Value Mexico: Highlights of Mexico City and the Yucatán

Day 1

Arrive in Mexico City. Transfer to hotel in the historic centre.

Transfer to your hotel in the historic centre of the city. Mexico City was built on the site of Tenochtotlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, and it lies at 2,250m above sea level. Vast, chaotic and vibrant, this sprawling megapolis of more than 20 million people has a multitude of attractions.

Stay at - Hampton Inn

Day 2

Full day guided city tour and visit Teotihuacán pyramids.

Begin with a guided tour of Mexico City in the morning, when the historical centre is at its least frenetic.  Your visit includes the area around the main square (Zócalo) surrounded by prestigious buildings such as the National Palace (with murals by Diego Rivera) and the sixteenth century cathedral. Continue to the archaeological site of Teotihuacán, 50km away. This huge, impressive pre-Columbian city was built on a drained lake floor. Teotihuacán was once one of the largest cities in the world.

It is hugely influential in the historic narrative of modern Mexico and, although it had already been abandoned by the time of the Aztecs, even this great empire held it in awe. Soak up the history as you stroll along the imposing Avenue of the Dead, leading to the vast Pyramid of the Sun, and take the opportunity to climb its vertiginous, ancient steps for a panorama of the ruins and the surrounding countryside.

Stay at - Hampton Inn

Day 3

Day at leisure in Mexico City

Explore the parks, plazas, markets and museums of Mexico City under your own steam. We can offer a range of optional excursions. Possibilities include the magnificent Museum of Anthropology (closed on Mondays). In our view this is one of the continent’s best museums, with presentations representing different regions, each featuring exhibits manifesting society in pre-Hispanic history and the colonial period as well as showing how life is lived in contemporary Mexico.

A visit to the ‘floating gardens’ of Xochimilco, a network of canals lined by fruit and flower gardens and markets, can be great fun – especially at weekends when residents of Mexico City flock to be transported in one of the colourful gondolas where they are serenaded by a mariachi band. You too will have the opportunity to glide through the canals at a lazy pace on one of these ‘trajineras’. Xochimilco was once connected to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) and was where they grew much of their food. Combined with a visit to Coyoacan and the Frida Kahlo Museum this is a great day out.

Stay at - Hampton Inn

Day 4

Fly to Mérida, transfer to hotel in the city centre.

Fly to Mérida, capital of the Yucatán Peninsula. The city was founded by the Mayan Indians and named Tiho. In 1542 it was conquered by the Spanish conquistadores who dismantled the Mayan pyramids and used the stones as foundations for the cathedral. Mérida then became an immensely wealthy city, described as ‘the Paris of the New World’. Its money came mainly from the production of sisal, cactus fibres that are used to make rope, and it was culturally and geographically isolated from the rest of the country until transport infrastructure reached it in the 1950s.

Today, Mérida retains a lovely colonial centre, with a mix of opulent and crumbly buildings but it is a modern, bustling, thriving city, with lots of local character, some excellent places to eat and good shops and markets. The inhabitants, descendants of the Mayans and the colonists, love a good fiesta, and you may well find one going on, with live music and market stalls, while you are there.

Stay at - Casa Lucia

Day 5

Full day excursion to Mayan ruins of Uxmal and Kabah.

Guided excursion to the Mayan temple complex at Uxmal, 80km from Mérida. The site is dominated by the majestic Pyramid of the Magician, alongside which is an elegant nunnery quadrangle with Puuc-style complex stonework pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. Strolling through the ruins, cradled in dense vegetation shading the visitor from the scorching sun is an almost mystical experience. Continue to Kabah, with its incredible Palace of Masks, with intricate mosaics representing the face of Chac the rain god 260 times.

Stay at - Casa Lucia

Day 6

At leisure to explore Mérida

At leisure in Mérida.

Stay at - Casa Lucia

Day 7

Visit Chichén Itzá, continue to the Riviera Maya

From Mérida drive to Chichén Itzá (3 hrs), the grandest of all the Mayan sites, dominated by the huge, symmetrical, stepped El Castillo pyramid. The origins of the site are mysterious, and appear to have Toltec as well as Mayan influences. It has the largest and best-preserved ball court in the Americas; the venue for an ancient ritual game that was played throughout the continent, but which is still not fully understood.

Archaeologists have not been able to determine whether the losers or winners were decapitated, but judging from the gory carvings along the base of the court’s walls, someone certainly came to an unpleasant end. There is also a huge sacred cenote (sinkhole) where explorations have revealed human remains, artifacts and valuables leading archaeologists to believe it was used for offerings.

After a guided tour of the citadel, continue by road for 2-3 hours to Mexico’s Caribbean coast, known as the Riviera Maya. A backwater until the 1980s, Playa del Carmen is nowadays a fully-fledged  international resort with a lively pedestrianised centre overflowing with restaurants and bars.

Stay at - Petit Lafitte

Days 8-10

At leisure at Playa del Carmen on the Mayan Riviera.

Relax at Playa del Carmen. The beaches are gorgeous here and there are loads of activities and excursions, from visits to Mayan ruins to scuba diving. These are easy to book locally. You might even hire a car for a day or two to have more flexibility to explore.

Stay at - Petit Lafitte

Day 11

Transfer to Cancún airport for international flight home.