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Yucatan Explorer - rental car tour
Itinerary
Day 1: Cancún
Individual arrival in Cancún. Transfer to hotel. Accommodation in hotel Radisson Hacienda Cancún.
Day 2: Cancún – Tulúm –
Bacalar – Chetumal (daily route: 395 km/5 h)
You pick up your rental car. A drive to Chetumal. On the way there we visit the Maya site Tulúm that stands high on the cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. A stop in Bacalar on the lagoon of seven colors, where the museum of Spanish fort is worth visiting. The modern Maya museum right across the street from the hotel is a very impressive site in Chetumal.
Accommodation in hotel Holiday Inn Chetumal.
Day 3: Chetumal – Kohunlich – Becan –
Chicanna (daily route: 135 km/2.5 h)
A drive to the so-called Rio Bec region, visiting a fascinating Maya site
Kohunlich with its famous big God masks.
The ancient Maya sites Becan und Chicanná are the silent witnesses of the past advanced civilization.
Accommodation in Chicanná ecovillage.
Day 4: Chicanná – Calakmul – Palenque (daily route:
425 km/6 h)
Early in the morning we are headed to the Maya site Calakmul, hidden deep in the jungle, which once was the great power similar to Tikal. We ascend the monumental main pyramid; the efforts will pay off once you get an amazing view of a truly endless virgin forest. The exotic flora and fauna will inspire you. We continue our journey to Palenque.
Accommodation in hotel La Aldea.
Day 5: Palenque
A visit to the mystic Maya site of Pakal that was hidden in the jungle for centuries.
The unique sites include the great tomb of the Pakal ruler, the temple of inscriptions with a several ton heavy sarcophagus. Further archeological jewels are such buildings as the palace with the observatory as well as the cross temple. Further sites worth visiting include a jungle walk to the regional museum along other buildings and waterfalls.
Accommodation
hotel La Aldea.
Day 6: Palenque – Misol Ha – Agua Azul
– Tonina – San Cristobal (daily route: 220 km/5 h)
Today we are driving along the serpentine road in the mountains of Chiapas. The waterfalls of Misol Ha as well as Agua Azul are also worth seeing. In Ocosingo
a side-trip to an impressive Maya site of Tonina with well-preserved frescoes and inscriptions is also advisable. Further drive to the colonial town of San Cristobal de las
Casas, that lies at a 2200m level.
Accommodation
Casa Mexicana.
Day 7: Tzotzil Döfer San Juan Chamula & Zinacantan (daily route: 30 km/1 h)
In the morning it is worth taking a short drive to the Tzotzil-villages
San Juah Chamula and Zinacantan. The church of San Juan Chamula, where the mystical Maya rituals still take place, is definitely worth seeing. In the small museum of Zinacantan
you can try the local schnapps called „Posch“! In the afternoon, the historical center of
San Cristobal lures you to take a quiet walk to see its baroque churches, shadowy plazas and Indian markets.
Accommodation in
Casa Mexicana.
Day 8: San Cristobal – Chiapa de Corzo –
Villahermosa (daily route: 350 km/6 h)
A drive to the hot lowlands of Chiapa de Corzo, a small town with an important past. Here a riverboat will take you to the enormous canyon of Sumidero
with its up to 1000 m high steep walls.
With a little patience one can also watch the crocodiles lying in the sun on the seashore. We continue our journey along the serpentine road through the picturesque mountain world of Chiapas down to the capital of the federal state of Tabasco, Villahermosa.
Accommodation in hotel Cencali.
Day 9: Villahermosa – La Venta – Sabancuy
– Campeche (daily route: 380 km/5 h)
A visit to La Venta open-air museum, exhibiting the colossal stone monuments of the Olmecs. A local zoo, where you can watch a Maya symbolic animal jaguar, is also part of the park. A drive to the Gulf of Mexico via
Sabancuy, where you can visit the idyllic fishers' villages, like Champoton, along the coastline. In the late afternoon, it is worth taking a nice walk through the recently renovated colonial downtown of Campeche with its typical bastions (Baluartes).
Accommodation in hotel Francis Drake Campeche.
Day 10: Campeche – Labna – Loltun –
Ticul – Uxmal – Merida (daily route: 300 km/4.5 h)
A drive to the so-called Ruta Puc, with a visit to a small but beautiful Maya site of Lobna with its unique archway. Afterwards a descend to the underground of Maya and inspection of the cave system of Loltun. Via typical Yucateka-small town of Ticul, you reach Uxmal one of the most exciting Maya sites of the classical period. We continue our journey in Mérida.
Accommodation in boutique-hotel Casa Lucia Mérida.
Day 11: Mérida – Izamal – Chichén
Itzá (daily route:
140 km/2.5 h)
In the morning a city tour of Mérida,
where the major sights, such as the oldest cathedral of Yucatan, the governor's palace and the Montejo palace, are grouped around the main square. In the same area you will find a colorful and vivid marketplace. On the way to the Monumento de la
Patria you will drive past the splendid
Paseo Montejo and the elegant villas. In the afternoon a drive to Izamal, the town of three cultures, where Diego de Landa erected a monumental convent on one of the Maya pyramids. It is worth ascending the firebird pyramid that allows a beautiful view of the yellow town. A drive to Chichén
Itzá. At night: sound - and light show in Chichen.
Accommodation in the authentic Hacienda Chichen Resort.
Day 12: Chichen Itza – Cenote Dzitnup –
Cancún/ Riviera Maya (daily route: 210 km/2.5 h)
A visit to the largest and most visited Maya site of Chichen Itza with its well-known Kukulkan-pyramid. An admission inside the pyramid is allowed after 11 a.m. Further amazing buildings include the warrior's temple, the ball court and the observatory. A drive to Valladolid, where a side-trip to the limestone caves of Dzitnup is strongly advisable. Afterwards a drive to Cancún or Riviera Maya. Return of a rental car.
Day 13: Cancún
Today you can relax before either taking a transfer to the airport or continuing your journey in Cancún.
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