Mexico City &
The Yucatán Peninsula

12 Days

TripAdvisor-5 stars

Mexico City & The Yucatán Peninsula

12 Days

TripAdvisor-5 stars

Destinations: Mexico CityHot Air Balloon at TeotihuacanTacos TourValladolidChichén ItzáHolbox Island

Highlights

  • Fly in a hot air balloon over the valley of Teotihuacan
  • Experience a taco night like a local in the Aztec capital
  • Stroll through the streets of the magical town of Valladolid
  • Free days on the beautiful beaches of Holbox Island
MEXICO MAP FOR TOURS

DAY 1 - Transfer from Mexico City Airport to Hotel in Mexico City

Welcome to Mexico! 

Upon arrival at the Mexico City International Airport, you’ll be met by your private driver and transferred to your hotel.

DAY 2 - History, Culture & Gastronomy in Mexico City

zocalo Mexico city

Today you’ll taste the best street food in the city while discovering the vibrant atmosphere of Mexico City’s historic center. Along the guided walking tour, you’ll stroll past highlights like the Alameda Central Park (the oldest public garden in the Americas) and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Continue along the bustling pedestrian street of Madero to reach the grand Plaza de la Constitución, better known as Zócalo. This heart of the city is home to some of its most important buildings and monuments—including the Metropolitan Cathedral, the ancient Aztec archaeological site of Templo Mayor, and the 16th-century Palacio Nacional.

Along the way, you’ll make lots of different stops to taste some of the local gastronomy. Try some tacos al pastor, (pork tacos), huitlacoche quesadillas (made with corn mushroom), and fresh tamales, finishing off the tour with a traditional dessert or some sweet churros to finish with a traditional dessert or some delicious churros. The gastronomy of the Aztec capital is so varied that your guide can easily adapt the tour to your interests and tastes.

DAY 3 - Mexico City: Xochimilco, Coyoacan & Casa Azul Museum

Today. you will visit one of the most emblematic areas of Mexico City: The canals of Xochimilco. Xochimilco, means the ‘Place of the Flowers’ in Náhuatl, the canals are the last reminder of the rivers that once crossed the valley floor of Tenochtitlan – which is now modern-day Mexico City.  Today, visitors can explore the canals while on a colorful boat called a trajinera (a wooden boat painted in colorful colors) 

Afterward, you will visit the bohemian neighborhood of Coyoacán, or “the place of coyotes,” in Nahuatl, which is a relatively quiet neighborhood in central Mexico City. Formerly a rural village, over the years Coyoacán has become a rich pocket of art and history in Mexico’s capital. You will explore this typically Mexican neighborhood with its many museums, cafés, bookstores, and markets to uncover its history.

Finally, you will visit the Casa Azul, where the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo spent most of her life, having lived in the same house until her death. You will see pictures, photographs, and personal items that belonged to her and fellow artist Diego Rivera, as well as her studio, kitchen, bedroom, and, of course, the beautiful garden in the courtyard. Afterward, head back to your hotel in Mexico City. 

DAY 4 - See Teotihuacan by Hot Air Balloon & Narvarte At Night

Hot Air Balloon

View Teotihuacan, an ancient Mesoamerican city located northeast of Mexico City, from great heights today with a hot air balloon flight. Your guide will show you the process of how they set up the balloon while you enjoy coffee and cookies.  

Once in the hot air balloon basket, you’ll begin the unforgettable ascent as other balloons with different designs and colors join you. Marvel at the views, the beauty, and the tranquility of the valley as you soar toward the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Teotihuacan. Once there, you will fly very close to the majestic Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon and have a bird’s eye view of the famous Avenue of the Dead, as well as other important buildings of the site. After enjoying spectacular views across Teotihuacan and the valley, you’ll begin the flight back, where a delicious breakfast awaits upon landing.

At night you will enjoy Mexico City in a completely different way. Narvarte is known throughout Mexico City for its tacos, and you’ll kick off the tour with a visit to a neighborhood taquería that specializes in volcanes, a type of crispy tortilla cooked on a charcoal flame, smothered in cheese and poblano peppers. From there you’ll try tacos al pastor—picture a big outdoor roasting spit, shooting flames—and suadero tacos from vendors who’ve been in the neighborhood for decades. You’ll visit a lively cantina to learn more about Mexico City cantina culture, where we’ll toss back a chela, slang for cold beer, or a cocktail if you wish. And we’ll finish by trying a flight of small-batch, artisanal mezcals in a cozy neighborhood restaurant, part of a private mezcal tasting led by a local chef and expert. If you want a tour that combines food, culture, and drinks, this is not to be missed!

Rated 5-stars by more than 1,500 travellers on Tripadvisor.

(4.8)

0

travelers

Victoria O.

September, 2022
Two Weeks in Mexico
Seamless transfers, excellent hotels particularly in Mexico city and Puebla, combined with various cultural and food tours. Particular highlights were the cultural/food tours in Mexico city and Puebla (also including the anthropology museum in Mexico city), and the rural tours in Oaxaca where we visited textile workshops, mescal producers and participated in a cooking class using traditional equipment. Also, although we didn't need it, the on call remote assistance was reassuring. I would definitely recommend Rutopia.
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Kris S.

April, 2022
Enjoyed using Rutopia
Enjoyed using Rutopia (Marisol and Melina) to plan my trip to Mexico. Marisol helped me figure out the best options fand booked everything. Melina was my in country support. Rutopia (the company through Kim Kim) is great and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to take the burden out of vacation planning. My son and I truly enjoyed the trip knowing everything was taken care of and we just had to have fun. Thanks!
Kimkim Review of Rutopia

Melissa W.

July, 2022
Adventures in the Yucatán!
Such an amazing time in the Yucatán! Between floating in the mangroves to visiting Chichén Itzá to spending a whole day on the beach in El Cuyo, I couldn’t have planned a better trip without their help. Thank you so much for an unforgettable birthday vacation!! Simply amazing! Don’t think twice about having them help you plan your next vacation!
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Cat839

April, 2022
Great experience with this agency, totally recommend!
Great experience with this agency. Our tour in Mexico was perfect and organised with great passion and precision. Special thanks to Mel (our direct contact during the trip) for being super responsive and to Jorge Barbosa (our tour guide in Mexico City). Totally recommend this tour operator!
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Sue G

June, 2022
Mayan Site Tour in Yucatan Penninsula Mexico
Rutopia did an outstanding job with the arrangement and execution of a 9 day tour of Mayan sites in the Yucatan peninsula. We provided Rutopia with the general parameters of the trip we wanted and they suggested an itinerary. After our approval, they set up the hotels, transportation within Mexico, and site tours. The hotels were good quality, and all of the drivers and tour guides showed up on time. We were very impressed with the quality of the tour guides and learned a lot on the trip. Jorge handled setting up the itinerary, and Melina handled the execution of the trip and was readily available via WhatsApp throughout the trip for any questions or issues. Melina was particularly helpful in changing our transportation arrangements to the airport at the last minute per our request. I would recommend Rutopia and would use them again for future trips.
Kimkim Review of Rutopia
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Varadarajan

July, 2022
Fantastic Will do it again
My wife and I had a fantastic holiday in Mexico thanks to Marisol, Ana, Teresa and their colleagues & partners. The entire itinerary and arrangements were put together in less than 4 days. What we really liked about Marisol & her team was that they were only a message or a phone call away for any query/suggestion, etc. The trip was bespoke to the extent that Rutopia had kept in mind about our interests, food habits & executed bookings, tours. They were also very flexible in catering to last minute changes/requests. The team took upon them to ensure that our entire trip was comfortable & safe by taking care of even small stuff that one normally finds out post getting to a place. We would definitely like to use their services again!!
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Elena R.

April, 2022
A literally perfect trip to the Yucatan peninsula
Tom and I knew we wanted to go to Mexico. We knew we wanted a little bit of culture, some wildlife, and maybe a splash in the ocean. That's it. With the vague and minimal information we gave them, Rutopia was able to put together a perfect trip for us. We had a flawless itinerary. It's so clear that Rutopia really cares about the communities (animals and humans) in Mexico. Everything we did and everywhere we stayed felt like they were helping us experience Mexico as authentically and respectfully as possible. It's almost impossible to pick a highlight, but top of the list has to be the day we shared with Enrique, a Mayan host who was unbelievably generous with us. He shared the community gardens, including history and background about the families that live in Nuevo Durango and other nearby communities. He showed us the neighborhood cenotes, Punta Laguna, Uma Nojoch Keej (a wildlife reserve), and more. We picked and prepared the plants as Enrique and his wife Blanca showed us the best way to cook them (and rescued us when we were pricked by the nopales!). We saw howler monkeys and spider monkeys in the wild which was very cool. That had to be the very best day, but every day was amazing. Sian Ka'an reserve was lovely, the Mayan ruins were spectacular, the snorkeling in Puerto Morelos was fabulous, the bicycle cenote tour was jaw'droppingly gorgeous. I'm waxing superlative but it really all was like a dream. Beyond the activities, the scheduling and pace was perfect for us. We felt like we really made the most of our six days, but with enough downtime to explore and enjoy at our leisure. From picking up our car at the airport to finding our accommodation, the logistics were very smooth at every interaction. Special shoutout to Melina who pretty much instantly helped us when we had any questions about the trip. We've never used a travel planning service like this before. But after this trip, we'll never go back to the old way!
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David

July, 2022
Journey to Mexico City, Cholula and Cuetzalan
We had a wonderful time. We started out in Mexico City with a 2 day tour filled with museums, food, and beautiful sights. We then went on to Cholula to experience the culture in a smaller town, see a local market, and eat traditional food. We finished the tour in a small town called Cuetzalan, where most people speak an indigenous language. All of our guides were great. Thank you for a memorable vacation!
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DaniEla

March, 2022
Just wonderful!
We had an amazing trip excellent organized by Jorge and supervised by Melina from Rutopia. We spent 10 days in Mexico, starting in Ciudad de Mexico where we visited the amazing Teotihuacan and then we flew to Yucatan for the amazing sites of Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Ek Balam, Tulum, Merida, Valladolid and the great Island Holbox. The trip was perfectly organized, the hotels were very good, and the guides were carefully chosen. We highly recommend Rutopia and especially Jorge!
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Bikø J

November, 2021
Chiapas, Neri and her family
I traveled to Chiapas for an ecotourism experience with Rutopia and I liked it very much, the team responds very quickly to all questions and accompany the traveler throughout the experience, I missed my flight and they were very flexible to accommodate the entire itinerary, My destination was the lakes of Tziscao, where I was received by Neri with his family in very nice cabins next to a lake with incredible views and a magnificent tranquility, with them you make experiences of beekeeping and coffee and tours to nearby lakes, Montebello is a must! 100% recommended.
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Alexhcros1500

March, 2021
Super local agency
We have worked with Rutopia for several tours in Mexico in the Yucatán and Chiapas and we have never been disappointed. Authentic experiences, with locals, in magical places and off the beaten tourist track. Our contact Marisol was always super available and responsive, understanding and anticipating our desires. And she speaks very good French. I highly recommend Rutopia!
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Actividad Espeleísmo e1631888268978

Mikel D

April, 2021
The best moment lived in Mexico
We were traveling as a group of friends with nothing organized. We like to improvise and be able to find alternative plans to the conventional tourist routes. We arrived in Puerto Escondido - Mexico's paradise - and started looking for options. A Mexican friend recommended us to contact Rutopia and we did. We explained our way of traveling - which they quickly understood - and in a few hours they came to us with a perfect selection of activities. We chose one of them and the next day we found ourselves galloping through beautiful hills, crossing a small lagoon in canoes, bathing on an unspoiled beach at sunset and sipping freshly picked coconuts with some mezcal. We had dinner in the only hut on the beach, eating fish that had been caught that day from the lagoon. Then we went to see the luminescence of the placton with paddle canoes until we were surprised by one of the biggest and reddest moons I have ever seen in my life. We ended up sleeping in bamboo huts a few meters from the waves. There were no more than 5 huts on the miles of beach that we could see. And at ALL times with an exquisite treatment - sympathy, kindness and attention. This is just one of the plans we booked with Rutopia, which definitely changed the course of our trip. Without a doubt, I would repeat this experience in any place I would like to visit in Mexico. Viva Mexico!
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Claudia A

September, 2020
Super organization, great accommodations and nice team
The trip was perfectly organized, we were always exclusive or in very small groups and had freedom to do our own activities. All accommodations were fantastic and sustainable, the food almost always local and very good, we could always fill our Rutopia water bottles and travel as plastic free as possible. We were met at the airport and had assistance getting a rental car. After that, we traveled independently but had our fixed dates and reservations with Rutopia. It was the perfect mix!
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pascalrichard0304

March, 2020
Circuit in Yucatan
Discovering wonderful and surprising sites, Mayan communities with an unforgettable welcome, breathtaking landscapes, a very pleasant climate in the middle of March...and smiling people! A big thank you to Rutopia and his team for the elaboration of this ideal circuit, alternating nature, city life, simplicity and comfort. Thanks to Mélina for the follow-up during our trip. We don't speak Spanish well enough, and we appreciated having a French-speaking contact person who could be reached if necessary. We still have a lot to discover and hope to come back very soon, and with Rutopia without hesitation!
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Sabrina N

March, 2020
Perfect
For those who don't like to manage logistics like hotels, rental cars, activities. And above all, to have someone who speaks fluent French that we can reach at any time for the unexpected... You are in the right place! Thank you to Chloe for the preparation of our trip, to Melina our Ariadne's thread and Teresa for her welcome and help at the arrival and departure. A big thank you to Enrique and Blanca from Nuevo-Durango for their welcome, their smiles, their family, a lot of emotions at the time to leave you. Thanks to Mémo for your teaching of Mexican customs (Sian Ka'an) The Yucatan is a magnificent region. And the population is very pleasant. Only downside Holbox... Too much dust, too much smell of fuel oil, too much tourist. I will keep in memory these wonderful moments!
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DAY 5 - From Mexico City to Valladolid

La Calzada de Los Frailes

There are many riches that make Valladolid a “Pueblo Magico”. Among these are its beautiful streets, churches, gastronomy, and people.

To fully experience the city, visit La Calzada de Los Frailes, where you can spend your day strolling along an iconic pastel-colored street. It was built in the 16th century to unite Valladolid with the town of Sisal. The street starts in the corner of the Cinco Calles and ends in the former convent of San Beradino de Siena. You’ll find plenty of boutiques and charming sports for coffee lovers.

DAY 6 - Cultural & natural immersion in Yalcobá

Water caverns Yucatán Peninsula

Visit the Mayan community of Yalcobá in Valladolid, Yucatán and enjoy a day of cultural immersion. You will have a full day full of adventure and fun, because here, you will have a guided tour through the Milpa and the Mayan Forest, you will explore caves, get to know wonderful virgin cenotes where you can swim. Finally, you will have the opportunity to visit the handicrafts workshop that stands out for its jewelry from bull horn and weaved hammocks.  Mayan gastronomy is another of the many treasures you will find in this town, so you will participate in a delicious gastronomic workshop that will allow you to learn about the regional food.

DAY 7 - Visit Chichen Itza and swim in the mystical cenote of Yokdzonot

Chichen Itza pyramid, Yucatan

Today you will meet your local guide to visit  the archaeological site of Chichen Itza. This pre-Hispanic city is recognized as a  UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was once the  most revered centre of worship and pilgrimage on the Yucatan Peninsula. 

Then, you will have lunch and swim in the cenote of Yokdzonot. In 2005, a group of women from the rural community of Yokdzonot, Yucatan, organized to transform the Mayan cenote of their village into a unique ecotourism site. The cenotes were  the main source of water supply in the middle of the Mayan jungle, which motivated the  development of cities and settlements. They were also seen as symbolic settings and spaces  for rain, life, death, rebirth and fertility rituals. This is why they were so sacred to this culture. This cenote is quite unknown, so it is not as crowded as others and its waters have a cool  temperature to mitigate the heat outside. Back to Valladolid.

DAY 8 - Holbox Island and its bioluminescence, a natural spectacle

Beautiful Holbox-Island

A private driver will pick you up at your hotel in Valladolid to take you to Chiquilá where you will take the ferry to Holbox. (2 hrs 15 min drive) The Ferry to Holbox is a shared transfer with a duration of 30 minutes. Your driver will give you your tickets and take you to the correct dock where you’ll go onboard the ferry. Check-in. 

In the late afternoon, you will enjoy a unique experience.  Admire the Holbox night sky and look into the glowing eyes of its sea. Marvel at the divinity that is the bioluminescence of the sea, the celestial vault and the large number of stars and lights created by sea creatures seen only on a clear night. It’s a short and easy paddle (no experience needed). You will star gaze, looking for constellations, clusters and galaxies. If you are lucky, you may spot a shooting star!

Let's plan your trip

Our team will help you with free destination advice, activity ideas and provide full costings.
PLAN

DAY 9 + DAY 10 - Holbox Island

whale shark swim holbox-rutopia

These days are free to spend them however you want on the peaceful island of Holbox. Choose one of the many beautiful white sand beaches to soak up some sunshine, swim in turquoise waters, and recharge your batteries. As cars are not allowed on the island, you will also have the option to rent a bicycle or a golf cart to travel around and explore the less crowded areas. Other great options include walking around town, browsing the street art for souvenirs, or simply relaxing at one of the many cafés. 

DAY 11 - Explore Cabo Catoche

Today’s adventure begins at the “Whale Shark Jetty”, from where you will head to the northern area of Cabo Catoche. An exotic trip where you will see dolphins and other marine creatures.

The captain and the guides are experts and will choose the perfect spot to fish, they will advise you and teach you the most used and ancient techniques of bottom fishing (with ropes, without rods) you will be able to catch good size fish to prepare a delicious ceviche.

Cabo Catoche, Mexico

DAY 12 - Transfer to Cancun International Airport

A taxi driver will take you to the port of Holbox to take the ferry back to Chiquilá. 

From Chiquilá a driver will take you to the airport of Cancun in 3 hours before taking your flight.

Create your Mexican adventure!

Our team will help you with free destination advice, activity ideas and provide full costings.

So you can stop dreaming and start packing! 

See more itinerary examples

7 DAYS

History in Tulum

  • Tulum Archaeological Site
  • The Mayan underworld
  • Explore Coba by bike
  • Punta Laguna Nature Reserve
  • Float in the Biosphere Reserve
12 DAYS

Yucatan Peninsula

  • Gastronomic workshop
  • Canal float
  • Cultural immersion
  • Calakmul Biosphere Reserve
  • Bacalar Lagoon catamaran
10 DAYS

Culture & Natural Immersion

  • Explore subterranean world
  • Archaeological site of Tulum
  • Swimming with beautiful turtles
  • 7-color lagoon of Bacalar
  • Swimming with Whale Sharks