15-Day Off-the-Beaten-Track Mexico

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In the morning after breakfast, you'll head out with your driver to visit the large pre-Columbian archaeological site of Monte Alban and enjoy an amazing view over the valleys of Oaxaca. Then, you'll explore some of the local towns such as San Bartolo Coyotepec, home of the beautiful, centuries-old handicraft of making black pottery and San Martin Tilcajete with its the bright copal-wood animal figures. In the early evening, you'll return to your hotel in Oaxaca.

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Start your day with a short tour around the centre of Oaxaca. Then, you'll travel towards Santa Maria el Tule, where you will find a 2000-year-old giant cypress tree. Next, you'll head to the village of Teotitlan del Valle to discover the secrets of natural colouration, weaving and spinning. Have some lunch with Doña Karina in the town of Tierra Antigua before heading towards the incredible waterfalls of Hierve el Agua where you'll enjoy the natural pools of mineral waters and the view.

Today after breakfast, you'll head to the airport and take a domestic flight from Oaxaca to Tuxtla Gutierrez. From here, you'll travel the rest of the way by car to the romantic town of San Cristobal de las Casas, in the state of Chiapas. You'll have the afternoon to settle into your surroundings in the mountains of Chiapas! Stroll the cobbled streets, get lost in the markets and admire the views from the highest points of this colourful city!

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Today, you'll travel through the amazing Canyon del Sumidero, a deep natural canyon on the Rio Chiapas. Dating back to a similar period to the Grand Canyon in the US, this is one of Mexico's greatest natural wonders! Afterwards, you'll learn about syncretism in the village of San Juan de Chamula: this is a mixture of Christian beliefs and ancestral rituals. In San Juan Chamula, virtually the entire population is indigenous and speaks an indigenous language.

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In the morning, you'll drive to the starting point for your one-hour hike to the El Chiflon waterfalls. These wonderful waterfalls are hidden in a valley surrounded by mountains and dense jungle. The five waterfalls here form magical pools of turquoise water. Here, here you can wander through the forest paths and dive into the azure blue pools. You'll then travel to your next destination where you'll spend the night in the village of Tziscao, situated on the shores of a glorious lake.

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Today, you'll take a short drive to visit the Montebello Lakes where you can take a short one-hour hike around the lake to visit some of the 59 small lakes in total. The beautiful landscape here is made up of unique limestone karst formations, lakes and pine and oak forests. Later in the day, you'll continue to the Las Guacamayas campsite, located in the jungle, where you will spend the night. This is a really off-the-beaten-track campsite where you can enjoy the quiet sounds of jungle life.

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Today, you'll get up close and personal with nature as you travel through the jungle by boat. During this journey, you'll marvel at the landscapes of the Reserva de los Montes Azules before travelling to the majestic Mayan site of Bonampak. In the heart of the jungle, these ruins feature gorgeous and incredibly well-preserved frescos depicting wild fight scenes on the inside walls of the temples. In the evening, you'll arrive at your ecotourism camp run by a local family.

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This morning, you'll embark on a trip to the archaeological site of Yaxchilan. In the Maya language, it means 'Place of the Green Stones' and is a site of amazing temples, plazas and sculptures. Sitting on the border with Guatemala, you will reach the site by paddling down the Usumacinta River on a pirogue. Here, you can take a walk between the many Mayan temples and imagine life in the time of the Mayan people. You'll then continue your journey to Palenque where you'll stay overnight.

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Continue your 2 week Mexico itinerary by visiting the archaeological site of Palenque, one of the most magical sites of Mexico. The surrounding jungle and the buried ruins create awe-inspiring scenery and it's easy to imagine the magnificence of the place, back when the temples and the palace stood in their full glory, adorned with richly animated esplanades, columns and ceilings. In the afternoon, you'll travel to Campeche, a colourful colonial City on the coast.

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Today, you'll explore the village of Becal, where the inhabitants here make their living weaving jipijapas, as the soft, pliable hats are known locally. You'll spend some time with Don Alfredo who opens his house to share with you the fabrication secrets of his Panama hats, the typical hat of Yucatan. In the afternoon, you'll hit the road to the archaeological and peaceful site of Uxmal and explore these Mayan ruins whilst learning about some of the old Mayan Legends.

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This morning, you'll travel through some small towns of the Yucatán Peninsula. First, you'll visit Muna and meet the local community. You'll then continue to Ticul, the shoe-making and typical dress weaving town. Here, you can visit a family's shoe-making workshop. Later, you'll head to the mighty Chichen Itza, one the seven wonders of the modern world and the largest archaeological site in Yucatan. You'll take a tour of this huge site, once the centre of the Mayan Kingdom!

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Today, you'll take a boat tour of Rio Lagartos, a biosphere reserve that has the densest concentration of pink flamingos in Mexico. You'll discover this amazing lagoon and look out for the rich concentration of wildlife here: pelicans, ibis, cormorants, ospreys, egrets, crocodiles and more. You'll then head to Isla Holbox, a peaceful island, still unreached by mass tourism. You'll check into your villa surrounded by tropical trees where you can enjoy total tranquillity.

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Today, you'll have the entire day to discover this peaceful island, its beautiful beaches and its welcoming population of fishermen families. You will find no mass tourism and no cars here, just sandy tracks with the occasional golf cart. If you come in the right season it's possible to see whale sharks just off the coast of this island! Treat the island as your playground for the day, you never know what experiences you might encounter.