Valladolid, transport and hotels

I've decided to avoid Cancun and go directly to Valladolid
on arrival in Mexico. However, ticketbus doesn't list
Valladolid as a destination.

Are there buses direct from Cancun Airport to Valladolid or
must I take the bus to the city bus terminal and change
there?

Does anyone have a url with the schedules and prices for the
buses servicing Cancun-Valladolid? Also, after Valladolid
for 2-3 days I will be moving on to either Merida or Uxmal
district for a couple of days and then flying from Merida to
Mexico City.

For accommodation, there are good reports for El Meson Del
Marques (about US63 per night) and mixed reports of "Maria
de la Luz Hotel" (about US45 per night). I'm a little wary
of the truth of some reviews on tripadvisor and web-sites at
the moment. Has anyone stayed at either of these?

Any other tips on Valladolid would be appreciated or the
itinerary would be appreciated.

TIA

Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/
latest: Slovenia

"Alan S" <nothere DeleteThis @there.com> wrote in message
news:2juuq319635nime4s1oks86btgvhesucc7@4ax.com...
> I've decided to avoid Cancun and go directly to Valladolid
> on arrival in Mexico. However, ticketbus doesn't list
> Valladolid as a destination.
>
> Are there buses direct from Cancun Airport to Valladolid or
> must I take the bus to the city bus terminal and change
> there?

To the best of my knowledge there are no buses from the airport to
Valladolid. You'll have to take a bus, taxi or combi to the bus terminal.
>
> Does anyone have a url with the schedules and prices for the
> buses servicing Cancun-Valladolid? Also, after Valladolid
> for 2-3 days I will be moving on to either Merida or Uxmal
> district for a couple of days and then flying from Merida to
> Mexico City.

In addition to the colonial town center Merida has an excellent INAH
museum. There's another good INAH museum at Dzbilchaltun just north of
Merida. The ruins at Dzbilchaltun suffer from looting for the dressed stones
and overly aggressive restoration. I love the big traditional mercado in
Merida, but I would suggest avoiding the second floor craft section that's
set up to seperate tourists from as much money as possible.

If you make it to Uxmal I highly recommend the rustic Sacbe Cabanas and
Camping. It's about 7 miles from the ruins on the other side of Santa Elena.
I would also suggest seeing some of the other nearby ruins, particularly
Kabah because of the artwork on the site.
>
> For accommodation, there are good reports for El Meson Del
> Marques (about US63 per night) and mixed reports of "Maria
> de la Luz Hotel" (about US45 per night). I'm a little wary
> of the truth of some reviews on tripadvisor and web-sites at
> the moment. Has anyone stayed at either of these?

I've stayed at the El Meson del Marques a couple of times. It's very
pleasant. The restaurant there is very good. The last time we were there I
got a package deal on breakfast and the room at a very good price. I've only
seen the Maria de la Luz from the outside. It appears to be more down scale.

> Any other tips on Valladolid would be appreciated or the
> itinerary would be appreciated.

Across the street from the El Meson at the main square is a good place
to buy local craft items directly from the Mayan women who make them. I like
the small traditional mercado in Valladolid--not to be confused with the old
mercado building on the main square that sells craft items. The big cenote
in town is worth seeing. In addition to the ruins of Ek Balam I also
recommend the modern village of the same name because it's built on a very
traditional pattern.

TB