Valladolid, the home of Mayan people, lies in the heart of the Yucatan. With population under 50,000 it makes it cozy enough not to be overwhelmed by big city vibes. Itβs perfect for exploring the history of Yucatan peninsula. Church, cathedral and colorful buildings in colonial architecture and friendly Mayans give Valladolid its historic and authentic charm.
Since our trip to Yucatan was an escape from Canadian winter, we intended to be by the sea as much as possible. Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum are all great places to do just that. But they also come with plenty of tourists, meeting Canadians and Americans behind every corner. Not that Iβm against any of them, but thatβs not really why you go to Mexico.
We decided to go off the popular βgringo trailβ and travel inland. From Tulum, we hopped on a bus to Valladolid. After only hour and half, we were excited to see the real Mexico.
Mexican Valladolid stole my heart
In Valladolid, smiling Mayans greeted us as we tried to find our way to hostel. Arriving in the middle of the day, it gives you a good idea how the city lives β cars honking around, people running errands and shopping, street vendors offering tamales.
Tamales were the most offered street food in Valladolid. It is a traditional dish steamed and wrapped in banana leaf and can be filled with anything you like β meat, cheese, vegetables, fruits. There is one constant and essential ingredient β chili. Itβs the ingredient you will find in tamales no matter the filling.
In just a few minutes from the bus station, we found ourselves on the plaza in the main center park Parque Francisco CantΓ³n. Fountain in the middle and benches around the park make them an ideal place for hanging out and people watching.
There is a market on one side where vendors offer Mayan clothing, bags, wood carvings, jewelry, sandals and souvenirs. The Catedral de San Gervasio is dominating the south side.
Food vendors occupy the other side offering tamales or marquesitas. Marquesitas are traditional dessert invented in Merida, Yucatan. They look like crepes and taste like wafers. Whether you like salty meals β ask for cheese filling, or sweet option β ask for nutella (our favourite), they are the most delicious dessert we tried. I cannot count how many marquesitas we ate during our time in Yucatan.
We tried a different food vendor every day and always loved the food. I should also mention that it was much cheaper than restaurants around the plaza.
The plaza is alive all day. In the evenings, the plaza hosted a folk group performing traditional Mexican dances.
This was the first year ever, when the town celebrated New Years Eve in the plaza. The street was closed, DJ played Mexican music and people started to dance around midnight.
Iβm glad we knew how to count down the last seconds of the old year in Spanish and welcomed the new one with βFeliz AΕo Nuevoβ. With fireworks, salsa and champagne we started the new year.
Our hostel provided us with bicycles to get around the town. The alternative I like the most when visiting a new place. During our rides, we explored the town further from the plaza.
Just few hundred meters away is a sinkhole Cenote Zaci, popular for swimming and cliff diving. Yucatan is literally filled with cenotes, some of them for swimming or scuba diving. With Cenote Dzitnup easily reachable by bicycle and few day trips to ruins and surrounding cenotes, we had plenty of chances to cool off. Mayans say there are more yet undiscovered cenotes.
The most interesting ride was from plaza heading south west. From the Catedral de San Gervasio we took the street Calzada de los Frailes (Calle 41A) and admired many colonial and colorful buildings. It lead us to another historical building – Ex-Convent San Bernardino de Siena built in 15th century. Surrounded by public park, it is a nice and quiet place to wind down.
There is aΒ night tour of the ex-convent which we happily took aΒ part in, not realizing it would be mostly in spanish. There is another cenote right next to the church. This one is not for swimming β itβsΒ 30m deep where they found many human bones and guns from the period of occupation by Spaniards.
We hardly saw any foreigners in Valladolid and therefore nobody speaks english. But we came prepared and memorized important phrases. AΒ lot of words are similar to english and smile goes aΒ long way. They gladly showed us directions, offered samples of the food when we had no idea what they sell or called aΒ friend standing nearby who spoke aΒ little bit of english. This made me want to learn spanish even more.
Very helpful and friendly Mayans, interesting architecture, colorful historic streets, cenotes to ease the hot day, performance of folk dances and delicious traditional food made our visit the best time in Yucatan.
Valladolid is such a picture square and fun town, that I would recommend it to anyone who is planning to visit Yucatan. Check out here what else you can visit in Mexico.
Which place you’ve visited stole your heart? Let me know in the comments below.
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I think that this is the absolute best way to experience a new place. Get off the beaten path and don’t go to all the regular tourist destinations. When I went to Mexico the first time I was staying in the gated all inclusive resort “neighborhood” outside of Puerta Vallarta. After the second day I couldn’t handle any more of the waiters and fancy dinners so we got on a bus and took a 45 (extremely scary) bus ride through the mountains to get to this little fishing village (which isn’t so little anymore) called Sayulita. It’s still one of my favorite places to visit in Mexico but I’m so glad I ventured out to find it!
Thanks for sharing your off the beaten path story. Good for you getting out of the resort and seeing the real Mexico!
can yo help me with planning my mexico trip?
Send me an email if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Hi Maya! I enjoyed reading your blog about the colonial town of Valladolid, like it took me there! I’m all the more excited because we are going to Mexico next month and will stob by here to visit for half a day… I have a few questions for you which I hope you could answer before our trip. Keep writing!! Thank you : )
Thanks for reading and enjoy your Mexico trip! Feel free to shoot me a message with your questions.
Looks like the legit Mexico experience. What a way to see the Yucatan without all the tourists.
Yes, exactly!
Hey Maya,
I’m new to solo travelling and am trying to gather information on my trip to Central America, including Mexico. I’m flying to Cancun and leaving from San Jose, CR, and the length of my adventure is two weeks. I know it’s a short time to cover most of the things and enjoy the atmosphere, but I really want to cover the best things possible. I’m interested in Mayan ruins, swimming in cenotes and similar adventures more than relaxing on a beach.
I know it is a pretty vague plan ( I’m working on it!! ), but could you give me any tips, guidance, anything at all? I can take all the suggestions I can get from people who know how to travel! π
Thanks!
Hi Deepa, Valladolid is a great base for Mayan ruins, cenotes and Mexican culture. It would be very hard to go from Mexico to Costa Rica in two weeks. I’d recommend flying in between countries so you can enjoy something in each country because you would need to spend around 5 days in a bus just to cover that distance without stopping. You can fly from Cancun to Antigua, then Managua and San Jose, and research things to do close to these cities – there is a lot of them. Good luck and enjoy your trip!
Iβm glad I found your post on Pinterest. I really want to go to Valladolid during my first trip to Mexico. Did you ever get sick from eating the street food? And do you have any recommendations for where to stay? Gracias!
I think Valladolid is a great choice for a first trip! I got sick a few times, once even in Valladolid. But I can’t tell if it was from the street food, maybe from just totally different food I was used to. It only lasted a day so no big deal. We are both carrying Lifestraw bottles with filters so we don’t have to buy water, so it wasn’t from that, I’m sure. Sooner or later every traveler goes through stomach problems. The street food in Valladolid was amazing though!
We’ve stayed in a hostel south-west from the central park but I don’t remember the name.
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