Seeking Mexico Driving Guru?

Question

I'm going to Mexico in August I only have two full days to spend there so I want to pack in a lot of things.

I planned on driving from Cancun to Tulum on arrival day then spending my first full day exploring Tulum and Coba and hopefully finding a cool cenote to visit or do some snorkelling.

For my second full day I plan on driving up to Chichen Itza for some more exploring.

Questions:

How are the two drives? What are the roads like? Any info would be great.

How many tolls are on the drives?

And on a side note, if I want to hire a guide at the ruin sites how much does that usually cost?

Any info will be greatly appreciated, this is my first real trip to Mexico so I am very excited!

Thanks!

Answer 1

I don't think you'll have a problem with the driving if you are used to driving in a big city in the US. The highways are generally good. drivers are generally courteous though not always predictable. Cancun downtown can be a little hairy but if you are going from the airport to Tulum then you'll miss all that. That drive will be on the 307, that's a free road, no toll. That's a good road but it will be the busiest of all the roads you would encounter on your trip. Once you get away from the Airport, and further south towards Tulum you will notice less and less cars.

The road from Tulum to Valladolid is two lanes mostly trough jungle. Again, it is a good road, no problems, little or no traffic. You will pass through some small towns. You can expect topes (speed bumps) at the entrance and exit to each town along the road. Look for more topes to if you see a school. Sometimes there are marked by a sign but not always.

The one toll road that you'll end up on, the 180 cuota is great. It's expensive but practically empty except for the occasional car and tour bus every time I've ever been on it. It's very well maintained. If you travel from Tulum to Valladolid and then get on there you should miss one booth so I think you'll only have to pay about $11 USD. I could be wrong about that though since I usually make the drive from Merida to Cancun so I'm not 100% sure on the location of the toll booths but just be aware that the toll road is pricey but it's well worth it. On the Merida to Cancun trip it's two tolls of about $11 & $19, so I think you'll miss the $19 one if you take the road from Tulum to Valladolid. There is a 180 libre (free road) but it will add hours to your trip and after the first few villages they are start looking the same. Plus the free road is always full of trucks that don't exactly meet emission requirements so it really sucks being stuck behind them.

Guides at ruins tend to vary according to the size and popularity of the ruins, at Chichen itza I would think it would be about $45-$60 dollars (I haven't been there for years so that's a guess) The tour would likely be about 90 minutes. At major sites, like Chichen Itza, you'll find good/great guides who will speak English.

At a smaller, less popular site a guide might be $15-$20, though they may not always speak English particularly well.

Gas up when you can, you can't always find a gas station (on the 307 there are lots, outside of that they can be hard to find).

Try to drive in the day light, lots of these road go through some rural areas and animals tend to me more active at night. Also, watch out for people on bicycles and cars, trucks etc. without proper lights. (So again, drive in the day light if you can)

One last thing, you may encounter a military style check point, likely at the state border between Quintana Roo and Yucatan. It's nothing to worry about, they aren't looking for tourists, just people moving drugs or illegal imigrants. Not that much of that happens in the area anyway it's mainly just a make work project for young people in the army.

Here's a good online map for you ( but ask the rental agency for one as well)