Long Beach, Calif.: Hi—I'm a fit 65 year old retiree. I get to visit an old fraternity brother who lives in Ixtapa for three weeks starting Feb 5. We have plans to do a road trip down the coast to visit the beaches and then extensively tour the Valley of Oaxaca and finish with a Chiapas visit to Bonampak, Palenque and San Cristóbal de las Casas.

Would you have highlights to recommend at each of those sites? In your opinion, is it basically safe/advised to drive in these locations? Do you imagine we have the time to comfortably add Chiapas to the journey?

Thanks a lot,
John

David Baird: Hi, John. This sounds like a wonderful trip, and part of the beauty of it is that you won't have to follow the dictates of an itinerary. February is low season in this part of the world so you can show up just about anywhere without a reservation, no problem. If you make it to Chiapas, great, and if you're having way too much fun in Oaxaca and decide to stay there, that would work, too. I happen to like both places and can't really say skip one to see the other. I'm not as familiar with the coast as I am with the interior destinations, so I can only comment on the last part of your proposed trip. The city of Oaxaca is fascinating, the heavy colonial walls and stout church towers. The convents, the plazas. It's quite different from the rest of colonial Mexico. And even if you're not interested in ruins, you should see Monte Albán—a ceremonial center built high on top of a mountain that dominates the valleys below. I would also spend a little time in a couple of the villages in the surrounding area. A favorite that comes to mind is Tlacolula, on the way to the town of Mitla. It has an old Dominican convent with a thickly decorated interior. In San Cristóbal the thing to observe is the local Indians in the nearby towns, with their fiercely independent ways. Half way between San Cristóbal and Palenque is a small town called Ocosingo, with some impressive ruins (Toniná) nearby. From Ocosingo it's down into the hot lands.

Travel is safe so long as you drive during the day. There has been some sporadic banditry in Chiapas, but it mostly has happened at night. Three weeks would be enough to cover it all if you were so inclined, but if you decide to settle into a couple of spots along the way, who could blame you?

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Lake Forest, Ill.: Any general information or advice for Cancún? A very large group from our company will be attending a meeting there in early February so any warnings or hints would be greatly appreciated by a very large number of US citizens. Thank you.

David Baird: I wish I could be of help to you, but of the entire Yucatán peninsula, Cancún is the one spot I don't cover. All I do is go in and out through the airport, and I occasionally cross the town to get to Isla Mujeres. My advice would be of little value. Sorry.

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San Bernardino, Calif.: We will be in Tulum Feb. 9-16. We are renting a car so we can see the local sites on our own schedule. We plan to see Chichén Itzá, but are thinking we may not want to drive that far on our own. Should we take a group tour, hire a personal guide/driver, or drive on our own?

David Baird: The drive from Tulum to Chichén Itzá is not that long—150 km (95 miles), and it's a pleasant change from the coast. The highway that leads to Coba, continues to Chemax, then Valladolid, which is only about a half-hour ride from Chichén Itzá. It's true that you have to go pretty slow for speed bumps and potholes, and you'll lose some time getting through Valladolid or making sure you catch the right road out of the village of Cobá. but you can make it there in a leisurely 2 1/2 hours. Still, I wouldn't do the trip in one day, even when it means paying for a night at your hotel in Tulum without being there. You'll enjoy it much more if you overnight in the area. The ideal way to do it is to leave from Tulum after a morning swim. Check into a hotel, either in Valladolid or at the ruins in mid afternoon. Swim in the hotel pool or check out some of the local attractions. Go to the ruins at night to see the sound and light show. Explore the ruins the next morning while it's cool and before all the tour buses show up. Have lunch, and return to Tulum. Plan your return to get back to Tulum before night. That's the basic plan. There's a two-day option where you can soak up some of the local town life of Valladolid and see the ruins of Ek Balam on the next day. If you're determined to do it as a day trip, then hire a driver in Tulum and leave early and go directly to Chichén to see the ruins in the morning and then stop at a couple of places on the way back.

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