Mexico (Yucatán)

Chichén Itzá is the famous one and the busiest: be at the gate at opening, be finished by 11am, and accept that you can no longer climb El Castillo. Uxmal, south of Mérida, is arguably more beautiful and a fraction as crowded, with the Puuc route sites (Kabáh, Sayil, Labná) strung along the road behind it.

Cobá sits in jungle near Tulum with a tall pyramid and forest paths you can cycle. Ek Balam has carved stucco and far fewer people. Tulum's clifftop ruins are small but the setting over the sea is unmatched: go first thing.

Beyond the peninsula, Palenque and Calakmul are the jungle-swallowed heavyweights if you have extra days.

The whole peninsula is porous limestone with no rivers, the water is underground. Cenotes come in three kinds: open swimming holes, half-collapsed caverns, and fully enclosed caves lit by a single shaft of light.

Reliable favourites: Suytun (the light-beam photo), Ik Kil near Chichén Itzá (busy), the trio around Cuzamá reached by horse-drawn rail cart, Dos Ojos for cavern diving and snorkelling, and the quiet ones around Homún where a local family charges a few pesos. Bring biodegradable sunscreen only: most cenotes require you to rinse first.

Mérida is the cultural capital: a grand Paseo de Montejo, free evening street performances, an excellent Mayan World museum, and the best food in the region. Valladolid is the smaller, prettier base, a good hub for Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam, with the Calzada de los Frailes and a cenote inside town. Campeche's walled, pastel centre is the most underrated stop on the peninsula.

Tulum has the beach-club aesthetic and the prices to match; the town side is cheaper and more real. Akumal and the Sian Ka'an biosphere are where the turtles, lagoons and birdlife are. Isla Holbox is car-free, shallow and slow, with whale sharks offshore June–September and bioluminescence on dark summer nights. Isla Mujeres and Cozumel give quick reef access from Cancún; the reef here is the second-largest in the world.

Note the sargassum seaweed season: roughly April–August - which can bury Caribbean-facing beaches. The Gulf side and Holbox are usually spared.

Yucatecan food is distinct from the rest of Mexico: cochinita pibil (achiote pork slow-cooked underground), sopa de lima, papadzules, panuchos and salbutes, habanero salsa on the side and Xtabentún liqueur after. Market breakfasts in Mérida and Valladolid are the cheapest and best meals you'll eat.

November–April is the dry, pleasant season; December–January is peak. May is brutally hot before the rains, and September–October is the wettest with hurricane risk.

Rent a car: it's the single best decision here. Roads are flat, well signed and easy; watch for unmarked topes (speed bumps), avoid driving at night, and take toll roads between Cancún and Mérida. Decline unofficial 'police fines' politely and ask for a written ticket.

Two weeks is comfortable for ruins, cenotes, two cities and a beach; ten days works if you skip Campeche.

For the wider Maya world. Tikal, Guatemala's highlands and the Belize reef: see the Ruta Maya guide. For another ruins-plus-jungle trip, see the Cambodia guide; for Caribbean beach-and-culture, the Cuba guide.