In late May 2007, Sara and I flew into Cancún, rented a car, and did a whirlwind two-week tour of México's Yucatán Peninsula and Chiapas. It was an amazing trip with boatloads of beauty, culture, delicious food and memories. Here's what we learned, to help those of you planning to do the same!

We decided to go in the second half of May because it was the "off-season". This turned out to be our only big mistake. We did miss out on most of the crowds and got some great hotel deals, but it's the hottest time of the year in one of the hottest areas of the world. In Mérida, the average temperature to expect in May is 97 degrees, and it was hovering around 105 at one point. On the plus side, it was just before the rainy season, and it was dry for most of the trip.

If you have a choice, err on the side of cooler temperatures for the Yucatán. The heat will knock you on your butt if you're not careful. The extra time you spend in lines with other tourists are worth it when you don't need to take long siestas in the afternoon heat.

This part of México is vigilant about their siestas. Most businesses close down for awhile during the mid-afternoon heat. You should do the same to regroup and recharge your battery for the evening. Also, be aware that many businesses are closed on Sundays and to a lesser extent, Mondays. Try to schedule driving days, ruins and cultural events on these days.

Here's the itinerary we ended up with:

Aside from the big driving day from San Cristóbal to Campeche, the pace was nice and relaxed and gave us just the right amount of time. We only had a vague idea of the schedule before leaving - take this with a grain of salt, and be willing to stay shorter or longer at a given place, and don't be a slave to a schedule.

For better or worse, México is a very affordable place to travel. The food prices are downright cheap. One of the best meals I ate was three salbutes for $1.20. A splurge meal at the finest restaurant in a town for two will rarely top $25 if you don't get booze. A medium bottle of purified water is about $1.

Hotels aren't quite as cheap, but are a bargain compared to the states. Most of the places we stayed at were in the $30-50 range, and were overflowing with charm and character. There are cheaper options available if you're into the backpacker scene.

The peso is currently trading at about 1 to 11 against the US dollar. Coins come in 50 centavos; 1, 2 and 5 peso coins that all look almost identical except the size, and a 10 peso coin. Bills come in 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 pesos. One irritation is a shortage of the smaller denominations. Merchants hate making change for large bills, so you need to jealously guard your change and small bills. ATMs have the nasty habit of dispensing 500 peso bills, which are almost impossible to use in most circumstances. You can use them to pay hotel bills, but my best advice: pay road tolls with them. A toll operator may groan at you for paying a 50 peso toll with a 500 peso bill, but a quick "lo siento, es todo que tengo" will get you a nice assortment of smaller bills.

Credit cards aren't widely accepted. Some hotels will take them, and a small number of restaurants, but business runs on cash here. Luckily, ATMs are quick and ubiquitous. When you can, take out an amount like 1900 pesos, rather than 2000, to minimize the curse of the dreaded 500 peso bill.

Keep your 10 peso coins handy, as they make for nice tips for bellboys and such. Small restaurants don't expect much or anything for tips, and larger ones may expect 10% or so. But come on, food's damn cheap here and these people are working their tails off for peanuts - leaving a 20% tip for a $10 meal only costs you $2, but buys a few pounds of tortillas to feed your waiter's family.

Attractions vary in price. Most ruins are about $5/pp (though Uxmal was $10). Museums are usually around $2.

Since we didn't have much time on this trip, we decided to rent a car. It wasn't cheap - $600 including liability insurance for two weeks - but the convenience was worth it.

You've probably heard horror stories about the sorry condition of Mexican roads. I'm happy to say that most them aren't true. They may not have the extended system of Interstates we do, but the roads we encountered were well-maintained, safe and not overly busy. Chiapas mountain roads are prone to landslides in the rainy season, and sure enough, there were numerous spots where half of the road had fallen off the side of the mountain. But in each case, they were very quickly and effectively patched up (some were in the works as we were driving).

Speed limits are unfortunately too low. Very few car drivers follow them. I tended to go 110 kph on 80 kph highways, and 130 on the 100-110 highways. Then again, on occasion, I'd be passed while going 120 in a 40 zone. Try to follow speed limits in the cities, as cops are more vigilant there. If you do get pulled over, from what I understand, the days of "la mordida" (the "little bite", aka bribe) are on their way out. But you should ideally probably just not get caught. :)

Free roads tend to go through towns periodically. I personally like this when there's time. The little towns have so much flavor - everybody seems to always be outside at once, talking, bartering, playing and just living. This means you have to be super-careful. On one accidental detour through Champotón, a drunk staggered into the street, and collapsed full-force into the pavement, feet ahead of our car. And not only are there humans to watch out for, there are also chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and millions of dogs who ignore cars entirely.

However, the single worst part of driving in México is the dreaded tope, aka speed bump. Every little town has at least a few of these. They are usually frustratingly low-tech, and in most cases, if you hit them while going the speed limit, you probably won't have any tires left on your car. Some of the worst are between Palenque and Ocacingo. One town in particular has bumps so high that our Ford Focus scraped its belly no matter how slow we went. You'll usually see a llantería (tire shop) on the outskirts of towns with the worst topes. This is not an accident.

Signage is apparently improving, but is still in a sorry state. Outside of large cities, you'll be relying on intuition, luck and the occasional kindness of campesinos to reach your destination. Signs at intersections will direct you to the next little town, without a mention of the big city further down the road - carry excellent maps and plan ahead. Even the numbered roads can turn without notice. If you get lost, don't hesitate to ask for directions. People were universally friendly and happy to help out. A simple finger point with a quick "a Villahermosa?" will do the trick if you're not fluent in Spanish.

All gas in México comes from Pemex, the state-run monopoly filled with crooked operators. Our first stop in Mérida, we had them fill up the tank ("lleno, por favor"). I paid with a 500 peso bill, he walks away for a second, and comes back with a 50, saying that it's not enough. I firmly explained that I wouldn't be falling for that trick, and he eventually gave in. Lesson learned: from then on, I stopped whenever I hit a half tank, and then bought 200 pesos (which gave me a mostly-full tank) instead of having them fill it up. Make sure the pump is zeroed out.

Driving in the city is remarkably sane compared to Argentina. Most cities have a perfect grid of numbered one-way streets. Often one direction will be even, and the other will be odd, and one will have priority at unmarked intersections. This takes some getting used to - there may be no formal stop sign at an intersection. The trick is to look at the one-way arrow: if the one facing you is red, you need to stop. If it's black, you have the right of way.

On-street parking isn't allowed when the curb is yellow, and is ok when the curb is white. I don't know if there's a time limit, but I parked on the street in Playa Del Carmen for two days with no ill effects. Don't leave anything valuable in your car.

You've probably heard not to drive at night in México. And that's probably good advice. We did a little after the sound-and-light show in Uxmal, and it went fine, but there's no reason you'd need to drive at night under most circumstances. If you do, be super-careful and don't do it in dangerous areas (especially rebel-controlled).

Much of the area is covered by two-lane roads with super-wide shoulders. This is nice, because it allows you to "smerge" when passing - the car getting passed slides over to the right onto the paved shoulder while you sneak past on the left, even if another car is coming. You may even see three lanes of traffic going the same way, passing at different speeds. This leads to an odd form of etiquette. If someone comes up on you on a highway and you want to signal to them that it's ok to pass you, you flip on your left blinker. To tell them not to pass, you flip on your right blinker. I don't claim that it makes sense.

Yucatecan Spanish is mercifully easy to understand. It's pretty much the Spanish you learned in high school. You don't hear a lot of the Chilango slang around here, only the common Mexicanisms. Parking is usually "estacionamiento", not "aparcamiento". You park your "coche", not your "carro". You drive on "carreteras", not "caminos" (which usually means a path for animals). The most common hestiation word is "este...".

Stick with usted unless someone initiates the tuteo. This is especially important with the Mayans, because there's still unfortunately some racism directed at them from the hispanics, and some hispanics address the natives with "tú", implying that they're children.

You'll do fine without Spanish if you're just visiting Cancún, or if you're staying at swanky hotels and eating at the fanciest restaurants. Beyond that, you at least need a little tourist Spanish, as many people don't speak English. Luckily, since there are two major groups living in the area with over a dozen languages, everyone seems fairly adept at "sign language".

If you're going to México in part for food-related reasons, there's one other language problem: many restaurants have English menus, and will hand them to you by default. This is a problem if you're in the mood for salbutes, but you only see "turkey shred on crunch tortilla". If this happens, just ask for a menu en español.

Yucatecans are great. They're super-friendly and helpful. They're polite, but they have a good sense of humor.

There are two main groups: the Latinos and the Mayans. They get along on the surface, but there are tensions. It's something to be aware of.

I never once felt unsafe. Unlike Argentina, there weren't squalid slums on the outskirts of every town, and even downtown backstreets were filled with children playing alone. If gangs are a problem here, it's certainly an invisible one. This area is living proof that poverty and crime aren't necessarily connected.

Aside from a crooked gas station attendant, everyone was very honest. I dropped my credit card by a pool after paying for a room at a hotel, and it was promptly returned to me. A couple times I forgot to wait for change, and once had someone come running after me to give me a 200 peso bill.

The guidebooks will lead you to believe that everyone walks around in very conservative clothing, and that showing a bare shoulder is a sin of the highest degree. It's not true - it was very common to see locals in tank-tops (or campesinos with no shirts on at all), and shorts and skirts are somewhat common among younger locals. Casual is acceptable - I felt in place wearing jeans and a plain T-shirt into nice restaurants. I deeply wish I'd brought shorts and sandals to wear for hot days, especially at ruins. Just be smart and respectful.

The concept of lines aren't quite as sacred in México. You'll sometimes need to assert yourself to make it through a line.

The food is excellent here, and has little resemblance to what we consider "Mexican food" here in the States. At the heart of it all is the tortilla. It's not what we think of when we hear that word - I didn't once see a flour tortilla. Most are in the form of small, soft corn tortillas. They're absolutely delicious, and I've never had anything like them in the states. The Mexicans serve them with a wide variety of foods, and they're used as a utensil and a meal-stretcher.

If you order "tacos" here, you'll get something similar to what we call fajitas: a plate of cooked meat and vegetables and a stack of soft corn tortillas. It's delicious. Salbutes and panuchos are a little like what we think of as tostadas: fried corn tortillas with toppings on top (panuchos have a layer of refried beans). Speaking of which, the refried beans here are wonderful - a thick and crusty pile of completely mashed-up dark beans.

Most meals, especially in Yucatán state, are served with pink pickled onions in some form or another. They take some getting used to, but rock. In fact, a lot of the dishes are marinated in sour orange, including poc chuc (a sour-orange marinated barbecued pork dish), conchinita pibil (a sinfully good marinated and roasted pork dish), and its chicken companion, pollo pibil.

There are all sorts of mole variations here. One of the best dishes was a pollo en mole in Palenque: an exquisite red mole with impossibly tender chicken.

The soups are fairly standard - most are variations on what we call "tortilla soup". Sopa de lima and sopa de tortilla are the common names in México, and they're mighty tasty. You can also find some mighty fine pozole (a hominy and pork stew/soup).

The coasts have some good seafood, prepared simply and tastily.

One warning: Mexicans tend to overcook their meat by American standards. You'll be horrified if you order a steak and forget to specifically ask for it rare (and possibly even if you do). Turkey is big here, but it's often disappointing because it doesn't hold up well to overcooking. On the other hand, once you see how raw meat is treated in the markets, you might appreciate that it's cooked into oblivion.

Which brings me to the final section: la turista, aka Montezuma’s revenge. I was lucky enough not to have any serious problems. The last day, I started having some issues in.. well.. the lower half of my digestive system, let's say. It lasted a few days without any other ill effects. If you play it safe, you'll probably be fine. Obviously you shouldn't drink the tap water, but bottled water is cheap and ubiquitous so it's not a problem.

Things were fairly similar to Argentina in terms of protocol, so it was fairly easy to jump in. People are very friendly, but it's not common to start chatting with someone randomly. In stores, a quick "hola" and "gracias, hasta luego" to the shopkeeper is nice.

At internet cafés, find the person at the desk, ask for "una computadora, por favor" - they'll give you a number, and you pay when you're done. Be sure to clear your browsing history, the cache, and the saved passwords when you leave. Since most computers are simply stock Windows installations with no security, they're vulnerable to keystroke loggers. When you type your password (say, "abc123"), type "123", then mouse back to the first character and type "abc". This will usually prevent them from figuring out what you typed. And learn how to switch the keyboard layout to English - it'll save you lots of time!

Restaurants:

• Walk on in and pick a seat. In the rare cases where the wait staff prefers to seat you themselves (usually only the finest restaurants), it'll be fairly obvious.
• The waiter will bring you the menus, and come back for the order once you've closed your menus.
• Asking for water will get you bottled. This is a good thing: it's cheap and safe. In some areas, you can choose between con gas (fizzy) or sin gas (flat).
• There are usually no ice cubes. Don't ask for them - they're often made with unpurified water.
• About half of the restaurants include servicio on the check. It's usually listed out. If not, a 10-20% tip is good.
• When you're done, you'll need to specifically ask for the check or it'll never come. If you are in earshot, a quick "la cuenta, por favor" will do. If you catch his eye from across the room, the usual hand motion of "writing something in the air" works, too.
• Casual is the norm, even in nicer restaurants. It's too hot to worry about suits and ties here.
• As a whole, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the level of sanitation at Mexican restaurants.

Hotels:

• You can book online or by phone, but it's easiest to just show up in person. You'll be able to see the room first, and you'll probably get a better deal.
• Ask to see the room before you commit! It's normal to ask to see the room first, so don't be shy here, and don't be afraid to walk away if it's not up to snuff.
• Ask if hot water is available 24/7, and if you need to call the front desk to have it turned on. Two of the nicer places we stayed required this (cheap rooms have no phones).
• The best hotels were about $40 for doubles. Below that are fairly rustic rooms, and above that doesn't get you much and you lose the character. They were all quite clean, though.
• Nicer hotels also have porters waiting in the wings to carry your bags, which is a good or a bad thing depending on your perspective. Tip them a 10 peso coin for each bag they pounce on.
• The narrow streets and late nights here mean you should always ask for a room that doesn't face the street (unless you have A/C to drown out the noise).
• Some hotels have no heavy blankets available. When you're checking out the room at first, if you don't see them and will want them, ask if they're available.

First off, there's one piece of absolutely required reading for any trip to México. It's called The People's Guide to Mexico, and it's fabulous. It's not a guide book in the traditional sense - there's very little location-specific information here, but it's a giant tome of lessons learned from a life of poking around México in a van. We brought it along as a reference, even though it's large, and I'm glad we did!

We brought three traditional guide books along:

Lonely Planet: Yucatán. This was the clear winner, definitely the go-to book. Well laid-out, nice maps, lots of hotel and restaurant picks in all ranges and styles. Aside from San Cristóbal (which all the guidebooks were a little hazy on), it was very reliable.

Frommer's Cancún, Cozumel & the Yucatán. This was second-place. I especially liked the star ratings on the restaurants. Not quite as comprehensive in the maps department, and a little tilted towards resort areas, but worth bringing.

Hidden Cancún and the Yucatán. This one didn't carry its weight. It was laid out poorly, out of date, and didn't have as much in the way of helpful information as the other two. Plus, it didn't include Chiapas. Skip this one in favor of the other two.