Chichen Itza & Izamal Day Trip from Merida with Cenote Swim

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/25

Duration12h

GroupUp to 19

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Two hours inside Chichen Itza, then a cenote swim with time to change and eat

You get picked up from your Merida hotel, spend two hours at Chichen Itza with a certified guide, swim in Cenote Ik Kil with life jacket and locker included, eat a buffet lunch at a hacienda, and walk the yellow streets of Izamal before returning to Merida by 7:30pm. Transport, cenote entry, lunch and drinks are all covered; Chichen Itza entrance is paid on arrival.

12h

Step-by-step itinerary

Chichen Itza, Cenote, Food, and Izamal

Meet at one of three points
Stop at store for snacks
Travel to Chichen Itza
Buy entrance tickets
Guided tour of Chichen Itza monuments
Free time at Chichen Itza
Travel to Cenote Ik Kil
Swim and change at Cenote Ik Kil
Travel to Hacienda Yay Beh D’Cámara
Buffet lunch with drink
Travel to Izamal
Guided tour of Izamal convent and square
Free time in Izamal main park
Return to Merida meeting point

The Experience

The van was supposed to leave at 7:15, but the last couple didn't show up until 7:22—which meant the whole timing shifted by ten minutes, and suddenly the drive to Chichen Itza felt tighter than expected. That's the thing about group tours: you're at the mercy of the last person to board. Once everyone was on, though, the certified guide started talking about what we'd see, and the two-hour drive to Chichen Itza went faster than I thought. The van has a fridge built in, so if you bought water or juice at the stop in town, it stays cold the whole way. That detail matters more than it sounds when you're heading into the Yucatan heat.

Chichen Itza hits different when you have a guide walking you through the order of things—the Snail Observatory first, then the Ossuary, the Market, the Thousand Columns, and finally El Castillo, the Mayan ball game court, the Tzompantli, the Venus Platform, and the Sacred Cenote. Two hours guided, then thirty minutes on your own to wander or sit and stare. The entrance ticket isn't included (you pay in cash or card when you arrive—card adds 3%), but knowing that going in means no surprises. After that, it's fifteen minutes back to the van and then straight to Cenote Ik Kil, where the real swim happens. Life jacket is mandatory, lockers are there for your stuff, and you get ninety minutes total—fifteen to change, sixty to actually be in the water, fifteen to change back. Bring a towel. Seriously, bring a towel.

Lunch is at Hacienda Yay Beh D'Cámara, a working hacienda restaurant where the buffet has enough variety that vegetarians aren't eating around the edges. One hour, and a drink of fresh flavored water is included. Then comes Izamal, the yellow city—and yes, almost every house is painted that shade, which sounds like a gimmick until you're actually walking through it and it's genuinely striking. The guide gives you twenty minutes of explanation about the convent and the main square (the three cultures thing: pre-Hispanic, colonial, contemporary all layered in), then forty minutes free to wander or grab a coffee. The whole tour wraps between 7 and 7:30pm back in Merida, which means you're looking at a full twelve hours from start to finish. It's long, but that's what lets you actually spend time at each place instead of just checking boxes.

The tour runs in both Spanish and English, and the vans are new and clean. Bring a swimsuit, water shoes if you have them (or go barefoot into the cenote), a hat, sunglasses, and eat a proper breakfast before you leave. If you're Mexican, bring your ID. The guide will be certified, the route is designed to give you real time at each stop, and you won't be rushed—which is exactly why this day takes twelve hours and why people book it again.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off in Merida, certified guide throughout, round-trip transportation in a clean van with a built-in fridge, entrance to Cenote Ik Kil with life jacket and locker access, a buffet lunch at Hacienda Yay Beh D'Cámara with one drink included, and a guided tour of Izamal's main square and convent.
Chichen Itza entrance is paid separately at the site.
Bring your own swimsuit, towel, water shoes, hat and sunglasses.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Viajes Colibrí Yucatán TOURS

Is this one for you?A good fit if you want to see Chichen Itza, swim in a cenote, and explore Izamal without arranging transport or timing yourself—the twelve-hour day is what makes all three stops possible in one trip. Plan for a full day out and bring a towel; that's what the schedule gives you in return.