Valladolid is a vibrant colonial town, approximately 2.5 hours drive from Playa Del Carmen. We stayed there for two nights and used it as a based to explore the following archeological sites and cenotes:

Chichen Itza Archeological Zone
Ek Balam Archeological Zone
Cenote Xcanche
Cenote Suytun

I absolutely loved Valladolid and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to explore some of the more off the beaten path areas of the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s walkable, colourful and friendly, it caters to tourists without feeling at all like it’s overrun. In the afternoons, the coaches that transport the tourists from Cancun and Playa Del Carmen for their day trips to Chichen Itza make a stop in the main plaza of Valladolid but beyond the daily surge of day tripers, the town feels so authentic and unique.

Where we stayed:

We stayed a very budget friendly boutique hotel called Casa Valladolid Hotel Boutique. We had one room that fit all of us in it. It was basic but fine for two nights. We enjoyed the little breakfast restaurant that was on site and it had a small too. It was in a great location, only a few blocks back from the main plaza.

Our accommodation - Case Valladolid Hotel Boutique.

Traditional Mayan House on Calle de Los Frailes

Where we ate:

Las Campanas is right on the corner of the plaza, near the big church Iglesia de San Servacio. This was a nice little traditional restaurant.

Mercado 41 (Gastro market): on Calle 41 between Calle 52 and Calle 51. This was a relaxed outdoor restaurant that had a lot of options like pizza too

We loved the food in both restaurants. The prices were great and the food was amazing.

Other things to do in Valladolid

Cenote Zaci îs an extraordinary sink hole style cenote right in the centre of town, only four blocks west of the main plaza. (We unfortunately didn’t swim here. We were planning to but we came back from Chichen Itza too late in the afternoon. It looked amazing though.)

Wander down Calle de Los Frailes, a low traffic street with lots of cafes, restaurants clothing boutiques and handicraft shops. It leads to Parque Sisal where you’ll find the Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, the colour Valladolid Letters and playground for kids.

Hang out in the central plaza, visit the Iglesia de San Servacio and sit in the white double seats that are iconic to the colonial towns of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Our accommodation was close to the Iglesia de la Candelaria which is a colourful church that overlooks a smaller, vibrant plaza with a playground.

Iglesia de San Servacio on the main plaza.

Valladolid is so vibrant and walkable and photogenic! I loved wandering around, observing all the locals and capturing photos of the vibrant colonial architecture. It’s also a very convenient base for explore the endless options of cenotes in the area.