Small Group Mexico Tour

Day 1 — Cancun to Laguna Bacalar via Tulum

Clients will be collected from their chosen accommodation and head south along the Riviera Maya to the first stop of this 7 night Mexico tour, Tulum.

While not the largest or most historically significant of the region’s hundreds of Mayan sites, Tulum is amongst the most famous and visited, largely on account of its spectacular setting overlooking the Caribbean.

Having explored the ruins with your guide, you will continue south to your overnight stop, beautiful Laguna Bacalar. After a visit to the colonial-era fort of San Felipe de Bacalar, you will continue to Cenote Azul where there will be an opportunity to enjoy a refreshing swim.

Accommodation will be at Hotel Pejelagarto or similar.

Day 2 — Laguna Bacalar to Calakmul

After breakfast at the hotel, the day starts with a 2 ½ hour boat trip on Laguna Bacalar. Included on this tour of the lake are stops at the famous Pirate Canal and the Black Cenote / Cenote of the Witch, a place of local mythology that drops down to a depth of over 100 metres.

Continuing south, almost all the way to Chetumal on the Belize border, the tour then heads inland, roughly following the line of the Guatemalan border to the south.

This southern region of the Yucatan Peninsula is its least populated, much of it covered in dense jungle. Hidden amongst this jungle are some of the oldest Mayan cities in Mexico, collectively known today as the Rio Bec region.

Amongst the many cities abandoned by the Maya is Chicanna, famous for its detailed and intricate stonework.

After checking in at the Puerta Calakmul hotel, and just before sunset, you will proceed to the nearby Bat Cave where, as the sun sets, hundreds of thousands of bats head out in search of dinner, without doubt one of the most incredible natural spectacles the Yucatan Peninsula has to offer.

Day 3 — Calakmul to Palenque via Chicanna

After breakfast, you will head south, deep into the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve until, after around an hour, you reach the great Mayan city of Calakmul.

Together with Tikal & El Mirador in neighbouring Guatemala, Calakmul is one of the largest Maya cities ever discovered.

Unlike Chichen Itza to the north, most of Calakmul remains buried under hundreds of years of vegetation. Because of its isolation, Calakmul also only receives a small fraction of the number of visitors that Chichen Itza and even Tulum receives.

The original city covered some 30 square kilometres and was home to over 5,000 buildings, including some of the largest pyramids ever built. Climbing to the top of these pyramids, visitors will enjoy 360 degree views over an endless sea of green.

After exploring the ruins with your guide, you will depart Calakmul for your next destination, Palenque, where you will arrive in the late afternoon.

Your hotel for the next 2 nights will be Hotel La Aldea or similar.

Day 4 — Palenque

Another day, another great Maya city, this time Palenque. Founded in around 300 BC, Palenque was one of the first sites of the classical Maya period, reaching its peak in the 7^th & 8^th centuries AD. All of the buildings that one sees today date back to this period.

Unlike the largely flat Yucatan Peninsula (you have now crossed into the state of Chiapas), Palenque is built into the side of a hill and enjoys beautiful views over the surrounding countryside.

After a morning spent exploring the extensive site, the afternoon will be spent relaxing at the nearby Roberto Barrios waterfalls.

Day 5 — Palenque to Campeche

Departing Palenque after breakfast, you will drive along the Gulf of Mexico, passing by a number of traditional fishing villages, before reaching the beautiful city of Campeche in the early afternoon.

Before exploring the city itself, you will visit San Miguel Fort, located a short drive away and featuring not only panoramic views out to sea but also an excellent Maya museum, home to burial masks from the royal tombs of Calakmul as well as funerary figures from the island of Jaina.

Campeche itself was founded by the Spanish in the mid-16^th century and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

The city’s historic centre, located within the old fortified walls, is one of the most picturesque in Mexico and home to numerous colonial era-buildings including La Concepcion Cathedral.

Together with your guide you will embark on a walking tour of the city, after which you are free to further explore on your own.

Day 6 — Campeche to Merida via Uxmal & Celestun

Heading north from Campeche, it is an approximate 90-minute drive to the Maya city of Uxmal, considered by many to feature the most beautiful architecture, stonework and design in the region.

In the Mayan language, Uxmal means ‘thrice built’ although even this may be an understatement. Uxmal itself was just one of a number of cities in the surrounding Puuc region, one of the few areas in the Yucatan Peninsula with any elevation.

Having explored the ruins, you will then continue to Celestun on the Gulf of Mexico, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve famous for its diversity of flora and fauna including a significant flamingo colony.

In addition to flamingos, Celestun is home to a wide variety of other birdlife, especially during the winter months from December through March when migratory birds from North America make the surrounding lagoons and mangroves their home.

After exploring Celestun by boat, you will continue to the nearby city of Merida for an overnight stay.

Day 7 — Merida and to Chichen Itza via Izamal

The largest city in the Yucatan Peninsula, Merida is also its cultural heart with beautiful, colonial era buildings, museums and public spaces as well as the grand Paseo de Montejo boulevard which is based on Les Champs Elysees in Paris.

After breakfast, you will proceed on a morning’s tour of Merida, visiting and passing by many of the city’s most important buildings including the San Ildefonso Cathedral, Palacio Municipal and Casa de Montejo, home of the city’s founder.

From Merida, it is then an approximate 75 minute drive to another of the region’s colonial highlights, the smaller but even more picturesque town of Izamal.

Known as the Yellow City, for reasons that will quickly become clear, the highlight of Izamal is the Convento San Antonio de Padua which dominates the centre of town.

After a brief tour of town, it is then a further 80 minute drive to the final destination on this week long tour of the Yucatan Peninsula, Chichen Itza.

Day 8 — Chichen Itza & back to East Coast

The Yucatan Peninsula is home to hundreds of Maya ruins, some huge, others tiny. However, none have been as extensively excavated as those at Chichen Itza.

Much more ‘modern’ than the other great cities to the south, including modern-day Guatemala, Chichen Itza was almost the last of the great Maya city-states and, by this relatively late stage, was also influenced by the Toltecs from central Mexico.

At the heart of the site is El Castillo, a 30 metre tall pyramid that is perfectly aligned with the sun. Nearby, and always a popular attraction, is the largest ball court in the Yucatan, while El Caracol is one of the site’s most impressively designed buildings.

Exploring Chichen Itza normally takes between two and three hours after which there will be an opportunity to relax and enjoy another of the highlights of any holiday to the Yucatan Peninsula, a refreshing swim in a nearby cenote.

Generally speaking, this will be Cenote Dzitnup, with the small opening illuminating the beautiful pool below. The crystal clear water is home to a variety of fish while, above, there are numerous stalactites.

Departing the cenote, you will then continue back to the east coast where your Mexico tour comes to an end. As same day flight departures aren’t possible, clients will be dropped at the hotel of their choice in Cancun / the Riviera Maya.