Yucatán, Belize and Tikal: the Maya Route

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Mérida

   Mérida International Airport (MID) to the centro

   • Environ 18 min de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Mérida
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Mérida International Airport (MID), about 10 km south of the city. Plan to land by about 4 pm so you reach the evening briefing; the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary. A driver meets you in the arrivals hall with your flight tracked, and it is about 20 minutes to a hotel in the centro, within walking distance of the Plaza Grande. Mérida, the capital of Yucatán state, was founded by the Spanish in 1542 on the Maya city of T'Hó, and the stones of its temples went into the cathedral that still faces the main square. At 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the fourteen days ahead, the three borders and who would like the ATM cave on day 10. Then we walk to the Plaza Grande as the colonial facades light up, and sit down together to a welcome dinner of Yucatecan cooking: sopa de lima, papadzules and cochinita pibil.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Mérida International Airport (MID)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk to the Plaza Grande
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the 6 pm briefing

   

2. Jour 2 : Uxmal at opening, Mérida by late afternoon

   Mérida to Uxmal and back, then a walk through the centro

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Mérida
   Détail du jour 2

   We leave at about 6:45 am and drive south for about an hour and a quarter, into the low Puuc hills, to be at the gate of Uxmal when it opens at 8 am. With a licensed local guide we have the site nearly to ourselves in the cool of the morning: the Pyramid of the Magician on its rounded base, the Nunnery Quadrangle with its stone lattices and serpents, and the Governor's Palace, its mosaic frieze of rain-god masks running nearly 100 m along the facade. Uxmal has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996, and it is a showcase of Puuc stonework, with mosaic frieze work. We leave as the heat and the tour coaches build, have a sit-down lunch near the site and are back in Mérida by mid-afternoon to rest. At about 5 pm your guide walks the centro with you: the cathedral, the carved facade of the Casa de Montejo, the Palacio de Gobierno with Fernando Castro Pacheco's murals of Yucatán's history, and the mansions of the Paseo de Montejo. The evening is free.

   Compris

   • Uxmal entry at opening with a licensed local guide
   • Sit-down lunch near Uxmal
   • Guided walk through Mérida's centro: the cathedral, the Casa de Montejo, the Palacio de Gobierno murals and the Paseo de Montejo

   Option plus facile : Skip the late-afternoon walk and rest at the hotel; your guide can point you to the Plaza Grande later on your own.

   Option plus active : Walk on with the guide to the Great Pyramid and the House of the Pigeons on the south side of Uxmal, about 1 km more.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Mérida

   Activité : About 2 hours on foot at Uxmal on uneven stone, with steep steps if you climb. The Pyramid of the Magician itself cannot be climbed.

3. Jour 3 : A cenote, yellow Izamal and on to Valladolid

   Mérida to a cenote near Homún, then Izamal and Valladolid

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Valladolid
   Détail du jour 3

   After breakfast we drive about an hour east to Homún, one of the villages on the ring of cenotes that traces the buried rim of the Chicxulub impact crater. We go early, before the tour vans, for a swim in a cenote where light falls through a hole in the cave roof onto clear, cool water. Then it is about an hour north to Izamal, the town painted egg-yolk yellow. Its Franciscan convent of San Antonio de Padua, finished in 1561, stands on top of a Maya platform, and its arcaded atrium is one of the largest in Mexico. Across town you can climb Kinich Kakmó, a broad pyramid still standing among the houses, for the view over the flat green land. Lunch is a sit-down meal of Yucatecan dishes in Izamal. We reach Valladolid, a colonial town with a leafy main square, in the late afternoon, and your guide walks you along the Calzada de los Frailes to the convent of San Bernardino as the light goes gold.

   Compris

   • Cenote swim near Homún
   • Izamal: the convent of San Antonio de Padua and Kinich Kakmó with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Izamal
   • Evening walk in Valladolid to the convent of San Bernardino

   Option plus facile : Stay on the cenote platform or the steps instead of swimming; the light and the cave are the show.

   Option plus active : Climb Kinich Kakmó in Izamal, a short steep scramble with a wide view from the top.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Valladolid

   Activité : Cenote steps can be steep and wet; life jackets are provided. Most cenotes ask you to shower and skip sunscreen before swimming.

4. Jour 4 : Chichen Itza at opening

   Valladolid to Chichen Itza and back

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Valladolid
   Détail du jour 4

   Chichen Itza is about 40 minutes from Valladolid, which is why we sleep here. We leave at about 7:15 am and are at the gate for the 8 am opening, a couple of hours ahead of the coaches from Cancún and the Riviera Maya. We buy both the federal and the Yucatán state tickets in advance, so there are no queues or ticket sites to deal with. With a licensed local guide we walk the Great Plaza to El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcán, then the Great Ball Court with its stone rings high on the walls, the Temple of the Warriors and the Group of a Thousand Columns, the Sacred Cenote and El Caracol, the round building the Maya used to follow Venus. Chichen Itza has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. By late morning, when the site fills, we leave for a sit-down lunch and are back in Valladolid by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is free: Cenote Zací is a few blocks from the main square.

   Compris

   • Chichen Itza entry at opening, both tickets, with a licensed local guide
   • Sit-down lunch near Chichen Itza

   Option plus facile : Rest in the shade by the Great Plaza while the group walks out to the Sacred Cenote and back, about 1 km less.

   Option plus active : Walk out to the quieter southern group of buildings beyond El Caracol with the guide.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Valladolid

   Activité : About 3 hours on foot on flat, sunny paths; bring a hat and water. Climbing El Castillo is not allowed. Departures avoid the spring equinox, when crowds at El Castillo peak.

5. Jour 5 : Cobá by bicycle, then Tulum

   Valladolid to Cobá, then Tulum

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Tulum
   Détail du jour 5

   We leave at 8 am and drive about an hour east through Chemax into Quintana Roo, where clocks go forward an hour. Cobá was a large Maya city spread through forest between shallow lakes, linked by raised white roads called sacbeob, one of which runs about 100 km west to Yaxuná. We arrive at opening and ride hired bicycles, or a tricycle taxi with a driver, along those forest paths between the building groups, stopping at the ball court, the carved stelae and Nohoch Mul, one of the tallest pyramids in the north of the peninsula. Climbing it has been closed in recent years; we confirm the rule before you travel. Then a swim in one of the underground cenotes near Cobá, reached by wooden stairs into a cavern, and a sit-down lunch in the village by the lake. It is about 45 minutes on to Tulum, and we check in by mid-afternoon to a hotel in town, with the rest of the day free.

   Compris

   • Cobá entry with your guide, with bicycle hire or a tricycle taxi
   • Swim in an underground cenote near Cobá
   • Sit-down lunch in Cobá village

   Option plus facile : Ride in a tricycle taxi with a driver instead of cycling, and watch from the platform at the cenote.

   Option plus active : Cycle the longer loop to the Macanxoc group of stelae with your guide.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Tulum

   Activité : About 6 km by bicycle on flat forest tracks, at your own pace. Clocks go forward an hour when we enter Quintana Roo.

6. Jour 6 : Tulum above the sea, and the Gran Cenote

   Tulum town to the Tulum ruins, then the Gran Cenote

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Tulum
   Détail du jour 6

   Tulum's ruins open at 8 am and we are there for it, before the day trips from Cancún arrive. This was a walled Maya port, still busy when the first Spanish ships sailed past, and it is the one great site on the coast itself: El Castillo stands on a limestone cliff above a small beach, and the Temple of the Wind God looks down on a cove of turquoise water. Your guide shows you the Temple of the Frescoes, where traces of painted gods survive inside. The site sits inside a national park, and both fees are included. Iguanas sun themselves on the walls. By mid-morning we drive a few minutes to the Gran Cenote, a half-open cavern with stalactites, where you can snorkel in clear water and often see small turtles in the open pool. The afternoon and evening are free: the beaches below the ruins, a bicycle along the coast road, or a long lunch in town.

   Compris

   • Tulum archaeological site at opening with your guide, with the national park fee
   • Gran Cenote entry with snorkel gear

   Activités en option

   • Cenote diving for certified divers, priced when you book

   Option plus facile : Watch from the wooden platforms at the Gran Cenote, or go straight back to the hotel after the ruins.

   Option plus active : Hire a bicycle in the afternoon and ride the coast road to the beaches south of the ruins.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 2 hours on foot at the ruins in full sun; the Gran Cenote is about an hour in the water.

   

7. Jour 7 : Muyil and the Sian Ka'an canal, south to Bacalar

   Tulum to Muyil and the Sian Ka'an lagoons, then Bacalar

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Bacalar
   Détail du jour 7

   We check out after breakfast and drive about 25 minutes south to Muyil, one of the oldest Maya settlements on this coast, where a small temple pyramid rises from the forest at the edge of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. A boardwalk leads through mangrove and forest to the lagoon, where a community boat takes us across two lagoons into a narrow channel the Maya are said to have cut for their canoes. Here you slip into the water in a life jacket and let the current carry you along between the reeds, in water so clear you can see the sandy bottom. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the road south. Then it is about two and a quarter hours through forest and small towns to Bacalar, where we arrive in the late afternoon, when the lagoon shifts from turquoise to deep blue. The evening is free by the water.

   Compris

   • Muyil archaeological site with your guide
   • Boat across the Sian Ka'an lagoons with a community guide, and the canal float
   • Sit-down lunch on the road
   • Drive to Bacalar

   Option plus facile : Stay in the boat while others float; the boat follows the group down the channel.

   Option plus active : Climb the observation tower on the Muyil boardwalk for the view over the reserve to the lagoon.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Bacalar

   Activité : The float is about 30 to 40 minutes in gentle current, with a life jacket. Bring swimwear and biodegradable sunscreen only.

8. Jour 8 : A day on the Lake of Seven Colours

   Bacalar lagoon by boat, then Bacalar town

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Bacalar
   Détail du jour 8

   Laguna Bacalar is a long, narrow freshwater lagoon, fed by cenotes and so clear and shallow over white sand that it shows bands of colour from pale aqua to near black, which is why locals call it the Lake of Seven Colours. In the morning, when the water is calmest, we go out on a boat for our group: past the deep, dark Cenote Negro, through the Canal de los Piratas that smugglers once used, around the Isla de los Pájaros, and to a shallow white-sand bank for a swim. Along the shore you see stromatolites, rock-like mounds built very slowly by microbes, among the oldest forms of life on Earth; the rule is to look and never stand on them. Back on land your guide takes you through the Fuerte de San Felipe, the 18th-century fort built against pirates, now a small museum. The afternoon is entirely free: kayak, swim from a dock, or read in a hammock by the water.

   Compris

   • Morning boat on the Bacalar lagoon for the group, with swim stops
   • Fuerte de San Felipe museum with your guide

   Activités en option

   • Museo de la Cultura Maya in Chetumal, about 40 minutes away (closed Mondays), with transport arranged by your guide
   • Kayak or paddleboard hire
   • We give a price for each when you book.

   Option plus facile : Stay on the boat at the swim stops; the colours are clearest from the deck.

   Option plus active : Paddle a kayak along the shore at sunrise before breakfast.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   Activité : The boat trip is about 3 hours with two swim stops in shallow water.

   

9. Jour 9 : Across the border to Belize and San Ignacio

   Bacalar to the Santa Elena border, Orange Walk and the Belize Zoo (via the Belize City bypass), then San Ignacio

   • Environ 5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : San Ignacio
   Détail du jour 9

   This is the one day that runs past our four-hour driving cap: about 290 km and about five hours of driving. There is no town between Bacalar and the Cayo hills worth a night of its own, and crossing in one day keeps us in two-night bases. We leave at 7:30 am and are at the border near Chetumal in about 45 minutes. Your guide takes the group through Mexican exit and Belize entry, about an hour on foot with our bags, and our Belize vehicle and driver meet us on the other side. Belize is English-speaking and clocks go back an hour. We stop for coffee in Orange Walk among the sugar-cane fields, follow the Northern Highway south to the edge of Belize City and turn west on the George Price Highway to the Belize Zoo, which keeps only animals native to Belize, many of them rescued: jaguars, Baird's tapirs, harpy eagles and scarlet macaws. Lunch is a sit-down meal nearby. The last hour runs west past Belmopan to San Ignacio, above the Macal River, by about 4:30 pm, and we have dinner together.

   Compris

   • Border crossing at Subteniente López and Santa Elena, with the formalities handled by your guide
   • Coffee stop in Orange Walk
   • The Belize Zoo with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch near the zoo
   • Dinner in San Ignacio

   Option plus facile : Stay in the shade by the zoo entrance café after lunch rather than walking the full loop.

   Activité : About 5 hours of driving plus about an hour at the border, broken by a coffee stop and about 2 hours for the zoo and lunch. Keep your passport handy.

10. Jour 10 : Into the ATM cave, or Barton Creek by canoe

    San Ignacio to Actun Tunichil Muknal and back

    • Environ 2 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
    • Nuit : San Ignacio
    Détail du jour 10

    Today is the trip's most demanding day. After breakfast we drive about an hour east, the last part on gravel, to the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. Actun Tunichil Muknal, the ATM cave, can only be entered with a licensed ATM guide in small groups. A walk of about 45 minutes through forest crosses a river three times, then a short swim across a deep pool takes you into the cave mouth. Inside you wade, scramble and squeeze along an underground river to the dry upper chambers, where the Maya left pottery, stone tools and human remains during ceremonies more than a thousand years ago, including the calcified skeleton known as the Crystal Maiden. Cameras and phones are not allowed, so you see it by headlamp with your own eyes. Lunch is a sit-down meal near the reserve before the drive back. If the cave is not for you, take the gentle option instead: Barton Creek Cave by canoe and the Cahal Pech ruins, also included. The cave operators set a minimum age, often around 12, which we confirm when you book. The evening is free on San Ignacio's main street.

    Compris

    • Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM cave) with a licensed ATM guide, entry, helmet and headlamp
    • Sit-down lunch near the reserve

    Option plus facile : Paddle by canoe into Barton Creek Cave, a calm river cave with Maya pottery on its ledges, then walk the Cahal Pech ruins on the hill above San Ignacio. Included in the price.

    Temps libre : Evening free in San Ignacio

    Activité : The ATM cave means about 3 hours underground, wading in water up to chest height, a short swim and some climbing, plus about 45 minutes' walk each way. The cave can close after heavy rain; if it does, we swap days or everyone takes the Barton Creek option.

11. Jour 11 : Xunantunich by hand-cranked ferry, and a free afternoon

    San Ignacio to Xunantunich and back

    • Environ 30 min de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    • Nuit : San Ignacio
    Détail du jour 11

    A gentler day after the cave. We drive about 15 minutes west to San José Succotz, where a hand-cranked ferry carries us across the Mopan River, then up the hill to Xunantunich, arriving close to opening. This Maya ceremonial centre sits on a ridge above the river, and its great pyramid, El Castillo, about 40 m high, still carries part of a carved stucco frieze on its upper walls. From the top you look west across the valley into Guatemala, where we go tomorrow. Your guide explains how this city rose and fell alongside its powerful neighbours in Petén. We are back in San Ignacio before noon, and the rest of the day is free: browse the market (busiest on Saturday), hire a canoe on the Macal River, walk up to the Cahal Pech ruins if you did not go yesterday, or simply rest by the pool. Lunch and dinner are on your own, and your guide has suggestions on the main street.

    Compris

    • Xunantunich with your guide, including the hand-cranked ferry across the Mopan River

    Activités en option

    • A full day to Caracol in the Chiquibul Forest instead of Xunantunich, a long drive on a partly rough road, priced when you book
    • Canoe hire on the Macal River

    Option plus facile : Wait at the foot of El Castillo in the shade while others climb.

    Option plus active : Climb to the very top of El Castillo for the view into Guatemala.

    Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in San Ignacio

    Activité : El Castillo has steep steps and narrow ledges near the top. About 2 hours on foot.

    

12. Jour 12 : Into Guatemala: Yaxhá and the island of Flores

    San Ignacio to the Benque Viejo border, Yaxhá, then Flores

    • Environ 3 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
    • Nuit : Flores
    Détail du jour 12

    We leave at 8:30 am and are at the border at Benque Viejo and Melchor de Mencos in about half an hour. Your guide takes the group through Belize exit, with the fee paid, and Guatemalan entry, and a Guatemalan vehicle and driver take over. About an hour and a half west, a dirt road leads into the Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo National Park, where Yaxhá's temples stand on a ridge above a wide lake. With a licensed local guide we walk the plazas and causeways under the forest, listening for howler monkeys, then climb the wooden stairs of Temple 216 for the view across the canopy to the water. Lunch is a sit-down meal by the lake. It is about an hour and a quarter on to Flores, a small island town on Lake Petén Itzá joined to the shore by a causeway, with steep streets of painted houses. We check in by late afternoon, and your guide walks the lakeside promenade around the island with you at sunset.

    Compris

    • Border crossing at Benque Viejo and Melchor de Mencos, with the border fees paid
    • Yaxhá entry with a licensed local guide
    • Sit-down lunch by Lake Yaxhá
    • Sunset walk around Flores island

    Option plus facile : Skip the climb up Temple 216 and wait in the plaza below.

    Option plus active : Climb Temple 216 for the view over the lake.

    Temps libre : Evening free in Flores

    Activité : About 3 hours of driving plus about an hour at the border. Yaxhá is about 2.5 hours on foot, with steep wooden stairs if you climb. Keep your passport handy.

13. Jour 13 : Tikal from early morning

    Flores to Tikal National Park and back

    • Environ 2.5 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
    • Nuit : Flores
    Détail du jour 13

    We leave Flores at 6 am, the trip's earliest start, because Tikal opens at 6 and the first hours are cooler and full of birdsong. It is about an hour and a quarter to the park. With a licensed Tikal guide we walk forest trails under ceiba trees to the Great Plaza, where Temple I and Temple II face each other across the grass, then the North and Central Acropolis, the Lost World pyramid and Temple IV, about 70 m to the top of its roof comb and the tallest at Tikal; its wooden stairs climb above the canopy to a view of the other temples rising from the forest. Tikal was one of the most powerful Maya cities between about AD 200 and 900, and it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979, for its forest as well as its ruins. Look out for spider and howler monkeys, coatis, toucans and ocellated turkeys. A sit-down lunch near the park entrance follows, we are back in Flores by mid-afternoon to rest, and the group meets for a farewell dinner by the lake.

    Compris

    • Tikal National Park entry with a licensed local guide: the Great Plaza, Temples I and II, the North and Central Acropolis, the Lost World and Temple IV
    • Sit-down lunch near the park entrance
    • Farewell dinner in Flores

    Option plus facile : Skip the Lost World and Temple IV and rest in the Great Plaza or at the visitor centre while the group walks the far loop, about 3 km less.

    Option plus active : Climb the wooden stairs of Temple IV for the view over the forest to the roof combs of Temples I, II and III.

    Temps libre : Afternoon free in Flores

    Activité : About 8 to 10 km on forest trails over about 5 hours in heat and humidity. Bring water, insect repellent and a hat.

    

14. Jour 14 : Fly to Guatemala City and home

    Flores to Mundo Maya International Airport (FRS), then a flight to Guatemala City (GUA)

    • Environ 6 min de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 14

    A last breakfast by the lake, then a ten-minute drive across the causeway to Mundo Maya International Airport (FRS) at Santa Elena. Your guide sees you to check-in for the domestic flight to Guatemala City, about an hour over the Petén forest and the highlands, which is included and booked by us. From La Aurora International Airport (GUA) you connect to your flight home: book an international departure leaving after about 2 pm, and we confirm the flight times when you book. The flight replaces a road journey of eight hours or more, the kind of day other trips on this route spend in a minibus. If you would rather fly home from Belize, we drive you back across the border to Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) instead, about four hours plus the border; book a flight leaving after about 3 pm. Want more time? Antigua is about an hour from Guatemala City, and we can add nights there before you fly.

    Compris

    • Transfer to Mundo Maya International Airport (FRS)
    • Domestic flight from Flores to Guatemala City (GUA), or a road transfer to Belize City airport (BZE) if you prefer

    Activités en option

    • Extra nights in Antigua, priced when you book

    Activité : Book an international flight from Guatemala City leaving after about 2 pm, or from Belize City after about 3 pm.

Faune et météo : December to April is the dry season across the Yucatán, Belize and Petén. December and January bring warm days, cooler evenings and the odd northerly front; March and April are the hottest, often above 33 °C at the sites, which is why we start early. June to November is the rainy and hurricane season, when we do not run. At Tikal and Yaxhá expect howler and spider monkeys, coatis, toucans and ocellated turkeys; iguanas sun themselves on the ruins at Tulum.

• Mérida2 nuits
• Valladolid2 nuits
• Tulum2 nuits
• Bacalar2 nuits
• San Ignacio3 nuits
• Flores2 nuits