Itinerary · 10 days · 41 places
10 Days in Yucatán
Ten days by hire car from Cancún via Tulum, Cobá and Valladolid to Chichén Itzá and Mérida — almost every day a Maya site in the morning and a cenote to cool off in the afternoon.
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Photo: Vintage Lenses · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arriving in Cancún
Arrival in Cancún
Hotel check-in
Base yourself in Cancún's Centro around Avenida Tulum, where the city is made up of market stalls and taquerías rather than hotel blocks.
Malecón Tajamar
A wooden boardwalk on the lagoon shore where, in the evening, you can see herons and crocodiles in the shallow water of Laguna Nichupté.
Day 2Caribbean and Maya remains in Cancún
Museo Maya de Cancún
Three halls of finds from all over Quintana Roo, including the 10,000-year-old Mujer de las Palmas; the ruined city of San Miguelito lies in the garden section.
Zona Arqueológica El Rey
A small field of ruins with 47 structures between the lagoon and the Hotel Zone, where dozens of iguanas bask on the warm stones.
Playa Delfines
One of the few beaches in the Hotel Zone with no hotels behind it, viewed from a dune over the striped turquoise of the reef water.
Mercado 28
A covered market in the Centro with hammocks, guayabera shirts and stalls selling vanilla and achiote paste.
Evening: Avenida Yaxchilán
The Centro's bar street, with cantinas, mariachis outside the doors and ceviche bars open until late.
Day 3Tulum: ruins above the sea
Onward to Tulum
Hotel check-in
Zona Arqueológica de Tulum
The only Maya city right on a clifftop: El Castillo, the Temple of the Descending God and the city wall above the turquoise water.
Playa Paraíso
A broad sandy beach just south of the ruins, from where you see the cliff with the Castillo behind you.
Cenote Calavera
A round sinkhole with three openings like the eyes and mouth of a skull, which you enter by a wooden ladder or with a jump.
Evening: Calle Centauro Sur
The cross street in the pueblo where taco stands, small mezcalerías and street music sit side by side in the evening.
Day 4Cobá and the jungle cenotes
Zona Arqueológica de Cobá
A sprawling forest city between two lagoons, with the 42-metre Nohoch Mul, sacbé causeways and stelae; the paths are best covered by hire bike.
Laguna Cobá
The shoreline path along the village lake, where crocodiles regularly doze and herons stand among the water lilies.
Cenote Choo-Ha
A cave cenote near Cobá reached by a spiral staircase; the shallow water lies among hundreds of stalactites.
Cenote Tamcach-Ha
A deep domed cave a few minutes further on, with two diving platforms five and ten metres above the water.
Evening: Avenida Tulum
The pueblo's main street, lit up in the evening, with ice-cream shops, crafts and the bustle around the Parque Municipal.
Day 5Valladolid: colonial town and city cenote
Onward to Valladolid
Hotel check-in
Cenote Zací
A semi-open cenote right in the middle of town, with lianas hanging down into its dark green water from the overhanging rock edge.
Casa de los Venados
A private house with over 3,000 pieces of Mexican folk art, shown only on guided tours.
Convento de San Bernardino de Siena
A fortified Franciscan monastery from 1560 with a cloister, a waterwheel and a cenote beneath the church.
Calzada de los Frailes
The cobbled lane between the monastery and the centre, lined with pastel houses, craft shops and old doorways.
Evening: Parque Francisco Cantón Rosado
The main square in front of the cathedral, with confidente benches, marquesita stalls and families out late into the night.
Day 6Ek Balam and the northern cenotes
Zona Arqueológica de Ek Balam
A ruined city with a climbable acropolis, whose El Trono stucco frieze shows winged figures and a jaguar's maw as the entrance to the underworld.
Cenote X'Canché
An open round cenote two kilometres beyond the ruins, reached on foot or by bicycle taxi, with a zip line over the water.
Cenote Hubiku
A large stalactite cave near Temozón with a shaft of light in the ceiling; there's a small agave museum on the grounds.
Temozón
A small country town known for its smoked meat (carne ahumada), sold at the stalls along the through road.
Evening: Iglesia de San Servacio
The floodlit town church from 1705 on the south side of the main square, with music and market stalls in front of it in the evening.
Day 7Chichén Itzá
Onward to Chichén Itzá
Hotel check-in
Zona Arqueológica de Chichén Itzá
The Pyramid of Kukulcán, the largest ball court in Mesoamerica, the Temple of the Warriors and the Sacred Cenote, spread across a vast site.
Cenote Ik Kil
A round shaft cenote with 26-metre walls from which curtains of roots hang down to the water's surface.
Cenote Yokdzonot
An open cenote run by a village cooperative, with a waterfall rope and a jetty, much quieter than the cenotes along the road to the ruins.
Evening: Noches de Kukulkán
The light-and-sound projection onto the façades of the ruined city, painting the history of Chichén Itzá onto its buildings.
Day 8Mérida: the White City
Onward to Mérida
Hotel check-in
Plaza Grande
The main square, shaded by laurel trees, with white confidente benches and the cathedral, town hall and Governor's Palace around it.
Catedral de San Ildefonso
The oldest cathedral on the American mainland, built from the stones of the Maya city of T'hó, with the huge Cristo de la Unidad in the choir.
Casa de Montejo
A Renaissance façade from 1549 showing conquistadors standing on Maya heads; behind it you can visit 19th-century living quarters.
Paseo de Montejo
The broad grand boulevard of the sisal barons with their mansions, including the Casas Gemelas and the Palacio Cantón.
Evening: Parque de Santa Lucía
A square with white benches where the serenata is played on Thursdays and terraces all around stay open until late.
Day 9Dzibilchaltún and Mérida's museums
Zona Arqueológica de Dzibilchaltún
A ruined city just outside Mérida with the Templo de las Siete Muñecas, through whose doors the sun shines at the equinox.
Cenote Xlacah
An open cenote in the middle of the ruins, from which divers recovered thousands of offerings and where you're allowed to swim.
Gran Museo del Mundo Maya
A modern museum shaped like a ceiba tree, with stelae, grave goods and a section on the Chicxulub meteorite beneath the peninsula.
Mercado Lucas de Gálvez
The big city market with mountains of habaneros, recado pastes, hammocks and the cochinita stalls on the upper floor.
Evening: Calle 60
The nightlife street running north from the main square, where bars, trova music and the forecourt of the Teatro Peón Contreras come together in the evening.
Day 10Last morning and departure
Monumento a la Patria
A circular monument carved from limestone on Paseo de Montejo, whose relief tells the history of Mexico from the Maya to the 20th century.
Museo Fernando García Ponce-MACAY
Yucatán's museum of contemporary art in the former bishop's palace next to the cathedral, with changing exhibitions around two courtyards.
Departure from Mérida
Make it your trip
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