11 days from £1,141 per person
Mexico’s Yucatán is a great place for a self-drive holiday adventure, with a network of good paved roads. The area has dozens of Mayan ruins hidden within tropical vegetation bursting with wildlife. With your own hire car, you can discover these in your own time. Your rental car is provided and your point-to-point itinerary planned out for you, with hotel reservations made in advance and maps provided
Suggested holiday itinerary (flexible)
Day 1 Daytime flight to Cancún on the Caribbean coast. Collect your car at the airport. Overnight at the hotel Beachscape Villas at Kin Ha.
Day 2 Drive south to the cliff-top ruins at Tulum, facing the sunset: the God of the Falling Sun was worshipped here. Continue to Cobá, deep in the rainforest, built around a group of lakes and as yet little-excavated. Drive on inland to Chichén Itzá, you might stop off at a refreshing cool-water cenote en route. Overnight at the Hacienda Mayaland.
Day 3 Explore the vast well-tended site (Chichén Itzá). Continue to colonial Mérida (2-3hrs), the agreeable white-stone capital of the Yucatán. You’ll stay at the hotel la Misión de Fray Diego, a converted 17th century convent, for 3 nights.
Day 4 drive to Celestún for the day.
Day 5 At leisure to explore other ruins and cenotes in the area.
Day 6 Having dropped off your car in Mérida, you’ll be transferred to Holbox Island for a 3 night stay. The island is separated from the mainland coast by a shallow lagoon which gives sanctuary to thousands of flamingos and pelicans. Stay at top-quality Casa Sandra, a small property at once rustic and arty, with highly-personalised service.
Days 7&8 At leisure on the island where fishing is still a bigger source of income than tourism. For a bit of excitement, you can dive with the whale-sharks (Jun-Sep).
Day 9 Transfer by ferry and road to Cancún for a further night.
Day 10 Transfer to the airport for your flight back to the UK arriving day 11
This holiday can also be taken with a car and driver, in which case a full day trip to Cobá and Tulúm, visiting Dzitnip cenote en route is included; along with a guided tour of Chichén Itzá and full day tour of Celestún. Price from £1,624
Our Comment
"The beauty of Holbox is that very few people know it exists let alone the fact that its shores play host to the world’s largest fish - the whale shark"
Rafe Stone, Product Manager
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|  Tulum
 Chichén Itzá
 Casa Sandra, Holbox Island
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