Day 1: Playa del Carmen/Riviera Maya
Cancun
Arrival at Cancun airport and private transfer to hotel or similar. Free time depending on the flight arrival time and overnight stay.
Day 2: Valladolid
Cancun - Comunity Maya - Punta Laguna - Cenote - Valladolid
Breakfast at the hotel and meeting with our guide. Today we will learn more about the Mayan culture and traditions of the present day Yucatan. The Maya are people who continue to be very attached to their ancient traditions and beliefs and who continue to live strongly connected with nature. On this day of “Mayan immersion”, Enrique and his family will welcome us to their home in the community of Nuevo Durango to share with us some of the gastronomic tradition of Yucatan. We will visit their organic garden, collect together everything needed for the preparation of a traditional Mayan meal and cook some typical Yucatecas dishes, all together at Enrique's house.During the morning we will know the project of another family in the community with their meliponas bees. Meliponas bees, endemic bees of the Yucatan, are famous for not having sting and for being considered since ancient times as the "sacred Mayan bees" for the healing properties of their sweet honey. We will then return to Enrique's house to have lunch and taste the typical Mayan dishes prepared together during the morning, exclusively with local ingredients.
In the afternoon we will say goodbye to the community of Nuevo Durango and we will make a stop in Punta Laguna to take a walk in the “Santuario de los monos” where we could admire numerous monkeys in their natural habitat. During this day we will stop for a refreshing bath in a cenote. The cenotes are pools of fresh and clear water that exist only in the Yucatan peninsula and that can be open-air in the middle of the jungle or underground similar to caves. Arrival in Valladolid in the afternoon and overnight stay.
Day 3: Valladolid
Valladolid - Rio Lagartos - Las Coloradas - Valladolid
Breakfast and city tour of Valladolid with its local market, the city hall and the cathedral. At the end continuation to Rio Lagartos, a nature reserve where we will take an excursion in a private little boat. Here we could admire numerous birds including pelicans and pink flamingos and with some luck a few crocodiles among the mangroves that line the entire lagoon. During the boat ride we will have the opportunity to put on our skin the natural muds, rich in clay, present in Rio Lagartos and we will finish with a refreshing bath in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We will continue towards the pink salt pans of Las Coloradas, famous for their tubs that vary from a light pink to a very deep pink. In the afternoon, return to Valladolid and overnight at the hotel.
Day 4: Merida
Valladolid - Chichen Itza - Cenote - Izamal - Merida
Breakfast and departure to Chichen Itza, a Mayan archaeological site declared a UNESCO heritage site and one of the seven wonders of the modern world. We will visit the site with its famous pyramid of Kukulkan, the god of the feathered serpent, the temple of a thousand columns, the astronomical observatory, the sagrado cenote and the huge pelota field. At the end of the visit, we will continue for a refreshing bath in a cenote.
In the afternoon we will leave for Mérida, the capital of the Yucatan, stopping in Izamal, a picturesque colonial town all painted in yellow where we could admire the convent of San Antonio de Padua. Overnight at the hotel in Merida.
Day 5: Campeche
Merida - Uxmal - Campeche
Breakfast at hotel. Today we will dedicate the morning to visit one of the most beautiful and interesting archaeological sites in the whole Yucatan: Uxmal. We will visit the remains of Uxmal, one of the most important Mayan cities of the "ruta puuc", with its Pyramid of the Soothsayer and the governor's palace. At the end of the visit we will leave for Campeche, a town that retains a strong colonial flavor, still enclosed and fortified with towers and walls. Visit of the center of Campeche and accommodation at the hotel.
Day 6: Bacalar
Campeche - Calakmul - Bacalar
Today we will leave very early in the morning (about 6.00 am) with a box lunch to discover one of the least visited and authentic areas of the entire Yucatan peninsula: the Calakmul biosphere. The biosphere, in addition to hosting numerous species of different flora and fauna, is famous for its wonderful archaeological site. In fact, Calakmul, together with Tikal in Guatemala and Palenque, represents one of the most important cities of the classical Mayan era. The archaeological area, with its two large pyramidal structures, is still totally surrounded by the forest. Climbing to the top of its pyramids and seeing the sea of forest that surrounds you is certainly an emotion that will remain in your heart!
At the end of the visit we will leave towards Bacalar, arriving in the afternoon in this splendid lagoon where we can relax and take a refreshing bath. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 7:
Bacalar - Riviera Maya
Breakfast at the hotel and day dedicated to relaxation and discovery of the lagoon. Bacalar is also known as the lagoon of seven colors due to the alternation of shades ranging from a very light blue to an intense blue due to the presence of cenotes that alternate with the clear bottom of the lagoon. Possibility of adding extra excursions by boat or catamaran, kayaking or simply relaxing in a hammock on one of the lagoon-facing piers. In the afternoon departure towards Riviera Maya / Cancun where the tour will end.
