Highlights of the Yucatan Peninsula tour
Late availability on these dates: 05 Oct, 19 Oct, 02 Nov, 30 Nov, 07 Dec
Description of Highlights of the Yucatan Peninsula tour
The beauty of this Yucatan Peninsula tour is that it doesn’t simply tick off the key experiences, like Chichen Itza, swimming in a cenote, or exploring Merida. Instead, taking your time, you’ll be immersed in life here, sharing traditional homecooked meals with Maya farming families, meeting up with knowledgeable guides such as conservationists and historians, and staying in some charming boutique hotels.
Over the course of a memorable week you’ll travel from the sun-drenched Caribbean coastline of Puerto Morelos to Tulum, in the engaging company of a small group (maximum group size 12) and a dedicated tour leader, who is there to ensure the trip runs smoothly. Along the way, you’ll learn how to make an authentic tortilla, take a dip in a beautiful limestone cenote, uncover the secrets of ancient Maya civilisation at Chichen Itza and Tulum, and spend a few nights in a hotel that was once a 17th century mansion.
Following a guided tour of historic downtown Merida with its plazas, markets, and murals, you’ll head to the Celestun Bird Sanctuary, a biosphere reserve, with a local conservationist as your guide. Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid strike on the Yucatan Peninsula is thought to have wiped out almost all of the dinosaurs on earth, but their winged brethren survived, and evolved into the many species inhabiting these mangroves. Visit between November and March, and you may see crowds of flamingos painting the scenery a vivid shade of pink.
From Merida you continue to Tulum and its vast, oceanside archaeological site – one of the most renowned in all Central America. But not before a day amid the ancient ruins of Muyil, once a Maya trading post. Here you’ll take to a boat for a river tour with members of the local community as your guides, for a relaxed and informative cruise – plus a swim, of course.
Arriving in Tulum you’ll take your leave of the group and your tour leader with a farewell meal – and a chance to take one final leap into Mexican cuisine – the seafood in this part of the country is divine.
Staying in locally owned hotels, eating at local restaurants recommended by your tour leader, and being entertained by a succession of local guides, on this trip you cannot fail to make a positive difference to the places you visit. Wondering if you can find a Mexico cultural trip with a reassuringly responsible flavour? Yes, you Yucatan!
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Reviews
1 Reviews of Highlights of the Yucatan Peninsula tour
Reviewed on 13 Jan 2016 by yves maebe
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
A remarkable trip. everyday new discoveries, awesome sites
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
To read as much as possible beforehand. places to visit and to stay
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
No opinion
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Perfect, except the local guide who was nil.
Responsible Travel
Planet
We believe that wild animals should be viewed – with no contact or interaction – doing what they do best: living in the wild. We only visit wildlife sanctuaries if the rationale for the sanctuary operation is in the best interests of the animals involved (i.e. only visiting animal sanctuaries and/or rescue centres operating with the highest animal welfare and conservation standards possible). We actively discourage the participation of travellers in any activities that exploit wild or domestic/working animals. This Yucatan Peninsula trip includes a visit to the Celestun Biosphere Reserve, accompanied by a local ornithologist guide who has been involved in local conservation efforts and flamingo research for many years. Our guide ensures that travellers are not venturing off paths or entering areas of rehabilitation. Fees from this visit go towards preserving this reserve and its wildlife for future generations.We provide travellers on this trip through Mexico with reusable fabric tote bags. The tote bags are printed and produced by family businesses, providing employment and income to the local community. The bags are made of natural fabrics and are screen printed by hand, ensuring a high-quality product. Several women are employed to sew the bags, enabling them to provide for their families and achieve financial independence. By providing travellers with tote bags we avoid creating more single-use plastic waste and support the local government’s goal to end the use of single-use plastics across the country.
People
Our trips often include the highlights of a country or region, but we understand that over tourism has a great impact on these popular locations and their local communities. To minimise our effect on the world’s most admired sites we design our itineraries to visit at quieter times of the day and ensure part of the entry costs are allocated to conservation and preservation of the site. This Mexican trip includes visits to the archaeological sites of Chichen Itza and Tulum. We visit Chichen Itza as soon as it opens, and Tulum after the site closes. By visiting outside of the busiest times of day, travellers are lowering their impact on these sites by not crowding them and potentially causing damage to them, and by ensuring locals working at the sites are employed for longer sustained periods of time.Our trips maximize the opportunity for travellers to engage meaningfully with local culture and communities. Many experiences on our trips also support traditional cultural practices – whether artisanal, culinary or otherwise. In turn, this helps to sustain and preserve these traditional practices so that future generations may continue to learn, enjoy and benefit from them. After visiting Chichen Itza, travellers on this Mexican trip will enjoy a home-cooked lunch of pibil, a traditional Mayan dish that is cooked underground. Our hosts learnt the recipes and techniques from their parents and grandparents and the whole family are involved in creating the marinade and preparing the barbecue pit.
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