Yucatán: Mérida, Chichen Itza, Cenotes and Tulum

1. Day 1: Arrive in Mérida

   Mérida International Airport to your hotel in the old centre

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Mérida
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Mérida International Airport (MID), about 20 minutes from the old centre, where a driver meets you in arrivals and takes you to the hotel. Plan to land by about 4 pm so you have time to rest before the evening; the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary. Flying into Cancún instead? Ask us about getting to Mérida. Mérida is the capital of Yucatán state, founded by the Spanish in 1542 on the site of the Maya city of T'Hó, and its grid of low, pastel colonial houses still runs out from the Plaza Grande. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week, then walks you to the square as the heat goes out of the day. Dinner is a welcome meal of Yucatecan dishes, such as sopa de lima and cochinita pibil, at a restaurant near the centre.

   Included

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

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Mérida on foot

   The Plaza Grande, the market and the Paseo de Montejo, then the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Mérida
   Day 2 details

   Mornings are the cool part of the day here, so we start walking at about 8:30. Your guide takes you round the Plaza Grande: the Cathedral of San Ildefonso, finished in 1598 and one of the oldest cathedrals in the Americas, built partly with stone from Maya temples; the carved facade of the Casa de Montejo from 1549; and the Palacio de Gobierno, where Fernando Castro Pacheco's large murals tell the story of the Maya and the conquest. We walk through the Lucas de Gálvez market for fruit, chiles and the stalls where locals eat breakfast, then north up the Paseo de Montejo, the boulevard of mansions that henequen, the sisal fibre, paid for around 1900. Late in the morning a short drive takes us to the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, a good grounding in what you will see at Uxmal and Chichen Itza. The afternoon and evening are free: a siesta, the hotel pool, or a slow dinner on one of the squares.

   Included

   • Walking tour with your guide: the Plaza Grande, the Cathedral of San Ildefonso, the Casa de Montejo and the Palacio de Gobierno murals
   • Lucas de Gálvez market
   • The Paseo de Montejo
   • Gran Museo del Mundo Maya

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot in the morning on flat pavements. The Gran Museo del Mundo Maya is closed on Tuesdays; on those days we visit the regional museum in the Palacio Cantón on the Paseo de Montejo instead (closed Mondays).

3. Day 3: Uxmal at opening, then Kabah

   Mérida to Uxmal and Kabah in the Puuc hills, and back

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Mérida
   Day 3 details

   We leave Mérida at 6:30 am and drive about an hour and a quarter south into the Puuc hills, low ridges that break the flat Yucatán plain, to be at Uxmal when it opens at 8. With a licensed local guide we walk past the Pyramid of the Magician, rounded at its corners and about 35 m tall, into the Nunnery Quadrangle, four long buildings covered in stone lattices, serpents and masks of Chaac, the rain god, and up onto the platform of the Governor's Palace, about 100 m long. Uxmal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and far quieter than Chichen Itza, and at this hour you share it mostly with iguanas. Lunch is a sit-down meal of Yucatecan food near the site. Afterwards it is about 20 minutes to Kabah, joined to Uxmal by an old raised Maya road, where the facade of the Codz Poop is covered in hundreds of Chaac masks. We are back in Mérida by mid-afternoon, with the evening free.

   Included

   • Uxmal at opening with a licensed local guide: the Pyramid of the Magician, the Nunnery Quadrangle and the Governor's Palace
   • Sit-down Yucatecan lunch near Uxmal
   • Kabah and the Codz Poop

   Easier option: Stay in the shade by the Uxmal entrance once the main buildings are seen, and look at Kabah's masks from the first terrace only.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Mérida

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot at Uxmal and 45 minutes at Kabah on uneven stone and gravel with little shade. The Pyramid of the Magician cannot be climbed.

4. Day 4: A cenote, Izamal and Valladolid

   Mérida to a cenote near Homún, then Izamal and Valladolid

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Valladolid
   Day 4 details

   We check out after breakfast and drive about an hour east to Homún, a village surrounded by cenotes, the water-filled sinkholes that were the only fresh water in a land with almost no rivers. Most are run by local families, and we go to one early, before the tour vans, for a swim in clear, cool water under roots hanging from the rock ceiling. Steps lead down into the water and life jackets are provided. Then about 45 minutes north to Izamal, the yellow town, where almost every building around the main squares is painted the same deep yellow. The Franciscan convent of San Antonio de Padua, founded in 1549, stands on the platform of a Maya pyramid, and a few streets away you can climb the broad steps of Kinich Kakmó, a large Maya pyramid, for a view over the town. Lunch is in Izamal. From there it is about an hour and a half to Valladolid, where we arrive late in the afternoon and your guide walks you down the Calzada de los Frailes to the convent of San Bernardino de Siena.

   Included

   • Cenote swim near Homún, with a life jacket
   • Izamal: the convent of San Antonio de Padua and the Kinich Kakmó pyramid
   • Sit-down lunch in Izamal
   • Evening walk in Valladolid on the Calzada de los Frailes

   Easier option: Watch from the platform at the cenote instead of swimming, and stay at the foot of Kinich Kakmó while others climb.

   More active option: Climb Kinich Kakmó to the top platform for the view over Izamal's yellow rooftops.

   Free time: Evening free in Valladolid

   Activity: Bring a swimsuit and a towel. Sunscreen and insect repellent are not allowed in most cenotes, so put them on after you swim.

   

5. Day 5: Chichen Itza at opening, then to Tulum

   Valladolid to Chichen Itza, then east past Cobá to Tulum

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Tulum
   Day 5 details

   An early start: we leave Valladolid at about 7:15 and are at the gate of Chichen Itza, 40 minutes west, when it opens at 8, well before the coaches from Cancún and the Riviera Maya arrive. With a licensed local guide you have the first hour on the Great Plaza almost to yourselves: El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcán, whose four stairways and top platform add up to 365 steps, one for each day of the year; the Great Ball Court, about 168 m long, with its stone rings set high in the walls; the Temple of the Warriors and the Group of a Thousand Columns; El Caracol, the round observatory; and the old causeway out to the Sacred Cenote. Chichen Itza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By about 11:30, when it is hot and full, we leave for a sit-down lunch nearby, then drive about two and a half hours east on the road past Cobá to Tulum, our base for the last three nights. There is no stop at the Cobá ruins or a cenote today.

   Included

   • Chichen Itza at opening with a licensed local guide, federal and state entry fees included: El Castillo, the Great Ball Court, the Temple of the Warriors, El Caracol and the Sacred Cenote
   • Sit-down lunch near Chichen Itza
   • Drive to Tulum on the road past Cobá

   Easier option: Rest in the shade near the entrance after the Great Plaza while the others walk out to the Sacred Cenote and El Caracol.

   Free time: Evening free in Tulum

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot on flat, unshaded ground; El Castillo cannot be climbed. A hat and water matter more here than anywhere else on the trip. This is the fullest day; the Cobá ruins and a cenote stop are not included.

   

6. Day 6: Tulum's ruins, a cenote and the beach

   Tulum archaeological site, a cenote outside town, then free time

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Tulum
   Day 6 details

   Tulum's ruins open at 8 and are small and very popular, so again we go first thing, a short drive from the hotel. The walled city stands on a limestone cliff above the Caribbean: El Castillo at the cliff edge, the Temple of the Frescoes with traces of its painted interior, and the Temple of the Descending God, where a carved figure dives head first over the doorway. It was one of the last cities the Maya built, a sea port that traded with Cobá inland, and it was still lived in when Spanish ships sailed past in 1518. Below the cliff a small cove gives the view everyone photographs. Late in the morning we swim and snorkel at a cenote just outside town, such as Gran Cenote, where the clear water runs back into caves and small turtles live in the shallows. The afternoon and evening are free: the beach, a bike ride along the beach road, or a long lunch in town.

   Included

   • Tulum archaeological site at opening with a licensed local guide, national park fee included
   • Cenote swim and snorkel near Tulum, with gear

   Optional experiences

   • Bike rental for the beach road
   • Cenote diving with a certified dive centre (certified divers only)

   Easier option: Skip the snorkel and go straight to the beach after the ruins.

   More active option: Rent a bike in the afternoon and ride the beach road south towards the Sian Ka'an gate.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 1.5 hours on foot at the ruins on sandy paths. Snorkel gear and life jackets at the cenote are included.

7. Day 7: Sian Ka'an by boat

   Tulum to Muyil and the lagoons of Sian Ka'an, and back

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Tulum
   Day 7 details

   Twenty-five minutes south of Tulum the road reaches the edge of Sian Ka'an, a biosphere reserve of forest, mangrove, lagoons and reef listed by UNESCO in 1987, whose Maya name is usually translated as where the sky is born. We start at Muyil, a quiet Maya site in the forest with a small, steep temple, its own El Castillo, where you see more birds than people. A boardwalk leads through the trees to the Muyil lagoon, and there we board a small boat run by local community guides. We cross the lagoon to a channel through the mangroves that the Maya are believed to have used for canoe trade, then put on a life jacket worn like a pair of shorts and drift with the current for about half an hour in clear fresh water. We are back in Tulum in the early afternoon for a late lunch together and a free afternoon, and in the evening we meet for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Muyil archaeological site with your guide
   • Boat across the Muyil lagoon with community guides
   • Float down a mangrove canal in Sian Ka'an
   • Late lunch in Tulum
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Stay on the boat during the float and meet the group at the end of the canal.

   Free time: Afternoon free before the farewell dinner

   Activity: The float needs no swimming: the current carries you and the life jacket keeps you up. Bring a swimsuit, a hat and a dry bag for your phone.

8. Day 8: Tulum to Cancún airport

   Tulum to Cancún International Airport on the coast road

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   The last morning is free. Have a swim, walk to the beach, or sit over a long breakfast in the shade; your hotel will keep your bags after checkout. Late in the morning our vehicle takes the group north along Highway 307, the coast road of the Riviera Maya, past Akumal, Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos to Cancún International Airport (CUN), about 130 km and two hours away. Your guide rides with you, sees you into the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 2:30 pm; if yours is earlier, we arrange an earlier transfer timed to it. If you are flying from Tulum's newer international airport (TQO), or want to stay on by the sea for a few more days, tell us when you book and we will arrange the transfer or the extra nights. The trip ends at the airport.

   Included

   • Group transfer to Cancún International Airport (CUN) with your guide

   Free time: Morning free in Tulum

   Activity: Book a flight from Cancún leaving after about 2:30 pm.

Wildlife and weather: December to April is the dry season. December to February has warm days and mild evenings; March and April are hot, often in the mid-30s °C in Mérida, which is why the big sites are visited at opening and the afternoons are free. Sargassum seaweed can reach Tulum's beaches from spring; the cenotes and the Sian Ka'an lagoons are not affected.

• Mérida3 nights
• Valladolid1 night
• Tulum3 nights