Getting Around the Yucatán and Southern Mexico

What to Choose for Getting Around?

Getting Around in Mexico

On a Mexican scale, the southern region isn’t too vast, and its many points of interest make it easy to plan without long travel days or needing to fly. Roads are generally good, transport links are plentiful, and driving in this part of the country isn’t too difficult.

However, since the region has numerous pre-Columbian sites that aren’t always easily accessible by public transport, a rental vehicle is often the better option for visiting them. Especially when you consider that an organised tour can end up costing more than renting a car.

Note that in the Yucatán Peninsula, there are regular ferry routes with frequent departures: from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel ($11 one way) or from the Cancún area to Isla Mujeres ($5 one way) with the company Ultramar.

Distances Between Cities

Distances (km) between the main cities in the region:

	Camp.	Cancun	Chet.	Chichen	Merida	Palen.	PdC.	S. Crist.	Tulum	Valla.	Villah.
Campeche		480	390	290	180	365	460	570	430	330	380
Cancun	480		380	200	300	835	70	1050	130	155	860
Chetumal	390	380		330	385	495	315	695	250	305	575
Chichen Itza	290	200	330		115	655	180	860	150	45	670
Merida	180	300	385	115		545	290	750	260	160	560
Palenque	365	835	495	655	545		770	220	705	700	155
Playa del Carmen	460	70	315	180	290	770		970	65	140	845
San Cristobal	570	1050	695	860	750	220	970		905	900	230
Tulum	430	130	250	150	260	705	65	905		100	785
Valladolid	330	155	305	45	160	700	140	900	100		715
Villahermosa	380	860	575	670	560	155	845	230	785	715