Yucatán Peninsula: Cancun and Tulum
Traveling to Mexico in December to escape the winter cold has become a bit of a tradition. We typically go to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico’s Pacific Coast but this time we visited the Yucatán Peninsula. Cancun resides in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo and it boarders the Caribbean Sea. The water is blue and crystal clear- perfect for scuba diving and snorkling.
Cancun, Mexico
Cancun has several options for scuba diving- Cozumel, Islas Mujeres, Cenotes, Cave Diving and more. We chose to dive MUSA, also known as Museo Subacuático de Arte. MUSA is an underwater museum with over 500 life sized sculptures submerged in the water. The sculptures promote coral life and have turned into habitat for the sea life.
The Dive 
Underwater 
MUSA
Las Islas Mujeres
The next day, we took the ferry to Las Islas Mujeres, an island 8 miles off the coast of Cancun. There were three ferries to choose from: two passenger ferries and one car ferry. Tickets were easy to purchase and it was a quick ride to the island. Once we arrived, we rented a golf cart to explore the island. We found a lighthouse, the remains of a Mayan temple, a sanctuary for sea turtles and even a drive-thru Corona store.
Drive-thru Corona 
Chapel 
Las Islas Mujeres
The Cenotes
We visited several cenotes throughout our trip. The Cancun area has over 30,000 cenotes; it is a natural pit or sinkhole throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. In ancient Maya, these sinkholes were sometimes used for sacrificial offerings. Today they are magical swim holes. We went to Chichen Itza after Cenote Ik Kil as they are only a 15 minute car ride apart.
Cenote Ik Kil 
Cenote Dos Ojos
Chichen Itza
As one of the new seven wonders of the world, Chichen Itza is a must-see. The main highlight is a step pyramid, known as El Castillo or Temple of Kukulcan which was built by the Maya people. We rented a car to visit Chichen Itza, as we wanted to explore on our own time. We visited Cenote Ik Kil afterwards, they are only fifteen minutes apart by car.
El Castillo 
Chichen Itza
The Mayan Ruins in Tulum
Another must-see is the Tulum Ruins. The ruins are located in the most beautiful location- right on the Caribbean Sea. he access fee is $35-40 pesos (video cameras extra $30 pesos) and the visit timetable is 8 am to 5 pm BUT we found out you can pay extra for an evening tour. We arrived a bit after 5 and were worried that we missed the entry time. Fortunately, we paid a bit extra for evening entry (which was not marketed online). We had the whole archeological site to ourselves!
Tulum Ruins 
Tulum 
The view
Eats
Tacos Al Pastor