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Private Journeys

Self-Drive Mexico: Highlights of the Yucatan

10 days from £2,150pp

(based on two people sharing & excluding flights)

Mexico

  • Uxmal Mexico
  • Colourful hammocks in the sea in Mexico
  • Holbox Island
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Overview & Highlights

This self-drive holiday to Mexico gives you the chance to discover the colonial cities and jungle-shrouded Mayan pyramids of the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as the idyllic island of Holbox and Caribbean beaches of the Riviera Maya with your own car. If you'd rather not drive this holiday can be done with private transfers and guides, just ask us.

Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and Caribbean Coast, with its Mayan ruins, pretty colonial towns, and sandy beaches, is ideal for independent exploration by self-drive hire car. Not only is it economical; it gives you the freedom to travel at your own pace, stopping whenever you want, but with the security of a pre-planned itinerary and hotel reservations. The region has a network of well-signed roads, distances between attractions are relatively short, there are service stations to fill up your car and a huge range of fantastic eateries to fuel yourselves on.

You’ll set off from Cancún airport to discover the peninsula. There, you’ll find vestiges of the once supreme Mayan civilisation. Sites replete with temples and pyramids festooned with sacred carvings were, once abandoned, swallowed up by a rapacious jungle but are now gradually being revealed. They’re all rather Indiana Jones. You’ll visit the best-known sites, Chichén Itzá and Uxmal, both easily accessible.

You will also be based near the beautiful colonial town of Mérida, a friendly place to see a different side of Mexico with street markets, restaurants of all types and lively entertainment, should you wish to do so. Alternatively, the sleepy fishing village of Celestún is just a short drive away – famous for its Biosphere Reserve and large flocks of flamingos. Finally, you will drive up to the Gulf coast and take a ferry to laid-back and peaceful Isla Holbox.

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Accommodation

Browse our unrivalled portfolio of accommodation . Every option has been carefully chosen by our team of travel experts, so you can rest assured that you’ll relax in utter comfort.

Beachscape Kin Ha Villas & Suites
Hacienda Chichen
Hacienda Santa Cruz
Villas Caracol

Inspired by this trip

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

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Your edit for Latin American inspiration

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

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Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Carrie
    Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert

    A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.

  • Sallly
    Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

    A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Hannah
    Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

    Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

  • Finn Clennett
    Finn Clennett - Travel Expert

  • Alex
    Alex Walker - Travel Expert

    A globetrotter since her childhood, Alex spent a year studying abroad in Guadalajara and has returned to Latin America countless times since then.

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