Mexico

Because everything happened so last-minute, we hadn't booked a restaurant for New Year's Eve, and by then there was nothing left. Honestly, just walking around Playa was already an experience. The main pedestrian street is Quinta Avenida, Fifth Avenue, lined with restaurants and bars, and around New Year the atmosphere was particularly lively. We stayed out quite late, so naturally the next morning started slowly.

The next day we kept it simple and drove to Cenote Azul, about 25 minutes south of Playa near Puerto Aventuras. A cenote is a natural opening in the limestone that exposes the groundwater underneath. Some are open-air pools, others hide under rock or deep inside caves, and for the ancient Maya they were sacred as well as vital.

Swimming in cenotes became one of my favourite things in Mexico. This first one also gave me my funniest memory of the trip. Everyone else was in the water, and I was walking around trying to take pictures, when I realised an enormous iguana was following me. When I say enormous, I mean a miniature dinosaur. I was not prepared. You'll see a lot of iguanas in this part of Mexico, some small and some surprisingly huge, so don't be shocked when your relaxing tropical walk starts to feel slightly Jurassic Park.

Day 1: Land, switch from the Airbnb to the Hilton, and see in the New Year walking Quinta Avenida.

Day 2: A slow morning. We'd earned it.

Day 3: Cenote Azul, near Puerto Aventuras, and a new reptile friend.

Day 4: One last morning by the Hilton pool, then on the road to Valladolid.

This drive is where I learned my most important Mexico road-trip lesson. At one point we were in what felt like the middle of nowhere, nothing but vegetation on both sides, when we realised we were dangerously low on fuel. There was no station anywhere near us, and I started picturing us abandoning the car and walking along the road looking for help. We made it to the next station with just enough in the tank. Nothing happened in the end, but it was stressful enough that I've never forgotten it.

We spent our first evening walking along Calzada de los Frailes, a street of pink and red colonial facades with papel picado strung overhead. Walk it slowly in the late afternoon, then keep going into the little streets and churches around it.

Day 4: Drive from Playa (keep an eye on that fuel gauge), check in, and walk Calzada de los Frailes as the light goes.

Day 5: Chichén Itzá at opening time, then Cenote Ik Kil at midday. Full details in the next stop. Back to Valladolid for the evening.

Day 6: On the road south, with a stop at the Cobá ruins on the way to Tulum.

The pyramid everyone pictures is El Castillo, and it's much more interesting once you know the details. Each of its four staircases has 91 steps. Add the platform at the top and you get 365, one for every day of the solar year. The detail that fascinated me most involves the sun: around the spring and autumn equinoxes, light and shadow form a line of triangles down the northern staircase, and with the carved serpent head at the bottom it looks as if a serpent is sliding down the pyramid. That serpent is Kukulcán, the feathered-serpent god. Standing in front of it while someone explains this, you see the whole place differently.

The Great Ball Court is the largest at the site, with stone rings set high on the walls and carved reliefs that include scenes of ritual and sacrifice. The game was more than a sport; it had religious meaning too. You'll hear tourist stories that "the winner was beheaded" or "the loser was sacrificed". The evidence is more complicated than that, so I wouldn't take either version as fact. What you can see for yourself is the imagery linking the game to ritual sacrifice, and that's exactly why a good guide is worth it: there's so much symbolism you could walk straight past.

Away from the main plaza we wandered over to Las Monjas and La Iglesia, whose facades are covered in carved stone masks. Quieter than El Castillo, and worth the short walk.

Around midday we drove the five minutes to Cenote Ik Kil. I'll be honest about the downside first: it's very touristy, with a lot of infrastructure around it, so you don't get that wild, untouched feeling you might imagine when you think of swimming in a cenote. But despite that? Absolutely stunning. Vines hang all the way down the walls to the water, and it felt nothing like Cenote Azul.

On the drive down from Valladolid we stopped at the Cobá ruins, a second Maya site set in the jungle. It's an easy way to break up the drive.

Before we went, I couldn't decide between staying in town or on the beach, so we did both. Our first hotel was Layla Tulum, in town, with a beautiful Moroccan-inspired look, all white arches around a green-tiled pool. I liked the hotel itself. But after a few days there, I'd learned something. If your budget allows it and the beach is the main reason you're in Tulum, stay near the beach. Why? Traffic. Getting between town and the beach could be frustrating, parking wasn't always easy, and all that back and forth eats your time.

Tulum isn't only about lying on the beach. We spent a late afternoon on the Holistika Art Walk, a trail of murals and installations hidden in the jungle, where you turn a corner and find a huge painting among the trees. We also went to a beautiful place for yoga, which fitted the whole Tulum atmosphere perfectly.

Before leaving we visited the Tulum ruins, set on a cliff above the sea. The view down to the little beach and the turquoise water is worth the visit on its own.

Day 6: Drive from Valladolid, a stop at Cobá, then check in at Layla Tulum in town.

Day 7: Lunch at Mezzanine on the beach road, then the afternoon at Playa Paraíso.

Day 8: The Holistika Art Walk in the late afternoon.

Day 9: Move to Our Habitas, on the beach. Pool, sea, hammock. Nothing else.

Day 10: Sunrise at Habitas, the Tulum ruins in the morning, then south to Bacalar.

We rented another Airbnb here, and this one was absolutely stunning. It sat directly on the lagoon: you walked outside and you were beside the water. There were kayaks too, so you could just take one and paddle out whenever you felt like it. This is exactly the kind of place I love, because the accommodation becomes part of the trip. We also had a spiny-tailed iguana for a neighbour, because of course we did.

We booked a boat trip around the lagoon, and I absolutely recommend it. From the boat you really see the colours, bands of turquoise and deep blue sitting side by side. At moments I felt as though I was somewhere in the Maldives.

Day 10: Drive down from Tulum and arrive at our lagoon house.

Day 11: Morning on the dock while the water is flat and calm, then the boat trip across the lagoon, and kayaks from the house.

Day 12: On the road north towards Cancún.

Day 12: Drive north from Bacalar. In the evening, JOYÀ with dinner at Vidanta.

Day 13: Sunrise and a long beach day at the Kempinski.

Days 14–15: Quiet last days by that water, then the flight home. A bout of food poisoning kept me from exploring Cancún as much as I'd planned. Not quite the grand finale I had in mind, but it didn't change how I felt about the trip.

• Rent a car.

  It gave us the freedom to move at our own pace between every stop. Just don't repeat our fuel mistake.

• Visit several cenotes.

  They can feel completely different from one another.

• Take a guide at Chichén Itzá, and arrive at opening.

  Probably my strongest tip of the whole trip.

• Follow the official signs.

  Don't follow people redirecting you to parking near big sites.

• Give Valladolid an evening.

  It's more than a base.

• Stay by the beach in Tulum.

  If you can afford it and that's where you'll spend your time.

• Take the boat trip in Bacalar.

  Seeing the lagoon from the water was a highlight for me.

• Leave room to improvise.

  Some of our favourite moments weren't planned at all.

This might sound ridiculous, but I was surprised by how different the food tasted from the "Mexican food" I'd eaten in Europe. Even a basic tortilla tasted different. Corn has been at the heart of life here for thousands of years, and you can taste it. Mexican food isn't my absolute favourite cuisine. I know, controversial! But I loved finding out what it actually tastes like at home.

Absolutely. Before this trip I mostly associated the Yucatán with Cancún and Tulum, and I hadn't realised how much fits into one road trip. What stayed with me most, though, was the people: everywhere we went, they were extremely kind and helpful. If you have about two weeks and want every few days to feel completely different, this is the route I'd do again, in this order:

Playa del Carmen → Valladolid → Chichén Itzá → Tulum → Bacalar → Cancún.