GETTING TO PISTÉ
from Mérida, Cancun, Tulum, Playa del Carmen and other Points in the Yucatán Peninsula or Further South

Check here for First Class ADO buses TO Pisté from Merida, Cancun or Playa del Carmen

FROM Mérida
After leaving the airport find your way to the Merida Bus Stations on 69th (see nav bar left). There are two first class buses that leave Merida for Piste/Chichen. One leaves in the morning (usually around 8 or 9am), one in the afternoon (1pm or as late as 3pm). Check the ADO online schedule since the times change and there may be additional/fewer buses depending upon the tourist season. The travel time is nearly 2 hours. The fare is about $8 US. 80 pesos

If you cannot get a first class bus because of the timing of departure, then you have the option of taking a second class bus which leaves on the hour every hour from 6am to 12 midnight. These buses can range in travel time from 2.5 or 3 hours to nearly 4 hours depending on the time of the day. Try using these between 2-6pm or 8-12pm. The fare is about $5 US. under 50 pesos.


FROM Cancun to Piste: Follow instructions in the Cancun Airport page to get out of the airport and to the Cancun Bus Station. Once you arrive walk down the aisle. The first set of counters are SECOND CLASS bus by Oriente. Avoid these. Never, dont. forget about it. Spend the night and take the morning first class bus instead.

Keep on walking past Oriente to check the boards for ADO service and get in line. There is one first class bus from Cancun to Chichen a day. It leaves at 9am or so to arrive at 11am. Do not get off at Chichen, but tell the driver you are going to Piste and want to get off at the Piste Bus Station by the Kiwik/Square/Zocalo.

If you cannot get this bus, then you will want to buy a first class ticket to VALLADOLID. They depart every hour more or less until about 7pm and cost under $20 US. Once you arrive in Valladolid you get out of the bus station and look for the Pisté Taxi-Combi service. This service costs under $2 and takes you straight away to Pisté. You get out in the middle of town in the square or k'íiwik (Spanish zocalo).

GETTING AROUND PISTÉ:
See Map of Piste for directions

Once in Pisté, Arrival

Getting Dropped off Bus Pisté Zocalo (downtown). Take the street directly in front of the town hall, or Palacio, and walk south. You will walk past the kindergarten school on your right and the market building on your left. This street (Called 10) is caddy-corner from the Presbyterian Evangelical "church" or Templo. Walk down this street past four blocks and then turn to the RIGHT (see map). Walk to the middle of the block. On the right or north side of the street you will see the OSEA Headquarters or the "treehouse." Stand at the gate and announce yourself -- say hello in Maya. Someone will welcome you.

Getting Dropped off Bus at Pisté Bus Station. Walk toward town (away from Chichén). You walk up a little rise past the Hotel Stardust, start going down hill and you will see Pisté. Keep on walking past the XOXO on the right (a typical US style convenient store). Across the street from OXXO is a very good internet cafe. You can ask for directions there or just keep on going: At the end of that block in which OXXO is located you will see the Restaurant Carrousel. Turn LEFT on that corner. Walk past the first intersection until you see the Posada Olalde. Turn the corner to the right along side the Posada Olalde. Walk past the back street behind the Posada Olalde until you get to the four way intersection (this is Calle 10). If you turn right you will walk back into the center of town. Keep on walking straight down the street. In the middle of the block you will see the OSEA Headquarters, the "TreeHouse."

Note the street address is Calle 19 betwen Calles 10 and 12, Pisté, Yucatán, México. However, there are no street signs in Piste and no one knows the number/names of the streets in any case. If you have any doubts as to where to go, ask anyone who looks local (cab driver, artisan vender, store clerk, or in the cyber cafe or at the Posada Olalde) and ask them where Quetzil lives. A wohel tu'ux yaan u nahil Quetzile'?

GETTING TO PISTÉ FROM other points

Playa del Carmen -- and Tulum or Coba TO....
Getting from Coba to anywhere else is always difficult! Beware! Thus, before you go to Coba, you should already have planned a way and a time out of Coba! The best bet is to get bus or hitch a ride in the parking lot of the archaeological site with tourists to get back to Tulum. Alternatively, you can sweat it out waiting for a second class bus to take you to Valladolid. They are very few and far between. Go to Tulum.

From Tulum: Always remember Tulum Pueblo and Tulum Ruinas are separated by a long walk of 8-10 kilometers. They are not the same place! Tulum Ruins is not at all well connected to anything, including Tulum Pueblo. Tulum Pueblo is slightly better connected by transportation system. It does have a bus station and dedicated service. There is first class service to Cancun (stopping in Playa del Carmen), Valladolid, Mérida, and Chichén Itzá. But, they are not very frequent as travel from Playa del Carmen. Check the ADO service online for the schedule. There is second class bus service going north and south up and down the coast from Cancun to Chetumal that operates every hour. you will need to get to Playa del Carmen to make a long distance trip. There may be dedicated second class service from Tulum to Valladolid, but your best bet is to catch a second class bus, one every hour, to Playa del Carmen en route to Cancun.

From Playa del Carmen: Playa is the major bus station and destination hub on the Maya Riviera. From here you can get buses to Mexico City, Merida, Valladolid, Chichen, Cancun, Chetumal, Escarcega, and points west into mainland Mexico. Use ADO First Class Service from Playa to Yucatan destinations (Mérida, Chichén, Valladolid). Check the ADO website schedule for service to Chichén, there is one or two a day. Alternatively go to Valladolid and take local combi-shuttle service to Pisté -- see above.

FROM Chetumal, Escarcega, Campeche, Palenque, Chetumal is a large city with a first class bus service that can get you anywhere in Mexico as well as to Belize and Guatemala. You will need to check the schedule and only travel first class due to the travel time. If you are coming from Chetumal you should consider going to Playa and then Chichen. Otherwise look for Merida as your destination. You will then need to get a different bus to Piste/Chichen. If you are traveling from Escarcega, Palenque, or Campeche you will need to take a first class bus to Merida and then use the local bus system for the final leg.