Imagine Mexico

A hub of cultural excellence, exceptional cuisine and traditional heritage. Discover Mexico on this vibrant trip exploring cultural Mexico City, the colonial city of Merida, the iconic site of Chichen Itza and ending with a well-deserved break on the white sand beaches of Tulum. Perfect for a winter getaway. This itinerary has everything, from ruins to beach to cultural cities, it's the ideal trip for your first time to this magical country.

1. Fly to Mexico City

2. Days 1-4: Mexico City

   Staying at the stunning boutique hotel of Zocalo Central, with broad vistas from its roof top restaurant, a firm favourite of ours in Mexico City you will have three nights to get under the skin of this vibrant city. During your time here, take a guided tour of Puebla, where Mexican cuisine truly comes alive and crowds are fewer. Or why not take a trip to Teotihuacan for a sunrise balloon ride over the ancient ruins?  With plenty of preserved colonial buildings to admire, historical museums to peruse and bustling plazas filled with live music and street stalls to explore, Mexico City provides a cultural city break unlike any other.

   Accommodation: Zocalo Central Hotel (3 nights)

3. Days 4-6: Merida

   The second stop on your trip will be Merida; the Yucatan Peninsula's inland capital, taking an early flight from Mexico City to ensure the most of your stay. You’ll be perfectly located at the Hotel Hacienda Merida to go out to explore Merida whilst staying in exceptional surroundings a little oasis to escape the bustle of the city. Boasting beautiful colonial streets, quaint plazas and traditional hacienda hotels, it offers a perfect insight into the world of cultural Mexico. Other than exploring the city by foot, you may also wish to visit the Celestun Biosphere to spot dancing pink flamingos on an estuary tour, or perhaps you'd prefer some more history at the World Heritage Site of Uxmal.

   Accommodation: Hotel Hacienda Merida (2 nights)

4. Days 6-7: Chichen Itza

   A short drive from Merida brings you to Chichen Itza, some of Mexico's most iconic ruins, the most extensively restored Mayan site in the area. There are a wealth of other activities you can do whilst you are here from bird watching to exploring the amazing cenotes, Mayan spa rituals, cookery classes and visits to a variety of small colonial towns.  We recommend spending a night in the surrounding jungle so you can enter the site before the crowds and then continue your journey to the beach.

   Accommodation: Hacienda Chichen (1 night)

5. Days 7-11: Riviera Maya & Isla Holbox

   It's beach time! You will be picked up from your hotel and continue your drive down to the beautiful town of Tulum, where you will stay at Nomade Tulum, a boho chic oceanfront retreat. Here stands an ancient citadel of iconic ruins perched on a cliff-top overlooking a sugar sand beach and glittering turquoise waters. As you enter the site, you'll wander through meandering paths surrounded by tropical flora and fauna. Season permitting, you may even be able to see turtles on one of the more secluded beaches that hug the cliff-line.

   There will be plenty of time to relax on the beach and soak up the sunshine, but if you are itching to get our and explore, which we expect you may be, nearby Akumal offers picturesque white sand beaches and incredible opportunities for snorkelling with turtles, and if you didn't get the chance to jump head first into a cenote, there are many within easy driving distance.

   Accommodation: Nomade Tulum (4 nights)

6. Flight home from Cancun

Mexico City, Merida, Chichen Itza, Tulum