Ancient Maya Cities of the Yucatán
December 3-12, 2025
This 9-day tour will lead you through the Yucatán Peninsula to some of the most iconic cities of the ancient Maya.
Important information
Tour Dates: December 3-12, 2025
Registration Deadline: September 3, 2025
Total Price (double occupancy): $4000 for 10-14 participants; $3700 for 15-19 participants; $3500 for 20-24 participants. Single supplement: add $900.
Registration fee: $1,500 to ALI by registration deadline of September 3, 2025. This amount is included in the total price above. Taking reservations now!
Costs not included: Personal travel insurance, airfare to and from Yucatán, gratuities for service providers (such as waiters, drivers, maids), and alcoholic beverages.
What IS included: All lodging, meals, private ground transportation, entry fees, evening lectures, and local guide.
An educational tour designed and organized by Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI), guided by Guillermo Gonzalez.
Guillermo Gonzalez, born and raised in Yucatán, has more than 20 years of experience as a tour guide in the area. This 9-day tour will lead you through the Yucatán Peninsula to some of the most iconic cities of the ancient Maya. Every night you will stay in a 3- or 4-star hotel at one of the three main nodes of this tour.
The journey will begin in Merida, the old and charming provincial capital of Yucatán, with orientation and presentations and a visit to the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, a striking, modern Maya cultural museum with many exhibits of art, handicrafts, and history. From there you venture out to Dzibilichaltun, the longest functioning city in the Maya world, with 3000 years of continuous occupation up to Spanish times.
Heading east, the tour stops to see the convent and the massive grand pyramid at Izamal, the largest Maya city on the northern Yucatec plain.
Day 4 is devoted to Chichén Itzá, with its massive step pyramid (the Temple of Kukulkan) and the largest ball court in Mesoamerica. Then it’s off to Tihosuco—a location new to our Yucatán tour! In Tihosuco, you will visit the Caste War Museum and explore an abandoned 18th-century hacienda. On Day 6, we head westward to Mayapan, enclosed by city walls and once the political and cultural capital of the Yucatán, and then on to Mani, which holds the church in which the Maya books were burned.
Day 7 features Uxmal, one of the most important sites of Maya culture, with many impressive buildings and artworks.
Itinerary
Day 1, Dec 3, Wednesday (2 Ok): Arrival in Merida
Afternoon: Flights into Merida, transport to hotel
6:00PM: Informal meet and greet in bar at hotel
6:30PM: Orientation and presentations by trip leaders
7:00PM: Dinner party in a private room
Overnight at the Hotel Mision de Fray Diego
Day 2, Dec 4, Thursday (3 Chuwen): Merida and the Gran Museo
7-8:30 am: Breakfast anytime at hotel
9-11 am:Double-decker bus historical tour of Merida
12-2 pm: Lunch break
2-4 pm: Tour of the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya
Evening: Free time to explore Merida
Overnight at the Hotel Mision de Fray Diego
Day 3, Dec 5, Friday (4 Eb'): Dzibilichaltun and Izamal
7-8 am: Breakfast at hotel and checkout
9-12 pm: Tour of Dzibilchaltun and its museum
12-2 pm: Transport to and lunch at Izamal
2-4 pm: Convent and pyramid at Izamal
4-5 pm: Transport to Chichen Itza
Evening: Free time
Overnight at the Villas Arqueologicas
Day 4, Dec 6, Saturday (5 Ben): Chichén Itzá
7-8 am: Breakfast at hotel
8-12 pm: Tour of Chichen Itza
12-2 pm: Lunch at Cenote Ik’il (swimming optional)
2-5 pm: Free time (return to the ruins option)
Overnight at the Villas Arqueologicas
Day 5, Dec 7, Sunday (6 Ix): Tihosuco
7-8 am: Breakfast at hotel and checkout
8-10 am: Transport to Tihosuco
10-12 pm: Caste War Museum and bombed out church
12-1 pm: Lunch in Tihosuco
Overnight at the Meson de Marques
Day 6, Dec 8, Monday (7 Men): Mayapan
7-8 am: Breakfast at hotel
8-10 am: Transport to Mayapan
10-12 pm: Tour of Mayapan
12-1 pm: Transport to Mani (church where Maya books were burned)
1-3pm: Lunch break in Mani
3-4 pm: Transport to Uxmal
Evening Free time
Overnight at the Hotel Hacienda Uxmal
Day 7, Dec 9, Tuesday (8 Kib'): Uxmal
8-9 am: Breakfast at hotel
9-12 pm: Tour of Uxmal
12-2 pm: Lunch at hotel
2-4 pm: Choco-Story Museum
Evening: Free time
Overnight at the Hotel Hacienda Uxmal
Day 8, Dec 10, Wednesday (9 Kab'an): Puuc Region
7-8 am: Breakfast at hotel
8-11 am: Tour of the Kabah ruins
11-12 pm: Lunch in Santa Elena
12-2 pm: Guided tour of Loltun Caves (10,000bp)
2-4 pm: Tour of Labna ruins
5pm: Return to hotel
Evening: Free time
Overnight at the Hotel Hacienda Uxmal
Day 9, Dec 11, Thursday (10 Etz'nab'): Muna Pottery Demo
7-9 am: Breakfast at hotel and hotel check out
9-12 pm: Transport to Muna and Pottery demonstration (Patricia Morales is famous for her amazing reproductions of Maya pottery)
12-2 pm: Lunch in Muna – Yucatec traditional food
2-3 pm: Return to Merida
3-7 pm: Free time
7-9 pm: Final dinner together (location TBD)
Overnight the Hotel Mision de Fray Diego
Day 10, Dec 12, Friday (11 Kawak): Departure
Morning: Group 1 transport to airport
Afternoon: Group 2 transport to airport
Click here to register for your spot!
Registration Deadline: September 3, 2025