Tag Archives: mayan ruins

Best Boutique Hotels and Luxury Villas in Tulum

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Tulum, Mexico, a coastal land once inhabited by the Mayans, is known for its mind-blowing natural landscape, blanketed with tropical vegetation and bordering the crystal waters of the Caribbean Sea. Its name stems from the Mayan word for “wall,” describing the fortification that surrounded the Pre-Columbian city, the ruins of which still remain on 12-meter cliffs along the Yucatan Peninsula’s coast. Like so many other ancient cities, Tulum thrived well into the 15th century but eventually fell to Spanish conquest. For the traveler looking for a unique Mexican vacation, here are our top 10 picks for best boutique hotels and villas in Tulum.

1)Shambala Petit Tulum

Ten thatched-roof cabanas named for Mayan deities line the shores of South Beach, offering an unparalleled view of sparkling ocean. This hidden retreat features relaxing minimalist décor and lounge chairs shaded by palm trees. Guests can arrange cooking and Spanish lessons or enjoy tranquil yoga classes.

2)Be Tulum

A captivating blend of nature and luxury awaits in 20 suites decorated with reeds, stonework and distressed wood. Glass doors and private terraces give a breathtaking view of the ocean, beaches and tranquil gardens. Weary travelers can relax at the poolside bar or enjoy a spa massage.

3)Casa Yakunah

Oceanfront and private lagoon surround this stunning boutique villa, where all guests can tour ancient Mayan canals. Spacious rooms of contemporary Mayan décor come with maid services, full meals and a complimentary Swedish massage. The villa is charmingly sustainable while offering luxury amenities like rooftop dining and satellite Internet and TV.

4) Ana y Jose Hotel & Spa

Tropical landscape and the Caribbean Sea provide an incredible backdrop for luxurious oceanfront suites that welcome guests with bright colors and nature-inspired décor. Palm-shaded hammocks, spa treatments and linen drapery make this hotel a romantic hideaway, while nearby remnants of Mayan culture provide exciting day excursions.

5)Hotel Esencia

The regal estate of a former duchess houses this contemporary retreat, a spectacular blend of lush scenery, modern simplicity and authentic Mexican décor. Traveling families will be enchanted by versatile amenities ranging from children’s cooking lessons to pre-loaded iPods to relaxing private pools.

6)Casa Godi

This 3-bedroom private villa lies in the Sian Kaan reserve amidst the sparkling Caribbean Sea, Tulum archaeological ruins and the famed ancient Mayan canals. Fully staffed and environmentally conscious, Casa Godi uses green energy to offer satellite TV, Internet and iPod entertainment. Services are expertly tailored to guests’ needs, including pre-planned gourmet meals.

7)Villa Bel’Ha

Plan an unforgettable family getaway to this private rental villa with four suites, seven stunning terraces and two beachside huts. Elegant rooms combine Meso-American influences with natural and contemporary décor, incorporating tranquil comforts like balconies and hammocks. Dine amidst lush tropical scenery and enjoy local eco attractions from swimming with dolphins to visiting the enchanting butterfly pavilions.

8)Villas Akumal

Twenty-six villas and studios make up this impressive resort on the Caribbean shore. Airy, open spaces, white linens, and wood and thatch décor merge luxury with the natural beauty of tropical gardens and white sandy beaches speckled with nesting turtles. This private paradise appeals to adults and children with onsite water sports, babysitting services, massages and gourmet meals.

9)Kite House

A brand new 4-bedroom villa, Kite House is artfully balanced, offering cutting-edge technology alongside airy, tropical-style rooms with views of the Caribbean Sea and ancient Mayan ruins. Private bathrooms accompany each unique room and the house is fully staffed with a butler, chef and maid services. A wealth of upscale shopping and cuisine stops are nearby, but guests won’t want to leave the villa’s automated current infinity pool.

10)Zacil Na

For a sweet escape, Zacil Na is the perfect private villa for the whole family, offering four bedrooms right on the waterfront. Guests are pampered with custom meals from an onsite chef, concierge services and water sports equipment to enjoy in the soothing pool or beach. Bask in the tranquility of natural gems while having plenty of tech power ranging from outdoor speakers to an in-house computer and flat screen TV.

Top Adventure Travel Trips in Mexico

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Adventure travel trips and tours in Mexico are one of our specialties at Journey Mexico. For those of you planning adventure vacations this summer, we’ve put together a list of our favorite adventure tours.

From pristine beaches and remote jungles to spectacular mountains, lakes and rivers – these travel adventures get to the heart of this grand destination: Mexico.

 

1)      Baja Multisport: Sea Kayaking and Hiking Trip

On this adventure trip you’ll visit both the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez coastlines of Baja California, Mexico. Perfect for active travelers, it combines remote hiking and paddling in intact wilderness settings, plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities and visits to local villages.

This trip includes a full day Sea-Kayaking expedition in the Sea of Cortez. Experience the turquoise waters of the protected beaches of the Island of Espiritu Santo.  We will also visit the resident sea lion colony where you can opt to swim and snorkel with these marine mammals.

During our day hike, you will indulge in the seascapes of the rugged Pacific Coast of Southern Baja California. In this hike into the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere reserve you will also experience the beauty of cascading waterfalls in the stunning cactus forests.  A visit to the fishing village of Todos Santos and a day of surfing provides a taste of the old Baja.

2)      Chiapas Adventure Trip – Ziplines, Waterfalls, and Ruins

On this fabulous adventure trip to Chiapas, Mexico, you will zip line through the tree-tops of the jungles and mountains of the region. Take in the magnificent beauty of one of the area’s waterfalls, measuring over 100 feet in height, and swim in the refreshing water from the falls. This journey also includes a visit to the archaeological site of Palenque, an ancient Mayan city known as one of the greatest achievements of ancient man, and to San Cristobal de las Casas, a charming colonial city where you can converse with the indigenous people of San Juan Chamula and Zinacatan, and learn about their colorful ceramics and textiles.

 

3)      Swim With Whale Sharks and Visit Ancient Ruins Trip

This adventure trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico, is perfect for wildlife lovers. One of the highlights of this adventure includes swimming and snorkeling with docile whale sharks (ranging from 10 to 65 feet in length) on a secluded island. After a few days of nature immersion, explore the ancient Mayan ruins at the world renowned Chichen Itza. Your private guide will explain the significance of this archeological site and the achievements of the Maya civilization. You will also have the chance to cool off in a beautiful sinkhole before enjoying a picturesque lunch nearby. Accommodations at the Isla Holbox (a tranquil island 3 hours from Cancun) are in a quaint eco-friendly hotel.

 

 

4)      Copper Canyon Hiking Trip – Lower Rio Urique Wilderness

The Copper Canyon hiking trip is an expedition style adventure where hikers follow the Urique River as it winds through the Mexican canyon. This tour offers stunning views, trails through narrow slot canyons and a crossing of the magnificent suspension bridge at Vado de la Cueva. You will also visit the native communities and the historic settlements of El Fuerte, Cerocahui, Creel, Chihuahua, and Batopilas.

A train journey on the world famous Chihuahua al Pacifico Mexican railroad offers a panoramic view of the amazing transition between the Sea of Cortez and the canyons of the Sierra Tarahumara.

 

5)      Mainland Mexico Surf Trip

This surfing adventure trip is 10 days of non-stop surfing combined with luxury accommodations to relax and recharge in the evening. On this trip you will stay in 2 magnificent villas right on the water. You will also go on exciting road trips on private SUVs and take a private fight to some of the region’s best kept secret surfing spots.

An expert guide will be with you providing insider access and a professional photographer will shoot video and photos of the adventure.

 

6)      Oaxaca Cycling Excursion

This exciting tour lets you experience a bike tour like you never have before. During this cycling excursion you will not only see great bike routes but you will also discover Oaxaca’s amazing culture, food, and natural beauty.

You will visit Teotitlan del Valle, where the world-famous, traditional, woven, wool blankets and rugs come from, as well as other remote villages with XVI century churches, old plazas and vibrant markets and galleries.  On this tour, you will also see Monte Alban – an archeological site from around 500BC.

 

7)      The Volcano Mountain Climbing Expedition

This adventure tour is 10 days of amazing mountain climbing. Explore two Mexican volcanoes: The Malinche volcano, named after the Indian lover and interpreter for Cortez , and the Iztaccihuatl, the 3rd largest in Mexico famous for its shape of a sleeping woman.

In addition to exploring the mountaintops, caves, and glaciers of central Mexico, you will also visit the charming towns of Puebla and Cholula outside of Mexico City.

This trip also includes a visit to Teotihucan, a world-famous archeological site, and the Basilica de Guadalupe. This Basilica is the 3rd most important religious center worldwide.

8)      Yucatan  Adventure

This adventure trip on the Riviera Maya takes you through the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula and brings you to incredible archeological sites designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Visit the Mayan ruins of Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Celestun, Ex-balam and Sian Ka’an.

This ecotourism tour includes a visit to a local Maya family where age old traditions are still maintained. It also takes you to Tixkokob where locals still practice the age old tradition of Hammock weaving.

The Riviera Maya, with its turquoise waters and soft powder sand beaches awaits you.

 

We hope you embark soon on your adventure travel tour and discover the wonders that Mexico has to offer.

 

Journey Mexico’s Chiapas Tour: National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s “50 Tours of a Lifetime”

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At Journey Mexico, we’re especially proud that one of our favorite vacation packages to Chiapas made the National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s “50 Tours of a Lifetime” list this year! Although it’s always an honor to achieve this level of recognition, this year is truly special. For 2012, National Geographic Traveler chose “transformation” as the overall theme in addition to evaluating each tour based on authenticity, sustainability, and degree of immersion. This means that the judges at National Geographic Traveler felt our Chiapas Tour: A Journey through Mexico Less Visited has the power to make a permanent change in the lives of both our travelers and the local residents who live in the various villages along the route. While we like to think that each of our packages is a “trip of a lifetime,” the Chiapas Tour lives up to that reputation more than any other! If you’d like to become fully immersed in the rich culture of Mexico, here’s a closer look at this Chiapas Tour:

The Journey Begins The Chiapas tour is designed to give you an intimate look at Southwest Mexico and the Mayan World. Your journey will begin in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas, where your tour leader will welcome you at the Tuxtla Gutierrez airport. Next, you will travel through the Sumidero Canyon before ascending into the highest reaches of the Sierra Madre Sur to reach the quaint colonial city that serves as the commercial center of the highland people of Txotzil and Tzetzal. Within this part of Mexico, the proud farmers still live their lives according to ancient cultural traditions. You’ll have ample opportunity to see this up close as your group explores the area surrounding San Cristobal on foot and interacts with the locals. During your stay, you’ll visit the workshops of local artisans, view the colonial architecture and explore the San Cristobal museums.

The Adventure Continues After you fully explore the highland areas, your group will descend to the exotic Chiapan rainforests where you will enjoy a day filled with swimming, hiking and waterfall exploration. Once you arrive at the jungle, you’ll discover a number of ancient Mayan ruins including Yaxchitlan, Palenque, Bomampak and Edzna.

Compared to other better-known sites, these are much less crowded but just as significant. The locations are stunning, and your leader will fill you in on the amazing accomplishments of the ancient Mayans in the fields of astronomy, engineering and agriculture. From the jungle, you’ll venture into Tabasco to visit the zoo and the museum to learn more about the Olmec culture.

The Final Transformation On the last night of your stay, you’ll attend a farewell fiesta and dance the night away with the Tabasco locals. The next day, you’ll depart from the Villa Hermosa’s International Airport. From here, you can get a flight into many other Mexican destinations to continue your adventure or fly back to the States. If you’re ready for your “Journey of a Lifetime,” book an adventure and discover an entirely new side of Mexico.

 

Southern Mexico: Days 7-9

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When we left San Cristobal de las Casas, we entered some pretty deep jungle where internet was non-existent. Here is a brief recap of what we encountered as we set out to find the ancient Maya.

Day 7 – After a hike through the highlands of Chiapas, we reached Toniná, featuring one of the most well developed central temple complexes in Mayan civilization. The base of the temple has a real labyrinth that we were able to wander through in the dark.

Climbing Toniná

From Toniná, we continued on to a natural wonder, the Misol Ha waterfall. Falling more than 130 feet from top to bottom, Misol Ha was impressive even now at the end of the dry season. Our guide Roberto informed us that during the rainy season, the cascade of Misol Ha more than doubles in width and the force of the water is so great, visitors get sprayed with water even when standing high on the banks. Because the rainy season has not yet started, we were able to actually walk behind the waterfall and explore caves containing smaller rivers.

Walking behind the falls at Misol-Ha

Walking behind the falls at Misol-Ha

 

Day 8 - Today, we visited two of the most difficult to access and the most impressive sites in the Mayan world: Yaxchilán and Bonampak. Traveling through the jungle by boat, we arrived at Yaxchilán, which was home to a powerful group of Mayans that dominated the Usumacinta River area.

Hiking down from Yaxchilán

Bonampak was a smaller community of Mayans who were actually ruled by Yaxchilán. Their significance, however, is great because they left behind astonishingly vivid frescos inside their temples, accurately depicting battles, bizarre rituals of torture, and bloodletting. The frescoes found at Bonampak are unmatched throughout the Mayan world as we currently know it.

Paintings at Bonampak

Day 9 - Today we set out for the costal city of Campeche but not before an early morning visit to the magnificent archeological site of Palenque. Nestled deep in the jungle at the foot of the Sierra Madre del Sur, Palenque was an important and powerful group of ancient Mayans. Their city was created around 100 BC and although the site is massive and sheds a lot of light on the traditions, rituals, ceremonies, and spirituality of the ancient Maya, only a very small fraction of the actual site has been excavated.

Looking at the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque

From Palenque, we traveled into the waterfront city of Campeche, a famous port city on the Gulf of Mexico. When the Spaniards overtook the city of Campeche, it became a booming port constantly bustling with trade. The sudden increase in trade traffic quickly attracted pirates who would often attack merchant ships heading back to Spain after loading up with gold and silver from Mexico. Here in Campeche, our groups splits up to stay at two of the Hacienda properties, Puerta Campeche and Uayamon, where we will no doubt redefine our definitions of luxury.

Town square in Campeche

Stay tuned for more!

Go to Days 10 & 11 >>

Journey Mexico at Mexico Pyramid Chichen Itza

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Journey Mexico at Uxmal

Pyramid at Uxmal

Journey Mexico President, Zach Rabinor; Director of Operations, Matteo Luthi; and Manager of Travel Planning, Gerardo Tovar recently returned from a FAM trip in Yucatan and brought back with them lots of great video. Here is a little clip from one of the most important archeological sites of Mayan culture, Chichen-Itzal, which is one of the highlights of our Archeological Mayan Journey trip.

In the beginning of the clip, Zach is speaking with Teresa Perez of TeresaPerezTours, (Brasil), Maita Barrenechea of Mai10 (Argentina), and Adamarie King of Connoiseur’s Travel (Mexico) about the incredible sites of archeological and cultural importance that Mexico has to offer. Throughout the clip, you’ll see expert guide Alejandro “Alex” Ricalde illuminating the tour with his expansive knowledge of the site.

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New Sarcophagus to Give Fresh Insight Into the Fall of the Maya

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Exploring ruins at Tonina with Journey Mexico

Researches at the archeological site of Tonina in Chiapas found a new sarcophagus in January of 2010, which they feel could help clear up the mystery surrounding the fall of the Mayan civilization. The sarcophagus is said to measure 6.7 feet in length, 27.6 inches in width, and 23.6 inches in depth, which is very similar to the dimensions of “The Red Queen,” who was discovered in 1994 in Palenque, Chiapas.

The archeologists working on the site say that this new sarcophagus dates back to sometime between 840-900 AD, which is right around when the Maya stopped producing sculptures and inscriptions, signaling the end of their dynasty. Scientists hope that the discovery of this sarcophagus and its tomb will shed new light on what was happening at this time of transformation for the Maya.

Zach atop Tonina

This discovery adds to the incredibly long list of reasons to visit the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan and explore the mystery surround such a unique and important culture.

Full article at The Times of India