DELIGHTFUL & DELICIOUS MEXICO
This is one of the programs which we liked most in Mexcellence Travel to have worked on it and finally to be operated. It was created in the idea of an alternative and affortable route to other more classical ones, always to keep great attractions & typical mexican facettes. The route from Mexico City to Mexico’s Carribean Coast along the Gulf of Mexico includes fertil regions and great culinary aspects. It made us happy finally to see this program functioning, selling well and counting with positive client feed backs.
1.- MEXICO ARRIVAL
Welcome at airport MEX and transfer to centrally located hotel. Check-in for room accommodation and overnight.
Hotel: Mexico City 3 Nights
2.- HISTORICAL CENTER – TEOTIHUACÁN – GUADALUPE SHRINE (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit to the historical center of Mexico City (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage) & Basilica of Guadalupe and Old & New Basilica & image of the Virgin. Lunch in Teotihuacán with local highland specialties, like Nopal cactus salad, on the buffet. Afternoon visit of the arch. site of Teotihuacán(UNESCO World Cultural Heritage). Evening return to hotel and rest of day at leisure.
3.- COYOACAN – FRIDA KAHLO – XOCHIMILCO – ANTHR. MUSEUM (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Morning drive to Coyocan colonial quarter to visit its historical part, as well as the Museum Frida Kahlo, so called “Blue House”. Around noon, arrive in Xochimilco to have a pleasant ride on a typical Trajinera boat through its Floating Gardens. Have lunch before or after boat ride with a nice mexican cooking class at Coyoacán! Afternoon visit of National Museum of Anthropology when back in more central areas of the city. Evening back at hotel and rest of day at leisure.
4.- MEXICO CITY – PUEBLA – CANTONA – XALAPA (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Morning drive out into the wide valley between volcanoes La Malinche and Pico de Orizaba. A wonderful landscape accompanies you during this ride leading to Puebla, to realise a visit to this so called “City of Angels” (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage): Cathedral, Sto-Domingo Church with Rosary Chapel, Market El Parian and arts quarter Los Sapos, among others. Lunch in a local restaurant, also to enjoy a plate with the regional Mole sauce, a wonderful mixture of Black chile, cacao and spices. After noon, drive to the archaeological site of Cantona. In the afternoon, visit here what once was the most urbanized prehispanic city in Mesoamerica. Climb up several levels of constructions, to reach innumerous ball game courts and temples, all nestled in between pines & palms over a fantastic landscape. After this visit, in the later afternoon, drive to Xalapa, the small capital city of Veracruz state. Hotel check-in & relax walk.
Hotel: Xalapa 1 Night
5.- XALAPA – COATEPEC – VERACRUZ – SANTIAGO TUXTLA (B, D)
Breakfast at hotel. Morning drive from Xalapa to the nearby village of Coatepec, the center of Coffee production in state of Veracruz. Visit the small coffee museum, pass by the several coffee roasting manufactures, and see a coffee plantation in the humid semitropical mountains of Veracruz state. In the late morning, drive from Coatepec via Xalapa to Veracruz port city. Here you live a tropical atmosphere with colonial touch, with a nice vivid and colourful main square and a relaxed walk on the famous harbor pier, along cafés and markets, with the possibility to try a tasty “café con leche”, served in the traditional Veracruz’ way. In the afternoon, proceed along the coast, to get into the region of the so called Tuxtlas. Reach the picturesque town of Santiago Tuxtla and your hotel right on the beautiful main square. Check-in and dinner at hotel, among others, with the Garnachas specialty of the region. Evening relax walk over the square, also to see the great colossal stone head of the Olmec Culture, the biggest one ever found in the region of Tres Zapotes, first mission church in the region from 16th century & the romantic river walk.. Dinner at hotel.
Hotel: Santiago Tuxtla 2 Nights
6.- NANCIYAGA – CATEMACO – EYIPANTLA – TOBACCO (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Taste the wonderful Memelas! Morning drive along Catemaco Lake to get to mysterious Nanciyaga, center of shaman culture in southern state of Veracruz. Enjoy an interesting walk in Nanciyaga, which is full of jungle, interesting flora and fauna, as well as with a nice view on the lake. Afterwards, board a boat directly in Nanciyaga, and cross the wonderful and beautiful lake of Catemaco – all with the great mountain panorama of Sierra Santa Marta and volcanoe San Martin in the background. For lunch, reach a restaurant directly on the lake shore for a tasty dish in relaxing atmosphere. In the afternoon, visit the waterfall of Eyipantla, and impressing natural spectacle. En route, make a small visit to tobacco fields, and in the sister town of San Andrés Tuxtla, stop at a Cigar manufacturer to see how here, in Mexico’s center of tobacco production, these are produced. Evening return to Santiago Tuxtla and rest of day at leisure.
7.- SANTIAGO TUXTLA – CACAO & BRICKS – PALENQUE (B, D)
Breakfast at hotel. Early morning departure from Santiago Tuxtla, and way from Veracruz state into Tabasco. Reach the region of Comalcalco, famous for another culinary product of Mexico: cacao. At Hacienda Jesús María, have a beautiful walk through the plantation and production areas, where the cacao beans are processed to result in products very rich in aroma and taste. In the afternoon, still visit the local arch. site of Comalcalco, which is particular, since it was built by burned brick stones, since the region leaks of quarries and the swampy region only gave mud as construction material in prehispanic times. Late afternoon continuing drive to reach your hotel in Palenque in the evening.
Hotel: Palenque 1 Night
8.- PALENQUE – ISLA AGUADA – CAMPECHE (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit of the archaeological site of Palenque (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage). Beautifully located on the foot hills of Chiapas’ mountains, with the tropical forest in the background, you enjoy overwhelming views into the great plains of Tabasco state. See here also the prehispanic architecture with the Temple of the Inscriptions, the Governor’s Palace and Observatory, among others. Drive then from Palenque to get to the Gulf of Mexico, and there to the biggest lagoon in Mexico, Laguna de Términos. Also an important site in Mexico’s history, it is over all a natural fauna treasure site. At small fisher village Isla Aguada, step on boats to make a ride, accompanied by dolphins, to reach mangroves, pelicano populations, see bird islands, and with some luck also a manati, a “sea cow”. Lunch at local restaurant. In the evening reach your hotel in Campeche.
Hotel: Campeche 1 Night
9.- CAMPECHE – BECAL – UXMAL – MERIDA (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit of Campeche with a pleasant walk through the historical center (UNESCO World Cultural heritage). A city defense wall had been built in the 17th century, to defend Campeche against the often pirate attacks, as its port was important for oversea trade to Spain. See also the beauty and colourful houses in the historical streets. Still in the morning, departure from Campeche. On the way to Uxmal, reach the town of Becal, which is famous for the production of straw hats. This sensitive material has to be handled in humid caves, in which the working women smoothen the fiber to form this famous and fresh head cover. After BEcal, drive into the so called Puuc Region, in which the prehispanic architecture is outstanding for the rich decoration on the façades. For lunch, reach a local family restaurant, where you will try the wonderful Cochinita Pibil, an Yucatecan specialty. After lunch, visit Uxmal (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage). one of the most beautiful arch. sites on Yucatan peninsula: the great Pyramid of the Dwarf, the Nun’s Quadrangle with the stunning accustic inside, and also the Governor’s Palace with the wonderful stone masks in stone mosaic relief on the façade. After Uxmal, take the final ride of approx. 1h30min to reach your overnight hotel in Merida, the capital city of Yucatan state. After check-in, enjoy a nice walk from your centrally located hotel through the historical streets. Merida is full of culture, and each evening, live music and presentations can be found on the public squares and streets.
Hotel: Mérida 1 Night
10.- MERIDA – IKKIL – CHICHEN ITZA – MEXICAN CARIBBEAN (B, L)
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit of Mérida, the so called “White City”: see the beautiful main square with Cathedral, Governor’s Pal ace and House of Montejo, the founder of the city in the 16th century. See also the Theatre building of Peon, and the colonial streets and the elegant Montejo Drive, where the wealthy mansion from the former Sisal-Barons can be seen. After this tour, drive out towards Chichen Itza. Reach the tropical garden of Ikkil for lunch. In the garden is located the impressing Cenote, a natural water sinkhole with perpendicular walls over 30 mts. deep into the ground, to meet the surface of crystal clear water, which is another more than 50 meters deep. The ancient Maya considered the cenotes the entrance to the infraworld of their gods. The water is an opportunity for refreshing jump! Have lunch with yucatecan specialties in a buffet, before, in the afternoon, you visit Chichén Itzá (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage), maybe the most emblematic arch. site in Mexico, with its Kukulkan Pyramid, recently named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. See the main pyramid, the great ball game court, the observatory, Temple of the Warriors and the Complex of the 1000 Columns, among others. In the late afternoon, continue another 2 hours to reach Mexico’s Caribbean Coast & hotel.
Hotel: Mexican Caribbean Coast 2 Nights
11.- FREE AT LEISURE (O/R)
Hotel in Mexican Caribbean Coast as per separate and individual choice / please, select as per clients preference from our hotel list / meal plan depending on hotel.
12- AIRPORT CANCÚN – ¡HASTA LA VISTA MÉXICO!!! (O/R)
Morning free at leisure until moment of check-out from beach hotel. Afterwards transfer to airport CUN for assisted check-in to your outgoing flight.
