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12-Day Mexico & Guatemala Discovery

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Overview

On this Mexico and Guatemala itinerary, you are encouraged to explore southern Mexico in depth by exploring its wildness and local inhabitants. This circle through Guatemala, Chiapas, and the Yucatan Peninsula will provide you with a comprehensive glimpse of Mayan's rich history.

You'll explore internationally recognized monuments like Tikal, Chichen Itza and Uxmal, which are must-sees Mayan ruins.

Explore Guatemala's magnificent scenery, tiny, colourful villages, and meet the native craftspeople that live there. The lush forest on the Guatemalan border provides thrilling encounters with howler monkeys, toucans, and, if you're lucky, jaguars!

A trip to remember for a long time!
Sightseeing
Culture & Arts
Outdoors & Nature

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive in Mexico City

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Arrive in Mexico City

On arrival, you will meet with our guide at the airport and get a transfer to the hotel. You can spend the rest of the day exploring Mexico City.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Hotel Zocalo Central3 star

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Free Time in Mexico City

  • transportations icon
    Transportations

    Private Driver from Mexico City International Airport to Zócalo Central Hotel

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Mexico City

Day 2

Explore Aztec Culture and Mexico City

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Explore Aztec Culture and Mexico City

You will depart for the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, 50 kilometres northeast of Mexico City. Teotihuacan is one of the most fascinating and important pre-Columbian cities from the Aztec culture. After lunch in a restaurant, you will return to Mexico City and you will visit the National Museum of Anthropology which encompasses the pre-Columbian heritage not only of Mexico.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Hotel Zocalo Central3 star

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Teotihuacan

    The National Museum of Anthropology

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Mexico City

    San Juan Teotihuacán

Day 3

Full-Day Excursion to Chiapas

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Full-Day Excursion to Chiapas

At the scheduled time, you will get a transfer to the airport and fly to Tuxtla Gutièrrez, the capital of the state of Chiapas, where you will discover the magnificent Sumidero Canyon, where monkeys, crocodiles and many other typical animals of the area can be observed. You will have lunch in a restaurant and continue to San Cristobal de Las Casas. Upon your arrival, you will visit the town, of Cristobal, on foot. You will also visit the Chiapas mountains where the indigenous Tzotziles of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantan live. Upon return, you will have the rest of the afternoon free.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Hotel Casavieja4 star

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    Activities

    Sumidero Canyon

    San Cristobal de las Casas Historic Centre

  • transportations icon
    Transportations

    Plane from Mexico City to Tuxtla Gutiérrez

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Mexico City

    Chiapas

    San Cristobal de las Casas

Day 4

Travel to Lake Atitlan

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Travel to Lake Atitlan

You will be picked up at the La Mesilla border and will get a transfer to Lake Atitlan to your accommodation in hotel.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Porta Hotel del Lago4 star

  • transportations icon
    Transportations

    Private Driver from HOTEL CASAVIEJA to Porta Hotel del Lago

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    San Cristobal de las Casas

    Panajachel

Day 5

Explore Traditional Villages of Lake Atitlan

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Explore Traditional Villages of Lake Atitlan

You will departure by boat to the village of Santiago Atitlán to admire the three volcanoes that surround one of the 10 most beautiful lakes in the world. In Santiago, you will visit the place of veneration of Santo Maximón. You will visit the villages of Santa Catarina Palopò, a very enchanting place, where you will see the local market and its church, where you can admire the daily life of women who proudly wear colorful traditional clothes. Then, you will continue to San Antonio Palopò, the nearby village, where many of the local families devote themselves to the development of ceramics.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Porta Hotel del Lago4 star

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Santiago Atitlán

    Santa Catarina Palopó

    San Antonio Palopo

  • transportations icon
    Transportations

    Boat from Panajachel to Santiago Atitlán

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Panajachel

    Santiago Atitlán

    Santa Catarina Palopó

    San Antonio Palopó

Day 6

Shopping in Chichicastenango

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Shopping in Chichicastenango

You will depart for the village of Chichicastenango, where every Thursday and Sunday the inhabitants of the region gather to buy and sell fruit, vegetables, flowers, seeds, fabrics and handicrafts, making it the most colorful and picturesque market in Guatemala. You will also visit the local church of Santo Tomás, a place where the Mayan-Quiché indigenous people celebrate their traditional rites. After lunch, you will continue to Antigua.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Camino Real Antigua Guatemala

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Chichicastenango

  • transportations icon
    Transportations

    Private Driver from Panajachel to Chichicastenango

    Private Driver from Chichicastenango to Antigua Guatemala

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Panajachel

    Chichicastenango

    Sacatepéquez Department

Day 7

Explore Antigua

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Explore Antigua

After breakfast, you will leave to visit the wonderful city of Antigua. Walking in Antigua is like going back in time - stone streets, the bougainvillaea falling from ruined walls, and the three volcanoes: Water, Fire and Acatenango. These are some of the reasons that make Antigua one of the most beautiful colonial towns in the Americas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will start the tour with a visit to the village of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. Then you will visit the Cultural Center "La Azotea" where there is a Finca of coffee, after trying one of the best Guatemalan coffees, you will walk through the historic centre of Antigua, visiting the main monuments.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Camino Real Antigua Guatemala

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Antigua Guatemala

    San Antonio Aguas Calientes

    Centro Cultural La Azotea

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Sacatepéquez Department

    Antigua Guatemala

    Jocotenango

Day 8

Explore Tikal

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Explore Tikal

In the early morning, you'll get a transfer to Guatemala City airport to take the connecting flight to Flores. Upon arrival, you will get a transfer to the Tikal National Park, declared a UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site. The majestic Mayan city is considered one of the largest and most monumental of all the sites discovered in the Mayan world. You will join a guided tour of the most important squares, monuments and temples, also admiring the tropical forest, habitat of hundreds of exotic birds and a wide variety of wild animals.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Hotel Villa Maya4 star

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Tikal

  • transportations icon
    Transportations

    Private Driver from Antigua Guatemala to Guatemala

    Plane from Guatemala to Flores

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Sacatepéquez Department

    Tikal

    Flores

Day 9

Explore Mexican Jungle

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Explore Mexican Jungle

At dawn, you will get a transfer to the Bethel border where after the migration procedures you will continue towards Corozal where your Mexican guide will wait for you, you will cross the Usumacinta river, bordered by the Petén jungle and the Lacandona jungle. During the journey, you can admire spider monkeys, tropical birds and crocodiles until you reach the archaeological site of Yaxchilán, an imposing Mayan city immersed in the thick vegetation of Chiapas. The site can only be reached by boat and has therefore been kept in excellent condition. Temple 33 stands out on all structures. After the visit and lunch included, you will depart for Palenque.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Hotel Chan-Kah Centro

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Archaeological Site of Yaxchilán

  • transportations icon
    Transportations

    Private Driver from Tikal to Corozal

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Flores

    Palenque

    Chiapas

Day 10

Explore Palenque

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Explore Palenque

In the morning, you will visit the archaeological site of Palenque. The site, of great importance for the Maya between 600 and 800 AD, is composed of more than 500 buildings in 15 square kilometres of which only a few have been brought to light. The whole thing is even more fascinating with the toucans and howler monkeys living in the jungle. After lunch, you will continue to the city of Campeche where we will make a short visit to the historic centre. You will visit the walls to defend it from pirate attacks during the seventeenth century; some of the ramparts are today very interesting museums.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Hotel Plaza Colonial4 star

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Palenque Archaeological Site

    Campeche

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Palenque

    Chiapas

    Campeche

Day 11

Explore Uxmal

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Explore Uxmal

You will depart from Campeche to the archaeological area of ​​Uxmal, a UNESCO cultural heritage. The characteristic of the "Puuc" architectural style is that of having low and rectangular buildings with gardens in the centre surrounded by columns with inscriptions dedicated mostly to Chaac, the god of rain. After lunch, you will continue to Merida, the "white city" and capital of Yucatan, where we will take a short panoramic tour to admire the Paseo de Montejo, the Monumento alla Patria, the main square with the Cathedral and the government buildings.

  • accommodation icon
    Accommodation

    Hotel Palacio Maya

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Uxmal

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Campeche

    Uxmal

    Mérida

Day 12

Explore Chichen-Itza

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Explore Chichen-Itza

You will depart from Merida to reach Chichen-Itza, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Chichen-Itza is one of the best-preserved archaeological areas in the Mayan world. We will discover the Pyramid of Kukulkan, a symbol of the city, the largest field of the "pelota" game in all of Mesoamerica, the sacred "Cenote" where the bodies of the sacrificed to the gods were thrown. In the early afternoon, after lunch in a restaurant, continuation to Cancun or the Riviera Maya.

  • activities icon
    Activities

    Chichen Itza

  • meals icon
    Meals

    Breakfast and lunch

  • destination icon
    Destinations

    Mérida

    Yucatan

Included in Price

  • 11 nights accommodation
  • 14 activities
  • 11 breakfasts and 10 lunches
  • Airport transfer
  • Domestic flights
  • Entrance fees
  • Ground transportation
  • Licensed English speaking guides

Not Included in Price

  • Alcohol beverages
  • Entry visas / airport departure tax
  • Gratuities
  • International flights
  • Laundry
  • Personal expenses
  • Travel insurance
  • Trekking permits
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