Day 1: Mexico City
Mexico City
Arrival at the airport in Mexico City and transfer to the Hampton Inn hotel or similar.
Day 2: Mexico City
Mexico City
Breakfast. Entire day dedicated to the visit of this city and the archeological site of Teotihuacan. Included are the visit of the “Zocalo” (the main square with the Cathedral and the National Palace), of the Templo Mayor, the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most important centre of pilgrimage of the entire Latin America. Later visit Teotihuacan with its imponent Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. Lunch in a local restaurant.
Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.
Day 3: Palenque
Mexico City - Villahermosa - Palenque
Breakfast. In the morning visit to the extraordinary Museum of Anthropology, the largest and most important collection of pre-Columbian artefacts in the world. In the afternoon transfer to the airport and departure to Villahermosa by scheduled flight (not included). Arrival and transfer by car to Palenque.
Overnight stay at the Chan Kah Hotel or similar.
Day 4: Palenque
Palenque - Yaxchilan - Bonampak - Palenque
Breakfast. Excursion to the ancient and impressive Mayan city of Yaxchilan, on the Usumacinta River, inside the jungle whose silence is broken by the cries of monkeys and countless tropical birds. Second breakfast en route. In the afternoon, visit to nearby Bonampak, famous above all for its marvellous wall frescoes. Return to Palenque. Overnight stay.
Note: The Yaxchilan site may not be visited due to internal problems. If there isn't the safety conditions for the visit, the guide will arrange an alternative excursion, which could be the Lacandona Forest visited with the indigenous locals, Los Lacandone, or the Roberto Barrios waterfalls with the Zapatista Pueblo onomimo.
Day 5: Campeche
Palenque – Campeche
In the morning visit of the wonderful archeological zone of Palenque. Lunch in a local restaurant and in the afternoon departure to Campeche. At the arrival short visit of this ancient city with a strong colonial feeling, its historic centre is still surrounded by walls and towers.
Overnight stay at Francis Drake Hotel or similar.
Day 6: Merida
Campeche – Uxmal - Merida
Breakfast. In the morning departure to the beautiful site of Edzna, the imposing Temple of the 5 Floors and the Palace of the Masks; continue to the famous Uxmal: with Palenque and Chichen Itza it represents the apogee of the Maya civilisation. The complex, founded and completed between 600 and 950 A.D., is rich in temples, pyramids and splendid palaces, the latter with facades decorated with marvellous stucco friezes. Lunch. In the afternoon arrival in Merida and short tour of the city with its special charm, characterised by its low houses, churches and colonial buildings erected around the ‘zocalo’.
Overnight stay at the Mision de Fray Diego or similar.
Day 7: Valladolid
Merida - Izamal - Chichen Itza - Valladolid
Departure towards the Caribbean Sea with first stop in Izamal: here the Spaniards built the grandiose convent of St. Anthony on top of the ruins of a former Maya site. We continue on to Chichen Itza, the largest Maya city in Yucatan and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Lunch. In the afternoon visit of the site, founded around 400 AD, which was occupied by the Toltecs around the year 1000 and then abandoned around 1250. Numerous buildings testify to the splendour of Chichen, including the great pyramid known as ‘El Castillo’, the Temple of the Jaguars, the Observatory, etc. In the afternoon continuation to Valladolid.
Arrival and overnight stay at the Meson de Marques hotel or similar.
Day 8:
Valladolid - Coba - Tulum - Playa del Carmen
Breakfast. Departure for a visit to the archaeological zone of Coba. Lunch. Continuation to the last Mayan archaeological zone we will visit during this tour, the famous Tulum, which stands imposingly in front of the Caribbean Sea.
In the evening, arrival at the hotel on the Riviera Maya (not included).
