Modern Eco-Retreat w/ Large Garden in Colonial Magic Town, Valladolid
Guesthouse • Valladolid Mexico
2 Guests
1 Bedroom
1 Bed
1 Bathroom
1 Car space
Primary home
Exchange types accepted
Simultaneous
Non-Simultaneous
Statistics
Listed June 2019
Views 1977
General overview
The most popular times to visit Valladolid are between the months of December and March. This is high season, and there will be more tourist crowds, and higher prices for everything. The weather is “cooler” during these months – around +26 degrees Celsius on average. May is the hottest month with average temperatures of +35 degrees Celsius (and usually no rain). June is a rainy month.
The space
Our property consists of a large tropical garden (third of an acre) with 3 independent living spaces in it. The garden, the outdoor kitchen and the pool is shared by each of them. The unit that's right next to the road is an artfully restored traditional Maya house (with its own bathroom). The other two are modern units inspired by Mexico's renowned architect, Louise Barragan. They're at the back of the garden and share a bathroom (we're working on giving each unit their own bathroom). One of these units, the Cubo Tierra as we call it, is the unit we keep for ourselves and making available for sharing on this site. It's spacious with high ceilings and has a spectacular view of the garden.
Guest access
Everything here is on the ground floor with a step up or down, but which makes it not usable for wheel chairs.
Notes
Our toilets are dry compost.
We have a gardener/housekeeper come in 5 days/week from 8 - 12pm and a pool guy twice a week (at no charge to you).
Features
Washer
Dishwasher
Clothes dryer
Oven
Microwave
Coffee machine
Fridge
Iron
Hair dryer
Heating
Air conditioning
TV
WiFi
High Speed Internet
Bathtub
First aid kit
Wheelchair accessible
Smoke alarms
Fire extinguisher
Bed sheets
Towels
Workspace
Fireplace
Home cinema
Toys
Gym
Sauna
BBQ
Pool
Hot tub
Balcony
Garden / yard
Deck / patio / courtyard / terrace
Covered porch / verandah
Kosher home
Meat-free kitchen
Gated community
EV Home Charger
Bikes
Camping gear
Kayak
Tennis court
Standup paddleboard
Travel Styles
Long term
Adventure
Romantic
Sport and leisure
Relaxing
Eco
City
Tropical
Culture
Cycling
House rules
Suitable for infants under 2
Suitable for children ages 2-12
Pets not allowed
No smoking
Dates of Availability
Availability calendar
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Neighbourhood
El Jardin is a mere 6 blocks from the centre of Valladolid. Within that approximate area is the municipal market, a fabulous place to go for fresh produce of all kinds, a plethora of restaurants, parks, streets for shopping and the main square which is a delightful place to visit in the early evening.
Our city Valladolid, is a tranquil and charming small city with pretty cobblestone streets and colourfully painted colonial buildings. The central plaza and cathedral are gorgeous – relaxing and peaceful during the day and vibrant and full of activity in the evenings and at night. It is an amazing city to explore and just wander around.
The indigenous Mayan culture is prominent in Valladolid. You will see Mayan men and women wearing their traditional clothing, making traditional handicrafts to sell on the street or at the market, cooking traditional meals, and speaking their native languages. Learning about the Mayan culture is fascinating for me, and Valladolid is the perfect place to learn more about it and become immersed in the local culture and language.
Valladolid is located a little further off the beaten path than the coastal areas of Tulum and Playa del Carmen, which is great if you love being one of the few tourists around. I could walk around the streets of Valladolid and not see a single other tourist. It’s a fantastic opportunity to practice your Spanish by interacting and connecting with the locals.
The colourful and colonial architecture in Valladolid is beautiful. Every building is painted a different colour or shade, and there are so many unique designs of doors and windows to be discovered by wandering around the city streets. If you are a photographer, Valladolid offers so many fantastic photo opportunities, from the unique doors and windows on the colonial buildings, to the amazing architecture, to the many colourful and retro VW Beetles, and much more.
The street we live on is like many in the city with lots of variety from middle class to those with considerably less. We know our neighbours and have a good relationship with them and we're happy to be part of the community.
Getting around
Valladolid is not a very big city and it is easy to get around on foot, to and from anywhere in the central area. I felt very safe walking the streets alone as a solo female traveler during the day and in the evening.
Bicycle:
Bicycling around the central area of Valladolid might be a little tricky, as the area can get pretty congested with traffic and pedestrians during the day, but as long as you are aware of your surroundings and obey the traffic rules while riding on the streets, you should be fine. Remember, most streets in Valladolid are one-way only, so pay attention to what direction you’re driving in.
Taxi:
If you need to get somewhere that is further from the central area and you don’t want to bike, you can easily get a taxi.
You can either flag one down on the street or approach one of the many taxis parked on the streets around the central plaza. There are also always taxis waiting outside of the ADO bus terminal, although the bus station is only a few blocks from the central plaza area.
Always negotiate and agree on a price with the driver before getting in. The taxi drivers in Valladolid only speak Spanish, so you will need to know some basic phrases (like telling them where your destination is and how much it costs to get there). Getting to the nearby cenotes outside of Valladolid (like Cenote Oxman, Xkeken and Samula) is easiest via taxi, but you can also bicycle there.
Colectivos:
There are random parking lots hidden behind colonial buildings and accessed via a narrow tunnel through the building, where you can find taxi colectivos (shared taxis) and regular colectivos (shared shuttle vans) to and from the surrounding small towns and villages and tourist attractions like Ek Balam and Chichen Itza.
These colectivos do not operate on a fixed schedule and they will wait until they have enough people to fill their vehicle before departing.
The taxi colectivo parking lot for the Ek Balam Ruins is located on Calle 44 between Calles 35 and 37. There is a tattered cloth sign hanging above the tunnel entrance, which leads to the parking lot in behind.
The colectivo parking lot for the Chichen Itza Ruins and the town of Piste is located on Calle 46, just north of Calle 39, and behind the ADO bus terminal.
Map of Approximate Location
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Feedback
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Trial Member
Mago & Frank
We're a Canadian couple who moved to Mexico in early 2019 and are loving our life in the garden retreat we bought in the sweet Colonial city of Valladolid, Yucatan. BUT - we also still love exploring other places. Our place is currently on AirBnB. We're in Canada for the summer of 2020.
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