Yucatan Explorer

Arrival in Cancun. Reception at the Airport. Transfer to your Hotel. Rest of the day at leisure.

Warm white powdery sand beaches and turquoise crystal clear waters together with the famous Mexican hospitality make this a place like no other. Enjoy a full day at leisure.

After breakfast transfer to the Hotel Chichen Itza, located in the very heart of the archaeological park with its own entrance to the temples.

• Begin your day with breakfast at your hotel. Then, a private guided tour of the site begins at the Great Plaza, the heart of Chichen Itza. Visiting the Ball Game Court, the Temple of the Jaguars, the famous Temple (pyramid) of God KuKulkan, the Tzompantli Platform, the Temple of the Warriors or Temple of The One Thousand Columns. Then you will visit the Sacred Cenote, the Mayan Observatory and the set of buildings constructed during the Classic Maya Period, The Nunnery, La Iglesia and Akab Dzib.
• Lunch will be served at Mayaland Hotel. Enjoy the afternoon relaxing by the pool or taking an additional horseback riding tour. You can also stroll through our beautiful gardens and watch the birds. The Yucatan boasts more species than the United States and Canada combined. If you are staying at the Hotel in Chichen Itza you will be driven back to your hotel. In the evening we will attend the light and sound show staged nightly at the archaeological park. A play of light on the ancient buildings and tales of warlike rulers, priests and Mayan Gods weave their spell. You will leave Chichen Itza enchanted. Dinner will be served at the Mayaland Hotel El Mural dining room and terrace.

• After breakfast, we will depart to the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula via the magnificent site of Ek Balam to Rio Lagartos on the Mexican Gulf coast. Ek Balam is one of the most mysterious cities ever discovered. Its main temple features a Jaw of jaguar with delicate stucco relieve and feathered sculptures. At arriving to Rio Lagartos, we will take a wonderful boat ride through the mangroves to visit the feeding ground of the beautiful pink flamingoes. A box lunch will be provided.
• Return to the hotel for a late afternoon at leisure.
• Overnight at the Hotel.

• After breakfast, we will depart to Merida calling at the colonial city of Izamal on the way, where we will visit the Convent of San Francisco de Padua, the central park, the regional market and the pyramid of Kinich Kakmo located downtown.
• Upon arrival in Merida, we will take a walking tour of the city center visiting the Zocalo or Main Square, site of the stately Cathedral; the Casa de Montejo, a 16th century home of Don Francisco de Montejo, the founder of the city; the City Hall and palace of the State Government. We will take a walking tour of the city market for authentic arts and crafts.
• Lunch is served at a typical Mexican restaurant where you will taste a sample of authentic local cuisine and listen to the serenades of strolling trovadores. We continue our walking tour to the church of Tercera Orden, a beautiful 17th century monastery; the Peon Contreras Theater and the University of Yucatan. We will then board a traditional horse-drawn carriage or Calesa for a ride to Paseo de Montejo and a visit to the Regional Museum of Anthropology and History.
• At the end of this visit, a deluxe vehicle tour around the Monument to the Nation and past the 19th century mansions on Paseo de Montejo and Avenida Colon concludes our city tour. We continue to Uxmal.
• Dinner at the Hacienda Uxmal Hotel or The Lodge at Uxmal.
• Overnight at the hotel.

• Breakfast at The Lodge at Uxmal or Hacienda Uxmal Hotel. We will walk to the temples at Uxmal for a guided tour that includes the oval-shaped Magician’s Pyramid; the Nun’s Quadrangle with its magnificent friezes depicting the Mayan Rain God; the magnificent Palace of the Governor and the impressive Great Pyramid.
• Free afternoon for relaxing at the hotel where you can swim in our beautiful sparkling swimming pools or enjoy our spa.
• In the evening you are invited to attend the Uxmal light and sound show, staged nightly in the Nun’s Quadrangle, Uxmal’s central plaza. The music, dialogue and illumination take place in a magnificent setting and the event is an unforgettable introduction to the history and legends of the ancient city and the magnificent Puuc Mayan culture. When inaugurated in 1975, this sound and light spectacle was acclaimed to be the finest in the world.
• Dinner and overnight at The Lodge at Uxmal or Hacienda Uxmal Hotel.

• Breakfast will be served at the hotel. We will take you to the village of Becal, famous for the Panama hats made by artisans who work in caves to preserve the quality of the palm fronds. Afterwards we shall proceed to the city of Campeche once a fortified Pirate haven. Here one of the United Nations World Heritage Sites, as are Chichen Itza and Uxmal.
• Enjoy a delicious seafood lunch at a local restaurant. We will do a walking city tour and visit a number of small museums and places of interest in this,
• Dinner and overnight at Hacienda Uxmal Hotel or The Lodge at Uxmal.

• Depart from Uxmal after breakfast. First stop is Kabah where you will see the Codz Pop, a palace famous for its facade of 250 Chaac masks and statues of ancient rulers of the site; the Palace and the Arch of Kabah which
• marks the entrance to the Sacbe or linking path between Kabah and Uxmal.
• We will then visit Sayil, a very unique site in the land of the Maya for its gracious three-tiered palace: a labyrinth of 70 rooms adorned with columns and beautifully Chaac masks carved in stone.
• Labna is a lovely classical Puuc Maya village that among its temples of note we find The Palace and The Mirador.
• Minutes away are the town of Ticul, where the living Maya will show us the makings of their pottery and reproductions of ancient Mayan figurines.
• A box lunch will be provided along the way to the caves of Loltun, natural masterpieces with pre-Maya engravings dating back over four thousand years as well as interesting geological formations and markings of The Yucatan Peninsula’s resurgence from the sea in the Quaternary Era.
• Next to Loltun is the city of Tekax. We will visit a 17th century convent and fortress like chapel that is a silent
• testimony to Yucatan’s turbulent past: Maya revolts against Spanish rule that resulted in the war of castes.
• Dinner and overnight at the Hacienda Uxmal or The Lodge at Uxmal.

After breakfast we will depart to the archaeological site of Tulum located in the Caribbean Coast. After a brief visit, your deluxe van will take you to the hotel of your choice in Cancun or to the airport.