This morning you will be collected from your Cancun hotel by your driver/guide, who will introduce you to the culture and history of the Yucatán Peninsula as you drive 4-hours to Mérida, the cultural capital of the Yucatán Peninsula since the Spanish conquest.
Along the way we stop at Chichen Itza, the most visited Mayan ruins in all of Mexico (meaning 'Entrance to the Witches Well'). Chichen Itza was the focal point of the Northern Mayan empire from AD 600 until AD 1200 and had an extremely diverse population, as a result of which you can see a wide variety of architectural styles at this site.
The most spectacular pyramid is El Castillo with its rich cosmological symbolism - all four sides have 365 steps (number of days in a solar year), 52 rectangles (years in a Mayan century) and 18 terraces (months of their religious calendar). Other structures include the enormous Ballcourt, the Observatory, Temple of a Thousand Columns, Kukulcán Temple, Warrior’s Temple, Convent of the Nuns, El Mercado (market place) and the Sacred Cenote (pool) where human sacrifices were carried out.
After an included lunch at a local restaurant, we continue to Mérida, the cultural capital of the Yucatán Peninsula since the Spanish conquest and known as the 'White City'. This is a town steeped in history with narrow streets, broad central plazas, thriving markets and the region’s best museums. It has colonial houses as well as homes that date back to the beginning of the last century in Arabic, French and Italian styles, thanks to the wealth generated from the sisal trade.