North America · Mexico
Twelve days with flights from Italy and private Italian-speaking guides, from Mexico City to Chiapas, Palenque, Mérida and Chichén Itzá, ending on the Riviera Maya.
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€3,899
per person
This itinerary is a starting point: we'll adapt it with you in your tailor-made proposal.
Request informationA trip that combines the capital with the great Maya sites of Chiapas and the Yucatán. Three nights in Mexico City, built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan: the Zócalo, the Templo Mayor, Diego Rivera's murals and the National Museum of Anthropology.
A flight takes you to Chiapas, to San Cristóbal de las Casas, a colonial town among the mountains and indigenous villages. Then three nights in Palenque, in the jungle, to visit the site at an easy pace and travel on to Yaxchilán, on the Usumacinta River, and the frescoes of Bonampak.
You head north to the Yucatán via Campeche to Mérida, then Chichén Itzá and the Riviera Maya.
A private trip with driver and Italian-speaking local guides, international flights included.
12 days in the programme
International flight from Italy to Mexico City. On arrival, private transfer with driver to the hotel. The capital lies at about 2,240 metres, on a large high plateau ringed by mountains and volcanoes: in the first days the thinner air makes itself felt, so it is best to walk slowly and drink plenty of water. Mexico City is seven hours behind Italy, eight when Italy is on summer time. A light dinner and a good night's rest prepare you for the next day's visits.
A visit to the historic centre with an Italian-speaking guide and entry fees included. It starts at the Zócalo, one of the largest squares in the world, overlooked by the Metropolitan Cathedral, among the largest in the Americas, and the National Palace, home to Diego Rivera's murals on the history of Mexico: access to the interior is limited today and not always possible. Next to it are the excavations of the Templo Mayor, the main temple of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital on which the Spanish built the city.
A visit to the National Museum of Anthropology, in Chapultepec Park, with an Italian-speaking guide. It is the country's most important museum of the pre-Columbian civilisations: the Aztec Sun Stone, the colossal Olmec heads, the replica of King Pakal's tomb and the halls devoted to the Maya. On request, an optional trip to the pyramids of Teotihuacan, about 50 kilometres from the city, with the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Avenue of the Dead. The rest of the time is free.
Transfer to the airport and domestic flight to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of Chiapas. From there the road climbs for about an hour to San Cristóbal de las Casas, at about 2,200 metres. Founded by the Spanish in 1528, the town is named after Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas, a defender of the indigenous peoples. Check-in at the hotel and a first walk through the pedestrian streets of the centre, the low, brightly coloured houses and the yellow cathedral on the Zócalo. Evenings are cool: bring a jacket.
A day in San Cristóbal. Every morning Tzotzil and Tzeltal families from the nearby villages come to the municipal market with fruit, flowers and vegetables. Close by, the church of Santo Domingo, with its carved baroque façade, is surrounded by stalls of embroidery and handwoven textiles. About ten kilometres away are the villages of San Juan Chamula, whose church floor is covered with pine needles, and Zinacantán: an optional visit, booked separately. Taking photos inside the Chamula church is forbidden.
A long day on the road, about five hours plus stops, from the highlands to the jungle. The road winds down through the mountains, from pine woods and maize fields to tropical vegetation. On request you can stop at the Agua Azul waterfalls, a series of cascades and pools with turquoise water in the dry season, and at the Misol-Ha waterfall, a drop of about 35 metres in the forest, some twenty kilometres from Palenque. Arrival in Palenque and check-in at the hotel for three nights.
A visit to the archaeological site of Palenque with an Italian-speaking guide and entry included. The Maya city had its golden age in the 7th century, under King Pakal, then was abandoned and swallowed by the forest. You see the Palace, with its four-storey tower possibly used to watch the sky, the Temple of the Inscriptions, where Pakal's tomb was discovered in 1952, and the temples of the Cross Group. Howler monkeys can often be heard in the trees. Palenque has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
A long day, with an early start and an Italian-speaking guide. About three hours by road south-east, along the border with Guatemala, to the Usumacinta River. From here you continue by boat to Yaxchilán, a Maya city hidden in the forest on the riverbank, known for the carved lintels of its temples. On the way back you visit Bonampak, where a small building holds frescoes painted towards the end of the 8th century, with scenes of court life, battles and ceremonies. Back in Palenque in the evening.
A long leg north, more than seven hours' driving in all, to the Yucatán peninsula. On the way, a stop in Campeche, on the Gulf of Mexico: the colonial city is ringed by walls and bastions built against pirates between the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and its centre of pastel houses is a UNESCO site. Arrival in Mérida, the White City, founded in 1542 on the ruins of the Maya city of T'hó. In the evening, if there is time, a walk in the Plaza Grande.
Departure east to Chichén Itzá, about two hours from Mérida, with an Italian-speaking guide and entry included. At the centre of the site rises the pyramid of Kukulcán, El Castillo: at the equinoxes, the shadow of its terraces draws a serpent sliding down the staircase. Around it are the great ball court, the Temple of the Warriors and the Sacred Cenote, a natural well where offerings were thrown. You continue to the Riviera Maya, on the Caribbean, about three hours further east.
Free time on the Caribbean beach, depending on the flight time. Then private transfer to Cancún airport and flight back to Italy. Night on board.
Arrival in Italy and end of the trip.
