Mexico / Itineraries
6 Night Tour From Merida
This 6 night private tour with a driver / guide starts in Merida and takes in Uxmal, Izamal, Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Rio Lagartos & Ek Balam before ending back in Merida or onwards to Cancun airport or the beach.
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Day 1 — Merida Airport to City
On arrival at Merida airport, you will be met by a local driver and transferred the short distance to the city centre.
Having checked in at your hotel, what remains of the day is free for you to stretch your lags and grab a bite to eat.
Suggested Accommodation: Casa Lucia Meals Included: None
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Day 2 — Merida
Named after their homeland city by the Spanish conquistadores, Merida is the capital of Yucatan State and very much the cultural heart of the wider Yucatan Peninsula. Not for nothing has it twice been named as the American Capital of Culture.
Although there is nothing to show for it today, as with elsewhere in the region, modern-day Merida was built atop the existing Mayan city of T’ho. Indeed, almost the only reminder of the city’s Mayan past is to be found in the futuristic, Gran Museo del Mundo Maya in the north of the city.
In the centre of the city, radiating out from the Zocalo, or main square, are numerous colonial era plazas, buildings and streets including the grandest of them all, the Paseo de Montejo, lined along almost its entire length by opulent mansions. Also located in the city is the San Ildefonso Cathedral, one of the oldest cathedrals anywhere in Latin America.
Accordingly, after breakfast, you will be met at your hotel by your driver / guide (who will be with you all the way to Tulum) for a morning’s walking tour of the city.
The afternoon is then free for you to explore further on your own, perhaps taking in a museum, and / or relax at your hotel in the heart of the city.
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Day 3 — Merida (Day trip to Uxmal & Hacienda Sotuta de Peon).
An earlyish start is recommended as your driver / guide collects you from your hotel for the drive south to Uxmal.
Founded in the early 8th Century, the Mayan city of Uxmal quickly grew in size and importance, reaching its peak some 200 years later. And yet, and for reasons that are still not entirely clear, by the start of the 13th century the city lay almost entirely abandoned.
Aside from its dramatic history, Uxmal is perhaps the most architecturally impressive of all the Yucatan Peninsula’s Mayan sites. The detail on the carvings around the site are unparalleled while there is probably no more striking building than the Pyramid of the Magician, which, unlike similar pyramids in the region, features a cylindrical design.
Look out too for the Ball Court, Governor’s Palace, House of the Tortoises and vast Quadrangle of the Nuns.
Having spent the morning exploring Uxmal, lunch can be taken either at one of the nearby hotels or at your next destination, the Hacienda Sotuta de Peon, a short drive away on the road back to Merida.
While many old haciendas have been converted into hotels, the Hacienda Sotuta de Peon is a working museum that aims to showcase how henequen was grown and processed as well as providing a glimpse into what life would have been like on a hacienda.
Depending on time, and how you feel, there is also the option to visit the ruins of Hacienda Yaxcopoil on your way back to Merida (entrance fee to be paid locally).
Suggested Accommodation: Casa Lucia Meals Included: Breakfast
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Day 4 — Merida to Chichen Itza via Izamal
Checking out of your hotel after breakfast, it is an approximate 1-hour drive from Merida to Izamal.
First impressions of Izamal are that almost every building in the town centre is painted yellow. In fact, there is nothing old or historic about this (although Izamal is now often referred to as the Yellow City), the ‘tradition’ only dating back to the visit of the Pope in 1993.
Another, initial misconception about Izamal is that it is a purely colonial town. Although most of what you now see dates back to the Spanish colonial era, Izamal was a Mayan settlement for several hundred years before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century.
Much of the colonial era construction that took place in Izamal was built on top, as well as from, existing Mayan buildings. Today, Izamal is also known as the City of Hills, those ‘hills’ being the ancient remains of Mayan pyramids. One pyramid that wasn’t built on, and which can be climbed today for great views over town, is Kinich Kak Mo.
At the heart of Izamal, and the town’s main attraction, is the Convento San Antonio de Padua that was built on top of the ancient Mayan Acropolis. Izamal might be a small town, but the vast atrium within the Convento is second only to St Peter’s in Vatican City in size.
After exploring Izamal, including a break for lunch, you will proceed to Chichen Itza and your accommodation just outside the ruins.
Suggested Accommodation: Hacienda Chichen Itza Meals Included: Breakfast
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Day 5 — Chichen Itza to Valladolid via Ruins & Cenote
After an earlyish breakfast, you will set off to visit perhaps the Yucatan Peninsula’s single best-known attraction, the ruins of the great Mayan city of Chichen Itza.
As the Yucatan’s most visited Mayan site, we suggest an early start to beat not only the worst of the crowds but also the heat of the day.
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, and more extensively excavated than any other Mayan city, one could spend days exploring the myriad ruins of Chichen Itza.
From a historical perspective, Chichen Itza was one of the last Mayan cities to flourish, only reaching its pomp long after the great cities of the south, such as Calakmul, had been abandoned. Quite who founded the city is something that the experts still disagree about although many feel that Chichen Itza was populated by more than one ethnic group.
Today, Chichen Itza is home to numerous, superbly renovated structures, none more photographed than the Temple of Kukulkan (aka El Castillo) as well as the iconic Ball Court, location for the Mayan’s somewhat grisly ball games.
After a full morning’s tour followed by lunch at a local restaurant, there will be an opportunity to relax and cool-off at a nearby cenote where one can enjoy a swim.
Cenotes are a unique feature of the Yucatan Peninsula. The word cenote is derived from the Mayan word ‘dzonot’ that means a well. Cenotes are essentially sinkholes, created when the prevalent limestone bedrock collapses and exposes the subterranean groundwater.
Cenotes are found right across the Yucatan Peninsula, both inland and by the coast, and can be either freshwater or saltwater. However, many of the most impressive cenotes are found around Chichen Itza and Valladolid and your guide will know just where to find them.
After time spent relaxing at the cenote, you will continue to the town of Valladolid where there will be time for a brief walking tour of the town centre.
First settled in 1545, and named after the one-time capital of Spain, the charming little town of Valladolid is a destination in its own right as well as a popular base for exploring nearby attractions.
The town boasts a number of attractive, colonial-era buildings, most of them clustered around the main square, Parque Francisco Canton. If you like quirky museums, the privately owned Casa de los Venadas houses an impressive collection of over 3000 pieces of Mexican folk art.
Suggested Accommodation: Hotel Meson Del Marques Meals Included: Breakfast
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Day 6 — Valladolid (Day trip to Rio Lagartos & Ek Balam).
Having enjoyed many of the Yucatan Peninsula’s Mayan & Colonial highlights, today is an opportunity to experience some of the best that the region had to offer from a natural perspective with a day trip north to Rio Lagartos & Ek Balam.
Rio Lagartos is a small fishing village and jumping off point for Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos, a UNESCO Biosphere since 2004.
Rio Lagartos means ‘Alligator River’ but, in fact, the Spanish who gave it its name were wrong on both fronts – there is no river (it’s a lagoon) and the alligators are actually crocodiles; and while there are certainly plenty of crocodiles be found within the reserve, its principal draw is the vast colony of flamingos that make this their home.
In addition to a whole lot of flamingos, the mangroves around Rio Lagartos are home to a wide variety of bird species including tiger herons, cormorants, black hawks, white ibis and both snowy and red egrets. For self-evident reasons, you don’t even need to leave the fishing village of Rio Lagartos to enjoy this birdlife.
After a break for lunch, you will return to Valladolid, stopping enroute to visit the Mayan site of Ek Balam which, although much smaller than Chichen Itza, benefits from receiving only a fraction of the visitor numbers.
Exploring over, you will then return to your hotel in Valladolid
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Day 7 — Valladolid to Merida / Cancun Airport / The Beach
This morning is free for you to relax at the hotel or further explore Valladolid, including the Convento San Bernardino, before you check out of the hotel and are transferred to your onward destination.
That might be back to Merida, (approx 2 + hours), Cancun airport (approx 3 hours), the beaches of the east coast such as the Riviera Maya & Tulum or even Holbox & El Cuyo on the north coast.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Please Note
Prices for an itinerary such as this start at around £poa per person, based on travel in the low season. Please note however that all our holidays are entirely flexible and this itinerary is no more than one potential itinerary which can be tailor made to suit your exact requirements.
That price is based on 2 adults travelling together and sharing the same room throughout. Accommodation supplements apply for sole occupancy of rooms while travelling alone will be significantly more expensive.
Quoted prices do not include international flights which we are happy to arrange as part of an ATOL protected package. Should clients wish to arrange their own international flights, we are happy to take care of all the ground arrangements which will be protected under our membership of ABTOT.
Beach Extensions
After the last night in Valladolid, clients can either head north to El Cuyo & Rio Lagartos or to the east coast and the beaches of the Riviera Maya and Tulum.
Suggested Accommodation
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