Chichen Itza
This amazing ancient city of the Mayans is easily accessible from Cancun. If you take local roads, follow some of the locals! They tend to drive fast, and know where all the speed bumps and radar traps are. If you don't want to venture though the bad roads, you can always take the toll road to get there. The toll road costs a bit of money (around $60 U.S. Dollars) and you have to be careful about the people riding bikes along the side of the road. Whatever way you go you won't be sorry when you get there.

Once you get to Chichen Itza you will realize that this Mayan city is one of the greatest treasures of the Yucatan. Standing on an estimated 100 sq km (39 sq miles), this ancient city has a lot of sites to see. Because of it being such a popular tourist spot, the bathroom facilities and food sites are up to Western standards.

While you are at the city you can visit El Castillo, as named by the Spaniards. It is actually the Pyramid of Kukulcan and has 91 stairs on each of the four symmetrical sides. You can climb to the top and get an amazing view!

Also on the ground of this beautiful city is the Temple of the Warriors, the Ball Court, and the Observatory. All major Mayan cities had ball courts, as it was important both politically and religiously.

At the end of the day you will want to stick around for the light show. Your admission ticket is good for this show!

Merida
The Mayan Civilization is not the only gem of the Yucatan. Another gem of the Yucatan is the capital city of Merida.

Known as the “city of white” because of the white limestone and the white paint throughout, this city really shows the splendor and beauty of Colonial Mexico. Merida celebrates a tattoo festival, the Day of the Dead, the famous carnival in February and many other holidays. In fact, when in Merida everyday would seem to you like a holiday.

Merida is full of hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, lots of friendly people, and is low on crime.

Balankanche Caves
These caves add to the splendor of the Mayan Civilization and Merida. These caves were ceremonially important to the Mayans and many artifacts and an altar were left behind to see today.

Once you see the beautiful city of Chichen Itza and the Colonial town of Merida, you will discover that in between those two glorious places there are many other historical and cultural gems you wouldn’t want to miss.