1. Eat Tacos & Panuchos
I have to start by saying that Mexican food made me so happy! If I have to choose, panucho is my favorite dish from Mexico. Gabriel said that if I eat one more, I will turn into one. The difference between tacos and panuchos is that the wrap is fried for the second dish. Imagine the taste! The first place in my heart goes to the ones with pork called cochinita and the second to the ones with chicken and avocado.
If you want to read more about Mexican food, you can access my Foodie’s Guide to Mexico HERE.
2. Enjoy the white sandy beaches
Mexico is well known for its white sandy beaches so if you are a fan, you will surely be happy there. My favorite beach from Cancun was Playa Delfines and from Tulum the one at Nomade and Be Tulum. Cozumel also has some amazing beaches and they are less crowded than the ones on the coast. I have almost forgotten to mention the pristine beach that we have discovered at Las Coloradas. I would love to go back there one day!
3. Visit the Wonder of the World – Chichen Itza
Without even thinking too much about it, we’ve added Chichen Itza to our to do list for Mexico. It would have been impossible to visit the Yucatan Peninsula without seeing the Wonder of the New World. We’ve started in the early morning from our hotel in Valladolid and we were there even before the opening hours. To be honest, we forgot to check online the schedule, but being there first was better because we entered first and had the place to ourselves.
4. Swim in a Cenote
I have said it before and I will say it again. Visiting a cenote is mandatory in Mexico. If you are wondering what is a cenote, well it is basically a natural pool resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. The water usually has a beautiful turquoise color that is really inviting.
My favorite one was Suytun where we were lucky enough to see a Mayan ritual ceremony for a wedding. Once of a lifetime experience!
Gran Cenote has the coolest turquoise water ever. The rules are strict there since it is one of the crowdest, but you have to check it out.
5. Eat delicious tropical fruit
I am such a big fan of tropical fruit and Mexico was a dream from this point of view. We bought fresh fruit daily both at the hotel and on the beach: mango, papaya, pineapple, coconut and even dragon fruit! Even if we can buy them at home as well, the taste cannot be compared. I miss those days!
As a plus, the fruit street shops are picture perfect and they will be happy to let you take photos if you buy something from them.
6. Stay in a traditional hotel
In Valladolid, we have decided to stay at a traditional hotel and I have to say it was the best choice. The name of the hotel is Palacio Canton, it is located just 2 mins away from the city center and we definitely recommend it. The rooms were simple, but very clean. The main attraction was the cool interior garden with a beautiful pool.
Drink Tequila & local Beer
I have to admit I am not the biggest fan of tequila myself, but if you go to Mexico, you have to try it at least once. Mezcal is also very popular among locals and tourists. If you are wondering about the difference between them, Mezcal is a Mexican distilled spirit that is made from the agave plant whilst Tequila is made from only a single type of agave plant – the agave tequilana (blue agave) – and can only be produced in the state of Jalisco and in small parts of four other states.
I do have to say – even a as girl – drinking one cold Corona beer on the beach is priceless. If you didn’t know, Corona is produced by Cervecería Modelo in Mexico.
8. Visit the Pink Lakes at Las Coloradas and spot flamingos
For me, visiting a pink lake was a bucketlist experience so I immediately put this on our itinerary for Mexico.
9. Spend the day on a Island
Even though we had in plan to visit two islands in Mexico: Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, we’ve only made it to the first one. If I could turn back to time, I would definitely get accommodation and stay on the island for 2-3 days at least. In my opinion, a day trip was no enough. We had to go on an island tour in order to see all the important parts of Cozumel and it was too touristy for our taste. Visiting El Cielo was my favorite moment in Cozumel – an amazing snorkel point where you can see many starfish. There is also a beautiful beach nearby with incredible turquoise water and white sand.
For food, I recommend Casa David, a traditional restaurant in Cozumel City Center.
If you have more time at your disposal, I also recommend visiting Isla Mujeres and the now popular Holbox.
10. Have lunch with an Iguana
I am a big animal lover, but I am deeply afraid of reptiles and insects. Imagine my surprise when I was iguanas everywhere in Mexico. The first one was in Playa del Carmen, under a palm tree, on the beach. Hubby said to me: “Look how real that Iguana looks like!” After just two second, the iguana moved towards us, almost giving me a heart attack. Second day, at Playa Delfines in Cancun, there were at least 5 iguanas around us. I don’t refer at baby iguanas, nooo! There were big, but had absolutely nothing to do with us.
The cherry on top was at Azulik in Tulum when a iguana decided to join us for lunch. The staff there told us she likes tomatoes so we’ve shared my salad. Every time she came towards me, I started screaming. So much fun for others, not so much for me :))
You can easily see that I miss our Mexican adventure. To be honest, I am sure we are gonna go back one day because we left too many things undiscovered. As a plus, from the Yucatan Peninsula, you can go to Belize and Guatemala and these two destinations are still on our to do list!
See you next time!
