mexico / central america

Balmed Out

Hi, im hoping to go for the month of july to the mexico / belize / guatemala region and was wandering has anyone been and where do they reckon is good. Obviously a month isnt long enough to see too much so i want to decide where to go in the region and where to fly in and out from. cheers

Neamhshuntasach

If you can you're probably best flying in to Cancun and just sticking to the Yucatan part of Mexico as if you go further north you will eat into your time and not see as much of Belize or Guatemala. Or do a loop into the Chiapas region and then into Guatemala, Belize and back up to Cancun. That seems the most logical to me.

If you do something similar to the above the places i'd recommend are:

Mexico

Isla Mujeres (chilled out island)
Cozumel (great diving and snorkling and coral reefs)
Tulum (Mayan ruins)
Chichén Itzá (Mayan ruins)
Mérida (Colonial city)
Uxmal (Mayan ruins)
Campeche (Colonial city)
Palenque (Mayan ruins)
San Cristóbal de las Casas (Town surrounded by indigenous villages and Zapatisa heartland)


Guatemala

Flores (Island town in the middle of a lake)
El Remate (Quiet relaxed town)
Tikal (Mayan ruins in the middle of a jungle)
Lago de Petén Itzá (Cool big lake)
Livingston (Carribean town)
Rio Dulce (Can a boat down this river and sail by the jungle)

Belize

Caracol (Mayan ruins)
Mountain pine ridge (hiking, jungle river rides, waterfalls)
San Ignacio (A kind of base town for adventure tours in the Cayo district)
Caye Caulker (Reefs, diving and a lot of beach stuff. Really chilled out)
Explore the cayes and a day in Belize city. Not really much going on there.


There is a lot more places i'd recommend for the countries you're going to but you'd need a lot more time. Even trying to see all the above is a bit ambitious. You'd be moving around a lot and that adds expense to your trip. Also Belize is not that cheap by central American standards. Guatemala is very cheap.

menoscemo

Hey balmed out!!
I did something similar a few years ago. I suggest you don't spend too much time in the Cancun area as it is really touristic/not very mexican. Obvously flying to Cancun is a good idea, but you could also fly to Tuxtla Gutierrez Via mexico city.
Anyway if going to cancun check out Playa del carmen and Tulum, but stay well away from the city itself, seriously!!!
I suggest you set up base in Chiapas. The best and most enjoyable place is By far San Cristobal de las Casas. It is an absolute favourite of Backpackers, loads of hostels, you can stay forless than 5 dollars a night. Everything is cheap, great atmosphere, really chilled out and great night life.
It is close to palenque ruins and some wonderful waterfalls and indigenous villages and all the hostels will organise you day trips to these places.
It is also really close to the Guatemalan border so there are loads of buses to Guatemala City from here.
I reccomended the city (well town, it has a bout 100,000 population) to another guy aswell and he loved it too, so it is not just me

Balmed Out

Thanks for the replies, ye have given me plenty to research. Very good of ye, cheers

wyndham

Hey, sorry to hijack your thread.
Headed to Cancun/Cozumel on Sunday for a fortnight and wondering what the best thing to do is moneywise?
Dollars, pesos, travellers cheques? Don't suppose AIB Laser cards work in ATMs over there?

Balmed Out

So long as your bank card has link or cirrus and the ATM machine does too (which they seem to every where no mattter how remote etc these days) then itll work. bring a few diff cards some cash maybe some trav checks for backup u will be grand.

menoscemo

Wyndham, they will work no probs.
Don't bring dollars or trav cheques as you will waste your money converting them back. Get some pesos from your local bureau de Change to start. then 75% of ATM's will accept your laser card, certainly nearly all if it has a cirrus or maestro symbol.
I remember that AIB cards worked in places about 10 years ago before laser that i never thought they would so i am sure it is still the case.

MCMLXXXIII

wyndham wrote: »

...what the best thing to do is moneywise?...Don't suppose AIB Laser cards work in ATMs over there?

AIB Laser cards don't work, and when I was there I didn't see that many ATMs to begin with. I don't understand Traveler's Cheques anymore because you can charge/debit anything anywhere. Most places take Pesos, Dollars (Canadian or American), and they take Euros. Most of the time (as long as it isn't a corporate store/restaurant) you can get stuff cheaper if you pay in cash.

Also, if you are doing the whole touristy thing - do the all inclusive - it's worth it. Many hotel companies have 5-10 hotels along the strip and some offer the all inclusive to be valid at any of their hotels so check that out. Also, you can get bar nights at all inclusive (just ask your concierge) and it's almost the same price as the cover just to get in.

OP- July is SO HOT down there it’s crazy. You will get used to it and then be FREEZING for a couple of weeks when you get home! Oh well. Flying to Cancún or Mexico City is cheapest, but for your destinations Cancún is probably best. I have never been to Belize, but 10 days is good enough for the Cancún and Uxmal area. Guatemala is about the same. I’m sure if you wanted to you could find things forever, but to get the important stuff isn’t that long. Uxmal is awesome, and there’s a few places in/around Cancún where you can swim with dolphins - it's definately worth checking out.

Have a good time and let us know what you did when you get back!

wyndham

Cheers for the answers. Rang the AIB number on the back of my laser card and spoke with a nice girl. She said it would work for withdrawing cash no problems and directed me to www.maestrocard.com for locations to withdraw cash. Apparently, it's accepted wherever Mastercard is.