Experience the Best of Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula on a Private Tour with Us
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CHICHEN ITZA
Visit one of the seven Modern Wonders of the World, one of the largest and best-preserved archaeological sites in the world. It was the capital of the Mayan world in both the pure Mayan ‘Classic era’ and Maya-Toltec mix 'Post-Classic Era'
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Tulum
The third-most visited Mayan archaeological site sits atop clifftops above white sand beaches and the turquoise mediterranean, one of very few walled cities. The highlight is the Castillo, a Mayan lighthouse guiding ships through the nearby reef.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Ek Balam
Just north of Valladolid, and easily combined with a visit to Chichen Itza, Ek Balam offers something very different. You can climb its main pyramid, enter some Mayan rooms, admire a totally different form of historic artwork and see a couple of unexcavated buildings to understand better archaeological efforts.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Coba
Boasting the second highest Mayan pyramid, Coba is well worth a visit. The height of its importance was earlier than Chichen Itza, with trading relationships with older sites such as Calakmul and Tikal. Notably it had more female than male leaders and many of its most important were women.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Museo Maya
A vanguardist design of a museum showcasing many of the artefacts found throughout Mayan sites in the state of Quintana Roo. Learn about the evolution of the Mayan civilisations and its notable achievements while admiring the architecture of the museum itself.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
El Meco
A site on the fringes of Cancun city itself, El Meco has recently re-opened after a renovation of its facilities. The highlights are the views over the Caribbean and a 14 metre (46 foot) pyramid, the largest locally.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
San Miguelito
Once a fishing village and then a coconut plantation among the Mayan ruins, San Miguelito is now visited together with the Museo Maya. It has four residential complexes and a temple, and some explanation of how the site was preserved (or wasn’t!) when the Hotel Zone began construction.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
El Rey
These Mayan ruins in Cancun’s hotel zone are among the last constructed before the Spanish Conquest. This was a fishing village and trading post where the vestiges of 47 buildings have bene unearthed.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Uxmal
A Mayan site that rivalled Chichen Itza for importance, but now with fewer visitors, Uxmal is preferred by many. Impressive and well-preserved & restored buildings dominate a large area and showcase a different style of a more artistic ‘Puuc’ architecture.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Dzibilchaltun
A recently redeveloped and reopened site, Dzibilchaltun is a large site with impressive buildings and a lengthy avenue leading to the Temple of the Dolls, whose iconic contents can still be found in the Mayan Museum in nearby Merida.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Kabah
One of my favourite sites for understanding sociologically what happened to cause the Mayan abandonment of all of its cities at the end of the 9th Century. Marvel at scale of the edifices built to honour and plead for rain from Chaac, the rain god.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Labna
A small site with a couple of hugely impressive buildings, including the most attractive and complete arch in the Mayan world. With few visitors, it’s also an excellent spot to see wildlife.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Sayil
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site along the Puuc route, Sayil is often visited together with Uxmal, Labna, Kabah and Xcalak. Sayil’s highlight is its impressive Grand Palace behind which is a vast rain collection area offering insight to the importance of rain in the 9th Century.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Muyil
A Mayan site which spanned millennia, Muyil had relations with Belize, later Chichen Itza and finally Mayan, but its buildings in the southern Peten style, different from those at Chichen Itza or in the West of Yucatan.
