Days 1 & 2 – Start of your 2-week Yucatan tour
Daily journey: approximately 1-1.5 hours (transfer)
After landing in Cancun, you will be met and driven to your hotel in Playa del Carmen. Your hotel is located in the center, just steps away from the wide beach and the main shopping street, Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue). Enjoy your first day in Mexico and relax in the land of the Mayans!
You can spend the next day as you wish. If you're hungry at lunchtime, you'll find a selection of delicious snacks in the beach bars. There's plenty to do in Playa del Carmen, especially in the evenings: Let yourself drift along Quinta Avenida before starting your 2-week Yucatan tour in Chiapas the next day.
Day 3 –
By rental car to Chichen Itza
Daily journey: approximately 3 hours – approximately 190 km
After breakfast, you'll head to the rental car agency's office in Playa del Carmen. After completing all formalities, your actual Mexico tour through Yucatan and Chiapas begins. You'll head to your first destination: the Mayan site of Chichen Itza (entrance fee approximately €25). Along the way, you'll pass the colonial town of Valladolid, where you'll enjoy a delicious lunch. Continuing your journey, shortly after Valladolid, you'll pass a cenote – a cave with a clear, underground lake where you can also swim.
You'll spend the night in accommodations hidden in a tropical garden, just a few minutes from the entrance to the Mayan site. Enjoy the evening in the tranquil surroundings and the nature surrounding your accommodation!
Day 4 –
Continue to Izamal
Day trip: approximately 1.5 hours – approximately 90 km
This morning, you can visit the impressive complex starting at 8:00 a.m. Explore the temple landscape at your leisure before the first day visitors arrive from Cancun around 10:00 a.m. Admission currently costs approximately USDollar 35.
Tip: Since it can get very hot even in the morning, we recommend wearing light clothing and bringing plenty of water.
The builders of this last great Mayan city were incredibly ahead of their time. You'll need about three to four hours for a thorough exploration. Afterwards, you can freshen up at the hotel before continuing on to Izamal. The city was once an important Mayan settlement before the Spanish destroyed the Mayan temples, whose stones were later used to build the bright yellow Franciscan monastery that still stands here today.
Your hotel for the coming night feels like a small oasis. The bungalows are spread throughout the tropical garden, and there's also a small pool.
In the afternoon, you'll have time to explore another highlight of your two-week Yucatan tour: the "yellow center" of Izamal.
Day 5 –
Continue your journey from the "yellow" town of Izamal
Day trip: approximately 3.5 hours – approximately 250 km
The next leg of your Yucatan tour takes you along the coast. We recommend setting off early so you can spend a few hours relaxing on the pristine beaches along the way. Then, you'll continue inland, repeatedly accompanied by the fertile fruit plantations of the state of Tabasco. You're surely familiar with the hot sauce for which the province is so famous!
Depending on your departure time, you'll reach your accommodation for the next night around mid-afternoon. You'll stay in a city hotel in the center. Afterwards, you'll have time for a stroll through the shopping streets or enjoy a meal at a typical Mexican restaurant.
Day 6 –
Continue to Villahermosa
Daily travel: approximately 7 hours – approximately 390 km
The next leg of your Yucatan tour takes you along the coast. We recommend setting off early so you can spend a few hours relaxing on the pristine beaches along the way. Then, you'll continue inland, repeatedly accompanied by the fertile fruit plantations of the state of Tabasco. You're surely familiar with the hot sauce for which the province is so famous!
Depending on your departure time, you'll arrive at your accommodation for the next night around mid-afternoon. You'll stay in a city hotel in the center. Afterwards, you'll have time for a stroll through the shopping streets or enjoy a meal at a typical Mexican restaurant.
Day 7 –
Continue your journey from Villahermosa
Day trip: approximately 6.5 hours – approximately 300 km
After breakfast, you continue to San Cristóbal, the center of Mexico's indigenous culture. Once you leave the province of Tabasco, your route leads you through the mountains of Chiapas. San Cristóbal lies at an altitude of 2,100 meters and is definitely a highlight of any Yucatan tour.
You will spend the night in a cozy hotel in the colorful old town of San Cristóbal de las Casas. The rooms at your hotel are decorated in typical Mexican style.
Day 8 –
Day Trip to Zinacantan and San Juan Chamula
While you're in San Cristóbal de las Casas, take a trip to the surrounding indigenous villages of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantan. These are home to the Tzotzil Indians, whose ancient traditions were blended with Catholic customs after the arrival of the Spanish.
You'll be back in San Cristóbal around 2:30 p.m., and you'll still have plenty of time to stroll through the local market. In addition to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, you'll also find numerous stalls selling local handicrafts. If you're looking for a beautiful souvenir from your two-week Yucatan tour, we think San Cristóbal is the ideal place. Locals often put hours of labor into their artistic creations, yet the prices are still attractive.
Day 9 –
Continue to tropical Palenque
Day trip: approximately 8 hours – approximately 200 km
Today, you have a long tour ahead of you, taking you from the cool mountains to the deep jungle. Along the way, you'll enjoy numerous stunning views, so several photo stops are recommended.
Palenque is located in the middle of the jungle, and therefore the climate here is hot and humid at 35 degrees Celsius. We will book accommodation for you on the outskirts of town, from where you can reach the ruins of Palenque in 10 minutes. Feel the jungle atmosphere from your room!
Note: Since we currently advise against taking the direct route between San Cristóbal and Palenque, this day's trip is quite long. Alternatively, we can plan a stopover to keep the distance short. Please let us know if you'd like to!
Day 10 –
Visit the ruins of Palenque
On your two-week Yucatan tour, be sure to visit the ruins of Palenque, hidden in the jungle. We recommend visiting the ruins early in the morning when it's not yet too hot and there aren't as many visitors. The best view of the ruins, surrounded by dense jungle, is from the Templo de la Cruz. Admission is currently around $15.
After visiting the temple, it's worth taking a trip to the Roberto Barrios Waterfalls, just an hour away. There you'll find many small waterfalls where you can also swim.
Day 11 –
Continue from Palenque (- Calakmul -) to Chicanna
Day trip: approximately 6.5 hours – approximately 400 km
On the route from Palenque to the Caribbean coast, there are numerous little-explored Mayan ruins. We recommend leaving Palenque early. It will take approximately five hours to reach your next hotel.
On the drive there, you will pass the turnoff to the large Mayan city of Calakmul (entrance fee approximately $7). The city attracts relatively few visitors because it was only discovered in 1931, when other Mayan sites were already known.
In terms of size (25 km²), Calakmul rivals Tikal and Palenque. The tall pyramids with almost vertigo-inducing staircases and the royal tombs with jade masks and strangely shaped vases characterize this place. During the approximately three hours it takes to visit, you will be alone almost the entire time, surrounded only by the sounds of the jungle. This makes this Mayan city incomparable.
From the ruins, it's about an hour and a half drive to your hotel. Here, you'll stay in an eco-cabaña with a tropical garden full of birds.
Day 12 –
Continue from Chicanna to Laguna Bacalar
Daily travel time: approximately 2 hours – approximately 150 km
You'll have some time in the morning before continuing your journey to Laguna Bacalar. If you didn't explore Calakmul the day before, you can visit the Mayan site this morning, as your next leg to Laguna Bacalar is only about two hours away. However, we recommend leaving early so you can explore the ruins (an additional four hours by car). If you've already seen Calakmul, why not visit the smaller Mayan site of Kohunlich, built in the Rio Bec style, or make a short stop at Cenote Azul. After a quick dip in the cenote, which is also great for snorkeling, you can fortify yourself at the restaurant there before reaching Laguna Bacalar just a few kilometers away.
You'll spend the next night in an eco-lodge near the temple ruins of Xpujil (entrance fee approx. 5 euros) and Chicanna. Your accommodation is a small, simply furnished, and cozy bungalow surrounded by greenery. Upon arrival, explore the surrounding area and enjoy the view of the Lagoon of Seven Colors.
Optionally, we would be happy to arrange a nature hike or horseback riding excursion for you. Just let us know if you're interested!
Day 13
–
Laguna Bacalar and a beach visit of your choice
Day trip: depends on your choice of beach stay
This morning, you and your guide will go on a kayak tour through the lagoon. As you slowly glide through the mangroves, your guide will quickly spot some wildlife. Early in the morning, the chances of seeing wildlife are particularly high, and the temperatures are very pleasant. The water is usually very calm, but if you leave the shore, the waves can be a bit higher.
Afterward, you will continue your journey to a beach of your choice. Depending on your choice of beach stay, the trip will take between 2 and 5 hours.
Travel time from Laguna Bacalar to Tulum: approximately 2.5 hours – Travel time from Laguna Bacalar to Playa del Carmen: approximately 3.5 hours – Travel time from Laguna Bacalar to Isla Mujeres: approximately 5 hours
Day 14 & 15 –
Beach Holiday
The choice of beach resorts on the Riviera Maya is extensive, and each has its own unique charm. We'd like to let you choose where to spend the last few days of your two-week Yucatan tour.
Note: You'll find prices and descriptions of the three options at the bottom of the page.
Day 16 & 17 –
Return to the airport and return flight to your home country
Today is the last day of your rental car tour through Yucatan and Chiapas. In about two hours, you'll drive back to Cancun Airport, where you'll return your rental car (if you kept it for your beach holiday) and fly back to Europe.
Alternatively, you can also check out our 10-day rental car tour through Yucatan.
