AirbnbHolbox
“An incredible room, with the pool right next door to cool off. Just perfect!”
- Room
- Pool right next door
- Incredible room
Latest article · Nov 11The Most Beautiful Cenotes in Mexico We’ve Tried (Tulum, Valladolid)Read →📶 Internet as soon as you land, without changing your SIM card.
Before you go, here's what you need to know to visit Mexico : all the practical info we wish we'd found in one place before our one-month road trip in the Yucatán.
Adeline and I spent a month on a road trip around the Yucatán Peninsula, driving a rental car: Holbox, Valladolid, Mérida, Bacalar, Tulum, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. From Mayan cities to cenotes, by way of the Bacalar lagoon and the underwater world of Cozumel, this country left us starry-eyed
Visiting Mexico differently than all-inclusive is the whole spirit of this trip. We went in October : very few tourists, lower prices and almost no sargassum. On this page, we've gathered everything: our itinerary, our real budget, our accommodations, our videos and all our articles.



1 month, 8 stops, 2 states (Yucatán and Quintana Roo), by car and by ferry for the islands. Click a stop to read the article.
Cenotes, Mayan sites, beaches, restaurants… every place on our road trip, on Google Maps.
Here are our real expenses for a month in Mexico for two, without all-inclusive, in October. Prices have gone up since (site entry fees, tourist taxes): keep some margin.
≈ €63 a night for two, over 30 nights, between Airbnb and small hotels. 30% of the budget
Round-trip flights from France and short trips on site. 19% of the budget
30 days with TouraCancún, insurance included: ≈ €32 per day. 15% of the budget
Mayan sites, cenotes, snorkeling and diving in Cozumel, boat trips. 15% of the budget
≈ €30 per day for two. We ate really well! 15% of the budget
For a month on the road around the peninsula. 4% of the budget
Everyday groceries. 2% of the budget
📊 The full breakdown of our budget, item by item →
To pay on site without unnecessary fees: where to withdraw money in Mexico?

All the articles from our trip to Mexico, sorted by theme. Pick what tempts you!
Renting a Car in Mexico: How to Avoid ScamsRead the article →
Tips for Visiting the Mayan Site of Chichén ItzáRead the article →
Where to Withdraw Money in Mexico? Pesos or Credit Card?Read the article →
Tips for Visiting Los Rápidos de BacalarRead the article →
Tips for Visiting the 3 Cenotes of Cuzamá in the YucatánRead the article →
My Tips for Visiting Cenote Ik Kil in the YucatánRead the article →
Tips for Visiting the Mayan Site of CalakmulRead the article →
Tips for Visiting the Uxmal Ruins in the YucatánRead the article →
Holbox: Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting the IslandRead the article →
Tips for Visiting the Tulum Ruins in MexicoRead the article →
My Tips for Visiting the Mayan Site of Ek BalamRead the article →
Tips for Visiting the Cobá Ruins in MexicoRead the article →
Snorkeling the Reefs of Cozumel in the CaribbeanRead the article →
My Tips for Visiting Cenote Secreto Maya in the YucatánRead the article →
My Tips for Visiting Cenote Hubiku in the YucatánRead the article →
Tips for Visiting the Bacalar CenotesRead the article →
Tips for Visiting Cenote Suytun in the YucatánRead the article →
My Tips for Visiting Cenote X’Canché in the YucatánRead the article →
What to See in and Around Valladolid?Read the article →
Tips for Visiting Cenote Azul in MexicoRead the article →
Bacalar: The Lagoon of Seven Colors by SailboatRead the article →
Tips for Visiting Cenote Oxman in the YucatánRead the article →
10 Things to Know Before Visiting MexicoRead the article →
Discovering the South of Isla Mujeres: Punta Sur & GarrafónRead the article →
My Tips for Visiting Cenote Calavera in MexicoRead the article →
My Tips for Visiting Cenote Choo-Ha in MexicoRead the article →
Exploring the North of Isla Mujeres – Playa NorteRead the article →
Holbox 3 Islands Boat Tour: A Mixed ExperienceRead the article →
Thousands of Bats Fly Out of the Calcehtok CavesRead the article →
Cozumel: A Scuba Diving Paradise in the CaribbeanRead the article →
Visiting Muyil and the Sian Ka’an ReserveRead the article →
The Most Beautiful Cenotes in Mexico We’ve Tried (Tulum, Valladolid)Read the article →Our 8 accommodations, stop by stop, between Airbnb and small hotels. We tell you what we loved… and what we liked less. All the details in our Where to stay in Mexico article.
Airbnb“An incredible room, with the pool right next door to cool off. Just perfect!”
Hotel“A stunning setting and a super spacious room, ideal for catching your breath between two cenotes.”
Airbnb“A whole house just for us, with a little pool to relax.”
Hotel“A gorgeous place right in the city center, with a superb pool.”
Airbnb“An entire place with a pool, but very out of the way: you'll need the car.”
Airbnb“A clean, well-located studio, to do everything on foot from the city center.”
Hotel“A really beautiful seaside hotel, with a magnificent pool.”
Hotel“Very close to the airport: perfect for the first or last night of the trip.”
We filmed everything! 7 episodes to follow our trip to Mexico, from Holbox to Isla Mujeres. Click an episode to play it. (Videos in French.)

The questions we're asked most often. Still have one? Email us, we'll be happy to reply
In a month in the tourist areas of the Yucatán and the Riviera Maya, we never felt in danger. Zero risk doesn't exist: avoid driving at night, don't show off your valuables and don't leave anything in the car. Check the France Diplomatie travel advice (or your own government's) before you leave, and read our full take: is Mexico dangerous?
No: for a tourist trip, a passport valid for your whole stay is enough for French (and most EU and US) citizens. The authorized length, up to 180 days, is set by the immigration officer on arrival and shown on the passport stamp. Formalities change (the FMM entry form is now digital): check them before you leave.
For the Yucatán Peninsula, allow at least 15 days. Three weeks to a month is ideal to enjoy the cenotes, the Mayan cities and the islands without rushing. We stayed a month: here's our day-by-day itinerary.
We spent €3,149 per person for a month, flights, car, accommodation, restaurants and activities included. The biggest item is accommodation (≈ €63 a night for two), followed by flights. The breakdown is in the comparison tool higher up on this page.
The dry season, from November to April, is the most popular. We went in October: few people, lower prices and almost no sargassum, but very intense heat. From March to August, sargassum can invade the Caribbean beaches, and hurricane season runs from June to November.
For a road trip, it's the most practical. We paid €950 for 30 days with TouraCancún, insurance included, and everything went really well. Watch out for topes (speed bumps) and gas station attendants. All our tips: car rental in Mexico: avoiding scams.
Both. Cards work in hotels and many restaurants, but pesos are still essential for small shops, cenotes, tolls and tips (10 to 15% at restaurants). Withdraw from bank ATMs and decline the conversion offered by the machine. More details: where to withdraw money in Mexico.
No vaccine is required when arriving from France. The Institut Pasteur advises being up to date with your routine vaccines and recommends hepatitis A. Protect yourself from mosquitoes (dengue) with repellent and long clothes in the evening, and don't drink tap water, which isn't drinkable. Ask your doctor for advice before you leave.
We had a French Free plan including 25 GB in Mexico, without a local SIM card. If your plan doesn't include Mexico, an eSIM installs before you leave and works as soon as you land. We recommend Simbye, with 15% off with the code LEPTITCURIEUX.
Our favorites: the 3 cenotes of Cuzamá, Chichén Itzá, the whole Bacalar area, Calakmul lost in the jungle and diving in Cozumel, one of the best experiences of our lives.
Roadbook · 80 pagesBefore every trip, I prepare a roadbook with everything we want to discover. The Mexico one is 80 pages : it saves you hours of planning.
Over 180 Google reviews at 5/5: here's what our readers say about our Mexico tips. Thanks to them
It's a great, very complete blog. Bastien is lovely, he answers questions quickly and doesn't hesitate to give advice. On Mexico, all his articles are complete, well written and full of beautiful photos. Thanks to you, Bastien, I'm going to have a great trip. Thank you so much.
Thanks for this blog, which helped us build our Mexico itinerary thanks to all your detailed experiences.
Bastien & Adeline's site Leptitcurieux.fr is a goldmine of information and tips for planning your journey to Mexico. They were very responsive to our requests and guided us perfectly in our planning. A thousand thanks.
A very complete and detailed blog on all the questions you can have when you're going to discover a new country like Mexico. Thanks for all the tips, shared experiences, hotel links, top notch
About to leave for a few days on the Riviera Maya, I can't thank Bastien and Adeline enough for answering a few questions. Kind and available! Thank you.
Thank you for your advice, which already lets us picture our future trip to Mexico. Don't hesitate to check out their blog, you'll find lots of info and can ask your questions, he replies quite quickly.
Very well built and smooth site. Thank you so much for sharing your very detailed experiences, with good tips and simply magnificent photos. Thanks to you, my trip to Mexico is going to be amazing
A very well-informed blog, which helped us organize our trip to Mexico, in the Yucatán region! Thanks to Bastien for his responsiveness.
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Let's work togetherWe hope this page helps you plan your trip to Mexico, and that it makes you want to discover the cenotes, the Mayan cities and the Bacalar lagoon the way we experienced them. A question, a doubt about your itinerary? Write to us, we reply to every message.


