Welcome to FT!

No problems at all driving around there; it's not nearly as scary as it is in more urban areas. Chichen Itza from Tulum is about an hour on a good two-lane road to Valladolid, then a shorter trip on a four-lane limited-access toll road the rest of the way.

Main thing to be aware of is the speed bumps ("topes"). They can be nasty if you don't slow way down, especially the kind that is lots of small steel bumps instead of one big concrete up-and-down, and they're not always well marked. You won't find them in rural stretches or on the toll road, but even small villages that other roads pass through are likely to have a couple. Within towns, you'll find them approaching crosswalks, traffic lights, intersections, fire stations, and other random spots.