We bought a time share in the Bahamas years ago, and rather than let a week expire we went for a quick trip with some friends. We used part of our points and got two rooms. The main reason we wanted to go was to check Chichen Itza off our list. It’s one of the 7 Wonders of the World and seeing it leaves us only Taj Mahal. And the honorary 8th, Giza Pyramid, the only ancient wonder of the world that’s left.
We flew in, rented a car and drove right to our hotel. We aren’t worrisome travelers but felt better about arriving before dark. Despite my diligence in assuring I had done this car rental right, they still gave us trouble at the counter. Saying we needed a THIRD insurance, costing an additional $27 a day. We had purchased the liability with the rental and brought our credit cards letter of coverage for the CDW. But they insisted there was another ins. we needed. We left the counter and walked across the street to Hertz where they were far more accommodating. And for a little more than our original booking, but FAR less than the other company wanted, we were on our way.

We had a booking credit so opted for the nicer view at Mayaland Hotel & Bungalows. Our friends got the cheaper room and both were the same, we just had a nicer view. But you can see the view from the stairwell so if it’s not important for you to see the view from the room, you’ll be fine in the cheaper room.

We decided to get there at 8am when they opened, which turned out to be a great plan. It was far less crowded than when we left. We also went right to the pyramid and then toured the rest of the park, I think that also helped with less crowds.

From there we went to Cenote Ik Kil. We had heard that it was super crowded but again, we went there early and it wasn’t bad at all! We loved swimming in the refreshingly cool water and jumping in from the landing. My advice, don’t question it, just do it! I hesitated and it ended up taking me FOUR tries to just JUMP IN ALREADY! I’m so glad I made myself do it!

From here we grabbed an authentic meal at La Tia. One of our favorite meals of the trip. Absolutely delicious!

We stopped in Dzitnup to visit two more cenotes, Xkeken and Samula. These were awesome too!

We arrived at Viva Wyndham Azteca just in time for dinner. We enjoyed some lazy time just hanging out, enjoying the beach and playing cards. It’s an all inclusive resort so we didn’t have to think about food or drinks while we were there, always a nice bonus! We did discover that most of their juices and mixers have Sucralose in them, which is a bummer when you have a sensitive stomach. But we figured out a blended drink of ice, coconut milk and fresh squeezed lime juice worked just fine, YUM! You make reservations at the various restaurants on site, or at their sister resort, Viva Wyndham Maya, so we ate at the Mayan restaurant at Azteca the first night, and at the Mexican food place at Maya the second night. We enjoyed the Mexican one a lot more. And in the future we’ll book our time at the Maya, as it’s a larger resort with more breeze in the common areas and a larger buffet.

We loved our relaxed time here, even abandoning our phones in the room for a couple days, pure bliss!!!