Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, is estimated to have been built between 400 and 600 AD. It is the second most popular tourist destination in all of Mexico with over 2.6 million visitors per year! It’s not only an iconic destination for international travelers—domestic Mexican citizens make up the majority of its tourists.
So it’s no wonder Chichén Itzá can be a very challenging place to visit especially if you don’t love crowds or paying top dollar (like me!).
On my visit to meet up with Ellen and Tori in Playa Del Carmen, we decided that organizing a trip to Chichén Itzá ourselves was more our style. This option meant we experienced more freedom, less crowds, and more comfort overall. We ended up spending about the same amount as an organized tour—maybe even a little less!
In this post, I share the step-by-step planning and insider tips that went into visiting Chichén Itzá by our own design. I feel lucky and grateful that I had Ellen and Tori with whom to share the costs and this wonderful experience!
Eating is a favorite pastime of mine. What better way is there to experience a new country than to eat my way through it?
I believe you cannot know a people or a culture until you’ve tried their local cuisine—and not just from the tourist stops. The history behind their food or the nostalgia and pride they have in certain snacks is exciting to me.
Different from some of my other posts on “what I ate”—this one includes more focus on alcohol! I don’t usually drink in the countries I visit, but this time I did more than usual. I suppose New Years Eve and all of the tequila tastings around Cozumel lured me to partake.
In this post, I give you the highlights of my foodie—and drinkie?—experience in Cozumel!
Cenotes exist all over the Yucatan Peninsula. A cenote (pronounced “sen-NO-tay”) is a sinkhole that formed when limestone bedrock collapsed and exposed groundwater below. They are typically quite beautiful and popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Locals also love to go to them to cool down from the hot Mexican sun.
Cozumel has one accessible cenote: Jade Cenote. Jade Cenote is located in a small, historic Mayan town called El Cedral. To access, you must take a tour or pay a fee to enter and explore on your own.
I found my way in by motorbike to check it out. The experience didn’t take long. I managed to avoid the crowds, and I got to see the cenote for what it is: Not exactly the one you want to swim in!
Diving in Cozumel Mexico was at the top of my list. The Great Mayan Reef (Mesoamerican Barrier Reef) occupies its surrounding waters and is the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. It’s the second largest barrier reef in the world! The visibility is so good, divers come from all over the world to experience its spectacular biodiversity.
I was beyond bummed when my underwater camera stopped working the morning of my dive. I was not able to capture my experience diving the most popular dive site of all—Santa Rosa Wall. This drift dive is known for its beautiful colors, swim throughs, visibility, and marine life from big to small.
The dive ended up being my best dive experience ever—and a lesson in experiencing the moment. With over 60 dives logged at this point, to say this was my best dive ever is saying something! I even saw a spotted eagle ray which was the cherry on top! I am grateful that I at least have some low-quality video from my dive buddy to give a hint at how spectacular it was!
Punta Sur was by far my favorite place to visit in all of Cozumel. There was so much to do there including observing wildlife in the lagoon, climbing the lighthouse tower for epic coastal views, and snorkeling not one but two epic locations!
That’s right. In this post, I share two amazing snorkel experiences inside Punta Sur Eco Beach Park. One requires some swimming endurance and the other requires a short hike. Both are worth the extra effort to get there and you’ll save so much money not having to pay for a tour boat trip.
On top of it, you’ll get to indulge in the other amenities and experiences the park has to offer. If you have a scooter and your own snorkel gear and snacks, you’ll only spend about $20 and you can make a full day of it.
Growing up, my father used to talk about the Mayans and their culture all the time. He was a grade school teacher and annually taught a unit all about the Mayans. Despite so much education and awareness of the Mayans all my life, I never actually got to visit or see real Mayan ruins with my own eyes.
As a result, visiting Mayan ruins was a major bucket list item of mine for my first visit to Mexico. So of course I prioritized this for my first full day in Cozumel!
Cozumel has little hints of Mayan remnants all over the island. But there’s really only two places to go see it—El Cedral and San Gervasio. San Gervasio, however, is the most well-preserved and intentional archeological site of the two to see some of the Mayans remaining buildings.
The choice to see it self-guided not only saved me money, it also gave me the opportunity to see it at my own pace and without being herded around with a crowd!
San Miguel is a wonderful city to explore by foot. I managed to cover a lot of ground and see a lot of street art and sculptures in just a few hours one morning. Full exploration had me walking all over the city and seeing parts at night, too.
I never once felt unsafe walking around San Miguel—whether in the tourist areas in downtown or in the back streets away from the crowds.
I highly recommend taking a day to explore it. It cost me nothing and helped me better understand the culture of Cozumel and my part in it as a visitor.
I brought in 2024 in a very unexpected way while staying in Cozumel, Mexico. The street that my accommodation was on became a block party complete with a band and (drum roll)—a drag queen!
The evening started with a beautiful beach sunset and dinner. Then, I celebrated at midnight with locals in a low key bar-restaurant setting in the main tourist area of San Miguel.
While I thought the night was over, I was both shocked and elated to find that the real party was right on the street back home with the neighbors. Furthermore, their support for the LGBTQ+ community was palpable, going against my previous held notions.
This goes to show that travel outside of the tourist areas really does produce some of the most unexpected and wonderful experiences that may even challenge your assumptions about a culture.
I finally visited Mexico over New Years and managed to keep the cost down during this peak travel time. Mexico is not known to be an expensive country to visit. However, the price tag can skyrocket in an island cruise destination like Cozumel.
Not including travel insurance, I spent just over $1000 on 9 days in Cozumel, Mexico. That’s about $115 per day including airfare, accommodation, food, activities, transportation, and more.
I am quite proud of that price tag considering I did everything I wanted to do and even some things I didn’t know I’d do!
So how did I keep the cost down? Aside from travel points for my flights, many of the excursions and activities I did involved finding back ways to experience the same thing without the cost or bargaining my way to a better deal. Check out this full cost breakdown to understand how I spent my money in Cozumel.
The last two nights of my time in Costa Rica were spent in the city where it all started: San Jose. I purposely booked a relaxing stay with nice amenities so I could recoup from all the adventuring I’d done in the previous 2 weeks (best decision ever!).
It was time to sit back, relax, and take in some Netflix! Of course, the adventurer in me couldn’t sit still long. I had to get out and see a bit of San Jose. San Jose’s famous Central Market was the main attraction for me!
This 140+ old indoor market had everything I could possibly desire. I mention a few of its highlights but there’s one place in particular that had what I needed. This place had possible the most unique ice cream I’ve ever tasted made in 20 different ways. Read on to learn more as I close out my Costa Rica trip experience.
Happy New Year! I am writing to you from Mexico! I’m finally here after canceling this trip 2 years ago due to the omicron variant.
This past year was filled with lots of travel. The world continues to open up and travel is operating more smoothly. My domestic travels shifted a bit as new circumstances arose, and international travel reminded me why solo trips are the most restorative for me.
I take some time to reflect on 2023 including some exciting, quintessential, local, South Florida water activities I had this year.
I also talk about what's to come in 2024 in the way of both travel and work! There's also a big shift coming for 2024 that I hope to reveal around this blog's 10th anniversary!
Science and nature are mind-blowing sometimes. That is what I concluded after visiting Tenorio Volcano National Park in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica.
I went for the sky-blue-colored waterfall, Rio Celeste. I left with so much more including views of 3 volcanoes, gorgeous river views, and a science lesson in sediment mixing.
There's truly nothing like immersing yourself in nature and knowing it's there for us to witness and appreciate at any time. We just have to seek it out and keep on protecting it!
Going, going, going! I was nonstop in Costa Rica for 9 days. With only 5 days left, I felt the need to slow down a bit, and Taramindo was the ideal place in which to relax.
The perfect start to my short stint in Taramindo was arriving for sunset. I got overjoyed by the zoom lens on my camera as I observed the surfers, sailors, and glorious setting sun against the sights and sounds of the perfect waves rolling into shore.
The next morning, I started off the day with my first Airbnb experience—yoga on the sandy beach. This turned out to include some unexpectedly special touches that made for an already unique experience even better! A tarot card pull to open the practice and fresh coconut water to close it? Wonderful!
I had one night planned for the Nicoya Peninsula region. The reason? I was there for only one things—to snorkel Tortuga Island.
This was one of those destinations I researched very little ahead of time. I didn’t really know how I was going to snorkel these islands. I just knew they were snorkelable. And if I got as close as I could, I’d figure it out.
Figure it out, I did! I managed to stay overnight in a very inexpensive Airbnb with a lovely local family. And I believe I discovered one of the most accessible, low cost, and small group tours for snorkeling these islands.
I didn’t even know what I was going to get as part of this tour. But I ended up having an awesome time including plenty of underwater sightseeing in addition to quiet beach time with a fresh fruit feast.
This post is just an excuse to show you more views of the area around Monterverde—because why not?!
I missed seeing the sunset views my first night in Monteverde since I arrived late at night after an unplanned hospital visit. I could feel the mountains despite the pitch darkness beyond the road ahead of me. Feeling mountains but not seeing them is such a tease!
Early during my first day in Monteverde, I got to see layered mountain views looking East toward Arenal Volcano while hiking the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. I wanted to see more!
I couldn’t wait to catch my first sunset views. I was also looking forward to seeing more roadside mountain views during the daytime since I missed them on the way in. I’m glad I got to experience both on my last night in Monteverde and as I left the region the next morning.
The Santa Elena Cloud Forest is a magical hiking experience. It’s a cheaper, less touristy departure from the nearby Monteverde Cloud Forest entrance. I was able to walk the trails in near solitude and silence aside from the chirping birds and creaking trees.
What I loved about this reserve was its manicured trails depicted on a clear map from which you could choose your own adventure. Not a lot of time? You can pick a shorter path and b-line it for the observation tower for the best views in the park. More time? Take the longer route along Caño Negro.
With the beautiful canopy above, cool mountain air, I was easily enchanted by this place. The views of Arenal mountain on this fairly clear day were the cherry on top!
Did I want to fly over the Costa Rican cloud forest like superman? Absolutely, yes! This is why I came to Monteverde, Costa Rica—the adventure capital of the country. I was there to experience the longest zipline in Latin America from the unique angle of head first.
I’ve never done a major ziplining experience before—just shorter single ones back in the USA. I wanted to experience more beautiful rainforest but from a different perspective and with the adrenaline kick that ziplining provides. What I wasn’t expecting was the giant swing into the canopy below at the end. Yikes!
I did it anyway, in honor of my last swing in New Zealand almost 10 years prior. Overall, my zip-line experience with 100% Aventura was amazing—fast-paced, thrilling, and, most importantly, safe! And I got it all on video.
I had a sore throat when I went to bed while staying with the Brunca people in Costa Rica. When I woke up, it wasn’t better and it only got worse as the morning persisted. I decided I should probably get some medicine to nip this in the bud and not let it ruin the rest of my trip. But I didn’t really know where I should go.
My research online revealed that I had several options but all would basically result in quality care and be very low cost to me, even as a tourist without insurance. That’s because Costa Rica has a universal healthcare system that guarantees medical care to anyone who needs it. It’s considered the best in Latin America and people from all over the world go there for its low cost and high quality doctors and services.
At the recommendation of my Brunca hosts, I decided to visit a hospital just 35 minutes away. Despite a nearly 4-hour wait time in the heat, I received fast, quality care with easy access to all I needed to complete my visit and get my prescriptions filled right there in the hospital.
I am so glad I listened to the advice of a local on what to do my last day on the Osa Peninsula. Lynch, my dive master from the day before, recommended Corcovado National Park as a must see guided tour destination.
So I booked it straight away. I knew that guided rainforest walks are the thing to do while in Costa Rica. I just wasn’t entirely sure where I would do one. But then I learned that Corcovado National Park is considered “the most biologically intense place on Earth in terms of biodiversity” by the National Geographic.
Referred to as the “crown jewel” of the Costa Rican park system, it was a tour of this 164-square mile conservation area or no tour at all for me! I ended up seeing everything from the endangered tapir and all four species of Costa Rican monkeys to the adorable coati and the iconic three-toed sloth.
This was hands down the best decision I made for seeing wildlife in Costa Rica!
You never know where chatting up a local may go. As a solo traveler, I really welcome my alone time on my trips. But sometimes being a solo traveler means anything but being on my own. Instead, it grants me the opportunity to meet others more fluidly and easily.
While diving Drake Bay, my dive master turned out to be a fun guide to a whole afternoon and evening of special experiences including a river swim and sunset bonfire on the beach.
I recount the story in this short post about the second half of my day. This was an off-the-beaten-path adventure around the Osa Peninsula after diving Caño Island.
