Mayan Pyramids, Colourful Markets, Rich Heritage and Cultural Splendour

Enjoy a guided walking tour of Antigua today, visiting the architectural and historical highlights of this colonial city including ruined churches, convents, and cathedrals. Your guide can personalise your tour depending on your interests.

This morning we drive to Panajachel, a beautiful town on the shores of Lake Atitlán. The word "atitlan" is a Mayan word that translates as "the place where the rainbow gets its colours". In the highlands of Guatemala, especially around Lake Atitlan, the Maya culture thrives. On arrival, check-in to your chosen hotel for a 2-night stay on a bed and breakfast basis. There will then be time to visit the street market and surrounding indigenous villages, famous for their weavers.

This morning we cross scenic Lake Atitlan and visit the village of Santiago. Here, we visit the house of the Maya God Maximon where you may see local shaman performing rituals for local people. We also visit the market and learn about the distinctive textiles and primitive art that is famous from this area. Lunch is included today. 

This morning we travel to Chichicastenango, known for its traditional K'iche' Maya culture. Chichicastenango is a small and stucco-white town, lying on the crests of mountaintops at an altitude of 1,965 meters. The town is home to perhaps the most colourful native market in North and Central America, perhaps in all the Americas.

The famous handicraft market of Chichicastenango draws not only the K'iche' Maya of the surrounding region, but vendors from all over Guatemala. They represent many of Guatemala's linguistic groups such as Mam, Ixil, Kaqchikel and others, each hawking his or her products in a riotous cacophony of colour, dialects and costumes, smoke, and smells. 

Transfer to your chosen hotel for a 1-night stay on a bed and breakfast basis.

This morning, experience the famous Chichicastenango market, with its wide variety of fruit and vegetables and most notably the endless beautiful textiles, wooden and ceramic works. We also visit Saint Tomas Church where local Maya people come to perform rituals within the Catholic church - demonstrating the interesting way the two faiths have combined in recent times. 

Enjoy a half-day guided visit to the village of San Antonio where you will meet a local family as well as local weavers who will explain the textiles and traditions of their village.

Early in the morning we cross into Honduras and travel to the ancient ruins at Copan. Here, enjoy a guided tour of this beautiful site, famous for its intricately carved stelea and amazing hieroglyphic stairway as well as its comprehensive museum. We overnight at a hotel in Copan on a bed and breakfast basis.

This morning explore the Rio Dolce on a boat tour. Visit bird island, cruise through the impressive Rio Dulce canyon, visit the Ak ́ Tenamit development project providing education for local Maya Queq'chi children, and Castillo of San Felipe. We then drive to Guatemala City for an overnight stay on a bed and breakfast basis.

Today explore Punta Gorda. Although the town bears a Spanish name, its inhabitants are mostly Garifuna, East Indian, Kriol, and Maya descent, giving it a lovely multi-cultural feel. Enjoy traditional markets, a swim in the sea or perhaps a visit to the Maya archaeological sites of Lubaantun & Nim Li Punit.

The ruins at Tikal are spectacular, set in dense forest. For many, Tikal is the most impressive of all the Mayan ruins. Appreciate the Mayan architecture, and the many species of wildlife, particularly spider monkeys, toucans and parrots.

Enjoy a half day guided tour of the Mayan archaeological site of Palenque. The site is hidden in the lush jungle surrounded by howler monkeys, streams and waterfalls. The temples are well preserved; the main complex containing a tomb is one of the most beautiful of all pre-Hispanic Maya sites. We also visit the temple of inscriptions, the observatory, and governor's palace.

Throughout the colonial period, Mérida was by far the most important city in the Yucatan, known as the "Paris of the New World". At the turn of the last century, the city became very rich from the profits from henequen. The colonial centre is ideal for watching the world go by, and it is impossible to resist buying a beautiful hammock the city is also well-known for.

Explore an elegant mixture of colonial and neoclassical architecture characterise the city on a half-day guided tour. Visit the main square with the cathedral, government palace, town hall and house of Montejo. Enjoy local life and markets with their modern Mayan influence.

Today enjoy a full day guided excursion to the ancient ruins at Uxmal and Kabah. At Uxmal, the buildings are in a Puuc style from the Classic period. Kabah is an ancient Mayan town not far from Uxmal and its name means "the chiselling hand". The most impressive monument here is Codz Poop (literally "furled mat") a grandiose, multi-storey building dedicated to Chac, the Rain God, its façade adorned with many masks.

Drive to Chichen Itza and check-into your hotel for a 1-night stay on a bed and breakfast basis.

Chichen Itza is the most visited of all the Mayan sites, and is probably the best preserved with a variety of architectural styles from different influences. The main pyramid 'El Castillo' (The Castle), also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, dominates the centre of the site. Nearby you can visit and swim in the sacred Ik-Kil Cenote. A sunken lake with lianas and vegetation all around the stone walls. 

Today is at leisure at your hotel. Or perhaps take a trip to the nearby Sian-Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, where you can explore rainforests and coral reefs.