Yucatan One Week Tour 2011

Arrive early and you can spend the day exploring this beautiful city. You can fly into Cancun or Merida and then take the very comfortable 1st class bus to Valladolid - it's about a 2.5 hour trip. Valladolid is one of the Yucatan's largest and most pleasing colonial cities. The spectacular cenote Zací is a great place to take a dip and cool off. Valladolid's churches, parks, markets and the beautiful zocalo are all worth a visit.

Today we are truly on the backroads. After getting away from Valladolid, we get on some very narrow, quiet and well shaded rolling backroads. We'll cycle through some little Mayan towns and get onto a freshly paved road taking us into the state of Quintana Roo which is where we will find the little town and huge archeaological site of Cobá.

From one set of ruins to another. We ride to the impressive Mayan ruins of Ek' Balam with its unique winged sculptures. We will stay near the ruins at a beautiful eco-hotel in the forest and rest up to enjoy the ruins in the morning.

We'll pass through many small Mayan towns and visit as many cenotes on the way as you want! There are literally hundreds of them along this route, including Mumondzonot, one of the most spectacular cenotes in the Yucatan, and one that very few people know about. At the end of the day we find ourselves in the splendid colonial yellow town of Izamal.

Known as the Yellow Town because of the colour of the colonial buildings that line the zocalo, Izamal is famous for having the largest church plaza in Mexico. It includes an enormous Franciscan convent (built with Mayan stones) and the remnants of the most voluminous Mayan pyramids in the Yucatan. You can also visit the colourful market, or just stroll around the beautiful zocalo observing the daily routines of the local inhabitants.

We'll pass through many small Mayan towns and visit as many cenotes on the way as you want! There are literally hundreds of them along this route. In Pisté we can see the light and sound show of Chichén-Itzá, and explore the ruins early tomorrow morning.

In the early morning we will visit the important Mayan-Toltec ruins of Chichén-Itzá, avoiding all the crowds. After that we have a pleasant ride on quiet backroads to Valladolid which is another splendid colonial gem.

You can get on a bus back to Merida or to Cancun to catch your flight back home, or else stay a little longer and enjoy the colonial gem that is Valladolid. Visit its churches, parks, markets and beautiful zocalo, cool off in the cenotes and sample the Yucatan's delicious cuisine at one of Valladolid's many restaurants.