Itinerary:
Day One: Flight from your city to Villahermosa; overnight in Villahermosa at Marriott Hotel.
Day Two: Today we will visit Parque La Venta in Villahermosa. Here you will witness a great display of Olmec artifacts from the nearby archaeological site of LA Venta as well as Colossal Olmec heads in a well laid out park. Also in this complex is a very nice zoo featuring local animals. After lunch we will head to Palenque in time to relax, have dinner and explore this quaint Mexican town.
Day Three: Today we will visit the magical ruins of Palenque. We will take a guided tour through this amazing site where we will learn about the culture and happenings of this grand ancient city. There is also a great museum onsite. These are set deep in the jungle of the state of Chiapas. Hopefully we will be able to see a few howler monkeys that frequent the area.
Day Four: Today we will take a beautiful drive to the waterfall Misol Ha. This is a great place to take pictures and if you're brave enough, you can take a hike behind a waterfall. Next stop is to the river Agua Clara. This river is a brilliant blue from the minerals in the mountains surrounding the valley. Cross the river on a hanging bridge if you dare. Next it's on to Agua Azul, a series of blue waterfalls. This will be a nice place to have lunch and enjoy a swim in one of the clear blue pools.
Day Five: Up early today to travel south to the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan. We will stop for a delicious breakfast along the way at a small roadside restaurant about an hour and a half outside of Palenque. Bonampak is one one of the few places you can find almost perfectly preserved painting on muraled walls enclosed in buildings atop a large ruined temple. Huge well preserved Stellas adorn the main plaza. Then a short drive to the river Usumicinta (border of Guatemala ). We will take boats down the river to the ruins of Yaxchillan. A beautiful setting for ruins on the banks of the river. Many well preserved carvings and ornate buildings in this site as well. Back on the boats to return to the bus. Don't be surprised if we see some of the huge crocodiles that inhabit this river. Return to Palenque in the evening.
Day six: A short drive to the lagoon of Catazaha. We will enter small boats to view the wildlife of this area. We have seen many birds, iguanas, crocodiles , and other wildlife on this relaxing tour. Time to have lunch in this small town before returning to Palenque.
Day seven: Back to Villahermosa toay. On the way we will stop at the wildlife park of Yumka. We tour through the park on wagons pulled by tractors. Many animals from Africa are the main attraction as they wander through the the open park. A very nice relaxing tour. We will then return to the Marriott hotel. For those interested, we should have time to attend a session of the LDS temple this evening. There is also a large modern mall with a food court nearby.
Day eight: Breakfast at the hotel. We will then drive north to visit the ruins of Comalcalco. These ruins are very unique, constructed different than any other Mayan site as they are made from hand made brick. A really nice museum as well. Then to a cacao plantation. We will get to see how chocolate is grown and produced from plant to candy. A short walk through the plantation is shaded from the huge trees in the garden area. You will have an opportunity to purchase natural cacao in the gift shop to take home for souvenirs! Back to Villahermosa for our last night.
Day nine: Transfer to the airport for flight home.
*Jan 19-27, 2018 Palenque/Chiapas Mexico
Pictures here! Slideshow
Pricing:
Double occupancy $1575.00 per person
Triple occupancy $1500.00 per person
Single occupancy $1860.00 per person
3 payments!
$300 deposit per person to hold reservation
(see payment/refund link) here
2nd payment of $600 due Sept 1, 2017 (dbl occ)
Balance due Nov 1, 2017 (dbl occ)
All prices include:
RT airfare from Salt Lake City, hotels, bus
transportation, breakfast each day, tips for bus driver, entrances to ruins, included tours and
all taxes.
