Yucatán Learning Adventures
                                 The Maya Route by Rail
                                           Also Campeche, Chiapas & Tabasco 
                                                       

   
   

Group Tour Itinerary

DUE TO CONCESSION SALES THE TRAIN IS NOT RUNNING.

Client Comments:

"We would go anywhere with you!" (JM, Georgia)

"We liked being on an adventure--not the usual tourist trip!"  (BK, Arizona)

Photos this page by Dale Higgs  

El Castillo-Chichen-Itza
We are proud to present to you our S & S Tours learning adventure tour that travels along the Maya Route through the states of Yucatán, Campeche, Chiapas, & Tabasco. Enjoy being pampered with 4-course meals on the new luxury Maya Express train, re-live ancient history at the classic period Mayan centers of Chichén-Itza & Uxmal, relax in the historical seaport of Campeche, retreat to your own little bungalow surrounded by the Chiapas jungle at Palenque, & soak up the mysterious history at La Venta Park in Mexico's "Garden of Eden," Villahermosa.

 

 

 

 

 ITINERARY (Remember--In Mexico FLEXIBILITY is the key!)

Day 1 -- Arrive in Villahermosa; Hotel Cencali.

Day 2 -- Visit "La Venta" Museum-Park. Transfer to Palenque; Chan-Kah Hotel in the jungle.

Day 3 -- Palenque Ruins; Chan-Kah Hotel.                                                                                                                                                                           "Stills"

Day 4 -- Train journey to Campeche; Hotel del Mar, Campeche.

Day 5 -- Edzna Archeological Zone & Fort San Miguel; Hotel del Mar, Campeche.

Day 6 -- Train ride from Campeche to Mérida, Uxmal archeological site; Mission Park Inn Hotel, Mérida.

Day 7 -- Today's tour will be by train or by bus.  Visit the Franciscan convent San Antonio de Padua” from the 16^th century in the ancient city of Izamal on the way to Chichén-Itza.  Hotel Castellano, Mérida.

Day 8 -- Departure.

The 2008 land package price is $3150 p/person double room.  This is land package includes: all hotels, 18 meals, all tours, all transfers (except airport transfer on Day 8), and all normal tips (meals, luggage, maids).  Train personnel and local guide tips are not included.  The tour begins in Villahermosa, Tabasco and ends in Mérida, Yucatán.  The package does not include airfare or trip insurance or any meals not specified in the itinerary. 

Optional Extensions: 

Optional Extensions to the Celestun Biosphere Reserve and the working Henequen Haciendas (can choose 1 or both)

January 28—Optional tour to Celestún Biosphere Reserve 54 miles from Mérida. Celestún is most noted for it spectacular sights of thousands of flamingos in their native surroundings. These elegant birds require a special habitat with swampy ground, shallow salt water and protection from the tides and flooding. Dense mangroves and low forests with high temperatures that provide the abundant marine crustaceans that are necessary to give the plumage of these beautiful birds its distinctive coloring surround Celestun. This zone is located at the end of the wide inlet that permits the sea to gradually wind its way inland amid the thick vegetation known as the Celestun Estuary. Take a boat trip through the lagoon, the mangroves, the Valdiosera and Venecia freshwater springs and the Petrified Forest. A seafood lunch.  Hotel Castellano in Mérida. 

The 2008 Optional Day price is $350 per person per double room.  Please add $95 more for a single room.  This private tour includes a delicious seafood lunch at Celestun on the beach, a hotel night on January 29th and tips.

January 29-- The hacienda Sotuta de Peon is a hacienda that has just been restored by the Shrangri-La Group and is now open to the public. Located 35 kilometers (30 minutes) south of Mérida, off the Convent Route, this working hacienda offers an opportunity to see how henequen is processed while experiencing the grandeur and magnificence of the hacienda buildings.

The tour starts with a ride into the henequen fields on the rails used one hundred years ago by the mule-drawn carts. You will visit the main house, the Mayan house, the plantations, and the machine house with its small museum. You will then have the opportunity to bathe in the crystal clear cenote or in the swimming pool. There is a restaurant for lunch. Don't forget to bring your bathing suit and a towel, as well as sunscreen.