Get ready to see the best of the Yucatan with travel writer/author Tim Leffel and one of the most experienced guides in the region: Merida resident Ruben Encalada. Together we've put together the best possible itinerary for seeing the highlights of the region without running you ragged from being on the move all the time. We'll cover a lot of ground, but with relatively short drives in between destinations.
You'll see Mayan ruins well-known and not, swim in a cenote (underground lake), have a food-oriented local experience in a village, and tour two of the main cities in the region: Valladolid and Merida. We'll cap it off with a little beach time on the Gulf of Mexico and spend the last night in Puerto Morelos on the Caribbean, close to the Cancun airport.
8 nights in comfortable, vetted hotels in multiple locations
All breakfasts included
We'll all dine together after arrival
From arrival to departure, all transfers included
All sites and activities on the program are included
Along with your host, a professional local guide who is fluent in English will be along the whole way
Purified water will be provided on all travel days and available at most hotels
Most lunches and dinners will be on your own
Please tip the guide and driver at the end
Drinks, optional city activities, and items not on the itinerary will be on your own
You will fly in and out of the Cancun airport (which is cheaper than Merida)
This is required: please purchase it before you leave or have proof of an annual plan
You will land in Cancun, look for a driver holding your name on a sign, and proceed to downtown Cancun to check into your hotel. That night we will have a group dinner.
We'll see a local archaeological site in Cancun that few people visit and then will drive to the magic town of Valladolid. We'll have a city tour there but otherwise on your own. Spend the night in Valladolid.
After breakfast at the hotel, we will head to the nearby Mayan site of Ek Balaam, exploring the ruins with our guide. Then we'll visit a cenote where you can swim if you'd like. Free time on your own when we return to Valladolid.
We will get up early to beat the crowds (and most of the vendors) to see one of the 7 wonders of the world: Chichen Itza. This is the most-visited site in the Meso-American world, but for good reasons. Just as all the giant tour buses from Cancun day trippers are arriving, we'll head to the village of Yaxunah for a local cochinita pibil cooking experience. We return to Valladolid late in the day and you have more time to enjoy it on your own or just relax at the hotel.
We'll drive to the capital city of Yucatan state, Merida, where our guide will show us around his home town on a tour. After that you can explore and dine on your own, with solid suggestions from the two of us or an impromptu group dinner or drinks. We will spend the night in the historic center, walking distance to the action.
We will get up for an early breakfast and then head to Uxmal, my favorite archaeological site in the region, where we will tour the ruins with our guide. We'll then head to the village of Santa Elena for an experience with a local family descended from the Maya people. Back to Merida at the end, where you'll have time on your own to explore or relax.
We'll have a leisurely breakfast and then check out of our Merida hotel to head about an hour to Telchac Puerto, a mellow beach town on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. On the way we'll stop at the ruins and museum of Dzibilchaltún and if you can say that fast five times, you get free beers at our Telchac hotel.
We'll enjoy a little beach time in Telchac Puerto and then make our way to Puerto Morelos on the Caribbean side of the Peninsula. To break up the trip on the way, we'll stop off at the yellow city of Izamal and see the historic convent. There's also a Mayan pyramid you can climb nearby. We'll spend the night in Puerto Morelos after arrival.
A transfer will take you from Puerto Morelos to the Cancun airport for your departure unless you want to stay on in the Riviera Maya for some sun and fun on the beach.
