Sometimes all you need is one little picture or video of a place you’ve never heard of before and it’s enough to send you into a rabbit hole of research and bookings.
That was me and Bacalar. I don’t even remember where I first heard about the “Lake of Seven Colors” but once I did, I was hooked and knew I wanted it to be a place I explored – and it would ultimately make this my first trip to Mexico.
Day 1: Travel Day
We started our Christmas morning out bright and early with the flight to Cancun. Honestly, I had tried very hard to avoid flying to Cancun but United cancelled their direct flight option to Tulum which really put a wrench in our plans. Still, Cancun wasn’t a bad option and we got there without issues.
We opted to pick up our car at the airport and then kept right on going so we can get to our airbnb in Valladolid for the night. This was a really cute spot with fairly eccentric but really nice hosts. The airbnb space was a little strange, to be honest, but still comfortable with a beautiful pool.
That night we first went to Meson del Marques Restaurante on the recommendation of our host and, while a bit touristy, it did not disappoint. It set the standard for an truly endless list of incredible meals we had while in Mexico and particularly Valladolid. I had heard this was a spot for foodies and it absolutely is. Add in that each restaurant we went to was incredibly beautiful with indoor courtyard spaces and I was in heaven.
Day 2: Exploring Valladolid and Chichen Itza
We started the day with a nice breakfast at Caffeto Caramel and then wandered around to get the look and feel of Valladolid in the day time.
It’s a small enough city with a lovely square and plenty of streets to explore. The street facades are very unassuming but every place we entered held really beautiful secrets. The Carolin Cacao Cafe, for example, had a garden right off it that you could walk through and explore. Unfortunately the chai I had there was one of the worst I ever had, but I liked the little garden experience!
Around midday we made our way to Xoul Art. I had heard about first as a great spot for artisan work but then also learned you can do a very nice mezcal tasting as well. I am not a mezcal fan myself but Eric is and we were able to sit and get a taste of a few different styles and types. It was a nice experience and the art on display was absolutely beautiful though all on the pricy side. Still, it was a lovely gallery and well worth stopping in.
After a quick walk back to our airbnb, we finally got on the road to the primary destination for most tourists to Valladolid – Chichen Itza. I knew if I was going to come to the Yucatan peninsula it was an absolute must to see this famous world wonder.
We had heard about a dramatic light show that would happen after sunset and so our plan had been to get there about an hour before closing to get the ticket (you cannot buy them online) and then stick around for the night show. Unfortunately, the day we arrived the light show had apparently malfunctioned and it wasn’t possible to see it.
We were definitely bummed, but made the most of the situation and still used our day ticket to wander the grounds. We were seemingly too late to get a last minute guide – which turned out to be okay. A couple of the areas of the grounds were closing down but we still got to see what was really the primary space.
You’ll hear very mixed reviews of visiting Chichen Itza and I totally understand why. I’ve been to so many places where you get the vendors all lined up, constantly selling to you. This is normal and never bothers me. However, Chichen Itza was fascinating to me because the vendors are allowed inside the grounds. It definitely detracted from the experience and we didn’t even get the worst of it since most were packing everything away as we walked by.
That being said, I still insist that this stop is a must. Is it my favorite set of ruins I’ve seen? Absolutely not. But it’s powerful and important and some things are worth doing if you are there. I do highly recommend going in one of the last time slots of the day as we were able to wander and linger and really got the place to ourselves at the end. Plus, I think it would be really cool to try and do that night visit!
That night we went to Conato and again sat in such a lovely garden area. I had the weirdest combination of flavors in my “lasagna” of my life but it was absolutely incredible. Definitely worth a stop.
Day 3: Ek Balam and Cenote
Eric and I had been really torn about our adventures on this day as we had heard about the pink waters of Rio Lagartos and really wanted to try and visit them. However, we ultimately decided the drive wasn’t worth our limited time, especially when our airbnb host said that a visit to Ek Balam, another set of Mayan ruins, was absolutely worth it.
So, despite having done ruins the day before, we got up early and made our way there. It was ultimately a really great decision.
Ek Balam was a much quieter space. While certainly not without tourists, it really gave the vibe that you could actually explore and discover. Still very wooded, it gave much more the impression of still having more to find. You could also still climb a lot of the fixtures including one structure that was dizzyingly steep, but we made it.
It was also a great stop because just a little further down the path is a cenote that was absolutely perfect. Taking a dip in a cenote is a must-do when you’re in the area but it can be hard to choose which one. This is a perfect spot over if you are also visiting Ek Balam because the path is too narrow for vans or busses – so it has very few visitors. It was calm, beautiful, and peaceful.
After a good hour of tarzan swings and floating around, it was time to go back. We changed and then made the long-ish walk to Idilio Folklore Cervecero. This was another lovely stop with fun beers to try and, again, an amazing spot to sit. It did get busy and we found ourselves waiting far too long for our final, already ordered, course. Based on the frantic look on our waiter’s face, though, I don’t think that is a normal occurrence and shouldn’t shy you away from a great spot.
Day 4: Mayan Bees and Drive to Bacalar
It was time to say good-bye to Valladolid (and, honestly, perfect timing as we definitely felt we had seen everything we wanted to in town). But we did make one more final stop to do the Bees Tour. This was a really fun and short experience where we got to learn about the different bees in the area and try a number of different honeys.
When you travel as much as I do it can start to get hard to find a tour of something brand new – and this one was that for me. We got to look in at the different hives. It was a really cool experience. Plus the restaurant on site, La Colmena, served a nice breakfast for us right before we got on the road to drive to Bacalar.
The drive to Bacalar was supposed to be somewhere between 4-5 hours and, based on the map, there weren’t a lot of stopping options along the way. A lot of people had expressed concern with renting a car in Mexico but, let me tell you, it was one of the easiest places I’ve driven abroad. The route we took between Cancun to Valladolid to Bacalar were some of the nicest roads I’ve encountered anywhere. Honestly, the biggest risk was boredom. I don’t think I’ve ever driven in a straighter line for hours at a time. It was kind of insane.
By the afternoon we made it Bacalar and our hotel, Rancho Encantado. We really ended up enjoying this spot – it was the perfect mix of being a hotel where you don’t have to leave the property, but not being too ritzy either. Every other tourist there was German or Scandinavian. We did get a bungalow with a private entrance to the lake which was really nice. We relaxed and had food on property that night. Eric’s mom had gifted us a private dinner which was very delicious.
Day 5: Bacalar
We originally had some pretty big plans when it came to time on the water on Bacalar Lake but storms rolled through and we opted to not do the sunrise Kayak trip. Instead we enjoyed an easy morning at the hotel and then made our way across Bacalar for some lunch and then to where we booked our Pontoon tour of the lake.
This ended up being a total bust as when we got to the site we were caught in an absolute torrential downpour. We parked and grabbed a beer while we watched the storm roll through. It was pretty cool on it’s own but it was becoming immediately apparent that spending the next three hours on a boat was going to be more like torture than fun. So we asked to postpone the activity and instead went back to our hotel for the night.
We did end up finding a small window in the weather later that afternoon and were able to get an hour of kayak time on the lake on our own, which was really nice.
Now, looking back, I do highly recommend that if you are staying at any hotel with beach/lake access, you should just book tours through them. They all have their own kayaks/canoes/pontoons and we didn’t need to do a Get Your Guide adventure.
Day 6: Pontoon Tour
The next day dawned beautiful and storm free and we trekked back to get our pontoon. We did end up with a snafu where the guide showed up almost an hour late but other than that it was really nice to get out on the water.
It wasn’t always immediately apparent while we were on the boat but because there are a lot of cenotes, there are many different depths, which is the primary reason why you can see so many different colors of the water.
It was pretty obvious that our tour guide had been a last minute replacement and didn’t normally do the tour, so he didn’t have much to tell us and we ultimately ended early but we were still really happy to have spent a few hours out on a beautiful lake in the sunshine.
Admittedly, once we were there, at one point Eric and I looked at each other and smiled. Coming from places like Wisconsin and Chicago, we didn’t really think about how lakes are very normal to us. In hindsight, coming all the way to Mexico to sit on a lake, gorgeous or not, was a little silly. But we still absolutely understand the appeal to this place that is very up and coming and will likely have a tourism boom in the very near future.
Day 7: Drive to Cancun
It was never our goal to spend any time in the touristy areas of Tulum or Cancun but given that we had to fly out early on New Years Day, we knew we would have to spend the night in the city with the airport the day before. So we got up, saw one last sunrise, and then headed out for another road trip after breakfast.
At first this drive was just as boring as the one previously but then we hit the wall that was Tulum traffic and tourism. And, wow – the difference was palpable. I found myself looking at the endless rows of resorts absolutely covering all beach access from everyone who actually lives in the area. It was… unsettling. I’m personally so glad we found quieter places to enjoy what felt like more Mexican experiences.
We ended up at an airbnb in an old and beautiful building in Cancun for the night. I was absolutely smitten with this place and it’s incredible architecture. I had originally picked it because I wanted to try and repeat our experience in Puerto Rico where we had a rooftop space and could see all the New Years fireworks. We definitely caught some and it was a really special time.
We also got into Cancun in time to see the sunset and absolutely perfect cotton candy colored clouds over the water.
Day 8: Travel Home
We got up early to head to the airport, but not before catching a beautiful sunrise. It was a great way to ultimately round out our Mexican experience and head home the next day.
All in all, I’m really content with the iterinary we crazy for the Yucatan peninsula. I think we saw some of the best the country has to offer in this region. Valladolid is an absolute gem of a city with incredibel food and the proximity to the awe-inspiring ruins can’t be beat. And while Bacalar maybe didn’t have the wow factor I had expected, it was still incredible beautiful and still small in it’s charm.
For anyone willing or interested in a trip that isn’t primarily one resort (and no shade to those who do!), I highly recommend our path!
The Roaming Reader 