Hampstead, N.C.: We are planning a trip to Isla Mujares in mid-March. What are some easy day trips from there? We are interested in ruins, gardens, art and history. Thanks.

David Baird: From Isla Mujeres there are boat trips to the uninhabited island of Contoy, a national wildlife preserve. You can also take boat trips to fish and snorkel and dive. All other day trips require going to Cancún. From Cancún, there are group tours to the ruins in Chichén Itzá and the ruins in Tulum. The arts and cultural center of the Yucatán happens to be Mérida, which is much too far for a day trip. Valladolid is a colonial city close to Chichén, but it's a quiet town with out much in the way of cultural events, and I don't think you can enjoy it as part of a day trip.

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Lawrenceville, Ga.: I will be in Guadalajara the last week of January for five days. What should I see? How safe is the bus system during the day to get to the cities outside GDL?

David Baird: I always enjoy Guadalajara. You can take all five days to see the city, including Zapopan and Tlaquepaque and Tonalá. Depending on your interests and your schedule you might be able to catch a Mexican rodeo or a professional soccer game. You can walk around the downtown historical district and see the murals painted by Orozco, enjoy the city's broad plazas. There's always something going on in Guadalajara. You can also take a day trip to the town of Tequila and go on one or more of the tours of the local distilleries. And if you still have time left you could take a bus to the lake Chapala area. Bus service to the surrounding area is safe and comfortable and cheap.

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Chaska, Minn.: Is there a fun side-trip that we can take while we are in Ixtapta, Mexico in February?

David Baird: I don't know about day-trips from Ixtapa, but for something longer, you can go up into the Michoacan highlands to the beautiful colonial towns of Morelia and Pátzcuaro. The absolute minimum would be to spend a night in each town. Going there for anything shorter than that doesn't make a lot of sense because travel time is about 5 hours.

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Florence, Ore.: I have heard that there are ruins near the town of Valladolid that are just as interesting, but less crowded than Chitza Nitza. Is this true?

David Baird: Yes, the ruins of Ek Balam are only about 20 km (12 miles) north of Valladolid. They are a relatively recent discovery and were worked on extensively in the past 10 years. The site isn't nearly as big as Chichén Itzá, but you can climb the main pyramid almost all the way to the top. It's taller than the one in Chichén Itzá. But the star attraction of the site is the beautifully preserved stucco work that adorns the face of this pyramid. There's lots of detail and large representations of gods and Maya lords. It's definitely worth the trip.

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