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Two people walk along a path beneath a flowering purple tree at Monte Albán, Oaxaca

Sample journey · 13–16 days

Three Mexicos: the capital, Oaxaca and the Yucatán

Mexico City, Oaxaca, Mérida, Valladolid & the Caribbean coast

Photo: Jeet Pawar / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Mexico is often known through a single resort, yet the country changes completely with a couple of short flights. In Mexico City, Aztec stones lie beneath colonial churches and tree-lined neighbourhoods hide wonderful kitchens. In Oaxaca, markets smell of cacao and toasted chilli, a Zapotec city crowns a hilltop and villages weave and distil mezcal. In the Yucatán, flat limestone country hides water-filled wells called cenotes and Maya cities in the forest.

This sample route links the three regions with two short domestic flights, then lets you drive towards the coast at an easy pace. There's plenty of room for long meals and conversation, and stays range from small hotels in colonial houses to a restored hacienda. The pace, cooking classes and beach days can all be reshaped around what matters most to you.

The route

The journey

  1. Mexico City
  2. Oaxaca
  3. Mérida
  4. Uxmal
  5. Valladolid
  6. Caribbean coast
  7. Cancún
  1. Shoppers among flower and greenery stalls in a market in Mexico City

    01Days 1–4 · Mexico City

    A capital to taste

    The first days are spent in the historic centre, where the remains of the Aztec temple stand beside the cathedral, and at the National Museum of Anthropology, which deserves a whole morning. Afternoons can drift under the trees of Roma and Condesa, and one day might go to a market with a local guide, tasting what a passer-by would miss. The city sits at altitude, so the first day is best taken gently.

  2. The tower and domes of the Church of Santo Domingo, framed by a dark stone window in Oaxaca

    02Days 5–8 · Oaxaca

    Mole, mezcal and the loom

    A short flight to Oaxaca, a city whose green-stone streets and Church of Santo Domingo glow in the evening light. Climb Monte Albán in the morning, before the heat, and give the other days to markets, a mole cooking class and the valleys around the city: a weaving village, a small mezcal distillery where agave hearts are roasted in an earth pit, and the Sunday market at Tlacolula.

  3. A carved stone frieze on a Maya building at Uxmal, Yucatán

    03Days 9–11 · Mérida & Uxmal

    Hacienda calm and the Puuc cities

    A flight to Mérida, the white city of the Yucatán, with shady plazas and evenings when musicians play in the streets. Then a few nights at a restored hacienda, where the buildings of a former henequen estate have become quiet courtyards around a pool. From here Uxmal and the other cities of the Puuc region are within easy reach; their carved stone friezes are best seen with a guide early in the morning.

  4. Cenote Ik Kil in the Yucatán, with vines and roots trailing into green water in a deep limestone well

    04Days 12–13 · Valladolid & the cenotes

    A swim in the underworld

    Heading east, a stop in the yellow town of Izamal and a night in colourful Valladolid. Chichén Itzá is best right at opening time, before the coaches arrive, and the afternoon is for cooling off in a cenote, a limestone well whose clear water reflects the roots trailing from above. The next morning could go to quieter Ek Balam, where the temple steps still leave room for a sense of discovery.

  5. A Maya temple on a clifftop above the Caribbean at Tulum, among palms and coastal greenery

    05Days 14–16 · The Caribbean coast

    Last days by the sea

    About two hours' drive to the coast near Tulum, where a Maya temple stands on a cliff above the sea. The point here is to plan very little: swimming, a book, and perhaps snorkelling with turtles in a quieter bay. On the last day, on to Cancún airport and home.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    The Museum of Anthropology

    Mexico's ancient past under one roof, from Olmec heads to the Aztec Sun Stone.

  2. 02

    Oaxaca's kitchen

    Mole sauces, market breakfasts and mezcal made in small family distilleries.

  3. 03

    Nights at a hacienda

    Thick-walled rooms, green courtyards and a silence that's hard to imagine after the capital.

  4. 04

    Cenotes and Maya cities

    Uxmal, Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam early in the morning, with swims in cool underground pools in between.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • For a honeymoon

    Two hacienda nights instead of one and a longer finale in a quiet Caribbean bay or on the Bacalar lagoon.

  • More food

    An extra day in Oaxaca for cacao and tortilla workshops, and a tasting-menu dinner in Mexico City.

  • The colonial highlands

    After the capital, a few days in San Miguel de Allende or Guanajuato, trimming the beach days to fit.

  • On to a neighbour

    From the Yucatán, continue south to Belize's jungle and reef, or to Tikal in Guatemala.

Practical considerations

  • The dry season, roughly November to April, is usually the most comfortable; May can be very hot in the Yucatán, and June to November is hurricane season.
  • Mexico City lies above 2,000 m, so the first day is best kept light, with plenty of water.
  • Some museums and archaeological sites close on Mondays, and the busiest places are best visited right at opening.
  • Flights are the easiest way between regions; in the Yucatán, a driver or a hire car works well.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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