**MÉRIDA, YUCATÁN:**
MAYAN TRACES

DECEMBER 2-8, 2024 (WAITLIST) JANUARY 8-14, 2025 (WAITLIST)

OVERVIEW

Step back into a time of boulevards lined with stately mansions and haciendas with luscious gardens in Mérida, the capital city of Yucatán state, which mixes colonial grandeur with a strong Mayan history. Even with Condé Nast naming Mérida as one of the best cities in the world to visit, it has remained largely under the radar for travelers. Until recently, that is, as artists and creatives have been transforming grand houses into boutique hotels, restaurants, and cafés.

Founded in 1542 and prior to Spanish conquest, Mérida was the Mayan city T’ho. Today it is also known as la Ciudad Blanca, or The White City, for the myriad white limestone buildings framing the streets, contrasting with a palette of pastel houses. With a deep indigenous heritage, Yucatán has kept alive many of its pre-Hispanic traditions, present in its culture, architecture, textiles, customs and, above all, its food.

Here, the markets are filled with vibrant, neon-colored chiles, small bags full of spices and various recados (seasoning pastes), all filling the air with wonderful smells and colors. Outside of Mérida, people dress in beautifully embroidered traditional clothes and, as the background, enchanting towns that combine colonial architecture with pre-Columbian traditions. The Mexican government has given these towns the prestigious title of “Pueblos Mágicos,” or Magic Towns. And if that isn’t enough enticement, the state is also brimming with ecological reserves, gorgeous cenotes (natural freshwater sinkholes), and Mayan archeological sites such as Uxmal, Ek Balam, and Chichen Itzá—one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In short, the state is dripping with history. And nowhere is this more tangible than in its cuisine, which mixes indigenous ingredients and techniques, such as cooking in an earth oven—“pib style,” as it is called in the Mayan language—with practices and flavors brought in during colonial times.

For our epicurean tour, our home base will be a luxury boutique hotel in the most prestigious boulevard of Mérida. From there, we’ll be perfectly set to explore several of the surrounding towns such as the Yellow City of Izamal and the colonial gem of Valladolid. We’ll make stops to learn about various local arts and crafts, such as jewelry made with cocoyol (the fruit of a palm tree,) Mayan ceramics, and products made with the fibers of the agave henequén, whose fibers propelled the region’s economy in the 19th Century until the invention of nylon took down the industry, leaving behind many haciendas slowly falling into disrepair.

We will dine at upscale restaurants, market and street stands, and the private homes of local cooks to experience street food, home cooking, and modern chef interpretations. And since we want to make sure you experience the food of the city and the ingredients as close as possible, we will explore several markets, tasting as we go, while we get to know the spices, chiles, and everything in between. Apart from visiting Uxmal and enjoying a tasting of Mexican wines, one of our trip’s highlights will be choosing ingredients for a cooking lesson led by James Beard Award winning chef Iliana de la Vega. During our session, which will take place at a private luxury hacienda that we’ll enjoy all to ourselves, we will see tortillas being made by hand, learn about traditional ingredients, and understand how to incorporate into your own cooking. This is a 7-day, 6-night immersion trip where we will dive deep into the cultural and culinary traditions of Yucatán.

TRIP ITINERARY

Welcome to Mérida, the capital of Yucatán state, colloquially known as the white city for its many white limestone buildings. After landing in Mérida, our driver will meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel, a luxurious boutique hotel that's located on the most prestigious street in town. Take some time to settle into your room before we meet for a welcome drink at our hotel’s courtyard.
Afterwards, we'll make our way to dinner. Our destination tonight is a feast for the senses at an intimate, reservations-only restaurant with 16 seats, where the chef presents his personal renditions of Yucatán cuisine. The space is meant to transport us right into the terrain of the state, as if we were swimming in a cenote.
Today, we’ll be venturing into the beating heart of the city: its historic downtown, or Centro. But first, we will begin with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Then, we’ll meet an expert guide who will show us through the main landmarks of the downtown area, which may include a few of Mérida’s many squares, the government palace, the casa Montejo museum, and the San Idelfonso Cathedral. We will be doing a good amount of walking, so please wear comfortable shoes and let us know if you need a break.
After a few hours of walking, we’ll hop on our van and drive to the town of Tixkokob for lunch. Here, a pibil master (similar to a pitmaster) serves exquisite traditional Yucatán dishes that are cooked in an earth oven, pib style, as it is called in the Mayan language. Here we will try things like cochinita pibil, relleno negro, and queso relleno.
Following our delicious lunch, we will head back to Mérida and rest for a few hours before we meet again for a tasting of Mexican wines accompanied with some cold cuts and cheeses.
Our day will start with breakfast at a morning-only taqueria located inside a local market. Here, you may try some empanadas or one of the meat dishes like lechón al horno (suckling pig), cochinita pibil, or pavo asado (roasted turkey) served either as a polcán, taco, panucho, or a salbute—and you will learn the difference between each. After an energizing breakfast, we will meet our guide, hop on the van and make our way to the Mayan archeological site of Uxmal. We will explore the site along with our expert guide. Along the way, we will stop by the workshop of a famed local artisan who makes traditional Mayan ceramics.
After this, and once we’ve built up an appetite, we will make our way to have a lovely and elegant lunch at an exclusive hotel where two world-renowned chefs have joined forces to put together a menu of modern Mexican cuisine laced with flavors from the Mexican southeast. We’ll sit down for their tasting menu and enjoy the food and the beautiful grounds.
Following our long lunch, we’ll return to Mérida and to the hotel to rest. The evening is yours to relax, take a dip in the hotel pool, or explore the city’s culinary landscape on your own—if you're hungry, that is.
This day will be all about the ingredients of Yucatán: learning about them and understanding how to use them in your own cooking back home. Our day will begin early with breakfast at a casual family restaurant for the most traditional Yucatán breakfast dish: huevos motuleños. After breakfast, we’ll take a short drive to the nearby market Lucas de Galvéz to buy ingredients for our cooking session. Our culinary workshop will be led by James Beard Award winning chef Iliana de la Vega at a private and breathtaking hacienda that we will have all to ourselves, located just outside of Mérida.
After our feast, we will drive back to Mérida to relax for the rest of the afternoon. We’ll meet again for dinner at a renovated mansion where the chef showcases beautiful modern takes on Yucatán classics.
We will start with breakfast in a popular local eatery in Mérida’s centro, where you can try some papadzules (a type of enchilada filled with eggs, covered in a pumpkin seed sauce) or chilaquiles. After this, we’ll meet our expert guide and make our way to the beautiful yellow city of Izamal, which is one of four towns in Yucatán state that has been awarded with the title of “Pueblo Mágico” (Magic Town) by the Mexican government. Our guide will show us through the history of this picturesque town, walking us through the most important landmarks such as the San Antonio de Padua convent. We will also be visiting some artisan workshops to learn about local crafts, such as jewelry made from cocoyol, the fruit of a palm tree, and products made with the fibers of an agave, henequén, which used to be called "green gold." The henequén industry in the Yucatán Peninsula was the most important economic source in the 19th Century, and the many haciendas and mansions around the state are living proof of this.
After our walking tour of Izamal, we will make our way to lunch at a very traditional restaurant where tortillas are made by hand and you can taste local specialties like sikil p’ak, a dip made with pumpkin seeds, and poc chuc, a charcoal-roasted pork dish that's marinated with the local sour oranges (naranja agria).
After lunch, we’ll return to Mérida to rest for a few hours before we reconvene in the evening for street tacos at a taqueria that specializes in street food from the Yucatán peninsula.
Our final day will begin with breakfast at your own pace at the hotel. Then, we will get in the van and drive to Yucatán’s oldest and second largest city: Valladolid. Valladolid is also one of four towns in Yucatán state that has been awarded with the title of “Pueblo Mágico” (Magic Town) by the Mexican government. On the way there, we will visit a cenote, a natural sinkhole where people usually swim or snorkel. The historic town of Valladolid is a bit quieter than Mérida, and we’ll have a guide with us to show us all the historical landmarks, such as the San Gervasio Cathedral, the San Bernadino Convent and the colorful Calzada de los Frailes.
After walking around the city, we will have lunch at a restaurant that specializes in traditional Mayan cuisine. Once we’re done with lunch, we will make our way back to Mérida to rest before our final dinner tonight.
We will reconvene one last time for our farewell dinner at a lively restaurant where the chef presents a large variety of Mexican classics in the style of an old-school cantina. We’ll toast to a wonderful trip together and the many new memories made.
After a week of exploring and eating your way through Yucatán, it's time to head back home with a head full of memories and perhaps a couple of bottles of Mexican wines. Our driver will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the airport. You may depart early in the morning or enjoy breakfast at the hotel beforehand.

*Please keep in mind that this is a sample itinerary and it is subject to change. We expect to do everything listed, but the order may change depending on local conditions and availability.