Full peninsula route · 3–7 days
The whole peninsula. In the right order. Without a tour bus.
Most people who come to the Yucatán Peninsula do one day trip from Cancún and leave. This is the trip for the ones who want to actually understand where they are — from the cenote system to the Gulf coast, from colonial cities to pre-Columbian ruins.
Sample itinerary · 3 days
The essentials
Three days covers the core of what makes the Yucatán Peninsula extraordinary: the cenote system, the Maya ruins, and the colonial interior. This is a full itinerary — early starts, no wasted hours, nothing from the tourist bus circuit.
Cancún → Cenote circuit → Valladolid
- Pickup at CUN airport at 6:30am
- Cenote Suytun near Valladolid — arrive before 9am, empty, perfect light
- Cenote Samula — cave cenote with the ancient ceiba root curtain
- Lunch in Valladolid centro historico — cochinita pibil, sopa de lima
- Cenote Zaci in the heart of the city, in a cave beneath the streets
- Late afternoon walk through colonial Valladolid
- Stay in Valladolid overnight (I recommend 2–3 specific hotels)
Valladolid → Chichén Itzá → Izamal → Mérida
- Chichén Itzá at 8am — the site opens at 8, buses arrive at 10
- 2-hour guided walk: El Castillo pyramid, the ball court, the Observatory, the Sacred Cenote
- Drive west to Izamal — the ochre-yellow city with a pyramid inside the convent
- Lunch in Izamal at the local market
- Arrive Mérida mid-afternoon — Paseo de Montejo walk, centro historico
- Dinner in Mérida: the real Yucatecan version of poc chuc
- Stay in Mérida (I know the right neighborhoods for hotels)
Mérida → Uxmal → Cancún
- Mérida market breakfast at 8am — Mercado Lucas de Gálvez
- Drive south to Uxmal — the Pyramid of the Magician at 10am
- 90-minute guided visit: the Nunnery Quadrangle, the Governor's Palace, the Dovecote
- Lunch near Uxmal at a hacienda restaurant (the food here is legitimately exceptional)
- Return drive to Cancún via the cuota — arrive by 7pm
- Drop-off at CUN airport or hotel
Sample itinerary · 5 days
Add the coast
Two extra days adds the Gulf coast, the flamingo estuary, and more time in Mérida. This is the itinerary that covers every major thing the peninsula has.
Same as 3-day itinerary above
- Cenote circuit, Valladolid, Chichén Itzá, Izamal, Mérida, Uxmal
Mérida → Celestún → Sisal
- Drive west from Mérida toward the Gulf coast
- Celestún biosphere reserve — flamingo lagoon by small boat at 7am
- Continue along the coast to Sisal fishing village
- Lunch at the local comedor — grilled octopus, ceviche, whatever came in
- Optional: snorkel or free-dive the 19th-century wreck (conditions permitting)
- Fort San Felipe and the old customs house walk
- Stay in or near Sisal overnight
Sisal → Bacalar → Cancún (or Tulum cenotes)
- Morning: second dive at the Sisal wreck or reef — best visibility of the trip
- Option A: long drive south to Bacalar Lagoon — the lake of 7 colors
- Option B: return via Tulum for Dos Ojos cave cenote (the longest mapped system)
- Option C: slow return to Cancún via the coast road with lunch in Progreso
- Arrival back at Cancún by evening
Sample itinerary · 7 days
Full immersion
Seven days is enough to understand the Yucatán Peninsula — not just visit it. The structure below is a framework; every 7-day itinerary I build is different depending on who's coming and what they're after.
Arrival day — Cancún and Caribbean coast
- Airport pickup, settle in to home base (Cancún or Playa del Carmen)
- Afternoon: easy cenote introduction — Gran Cenote near Tulum, low effort, high impact
- Dinner on the Caribbean coast
Cenote deep dive — Dos Ojos and the cave system
- Dos Ojos cenote system — free-diving the cave entrance
- Second cenote: Cenote Cristalino or Jardín del Edén
- Tulum ruins at 4pm when the worst of the day-trip crowd has left
Valladolid and the cenotes of the interior
- Cenote Suytun at 8am — the beam of light before anyone else arrives
- Cenote Samula and Dzitnup — cave system
- Colonial Valladolid — market, church, lunch
- Overnight in Valladolid
Chichén Itzá and Izamal
- Chichén Itzá at 8am with full historical guide
- Izamal yellow city — the convent on the pyramid, market lunch
- Drive to Mérida, arrive mid-afternoon
- Paseo de Montejo walk, marquesitas at sunset
Mérida — full city day
- Gran Museo del Mundo Maya — 2 hours
- Mercado Lucas de Gálvez for lunch
- Barrio de Santiago afternoon walk
- Dinner at a Yucatecan restaurant with a real wine list
Uxmal and Gulf coast
- Uxmal ruins at 9am — the Pyramid of the Magician, the Nunnery Quadrangle
- Drive northwest to Sisal via the coastal road
- Afternoon in Sisal — snorkel or free-dive the wreck
- Sunset at the dock
- Overnight in Sisal or drive back to Mérida
Return to Cancún — via Bacalar or direct
- Option A: long route south through the jungle to Bacalar Lagoon
- Option B: direct return via cuota highway — arrive Cancún by 3pm
- Drop-off at CUN airport
What's included
The full picture
Included
- All driving for the entire route
- Kev as private guide throughout
- Pickup and drop-off at CUN airport
- Full historical and cultural guide at every site
- Photography every day
- Route customization based on your interests
- Local lunch recommendations and reservations
- Timing strategy for every site to avoid peak crowds
- Flexibility — if you want to stay somewhere longer, we stay
Not included
- Hotels (I recommend specific places, you book them)
- Meals — you pay directly, I find the right places
- Entry fees to ruins and cenotes (~$200–800 MXN/day depending on route)
- Activities outside the itinerary
- Travel insurance
On hotels: I have specific recommendations at every stop — places I've stayed or visited that I'd send my own family to. Hacienda conversions, colonial townhouses, small family posadas. Nothing from the algorithm. I'll send you the exact list with your itinerary.
Pricing
Custom quote — based on days and group size
The full peninsula route is priced per day at $5,000 MXN — same as the private day tour rate. A 3-day route is $15,000 MXN total, split across your group. Message me with your dates, group size, and which itinerary interests you. I'll send a full proposal.
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