Mexico City to Cancún: 13-Day Tour

Tour Details

Day 1: Arrival in Mexico City

Welcome to Mexico City! When your flight lands, we'll pick you up at Benito Juárez Airport and take you to your hotel in Mexico City, where you'll stay for the first 2 nights. You'll have the rest of the day free to rest after your journey.

Day 2: Mexico City

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll pick you up for a panoramic tour of Mexico City. Along the way, we'll pass by iconic sites such as the National Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Aztec Templo Mayor. We'll also see other iconic landmarks, such as Chapultepec Forest and Paseo de la Reforma. In addition, we'll go to the Basilica of Guadalupe to visit one of the most venerated shrines in Mexico.

At the end of the tour, you'll have about an hour of free time to have lunch on your own. After lunch, we'll meet again in the city centre to go to the Xochimilco neighbourhood. There, we'll explore its famous network of canals on a trajinera, the traditional boat of the area.

After this peaceful journey, we'll go to a restaurant in Plaza Garibaldi, where we'll enjoy dinner with a mariachi show. After the evening, we'll take you back to your hotel.

Day 3: Mexico City - Cholula - Puebla

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll leave the Mexican capital behind and embark on a journey of approximately 1.5 hours towards the state of Puebla. The first stop will be at the Ex Hacienda Chautla, an impressive estate notable for its English-style castle in the middle of an artificial lake surrounded by forests.

Next, in just an hour, we'll arrive at Cholula de Rivadavia. In this city, one of the most important in Puebla, we'll visit the sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, from whose viewpoint you'll enjoy spectacular views. Then, we'll return to the historic centre, where you'll have an hour free for lunch.

Once we have regained our strength, we'll continue our route with a half-hour trip to the Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza. We'll take a panoramic tour of the state capital, where we'll see the Chapel of the Rosary, Puebla Cathedral and the most emblematic streets of the historic centre.

We'll conclude the third day of the tour by staying at a hotel in Puebla, where you can have dinner on your own.

Day 4: Puebla - Oaxaca

After breakfast, we'll pick you up at the hotel and set off on a 4.5-hour journey to Oaxaca de Juárez, the capital of the state of the same name. Don't worry, we'll be making stops along the way.

The first stop will be at Monte Albán, an archaeological site located on the outskirts of the city. At this important site, which houses remains of the Olmec, Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, we'll see the Great Plaza, the Observatory, Tomb Number 7 and the Dancing Stelae.

At the end of the guided tour of the Monte Albán site, we'll go to the hotel in Oaxaca where you'll stay on the fourth night. From then on, you can take advantage of the free time to eat and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Day 5: Oaxaca - Tuxtla Gutiérrez

After starting the day with a hearty breakfast at the hotel in Oaxaca, we'll travel to the state of Chiapas. 

First, we'll make an hour-long journey to San Pablo Villa de Mitla. In this Pueblo Mágico, still located within the state of Oaxaca, we'll take a stroll through its charming old town, where the 16th-century Church of San Pablo stands out.

After visiting this municipality, we'll continue touring the mountains of the area. For about 5 hours, we'll cross the mountains of the state of Oaxaca until we reach the vicinity of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. There, we'll stop at a restaurant where you'll have a traditional lunch included.

Then, we'll make another 5-hour trip to the hotel in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, where you can have dinner and rest until the next day.

Day 6: Tuxtla Gutiérrez - San Cristóbal de las Casas

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll pick you up to embark on a tour of the state of Chiapas. First, we'll leave the state capital behind and in just 30 minutes, we'll arrive at the Sumidero Canyon, a spectacular gorge almost 1 km (0.6 mi) deep and 14 km (8.6 mi) long, where we'll take a boat trip.

After this trip, we'll drive for about 40 minutes to Chiapa de Corzo, where we'll discover the customs of its indigenous communities. Next, we'll drive for approximately 1.5 hours to visit the towns of Zinacantán and Chamula. In Chamula, you'll have about 1 hour of free time for lunch.

Once we have regained our strength, we'll conclude our tour of Chiapas with a half-hour trip to the hotel in San Cristóbal de las Casas, where you'll have the rest of the day free.

Day 7: San Cristóbal de las Casas - Palenque

We'll dedicate this seventh day to a new tour of Chiapas. First, after breakfast at the hotel in San Cristóbal, we'll embark on a 2.5-hour journey to Ocosingo, where we'll learn about its ancestral traditions.

Next, we'll continue our journey for 1.5 hours towards one of the main natural areas of Chiapas. Welcome to Agua Azul National Park! Here, we'll stop so that you can take a refreshing dip in one of its more than 50 waterfalls. Afterwards, lunch at a local restaurant will be included.

After lunch, we'll travel for an hour to Misol-Ha to see its spectacular 40 m (131.2 ft) waterfall. From there, it's only 40 minutes to the hotel in Palenque, where we'll enjoy a delicious dinner and rest until the next day.

Day 8: Palenque - Campeche

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll pick you up and drive for about 30 minutes to the outskirts of the city, where the archaeological site of Palenque is located. In this ancient Mayan city, we'll see the remains of its temples, pyramids, and ball courts where the ball game was played.

At the end of the guided tour, we'll embark on a 5-hour journey to San Francisco de Campeche. However, we'll make a stop halfway along the route in the state of Tabasco, where you'll have an hour free for lunch.

We'll conclude this eighth day at the hotel in San Francisco de Campeche, where we'll be staying, where you can have dinner at your leisure.

Day 9: Campeche - Mérida

On day 9 of the tour, we'll start the day with breakfast at the hotel in Campeche. From there, we'll travel for 2 hours to Mérida. In this city, the capital of the state of Yucatán, we'll take a walking tour to see outstanding gems such as the Cathedral of San Ildefonso, the Church of the Third Order, and the Casa de Montejo, built in the 16th century in the Plateresque style.

At the end of the guided tour of Mérida, you'll have time to have lunch on your own in the city centre. In the afternoon, we'll pick you up at the hotel and head back to the cathedral to see the Piedras Sagradas (Sacred Stones) light and sound show, a video mapping experience projected onto the façade of the temple.

At the end of the show, we'll take you back to your hotel in Mérida, where you can have a drink before resting until the next day.

Day 10: Mérida - Río Lagartos

Are you ready to explore northern Yucatán? After breakfast at the hotel in Mérida, we'll take a short trip to the Pueblo Mágico of Izamal, where we'll soak up its charm.

Next, we'll embark on a new 1-hour journey to the famous archaeological site of Chichén Itzá. In this ancient Mayan city, declared a World Heritage Site, we'll see the famous Temple of Kukulcan and the Temple of the Warriors. After the guided tour of this enclave, we'll enjoy a Mayan meal at a local restaurant.

Afterwards, we'll head north and, after a journey of approximately 2 hours, we'll arrive at the hotel in Río Lagartos. In this coastal destination in Yucatán, you'll have the afternoon free to stroll around and enjoy the local cuisine at your leisure.

Day 11: Río Lagartos - Cancun

After breakfast at the hotel, we'll take a boat trip through the Río Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, where we'll see native species such as crocodiles, pelicans and pink flamingos among the mangroves. You can also enjoy an exfoliating mud bath.

After this relaxing moment, we'll travel for an hour and a half to Valladolid. In this city, we'll see its main monuments, among which the church of San Servacio stands out. You'll have about an hour free to have lunch in the town and, once you have eaten, we'll set off on an hour-long journey to the Choj Ha cenote, one of the most spectacular in the Yucatan.

From there, we'll head east and in about 2 hours, we'll arrive at the hotel in Cancun, where you'll have the rest of the afternoon free.

Day 12: Cancun

After breakfast in the hotel, you'll have the day to yourself in Cancun, one of the main destinations in the Mexican Caribbean. There are numerous activities in Cancun that you can do on your own, such as snorkelling, horse riding, or kayaking tours.

Day 13: Cancun

After breakfast at the hotel, you'll have the day free until we pick you up from your hotel in good time to take you to Cancun International Airport. Have a safe flight home!

Accommodation Info

This circuit includes 12 nights of accommodation with breakfast at the following 3 or 4-star hotels:

• Mexico City (2 nights): Casa Blanca (4-star) or similar
• Puebla (1 night): Four Points by Sheraton Puebla (4-star) or similar
• Oaxaca (1 night): Oaxaca Real Hotel (4-star) or similar
• Tuxtla Gutiérrez (1 night): Holiday Inn Express Tuxtla (3-star) or similar
• San Cristóbal de las Casas (1 night): Diego de Mazariegos San Cristóbal Hotel (4-star) or similar
• Palenque (1 night): Plaza Palenque Hotel (4-star) or similar
• San Francisco de Campeche (1 night): City Express by Marriott Campeche (3-star) or similar
• Mérida (1 night): Hilton Garden Inn Mérida (3-star) or similar
• Río Lagartos (1 night): Río Lagartos Hotel (3-star) or similar
• Cancun (2 nights): Krystal Urban Hotel (4-star) or similar

Note About Prices

The prices shown are per person in a single, double or triple room. Please note that a maximum of 3 people per room (including minors) is accepted, as well as one minor per adult.

Itinerary Adjustments

Please note that road closures sometimes occur in the Ocosingo region. If this happens on the 7th day, which is when we'll be visiting the area, an alternative route will be taken. In this case, the stops in Ocosingo, Agua Azul and Misol-Ha will be cancelled, and instead we'll visit the city of Villahermosa and the Yumka ecological reserve.