Day 1. Mexico City arrival

*Welcome to Mexico City! Upon arrival to Mexico City International Airport, you will be greeted by our representative and the driver and transferred to your hotel.
Check-in to Mexico City hotel and the rest of the day will be at leisure.

Overnight: Hotel in Mexico city
Meals: None

Day 2. Mexico City Tour

*Experience life in one of the largest Cities in the World. Admire the so called “La Ciudad de los Palacios” (The City of Palaces). Tour the most important sites in Mexico City. Visit the National Palace and get to know the rich Mexican history “described” by the famous painter Diego Rivera on its murals. Then, visit the largest Cathedral of the Americas, the Metropolitan Cathedral and visit the “Templo Mayor” archaeological site in the Heart of the City. Tour the famous “floating gardens” in Xochimilco. Experience a “trajinera” local boat ride, and admire the colorful side of Mexico
Transfer back to the hotel

Overnight: Hotel in Mexico City
Meals: Continental breakfast in hotel in Mexico City
   Traditional lunch in a local restaurant in Xochimilco (drinks not included)

Day 3. Basilica de Guadalupe, Teotihuacan
   & Capilla del Rosario (Puebla) tour

*Today, after breakfast, hotel check out and meet your local tour guide in the main entrance of your hotel to start with a journey full of History and traditions. First, we will tour the beautiful Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe (Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) a Roman Catholic Church, National shrine of Mexico. The shrine was built near the Hill of Tepeyac where Our Lady of Guadalupe is believed to have appeared to San Juan Diego.
Then, we will visit the Ancient Mesoamerican City of Teotihuacan. This Archaeological site is world wide known for its amazing Sun and Moon Pyramids and the Avenue of the Death. We will see small portion of its Murals that have been exceptionally well preserved.
We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant with its typical Mexican food (drinks not included).
Our journey will continue with transfer to Puebla. At arrival, we will visit the unique and extremely beautiful Rosary Chapel “Capilla del Rosario”; known as “La Casa de Oro” “The Golden House”, because of its interior walls covered with gold. Our experienced tour guide will share with us the incredible story of its construction; this Chapel is consider the best example of the Baroque in the New Spain (Mexico); we will see why !
Finally, transfer, drop off and check in to your hotel in the beautiful City of Puebla

Overnight: Hotel in Puebla City
Meals: Continental breakfast in the hotel in Mexico City
   Lunch in Teotihuacan local restaurant (drinks not included)

Day 4. Puebla City & Cholula tour
   Transfer to Oaxaca

*Puebla is famous for being scene of a number of battles, the most notable, the battle of Puebla or “Batalla de 5 de Mayo”.
We will see why UNESCO put Puebla on its World heritage list. We will tour around the historic downtown and visit the Zocalo (main square), see the major landmarks among others, the Puebla Cathedral (short visit); we will visit as well the City Hall and the “Biblioteca Palafoxiana” (Palafoxiana Library), nowadays museum, which was founded in 1646. It was the first public library in Mexico; sometimes consider the first in the Americas. We will hear incredible stories and real facts from some of the books kept here.
We will enjoy a delicious traditional lunch including typical food and taste the famous “mole poblano”, Mexican dish prepared with numerous kind of Mexican chili and chocolate among others (drinks not included).
Our trip will continue to Cholula, where the Great Pyramid of Cholula with the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church on top is located. This basement is four times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza and is the largest pyramid base in the Americas. Here, we will tour the beautiful little town of Cholula, and admire Puebla City “from above” with the views this place has to offer. If we are lucky, take a great picture of the Popocatepelt, active volcano with its fumaroles.
We will proceed with a 4 hours road trip to the beautiful Colonial City of Oaxaca, located in the state of the same name.

Overnight: Hotel in Oaxaca City
Meals: Continental breakfast in hotel in Puebla
   Traditional lunch (drinks not included)

Day 5. Oaxaca, Monte Alban, Arrazola village & El Tule tour – Transfer to Tehuantepec

At a Glance

*Oaxaca, Monte Alban, Arrazola village & El Tule tour

*Our journey will start with Oaxaca City walking tour. We will see why this beautiful peaceful Spanish Colonial Town is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. We will learn about the history of the City, its architecture, and local customs. Our journey will continue in Monte Alban, one of the most important and famous pre-Columbian archaeological sites in Mexico. The site is believed to be more than three thousand years old and has been inhabited by various Mexican cultures such as the Olmec, the Zapotec and the Mixteca. Discover the various features of the complex including the main square, the ballgame court, the palace, the observatory and the Plaza of the Dancers, among others. After a short brake on site, we will continue to the indigenous village of Arrazola, famous for its wood carving handicrafts known as "Alebrijes“. This small town is where the history of “Alebrijes”, now, traditional Mexican handicraft and souvenir started. The art is handed down thru generation to generation. These artist do not use a pattern, or photos, or mold to work from to complete this art! You will be amazed at the attention to detail and colors that are used; and of course, you can buy your souvenirs practicing your negotiation skills. A place that is worthy to visit!
We will finish our with “El Tule” (the tree of Tule) located in the church grounds in the town center of Santa Maria del Tule. it is a Montezuma cypress or ahuehuete (meaning "old man of the water" in Nahuatl). This tree is famous for its circumference of 42 m and it is occasionally nicknamed the "tree of life" from the images of animals that are visible in the tree's trunk including jaguars and elephants.
Transfer to Tehuantepec Oaxaca

Overnight: Hotel in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca
Meals: Continental breakfast in hotel in Oaxaca
   Lunch (drinks not included) in a local restaurant

Day 6. Cañon del Sumidero boat tour – transfer
   to San Cristobal de las Casas

At a Glance

*Cañon del Sumidero tour

*After breakfast, our journey will continue with four and a half hours transfer towards Chiapa de Corzo, in the State of Chiapas, where at arrival we wil enjoy lunch (drinks not included) in a local restaurant. Then, in Embarcadero Cahuaré get on board of a boat to admire the amazing Cañon del Sumidero (Sumidero Canyon), impressive geological feature and national park. The canyon began to form around 70 million years ago due to tectonic activity in what was then an underground area. Only Grijalva river flows through the canyon now, providing a habitat for families of crocodiles and an attractive counterpoint to the steep rock walls of the canyon. Sumidero Canyon is a premier example of mother nature’s wrath. This inexplicable testament to the power of water will blow your mind. Near-vertical walls rise more than 2,500 feet (800 meters) overhead. Monkeys, crocodiles, and birds of all sorts can be spotted in the numerous jungle patches along the shoreline. If you enjoy witnessing amazing natural wonders, you will love taking a Sumidero Canyon boat trip.
Our tour will finish with transfer to our hotel in San Cristobal de las Casas.

Overnight: Hotel in San Cristobal de las Casas
Meals: Breakfast in hotel in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca
   Lunch in Chiapa de Corzo local restaurant (drinks not included)

Day 7. San Cristobal de las Casas & San Juan
   Chamula tour

At a Glance

*San Cristobal & Chamula tour.

*Get to know the famous City of San Cristobal de las Casas. We will take a tour through the historic center of the city, to see the most representative churches, as well as the artisans market and Amber Museums, where we will learn about the “art” of this precious and amazing material. Our trip will head then to San Juan Chamula, indigenous community of traditional weavers; we will see the process of weaving in a waist loom of pre-Hispanic origin. Enjoy traditional dishes made with corn tortilla made by hand by local cooks. Later we will visit the emblematic church of San Juan Chamula, which is considered one of the most enigmatic in the country, for its religious syncretism. Chamula boasts a wariness towards outsiders, a penchant for fascinating ancient rituals and beliefs blended with modern Christianity. Chamula is one of Mexico’s few autonomous townships, with a startlingly high indigenous population – some 99.5% of the residents speak an indigenous language. It is one of the most visited Tzotzil towns in Mexico.

Overnight: Hotel in San Cristobal de las Casas
Meals: Continental breakfast in hotel in San Cristobal de las Casas
   Lunch in local restaurant (drinks not included)

Day 8. Agua Azul visit –Palenque tour

At a Glance

*Agua Azul waterfalls & Palenque tour

*Today, on our way to Palenque, Chiapas, we will stop at Agua Azul waterfalls, one of world’s largest systems of limestone terraces. The water of the falls has a bright blue color and is rich with lime. Then, we will visit one of the most important and famous archaeological sites of Mexico, Palenque. It is considered to be one of the most fascinating and mysterious cities of the ancient Mayas whose science, astronomy, architecture and religion amaze people even in the XXI century. During this tour, our experienced tour guide will share with you Palenque history, rise and fall. Palenque is smaller than Chichen Itza, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. Much of the history of Palenque has been reconstructed from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the many monuments; historians now have a long sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque. Among others, we will see “the Palace”, The Temple of Inscriptions, The temples of the Sun and the Temple XIII which is adjacent to the Temple of Inscriptions. In 1994 a door was found that led to an underground temple, with three rooms. In the middle room was a sarcophagus which was painted with cinnabar to give it a red colour, inside the sarcophagus was the remains of a woman who became known as the Red Queen.
The site also incorporates a museum containing some of the artefacts found on the site and a reconstruction of the tomb of Pacal as the tomb itself was closed to visitor.
 
At the end of the tour, we will transferred and accommodate in a traditional hotel in Palenque where you can admire local flora and fauna, besides listening to the “sounds” of the jungle like the local monkeys and birds

Overnight: In hotel in Palenque
Meals: Continental breakfast in hotel in San Cristobal de las Casas
   Lunch in Palenque local restaurant (drinks not included)

Day 9. Transfer to Uxmal & Uxmal tour

At a Glance

* Uxmal archaeological site private tour

*In the first part of the tour, enjoy the 6:30 hours transfer from Palenque to Uxmal; a interesting panoramic transfer for the sceneries seen.
At arrival to Uxmal, enjoy lunch (drinks not included) in a local restaurant, to uncover the ancient mysteries of Uxmal, legendary archeological sites in the Yucatan Peninsula. Our professional guide will explain the rich legacy left by Mayan civilization as you visit the Temple of the Magician, the Governor's Palace and the temple dedicated to Chaac, God of rain.
 
Like in Palenque, accommodate in a traditional hotel in Uxmal where you can admire local flora and fauna, besides listening to the “sounds” of the jungle like the local monkeys and birds

Overnight: Hotel in Uxmal, Yucatan
Meals: Continental breakfast in hotel in Palenque
   Lunch in Uxmal local restaurant (drinks not included)

Day 10. Merida panoramic tour with photo
   stops & Chichen Itza tour
   Transfer to Playa del Carmen

At a Glance

* Merida Panoramic & Chichen Itza tour

We will proceed to transfer to Merida Yucatan, founded by the Spanish Francisco de Montejo where at arrival we will enjoy the best of it with the panoramic tour and photo stops in the most important sites of the city. Among others, we will see the Cathedral, located in the socket, which is also la Casa de Montejo; Paseo de Montejo, which has its colonial buildings like the Palace and Canton, a beautiful monument to the country. Finally, admire la “Plaza de la Independencia” (Independence Square).
 
Our journey will continue with a visit in one of the 7 wonders of the Modern World, Chichen Itza. consider the most important Mayan site. We will tour around visiting the dominating Temple of Kukulkan (a Mayan feathered serpent deity similar to the Aztec Quetzalcoatl) el Castillo ("the Castle"), the main ball court; archaeologists have identified thirteen ball courts in Chichen Itza but the great ball court about 150 meters to the north-west of the Castillo is by far the most impressive, the largest and best preserved ball court in ancient Mesoamerica. At one end of the great ball court, we will visit the Temple of the bearded man (templo del hombre barbado) then the Tzompantli, or skull platform and the chichen itza main cenote among others; our experienced local tour guide will share with us his knowledge taking us back in time to the splendor of this amazing Mayan city.
Then, enjoy traditional lunch in a local restaurant (drinks not included) and on our way to the Mexican Caribbean, a short visit in Valladolid downtown. We will continue our trip towards the beautiful Playa del Carmen.

Overnight: Hotel in Playa del Carmen
Meals: Continental breakfast in hotel in Merida, Yucatan
   Lunch (drinks not included) in Chichen Itza local restaurant

Day 11 Playa del Carmen beach day

At a Glance

*Day on the beach

*Today, relax on the white sandy beaches in Playa del Carmen. Forget about schedules and enjoy the day, the sun, the beach and your loved ones

Overnight: Hotel in Playa del Carmen
Meals: Continental breakfast in the hotel in Playa del Carmen

Recommended optional tours (+€):
*Rio Lagartos Flamingos-Crocodile tour & Ek Balam
*Tulum & Coba Maya Village tour
*Cenotes tour
*Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve tour
*Xcaret with “Mexico Espectacilar” folkloric evening show
*Xel Ha All-Inclusive tour Natural Park
*Whaleshark tour in Holbox Island (seasonal)…….and so many more!!!
Ask your YUCATAN TRAVELS Rep.

Day 12. Departure from Cancun

At a Glance

*Beach day – Departure from Cancun International Airport

*Free morning at leisure.
*Private transfer to Cancun International airport for departure

Meals: Continental breakfast
END OF SERVICES

Itinerary pace: Medium
Additional days, tours, or modifications to this program available on request