Maya Train to Izamal

Day Trip Details

At the indicated time, we'll pick you up from your hotel in Mérida and head to Teya Train Station, where we'll board the Maya Train. From our seats, we'll admire the green plains of the southeast, passing through the typical Mesoamerican villages and milpas. After a journey of about 40 minutes, we'll arrive in Izamal. Ready for a tour of the so-called "City of Hills"?

Upon arrival, we'll board a vehicle that will take us to the heart of the city. We'll ascend the cobblestone driveway to the Ex-Convent of San Antonio de Padua and walk under its seemingly endless arches. From the atrium, we'll admire the colonial cobblestones of Izamal while we tell you all about its pre-Hispanic past.

Later, we'll visit the Museum of Yucatecan Handicrafts, where we'll see a festival of colours among delicate embroideries and vessels that narrate the genealogies of ancient Maya gods. We'll continue our trip to the workshop of one of the most skilled artisans of cocoyol jewellery. Have you ever wondered how the Yucatec Maya have preserved their seed polishing techniques? We'll tell you all about it as we learn the step-by-step process of making beautiful bracelets that evoke the wildlife in the jungle.

A few steps away, a papier-mâché studio awaits us. There, we'll meet other artisans from Izamal who will teach us how to model figures that combine tradition, fantasy and deep meaning in each fold. Afterwards, we'll visit a herbalist shop, where we'll smell the fragrance of ancient medicinal herbs and discover the ancestral importance of plants.

Hungry yet? We'll head to an authentic Yucatecan restaurant where you can get yourself a typical Yucatecan lunch. To round off the day, we'll travel to Kimbilá, one of the places where the popular guayaberas are made and worn. We'll learn about the tradition of this shirt stitch by stitch and discover why the Kimbilá guayabera is a global export.

Finally, we'll return to the train station in Izamal, where we'll hop back on the Maya Train and return to Mérida. We'll say our goodbyes back at your hotel after 9 hours in total.