How to get around Yucatan - the best way to travel

You can visit Mérida, Valladolid and Chichén Itzá by ADO bus or the Tren Maya train.

However, once you add a cenote and Las Coloradas to your itinerary, a hire car will save you a significant amount of time.

We would choose a car again for our itinerary, mainly because of the cenotes and the more remote spots along the coast.

What you want to visit	Our recommendations
Mérida, Valladolid and Chichén Itzá	ADO or Tren Maya
Cenotes around Valladolid	Car or taxi
Río Lagartos and Las Coloradas	car or organised tour
Mérida only	ADO or Tren Maya
Holbox	car or ADO

Car hire: the best option for our route

In the space of a few days, we used our hire car to visit the cenotes of Suytun, Las Coloradas, Valladolid, Chichén Itzá, Ik-Kil and Hacienda Oxmán. After visiting Oxmán, we continued on without any problems to catch the evening ferry to Isla Mujeres.

Without a car, a similar itinerary would have required more nights’ accommodation, several changes of transport and, at Las Coloradas, most likely a taxi or an organised tour as well.

The widest selection of car hire companies is usually found at Cancún and Mérida airports.

👉 Compare car hire prices in Cancún
👉 Compare car hire prices in Mérida

What to look out for when hiring a car

The lowest price shown in the search engine may not be the final price. Third-party liability insurance is compulsory in Mexico, so be sure to compare the total price, including insurance.

Also check the amount of the security deposit, the excess, the conditions for returning the car to a different location, and the requirement for a credit card in the driver’s name.

Of course, it’s also a good idea to follow general advice on car hire, which we cover in more detail in our in-depth articles:

What was it like driving in Yucatán?

The main roads are mostly straight and in good condition. We didn’t find driving there particularly difficult or significantly more chaotic than in Europe.

Be particularly careful of:

almost unmarked speed bumps(they’re absolutely everywhere!!)
pedestrians, cyclists and animals at the roadside
the poor condition of side roads
driving at night outside towns (cars are often unlit)
checking that the petrol pump at the service station starts at zero

For example, the road we wanted to take to Las Coloradas to see the flamingos was in such a bad state that we eventually gave up on it.

Toll and non-toll roads

Fast motorways are marked with the word ‘cuota’, whilst toll-free roads are marked as ‘libre’.

The entire 180D toll motorway between Cancún and Mérida costs 6 for a passenger car 675 mxn.

We only travelled on the motorway from Valladolid to Cancún and paid 427 mxn.

Make sure you have Mexican pesos in cash ready for the toll booths, although you can usually pay by card as well. You do not need a toll receiver, an electronic toll tag or registration to pay the toll.

You simply drive up to the toll booth and pay.

The toll-free road passes through several towns and has a number of speed bumps.

The main routes

Route	Best transport	Journey time by car
Cancún Airport – Valladolid	ADO bus, Tren Maya	2 hours
Valladolid – Chichén Itzá	car, colectivo or ADO	40 minutes
Chichén Itzá – Ik-Kil	car or taxi	10 minutes
Valladolid – Suytun	car or taxi	15 minutes
Valladolid – Hacienda Oxmán	car or taxi	15 minutes
Valladolid – Mérida	car, ADO or Tren Maya	2 hours
Valladolid – Las Coloradas	car or day trip	2 hours
Valladolid – Chiquilá for the journey to Holbox	ADO or car	2.5 hours

ADO buses: the best way to travel without a car

ADO operates comfortable, air-conditioned buses between Cancún, Valladolid, Chichén Itzá and Mérida. On the main routes, you can reserve a specific seat and store your luggage in the hold underneath the bus.

One advantage is that the stations are close to the city centres. In Valladolid, it’s about a 5-minute walk from the main square, whilst in Mérida, long-distance services arrive at the Centro Histórico terminal.

You can find current prices and timetables at ado.com.mx. When buying in advance via the website or app, tickets can be up to 50 per cent cheaper than at the ticket office.

If you’re travelling without a car, it’s worth staying right in the centre of Valladolid or the historic centre of Mérida. You can walk to the buses, restaurants and sights.

Oriente, Mayab and Autobuses del Centro

Cheaper buses operated by Oriente, Mayab and Autobuses del Centro also run on regional routes. They stop in smaller towns, so the journey tends to take longer than with ADO.

You can find Oriente and Mayab services on the AhorroBus website. Autobuses del Centro publishes its timetables on its own website.

With regional buses, you should generally expect to buy your ticket on board and pay in cash.

Tren Maya: comfortable, but not always the most practical option

The Tren Maya connects Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Cancún Airport, Valladolid, Chichén Itzá, Izamal and Mérida.

There are several 6–7 trains a day on the main route, and the journey itself is usually quick.

The problem is the location of the stations. Valladolid station is situated outside the city centre, and Mérida-Teya is also on the outskirts of the city.

In Cancún, the station is the furthest of all – it’s about 40 minutes from the centre, right by the airport.

You will therefore need to add the time taken for a taxi or connecting bus to your total journey time.

You can find timetables and tickets on the official Tren Maya website.

You should choose a train based on the specific departure time. It is not automatically faster or cheaper than ADO. It tends to be a better option for travelling to the Chichén Itzá archaeological site, as there are significantly more trains than buses running there throughout the day.

	ADO	Tren Maya
Frequency	usually higher (except for Chichen Itzá)	several services a day
Station locations	mostly in the city centre	often outside the city
Fare for foreign visitors	usually lower	usually higher
Booking	website, app, ticket office	website, app, ticket office
When to choose it	convenient travel	longer distances or Chichén Itzá

Colectivos and shared minibuses

Colectivos are cheap vans or minibuses that usually set off once they are full. You pay the driver in cash and there is often no fixed timetable.

They are a good option, for example, between Valladolid and Chichén Itzá. The journey costs around 40 mxn s and takes about 50 minutes.

We wouldn’t rely on colectivos for a more complex route involving several cenotes or for the journey to Las Coloradas.

Organised tours instead of a car

An organised tour is particularly worthwhile for Las Coloradas and Río Lagartos. Without a car, you’d have to travel via Tizimín, carry on to Río Lagartos and then sort out further transport to the salt flats.

Full-day trips to Chichén Itzá from Cancún or the Riviera Maya also make sense. From Valladolid, on the other hand, we’d travel independently, as the journey is short and organising your own itinerary will allow you to arrive earlier than large groups.

Compare organised tours around Yucatán

Transport in the cities

The historic centres of Valladolid and Mérida are best explored on foot.

In Mérida, the Va-y-Ven bus service, the IE-TRAM electric tram service and Uber are available. On public transport, you can pay using the Va-y-Ven card, an e-ticket via the app or a contactless payment card.

Uber also operates in Valladolid, but there are fewer drivers than in Mérida. For short journeys to the cenotes, a traditional taxi with a pre-agreed fare may therefore be a more reliable option.

Be aware of the time difference

The state of Yucatán is one hour behind neighbouring Quintana Roo. When travelling from Cancún or Tulum to Valladolid, set your watch back by one hour.

What would we choose?

For a combination of Mérida, Valladolid and Chichén Itzá, ADO buses or Tren Maya trains are sufficient. However, if you also want to visit a cenote, Las Coloradas and Río Lagartos over the course of a few days, a hire car is well worth it.

A sensible compromise might be to hire a car for just 2 to 4 days and get around the cities on foot, by Uber or by bus.

Getting around Yucatan