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Mayan women from the surrounding villages display their beautifully bright huípiles (traditional dresses) and other embroidery on the railings of the Parque Principal.

Valladolid’s semi-official handi-crafts market has some very fine embroidery, as well as more production-line goods. The nearby bazaar is a quirky collection of shops around a food court (see Places to Eat).

Valladolid’s main street has everything a country town should: shoe stores, electrical shops, barbers, and stalls selling fruit and herbal medicines.

From his ramshackle shop, former baseball player Antonio “Negro” Aguilar provides information, sells sports goods, and rents out cheap rooms and bikes at low rates.

Around the Chichén visitor center there is almost a mall of handi-crafts stalls, some run by Maya selling their own embroidery, hammocks, and wood carvings.

Not a place to find souvenirs but a real, bustling country town market, with spectacular fruit and produce and household goods.

The best local boatmen’s cooperative has a kiosk on the waterfront, just left of where the Tizimín road runs out. They work with the nature reserve and have good boats and experienced guides (see Río Lagartos).

The boatmen’s cooperative here is a bit less organized but also has a waterfront hut, in San Felipe village. Rates are similar to those in Río Lagartos, but boatmen here will be more ready to take you to the Bocas de Dzilam and Río Lagartos lagoon.

A pretty little shop with a more carefully selected display of handmade folk art than the markets, and striking photographs of Yucatecan scenes.

Izamal’s market, just below the monastery, is a lively mix of souvenirs, handicrafts, and busy little cafés.