vacation. An extremely laid-back island with many good restaurants, paintings on the houses, and beautiful beach areas.
Two weeks go by so quickly. My brother flew back home yesterday and we took the bus to Mérida, the capital of Yucatan.