Mexico City to Antigua (Mexico City to Antigua):

Tour Duration: 22 days
Prices From: $2200 AUD
Local Payment: USD 0.00
Tour Code: YMA
Tour Style: Adventure Tours
Route: Mexico City to Antigua
Countries Visited: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala

Introduction:
This three week tour across Central America offers plenty of opportunities to experience the exciting and diverse cultures of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Chat with local people as you travel with them on public transport, trade banter with shopkeepers in colourful local markets and visit friendly villages inhabited by those descended from the ancient Maya people. Trace the history of your hosts through the great temple sites and explore the beaches, rainforests, islands and volcanic landscapes that local people call home.

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1 to 1: Arrive Mexico City

Day 1 is simply an arrival day with no pre-arranged activities, so you will have free time to relax and see some of the sights. Mexico City is the world's most populated city with over 20 million people. Founded by Spanish conquerors in 1521, Mexico's capital sits at 2,309 metres above sea level and was built on the site of the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The extensive metro system and trolley buses make getting around easy and there is certainly plenty to see and do here. A good starting point is the main plaza, the enormous Zócalo, where you will find the impressive Catedral Y Sagrario Metropolitano, the main cathedral of Mexico City, with a magnificent Latin-Baroque style façade. Remember to look through the glass flooring outside of the church to see the ancient Aztec city beneath. Just behind the cathedral are the Aztec ruins of the ancient Teocali, which were only discovered in 1978. You can also visit the world famous Anthropology Museum and the National Palace where you can see murals depicting the history of Mexico by one of the country's most famous artists Diego Riviera. A museum dedicated to his equally famous wife, Frieda Kahlo, is located in her childhood home in Coyoacan. In the evening you can enjoy a spicy Mexican dinner and a few tequilas in the Zona Rosa while enjoying music performed by a mariachi band.

Day 2 to 4 :Teotihuacan - Puebla - Oaxaca - Monte Alban

On the way to Puebla we have a guided tour at the ancient site of Teotihuacan, an amazing abandoned city built around 300 BC by a civilisation now lost in the mists of time. The historic complex is a fascinating combination of ceremonial pyramids, such as the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, the Ciudadela, which are connected by the Street of the Dead, palaces, old temples and the Plaza of the Sun. The buildings are decorated with friezes and other ornate artworks. We continue to one of Mexico's oldest towns, Puebla, which means "City of the Angels". Set in a valley with a dramatic backdrop of volcanoes and snow-topped peaks, Puebla is a fascinating old colonial town founded in 1531. The historic city centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site partly due to its impressively preserved Spanish colonial architecture. Puebla is the best place to try mole poblano, a rich, spicy sauce containing chocolate, cinnamon and nuts, as well as different types of hot peppers, often served over chicken. Next on our list is Oaxaca (pronounced wa-ha-ka), a beautiful city bordered by mountains and thick forests, with a very pleasant Plaza de la Constitución where you can eat, drink and watch the world go by. On our free day in Oaxaca we include a guided excursion of Monte Albán, the holy city of the ancient Zapotecs located 400 m (1,325 ft) above the Oaxaca Valley. There are many structures to explore around the Grand Plaza including numerous tombs, ceremonial altars, tunnels, pyramids and palaces, many decorated by glyphs, paintings and intricate carvings.  On the evening of day 4 we take a night bus bound for San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

Day 5 to 9: San Cristobal de Las Casas -Palenque

San Cristóbal probably offers the best chance to experience Mexico's rich indigenous culture. Red tiled low-rise houses dominate this very pretty town and lend it a delightful provincial charm. There are numerous interesting museums to see. Apart from the city itself, there are Indian villages   nearby that you can visit, buy beautifully made local handicrafts and get a true feel for how modern descendents of the ancient Maya people live today. You may enjoy a visit to the Maya Medicine Museum, where you can learn about the folk medicine which has its roots in the shamanistic practices of the ancient Maya people and is still popular among the locals today. There is also an option to visit the stunning Sumidero Canyon on a guided speedboat trip through the ravine for the opportunity to photograph local wildlife such as birds, crocodiles and iguanas. The cliffs towering over the river reach 100m at highest point, which will provide a dramatic backdrop to your pictures. We continue to Palenque, a half day drive down through the highlands to the Yucatan limestone karst platform and visit our first Mayan ruins at Palenque. This archaeological site houses more than 200 structures including a series of hilltop temples, towers, tombs and pyramids surrounded by steamy jungle. The most important constructions, which date back to the Classical period (400-700 AD) are the Temple of the Inscriptions, the Crypt, the Palace complex, the Temple of the Cross, the Temple of the Foliated Cross, and the Temple of the Sun. Decorated with elaborate friezes, sculptures and inscriptions, Palenque is unquestionably one of the most important Mayan archaeological sites. Paths cutting through the jungle lead to various temples and the gorgeous waterfalls, where over time, strange figures have taken shape in the rock formations. A local guide may offer you the extra option of going on a forest walk where you can see unexcavated ruins enveloped in jungle.

Day 10 to 11: Merida - Chichen Itza

Capital of the Yucatan province, the 'white city' of Mérida is a pleasant mixture of colonial buildings, churches and plazas. The markets simply overflow with beautiful weavings, hammocks and batiks, making this a great place to buy handmade crafts and souvenirs. At night the city comes alive with live theatre and concerts. There are many city excursions on offer here - from a comprehensive hop on/hop off bus tour exploring the greater city area to a relaxing horse-drawn carriage tour around the cobbled streets of El Centro and Pasaje Montejo Boulevard. If you want to explore the region near Mérida you could visit the small fishing town of Celestún with its large flamingo population. You could also take a swim in the local 'cenotes' (sen-o-tays) - fresh-water swimming holes connected by spectacular limestone caverns and deep underwater rivers once sacred to the ancient Maya, covering the entire Yucatan peninsula. The huge Mayan city of Chichén Itzá, constructed between the 7th and 10th century AD, was a centre of pilgrimage for the Maya for over 1000 years. This impressive complex of ruins is very large and impressive, comprising of pyramids, ceremonial temples, tombs and platforms decorated by elaborate carvings. Among the sights your local guide will point out during the day-long included tour are the ball court where the captain of the winning team was beheaded (no incentive to play your best!) and the sacred cenote where treasures and the remains of human sacrifices have been discovered. The most famous attraction is the great Pyramid of Kukulcan, dedicated to the feathered serpent god Kukulcan and built with such precision that a shadow serpent descends down the steps during the equinox.

Day 12 to 14: Cancun - Playa del Carmen

Until 1970, Cancún was simply known as a small fishing village, but due to its beautiful beaches and subtropical climate it now attracts over 2 million visitors a year. You have time to relax on one of the beautiful white-sand beaches and swim in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea, or enjoy optional water sport activities like snorkelling, scuba diving or parachuting. You'll also find modern shopping malls, more than 500 restaurants offering the best in national and international cuisine, and numerous bars and discos where the parties rage all night long. There are several different optional excursions on offer, including a ferry out to the attractive island of Isla de Mujeres - where you can go snorkelling, tour the island in a golf-cart or simply sip cocktails and swing on 'bar swings' on the beach. The beautiful beach resort of Playa del Carmen is about an hour away from Cancún. Relax on a white sand beach or take advantage of one of the several interesting optional activities available in the area such as visiting the island of Cozumel or the amazingly located Maya/Toltec ruins of Tulúm. There are also many cenotes to explore.

Day 15 to 18: Caye Caulker - San Ignacio

Crossing into Belize we spend a couple of very laid-back nights on the island of Caye Caulker, where you can throw away your shoes to wander the sand-filled streets, spend the evenings eating seafood, drinking cocktails, and listening to reggae music in one of the bars. During the day you can organise a range of different optional snorkelling trips, such as to Shark and Ray Alley, where you can swim within a few feet of nurse sharks and majestic sting rays, or in their mating season you may even have the opportunity to swim with sea-cows. Another optional snorkelling tour takes you out to Hol-Chan Marine Reserve where you are guaranteed to see lots of colourful fish and interesting reef formations. Qualified divers can explore the so-called bottomless "Blue Hole", made famous by the explorer Jacques Cousteau (please note: this optional excursion does not go every day, check locally for availability). Other options include relaxing on the beach, riding a bike around the island, or trying your luck at fishing. If you are lucky, you can take your catch to one of the local restaurants so they can BBQ it for you. Belizeans really know how to relax, and hopefully the locals' expertise on relaxation will rub off on you during your stay on Caye Caulker. We continue on to San Ignacio. Known as "Cayo" to local people, this agricultural centre is also known to be the 'adventure' and 'nature' capital of Belize. The surrounding jungle, wildlife, waterfalls, rivers and caves, have created the ideal location for the numerous optional excursions that are available, from canoeing downriver and tubing through caves, to visiting the famous caves Actun Tunichil Muknal, where they found untouched Mayan ceremonial and sacrificial remains.

Day 19 to 21: Tikal / Flores - Livingston / Rio Dulce - Antigua

We continue to the charming island-town of Flores, situated in the centre of Lake Peten Itzá, which was the last town to be conquered by the Spanish. Flores is our base for exploring the breathtaking Maya jungle site of Tikal, is regarded as the greatest city of the Mayan world. This complex is one of the biggest Mayan sites discovered, and you will have time to explore the site and learn about the flora, fauna, and amazing history with a knowledgeable local guide. Today the main centre covers an area of approximately 2½ square kilometres, but at the peak of its power the mighty Mayan city stretched for nearly 100 kilometres. As you wander the site, you will see several tall mounds which are temples that have not yet been excavated, and you will have the opportunity to climb some of the tallest Mayan temples. The emphasis was on height when creating these imposing structures because the Maya believed the higher the building, the closer they were to the gods. Tikal is surrounded by animal life and if you're lucky, you may spot noisy howler monkeys, pizotes (a racoon-like animal), exotic birds such as toucans, and much more. We carry on to the river town of Rio Dulce, where we'll have the option to take a boat tour to Lívingston, experiencing some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable along this 23-kilometre stretch of waterway. Lívingston is situated at the mouth of the Rio Dulce, where it joins the Bay of Amatique, and is inhabited by the Garifuna people. This lively little town has a Caribbean atmosphere different to the rest of Guatemala and is a great place to try the delicious local specialty tapado (seafood coconut soup) and listen to the local African-style punta music. Framed by awe-inspiring volcanoes, Antigua is one of the most charming and delightful colonial towns in Central America. Everywhere you go, local people line the cobbled streets and plazas in colourful traditional costume, selling handmade crafts and textiles. As the cultural centre of Guatemala, Antigua is an ideal place to experience the traditional music, Baroque architecture and artistic traditions of the country. Rich in ornate churches, convents, parks and plazas, as well as cafés, restaurants, bars and colourful street markets, Antigua has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Day 22 to 22: Depart Antigua

Our tour ends after breakfast on day 22.