It is time for a trip that I have planned for almost 4 months to come. We are going on a 25-day tour. Our first stop is Mexico City, our second stop is Oaxaca for the Day of the Dead, our third stop is the Yucatan Peninsula and finally Cuba. You can reach my detailed travel articles about all stops from my blog. I also share my instant stories To my Instagram profile I bolted. So you can get more details from there.

We went with Turkish Airlines, which made a direct flight from Mexico City to Mexico City, and returned to Istanbul directly from Havana. Since Air France tickets, which are the most suitable alternative for this journey, are not cheaper than the tickets we bought, we have never had the chance to find a different alternative to an alternative aircraft. I tried to explain our detailed adventure region by region. But first, some things that interest me in Mexico City.

Some Mexican Facts That Surprise Me

• The streets are bright in 20 million Mexico City. While thinking about how, we learn that throwing garbage on the ground is a money item. Please apply immediately, too.
• It’s fine, but people are also clean. Every morning, the shops are washed with detergent water to the streets. After a while, we started to be afraid that we would have a detergent.
• Free internet is available in many parks and busy streets. The speed of the internet that you log in easily is also good. While traveling in the same places, our phone started to automatically receive notifications.
• All museums are free on Sundays. It is free for tourists as well. It might be a good idea to quickly look at those who are not particularly sure that there is a very crowded crowd.
• Some streets are closed to traffic and open to pedestrians and bicycles on Sundays.
• The metro built in 1969 stands in the same way. There is a very good but very old subway network in the city. Some trains and stations have no ventilation and are very crowded.
• Especially in Mexico City, almost nobody speaks English 🙁 You should trust Google translate and body language.
• The country seems to have stayed 20-30 years ago. Everything from music playing in venues and streets to shops took us to our childhood.
• Instead of automatic washing machines and dishwashers, machines with old type boilers are sold, very strange.)
• Get ready to see plenty of vosvos and old cars. The economy is bad but the hearts are one.
• It really depends on the Mexican culture and has not yet come under the same effect of globalization. I hope it always stays like this.
• As you know, as the food culture is very developed, you will find great food on the streets.

Where Did We Go In Mexico City?

Plenty during our stay for transportation metro We use. Although it remained the same as it was done in 1969, we had problems with ventilation and crowd, but we preferred human traffic over never-ending vehicle traffic.

Taxi use is quite common and not very expensive. If you say be more reliable uber but there is a cheaper option than that CabifyIt was almost half cheaper at the times we looked. It’s best to install and follow both.

As we are going to drive a car, we recommend everyone tellcell We received a contoured package from. We used this 26-day package comfortably throughout the entire trip.

Frida Kahlo Museum

The most iconic name of Mexico is definitely Frida Kahlo. The house he lives in has been turned into a museum and opened to visitors. We waited 2 hours at the door to enter the museum, which we queued spontaneously half an hour before its opening.

You have to buy tickets online and go, because it is highly unlikely that the queue will come to you. Entrance to the museum is 230 MXN per person (Mexican Peso), you also need to pay an extra 30 MXN to take photos inside 🙂

Anyway it is absolutely worth it for this house full of gorgeous garden and Frida’s belongings and works. There is also a cafe where you can spend time in the garden. When we left, another area had been added to showcase their clothes, but it could be temporary. Since there are no more than a certain number of people at the same time, you are not struggling with too much crowd inside, but this may affect your waiting time at the door.

Teotihuacan

Aztec city, which you can reach with a journey that takes about 1 hour from Mexico City. It is famous for its two huge pyramids. Moon Pyramid and Solar Pyramid It is open to visitors so that you can climb if you wish. I suggest you do your research before you go because the explanations in the ancient city are very poor. In addition, since there is no woodland and greenery, it is compulsory to visit with a hat and water.

The entrance fee is only 75 MXN and it is open from 08:00 in the morning. You should spend at least half a day here. It is useful to snack in the bag. We went from the city by public transport and the trip was very enjoyable. If you wish, you can reach here with daily tours. For those who want to go, the transportation is as follows:

Getting to Teotihuacan

• Take the metro and get off at Autobuses del Norte station.
• Cross the road and enter the bus station.
• You can get your ticket from the box office that says “Pyramids” right next to the entrance door no 8 on your left.
• Buses departing every 20 minutes leave you directly opposite the entrance door.
• The round trip ticket costs 104 MXN about 5 dollars. Buses are air conditioned and very comfortable.
• When you exit door number 2 and cross the road, you will see a bus stop sign. From here you can take the return bus and return to the bus terminal.

Mercado de coyoacan

This is a delightful Mexican market where you can find both souvenirs and food. Prices are fine but bargaining is possible. We bought many of our souvenirs from here and realized that we made a good choice as we continued to travel in Mexico. We found the daily menu and the English-speaking waiter in the middle of the restaurant 🙂

Coyoacan Neighborhood

Frida Kahlo’s house is located in the Coyoacan neighborhood. Thus, when you leave the museum, you have a chance to visit this region. Be sure to spend time here, because it should definitely be seen with Coyoacan architecture. You can spend a day here with its coffee shops, market places and pleasant places.

Mercado de la Merced

This was the least favorite market place in Mexico. It was like the Mexican version of the evening dresses in İzmir Kemeraltı. Outside the market where traditional clothes are sold for boys and girls, it is full of textile products that you won’t want to buy. Of course, it can be tried for a different experience.

Mercado Artesanal Mexicano

Another pleasant market place in Coyoacan. One of the stops where you can find souvenirs unique to Mexico.

Templo mayor

When you go from the right side of Zocalo, you can see the ruins of Templo Mayor. Instead of going inside, we chose to go to the cafe opposite and watch the coffee while drinking.

Zocalo

All of the historical squares in Mexico are called Zocalo. Mexico City’s huge-sized historic square Secretaría del Medio Ambiente, Palacio Nacional, Sagrario Metropolitano, Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México surrounded by. Especially famous mural artist in Palacio Nacional Diego RiveraThe works of are visible but when we went we could not see it because it was closed due to Day of the Dead 🙁

In the streets that emerge, well preserved streets full of history are waiting for you. Do not forget to spend time for a trip in this area.

Palacio de Bellas Artes

When the entrance to the museums was free on Sunday, I immediately plunged into the Palace of Fine Arts. In the museum, where classical and modern works of art can be seen together, there is a wide selection such as painting, sculpture, and photography. It takes your hours to visit in detail, but definitely stop by, it’s a very nice museum.

Diego Rivera Mural Museum

The only work worth seeing in the museum, which I am very happy to see on a free day, is a 15-meter mural work by the artist in 1947. Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central)

Chapultepec

A huge park in the middle of Mexico City. It has everything from the lake to the buffets. It is a beautiful area but its only problem is that it has too many benches. We couldn’t understand much from the vendors’ buffets and noises. My favorite area was Auditorium. In the forest, classical music plays in a closed area with rocks and trees. You can spend time comfortably on the benches or borrow books from the table. The only rule is to be silent. Stop by for 15 minutes to relax.

Mercado Roma

The Roma quarter is one of the younger parts of Mexico City. We said to come to this region on a rainy evening and spend time in Mercado Roma in the Food Market concept. Although it looks like a small version of Time Out Market in Lisbon, unfortunately it did not please us as an experience. The hamburger we ate was very ordinary, even the worst things we ate in Mexico. Although the environment is not bad, it will not please you if you have seen much better. Of course there are restaurants, bars, ice cream shops.

Museo Nacional de Antropología

Take half a day to the huge museum that separates all civilizations living in Mexico from time to time. In the museum I like very much, you can see the traces of many civilizations from the Aztecs to the Mayans and see how much more civilization is hosting Mexico.

Well known in the museum Aztec Sun You will have the privilege to see the stone closely. The entrance to this magnificent museum is only 75 MXN, or 3.5 dollars.

El Ángel de la Independencia

While walking towards Chapultepec Angel of IndependenceWe wanted to see, but we haven’t seen much since it is under renovation. But we came across the wonderful open air exhibition on this boulevard. Due to the Day of the Dead Day, different artists throughout the boulevard La Catrina so they had skull designs. After navigating through huge adaptations, we found ourselves among the creatures.

Again for the Day of the Dead alebrijes The contest was organized and hundreds of different adaptations were exhibited on the streets. It is also a paper Mache art made of paper.

Alebrijes is the name given to the brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastic creatures. Pedro LinaresThis art, which started by seeing and drawing hallucinations about a forest full of brightly colored animals during a febrile illness, has become one of the traditional arts of Mexico. You can find your gifts everywhere.

Places we would like to go again in Mexico City

El moro

We couldn’t have had a better start to Mexico City. On the first night we had to sleep in the hotel lobby when our plane got off early, when we asked if there was a restaurant nearby, we learned that there was a 24-hour El Moro around the corner. At 7 in the morning churro and hot chocolate It was very good to start the day with. Of course we went again, because it is really beautiful. Since it is always crowded during the day, you may expect to wait in line but it is worth.

Bazaar El Sabado

We just got off the road and slept for a few hours at the hotel, we had to logically walk around and take a light tour. But since it is only open on Saturdays, we jumped on the metro and came to El Sabado and we did very well.

As we walked towards the market, we passed through a botanical park and were fascinated. Bazaar El Sabado is one of the most beautiful markets in Mexico. We drank coffee in a magnificent courtyard and dived into Mexican culture with live music. When we say Mexican embroidery, La Catrina figures, jewelery, wrestler masks, food and drink stands, treats, we passed by ourselves. An amazing market, you should definitely stop by.

Los cocuyos

There is also a 24-hour taco buffet, but there is no seat in front of it. The most important feature is making all kinds of offal. If you do not eat offal like me, you will not realize that it is written in the list in Spanish brains and kidneys. Tacos are really delicious in the buffet, which also includes red meat.

Pastelería Ideal

At a time when we were not familiar with Mexican pastries, we dived into Pasteleria Ideal. My perception was broken when I saw that it is the largest pastry shop and hundreds of varieties I have ever seen. Everyone was traveling with huge trays filling their tops.

You are already lost between cakes, breads, pastries, cookies and so on. It is a great place to have breakfast in the morning and take a snack in your bag. But as we traveled in Mexico, we realized that there was such a patisserie culture.

The House of Tiles

House of Tiles, where we decided to take a chance when we escaped from the rain and liked to eat inside, was one of the most famous places to visit in Mexico City. It can be very enjoyable to go inside and eat in this beautiful setting.

El Buen Taco

One of the city’s famous taco restaurants. Always crowded. Taco is beautiful but fresh juices are also legendary;)

Taqueria la auténtica

There was a series called Taco Diaries on Netflix. Both different taco types and restaurants were introduced. This was one of the addresses I saw and recorded from there, but I did not like it very much. I don’t think you have to go especially.

Mexico City impressed us more than we expected with both its culture and energy. When we saw the people living on the streets, we were sad and remembered how everyone got covered and became afraid of the streets. We hope that we understand that the main problem is not the economy and we regain our old joy.

When the Day of the Dead is celebrated in Oaxaca, we set off on our new route by plane. We went to Merida in an hour and a half by direct flight from Oaxaca. Our only alternative for this trip was Volaris, which was very good but not cheap.

Yucatan Peninsula Although it has a lot with its beaches, magnificent beaches, small colorful towns and Mayan ruins, the best way to reach many of these is renting a car. Otherwise, you should use buses, taxis or private tours, which will not come cheaper either. We drive our car I rentalcars.co through Alamo We rented from. Car rents are very convenient, but we paid an extra $ 140 since we bought our car from Merida and left it to Cancun 🙁 The rents included in the standard insurance start at 100 TL per day. alternative.

Is it Safe to Rent a Car in Yucatan?

I have to say that this region is very touristy, even though the most important question with Mexico is always security. In other words, this is a safe area, but it says on the internet that the police want bribes. When I asked this to the officer while renting a car in Alamo, he said that a situation like bribery in Yucatan was not possible, but he did not know Cancun. A Turkish friend, who also lived in Playa Del Carmen, told that they constantly bribe the police on the road between Tulum and Cancun. However, we were never stopped by the police, following all traffic rules. The worst thing we ever had was to face a panther on the Playa Del Carmen beach, which I think is a much worse experience 🙁

The other things I read about Mexico, where Pemex employees where you bought gasoline in your car were trying to defraud the tourists and car rental companies tried to make extra money from you, but none of this happened to us. We never used toll roads and traveled on very wide roads. The most important thing to watch out for is deadly bumps, but since the speed limit is usually 80 km, you won’t have any problems. I think the most important thing to pay attention is the night journey. Since this region is protected by forests, there is not much lighting when it gets dark and everyone travels with high beams.

Day 1 Merida

Merida is the capital of Yucatan province. We stayed here in a central hotel called Hotel Doralba Inn and we were able to spend about half a day in the city. In such a short time, we had the chance to watch the traditional Yucatan folk dance, Jarana.

You can purchase many souvenirs of Maya culture in Merida. You have many alternatives from hammocks specific to this region to magnificent embroidery. Here we throw ourselves because we are bored with traditional food El trapiche We ate great pizza at the restaurant. I also wanted pasta, which was very good. This place is also very famous for its traditional dishes, and we got it when we entered by chance 🙂

Merida is one of the cities where people live according to the traditions. You can see this from apparel to food culture. Unfortunately, although architecturally very beautiful buildings, it has not been well preserved. Even if I cannot say go, you may stop by the fact that there are magnificent venetians very close to the city;)

Day 2 None dzonot Cenote and Valladolid

There are countless cenotes you can visit in this shade. All of them have different features and entrance fees. Some are very touristy crowds, some are empty. The first cenote we saw was Yokdzonot. The entrance fee is 85 pesos per person, and there are cabins, toilets and restaurants.

What we call Cenote is actually the sinkholes. They all look like a piece of heaven. There were a few more when we left, but a tour group arrived on our way out. The only disadvantage here is that wearing a life jacket is compulsory. It is magnificent in nature. By the way, cenote waters are not cold, you can spend a long time. After a few hours we felt in heaven, we went to Valladolid to stay in the evening and see the city center during this time.

night Hostal Tunich NajWe spent in a bungalow. In the evening, eat in Valladolid We have walked the streets. There are many restaurants in the town, which is one of the accommodation points of the tourists who visit this region. Evenings Convent of San Bernardino of SienaA video show about the city’s history is held in.

Day 3 Chichen Itza and Cenote Zaci

7 New Wonders of the World ancient Mayan city between Chichen itzais one of the most important stops of this region. Maya’s astronomy and mathematical knowledge Kulkulkan Pyramid Famous for its city, it is a fascinating place with many mysteries and victims.

This place may have the entrance of the most expensive ruins of all of Mexico. As of 2019 per person 480 pesos so 25 dollars we paid the entrance fee. If you want, you can keep a private guide for you or your group at the door. It can tell you the history of the city, not in Turkish but in English.

We chose to travel ourselves. Chichen Itza is a city with lots of trees and therefore easy to visit. I suggest you plan without forgetting that it will take at least half a day.

The harder it is to visit the ancient city in the heat, the more pleasant it is to choose a cenote and cool off. Since we will stay in Tulum in the evening Valladolid in the center Cenote ZaciWe went to.

The entrance of this place is only 30 pesos, but if you guarantee to spend 100 pesos per person in the restaurant, you can enter for free. We chose to log in from a restaurant as its restaurant is both very nice and very enjoyable. We love Zaci, who has a small waterfall, half of which is completely open and half like a cave. This delightful place where you can spend hours is very central and it has been my favorite even though it is occasionally invaded by tours.

When we moved to Tulum to stay overnight, we were shocked to see that the place we rented through Airbnb was very out of the city and dirty. When the owner of the house, which we completed the payment on Airbnb and reached in the evening, refused the refund, we took everything and took a place from the center and emptied the room.

Anyway, 2.5 days of our 3-night payment (since we entered the room late and left our belongings for 2 hours) Airbnb He returned it to us. Thus, we also experienced how good Airbnb customer support I use.

4th and 5th Day Tulum

Quickly in the city center in Tulum at night Hotel Kin Ha PuebloAfter settling in, we explored Tulum during the day. Because we want to see the beach quickly, by car Paraiso beachWe went to. There are places where you can sleep on sun loungers along the beach. Or you can find a palm and enjoy the beach underneath.

In the afternoon walking distance to this beach Tulum Ruinswhat we decided to go. This city, which is also from the Maya, consists of ruins on its name, but it is very enjoyable to spend time because it is on the edge of the beach. It’s also great to see the iguanas, who are the real owners of this place. It is very pleasant to visit here as its nature is very beautiful. If you want, you can visit the door again by holding a guide.

In the evening, we definitely visited two places I wanted to see. The first is famous for seafood Sabor de Mar. Despite its shabby appearance and affordable prices, this place produces amazing plates. All we tried was fantastic.

From the famous stops of Tulum Bateyis famous for its mojitos made of sugar cane. It is really a taste worth trying. There is also live music every night in the bar.

We said to take a tour of the 2nd day hotels region in Tulum as follows. Here is where I say absolutely go SFER IK

Azulik Tulum This architecture can be visited free of charge. It fascinates you with its surreal structure and special works of artists. All the donations coming to the museum, where a certain number of people were taken, were used for the protection of the Maya people. I think it is best to make a small donation if you go.

Further here Ahau TulumIs at the entrance door of Daniel PopperHe has a magnificent work. I’ve been wanting to see him since I discovered him on Instagram, and I joined the caravan of those who took photos in front of him.

Since the hotel area is like a construction site when we went, we could not enjoy it. There is also an incredible vehicle traffic that I did not want to imagine in the high season. As we went, November was not a crowded period since the region was one of the months of precipitation.

To catch the sunset, we went to Tulum beach again, but we couldn’t catch a legendary view like in Bali.

Evening from the legendary taco vendors of Tulum center Antojitos La ChiapanecaWe tried many different tacos, each with 10 pesos. We have completed our last night with our mouth open for its cheapness and taste.

Day 6 Playa del Carmen

On the sixth day we set off early AkumalWe reached. This is the beach with sea turtles. However, we gave up that there are many rules for entrance fee and protection and we continued to Playa del Carmen. We hung around a little on the beach in Playa del Carmen, but we didn’t like it because it is covered with plants called sea grass.

Then, close to the center Punta EsmeraldaWe chose to try. There was sea grass here, but it is a more pleasant beach than the center. Especially while spending time at the beach, which is preferred by the local people, we got caught in the rain. When the work went to the car to leave our belongings, we left little by little when it came to the eye with a panther. Since this is a protected area, we learned that all kinds of animals, from panties to raccoons, live in the forest. The panther experience was a little scary, but there are already signs of “panther can come out” on the roadside in this area 🙂 Anyway, when we went, I did not take a photo from the panther fear. I added a nice photo from the internet;)

Photo source: https://www.featherandthewind.com/blog/2018/2/25/punta-esmeralda-playa-del-car financing

In Playa del Carmen Fifth avenue There is a never-ending bazaar in its name. Along the way, the gift, restaurant, bar, grocery store never ends. So it reminded me of the center of Marmaris. If you like such places, you might like it, but not very much.

Evening with the suggestion of a Turkish friend living here Don sirloinWe ate taco again 🙂 I can say that it was fine if your path fell.

7. Day Cancun

We set off in the morning on the last day of our trip and went to Cancun. Take a drive tour of the hotels area and see one of the larger markets of this place Mercado 28We went to. Since Cancun is the most touristic place with luxury hotels, the market prices are quite high but you have a chance to bargain. Mexico city or Oaxaca If you are not going to less touristy cities such as Yucatan Peninsula, the products and prices in the markets are almost the same.

After delivering our vehicle to the airport without any problems on the last day, we flew to Havana in 1 hour and 15 minutes.