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Étaperia

Mexico in 25 days: Bacalar, the Puuc Route and Mérida, day by day

Twenty-five days from the lagoon of seven blues to Río Lagartos: Ichkabal newly reopened, the Bacalar stromatolites, the Mahahual reef, Uxmal and Kabah, fortified Campeche, the Celestún flamingos, Mérida, yellow Izamal and the Homún cenotes.

Sequenced by Kylian Updated on 20 September 2026

The pyramid of Chichén Itzá at sunset, the Yucatán jungle on the horizon
  • 25 days
  • 67 places
  • 25 nights
  • sustained pace
Start
Bacalar, Quintana Roo
End
Río Lagartos, Yucatán
Main transport
Rental car throughout, plus lanchas at Bacalar, Celestún and Río Lagartos and a horse-drawn rail trolley at the Cuzamá cenotes
Recommended season
November to March: the dry season and outside hurricane season on the Caribbean coast, and the Celestún flamingos are at their most numerous from November to March

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 25 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 38 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The travel book preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 1

Ichkabal, the reopened city, then Bacalar

Morning

Ichkabal

A Preclassic city, contemporary with the beginnings of Calakmul and tied to the same Kaan dynasty, left in the forest since its rediscovery in 1995. It only opened to the public in January 2025, with monumental basal platforms, the largest of them more than forty metres high. Visitors are still rare and the facilities minimal, which is precisely the point of coming now. Opening times and prices on the website of the

Afternoon

Fort San Felipe and its museum

Bacalar was sacked again and again by English pirates, and in 1733 the Spanish built this small four-bastion fort, with a moat, overlooking the lagoon. It now houses the museum of piracy and of the Caste War.

Cenote Azul

An open cenote nearly 90 metres deep, at the edge of the lagoon, of a very dark blue that contrasts with the turquoise waters next to it.

Good to know

Ichkabal has only been open since January 2025: access by a road of some fifteen kilometres off federal highway 307, ticket desk in cash, no services on site, no water and no food. Open Tuesday to Sunday, closed on Monday like every INAH site. Set off early, the heat rises fast under the low canopy.

Hotel · Night 1

Naya Bacalar Lagoon Front Hotel

A hotel on the lagoon front, with a private jetty for swimming and for going straight out on the water. Three nights, the base for the lagoon and Chacchoben.

Address
· Boulevard Costero, Bacalar, Quintana Roo
Website
· nayabacalar.com (new tab)
Check-in
3:00 PM · Check-out 12:00 PM (usual)
Book this hotel (new tab)

Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €1.56 per day of travel

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  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

A hotel in the itinerary closed or impossible to find, a place to visit permanently closed?

Within 12 months of purchase, email contact@etaperia.com

Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the T&Cs, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 25 days

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A question before buying? Email Kylian, reply within 48 working hours.

The day-by-day rundown

23 stops, 1,380 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Ichkabal, the reopened city, then Bacalar Ichkabal Free
  2. Day 2 The lagoon of seven blues Laguna de Bacalar Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 The stromatolites and Chacchoben Cenote Cocalitos Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  4. Day 4 Chetumal and the bay Museo de la Cultura Maya Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 Mahahual and the Costa Maya Malecón and Playa Mahahual Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 First dive on the barrier reef Supervised first dive Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 Xcalak and the tarpon of La Poza Parque Nacional Arrecife de Xcalak and La Poza Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 Uxmal, first contact Pirámide del Adivino Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 Uxmal, second day, and Kabah Gran Pirámide, El Palomar and Casa de las Tortugas Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  10. Day 10 Sayil, Xlapak and Labná Sayil and its Great Palace Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  11. Day 11 The labyrinth of Oxkintok and the grutas de Calcehtok Oxkintok and the Satunsat Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  12. Day 12 Hochob, Dzibilnocac and El Tabasqueño Hochob Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  13. Day 13 Edzná and the arrival in Campeche Edificio de los Cinco Pisos Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  14. Day 14 Campeche, the fortified city Campeche, the fortified city Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  15. Day 15 The flamingos of Celestún The flamingos of Celestún Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  16. Day 16 The reserve, the salt pans, then Mérida Ría Celestún biosphere reserve Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  17. Day 17 Mérida, the Plaza Grande and the Paseo de Montejo Catedral de San Ildefonso and Casa de Montejo Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  18. Day 18 The Gran Museo del Mundo Maya and the districts Gran Museo del Mundo Maya Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  19. Day 19 Dzibilchaltún, Progreso and Xcambó Dzibilchaltún and the Templo de las Siete Muñecas Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  20. Day 20 Izamal, the yellow town Convent of San Antonio de Padua Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  21. Day 21 Mayapán and the cenotes by rail trolley Mayapán Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  22. Day 22 The cenotes of Homún The cenotes of Homún Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  23. Day 23 Valladolid and its cenotes Former convent of San Bernardino de Siena Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  24. Day 24 Ek Balam and the frieze of the Trono Ek Balam and the frieze of the Trono Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  25. Day 25 Río Lagartos and the pink lagoons Río Lagartos and the pink lagoons Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

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Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • The Yucatán is flat, limestone and hot all year: between November and March the heat stays bearable and humidity drops, which makes archaeological days workable until midday.
  • The Caribbean coast is outside hurricane season from November to April. Winter nortes, though, can close diving at Mahahual and Xcalak for a day or two.
  • The cenotes hold water at 24 or 25 °C all year: it is the only cool thing in the peninsula, and the reason the Homún and Cuzamá days fall mid-stage.

Transport and permits

  • Rental car throughout. The Puuc Route on days 105 to 108 is a loop of minor roads with no public transport: it simply does not exist except by car.
  • The Cuzamá cenotes on day 118 are reached by truck, a horse-drawn trolley on rails, a leftover of the henequén railways.
  • Río Lagartos on day 122 and Celestún on day 112 are visited by lancha from the village: go early in the morning, when the birds feed and the wind is light.

Formalities and safety

  • Ichkabal on day 98 has only recently opened to the public: supervised access, restricted hours and limited capacity, so check it is open before driving out.
  • The Puuc Route sites use a combined ticket or separate ones depending on the season, and Uxmal adds the Yucatán state tax on top of the INAH fee.
  • The day 103 introductory dive takes place on the Mesoamerican reef: book the day before, and expect cancellation in a heavy sea.

Budget and meals

  • The Mexican peso, roughly €0.05 to 1 MXN. Mérida, Campeche and Valladolid take cards; village cenotes, lanchas and the Cuzamá trucks are cash.
  • Heavy items: the day 103 introductory dive, the Celestún and Río Lagartos lanchas, Uxmal across two days and the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya on day 115.
  • Yucatán archaeological entries stack the INAH fee and the state tax: expect roughly double the federal price advertised.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening, with the hotel for each night, its address and its booking link, and timed-entry tickets flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is sequenced by hand, place by place, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Kylian, sole trader, SIRET 927 587 709 00035
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  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

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