On our way from Belize to Izamal in 2014, we pulled into a Pemex gas station in Valladolid and thought, “We should come back here some time.” Fast-forward 11 years and here we are.
In addition to being a Pueblo Magico, Valladolid is home to a thriving food scene. It’s also a surprisingly pleasant place to stroll around. Most days, you’d never know 85,000 people live here.
We left Isla Holbox the same way we arrived—by water taxi and ADO bus. We had a brief overnighter in Valladolid earlier in the week, but felt like the city warranted more time.
Our Mexico-USA RV Journey 2024-25
Holbox has been a very nice beach break, and we considered staying longer, but the island prices are putting a hole in our budget—a major reason why we’ve opted not to head on to the Riviera Maya this time.
Time to get back to the inland prices we’re used to.
La Casa del Pescador (The House of the Fisherman) has been good to us during our stay. A tidy and reasonably priced oasis just blocks from the main plaza and beach.
Five days after the last big rainstorm and the roads here are still a mess. But that started to change today with the graders out in full force.
The noon rush to the ferry back to Chiquila on the mainland. So long, funky little island.
There are two ferry companies that service Holbox: Holbox Express and 9 Hermanos. We ended up on 9 Hermanos both ways because it was the one leaving next and we had a return ticket.
Nice day to be on the water in the Yucatan Peninsula.
We ended up waiting around a while for the next bus departure. We knew this might be a possibility, but it’s better than taking a later ferry that’s running behind and missing the morning bus entirely.
The bus station in Valladolid is very central, which meant we could actually walk to our next guesthouse.
It was a 15-minute walk via the plaza and busiest parts of town, but still worth not having to do a long slog on a taxi from the outskirts of town.
Just before Holbox, we stayed in a hostel in Valladolid. It was a good experience for the boys, but on our return we opted for a one-bedroom apartment that was a bit larger and more central to things for the longer stay.
Mexico short-term rentals always seem to have some funkiness to them. This one seems to have been an old hotel where the rooms were converted/partitioned into a one-bedroom with a tiny kitchenette—a common practice.
Another Pueblo Magico, another grand church. Each of these would be a national monument in the U.S. Here, they’re just another 300-year-old relic of the Spanish conquest.
Keeping with a recently-started tradition, we popped into this Irish Pub for dinner. It’s been ages since I’ve had a Guinness, so I thought, why not. Ironically, this one’s a “Texas” Guinness. No idea why, but it’s likely had an interesting journey here.
And, yes, the boys look bored out of their minds—but they’ve actually been captivated by an audiobook about a young girl growing up during World War II. Who would have thought?
Our first evening was the nicest of our stay—warm and dry. Most nights it got pretty chilly with a hard rain thrown in for good measure.
Unlike the rest of Mexico, it rains year-round in the Yucatan. The weather was all over the place during our trip, but the boys didn’t seem to mind.
Riley’s been a salad fiend lately. Noe’s usually our more adventurous eater, but Riley for whatever reason has really taken to salad, with or without a lot of dressing.
The boys are happy anytime they can get their pet fix. We don’t have any pets with us in the RV. Two energetic boys are enough for now.
Cenote Zaci (a water-filled sinkhole) is located right in the middle of town, so we couldn’t pass that up, even if the weather wasn’t exactly cooperative. We picked the hottest day of our stay and the boys loved it.
At first, I thought they might be a bit hesitant to jump into a big, dark, seemingly bottomless water hole. But not Noe (and Riley is generally ok with whatever Noe’s ok with).
Noe even surprised us all by jumping off one of the sides of the cenote. He had been wanting to do it since he arrived at Zaci but had to wait for some timid adults to move out of the way. Didn’t even hesitate.
I thought he might have had enough after his first jump, but he did it five more times after that. That’s Noe, mid-jump, in the center of the pic, above.
As with any good Pueblo Magico in Mexico, Valladolid has more than its fair share of sights and attractions. The Centro Historico, of course, being numero uno, followed closely by the trendy Los Frailes neighborhood.
At the center of Los Frailes is Parque Sisal and the imposing Convento San Bernardino de Siena.
There are quite a few dinner options in Valladolid, but not a lot of coffee shops. The handful that do exist are excellent, but spread out around town.
Yogui Arte y Cafe was top-notch, but boy do they cram you in. We found four chairs at a small bar against the wall, which was the largest table they had. Noe was able to catch up on the news while we waited.
We’ve seen some interesting street performers at traffic lights all over Mexico, but they seem to be just a bit more interesting in the Yucatan.
Casa de Los Venados (House of the Deer) is one of the city’s top draws. A wealthy American bought this huge historic mansion decades ago and restored it to something much more interesting than your run-of-the-mill hacienda.
Noe really wanted to check it out, but Riley’s not so keen on such things. So Riley and I went and had some Daddy fun and mommy and Noe toured the house. It may have been the highlight of Noe’s time in Valladolid (or a close second to Cenote Zaci)—even if mommy turned it into a Road School field trip.
At first I felt a bit bummed I wasn’t able to check it out, but Noe more than made up for it by filling me in on ALL the details over the next several days!
