Escape Cancun on the Maya Train to colorfully authentic Mexican towns in the Yucatan state. Discover beaches free of tourists and seaweed, ancient pyramids, and underground swimming holes the Mayans believed were gateways to the underworld.
Mexico‘s Yucatán state is a jewel, and 2024 will be the year it shines for the world. Located on the peninsula of the same name, Yucatán state has long been overshadowed by its more tourist-oriented neighbor, Quintana Roo. But that is all poised to change with the newly opened Maya Train.
The Maya Train will connect Cancun International Airport to Izamal. It’s nicknamed the “Yellow City” because of the canary hue of its Spanish colonial buildings. Along the way, travelers can hop off in Valladolid, another historic town. Valladolid serves as the gateway to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The train is slated to continue to Mérida, the vibrant capital city of the Yucatán where history and modernity collide. Mérida is one of the safest cities in Mexico and is also home to a booming restaurant scene.
Surrounding Mérida are thousands of cenotes. These lush, underground swimming holes look like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. The Mayans believed cenotes were gateways to the underworld. Others believe cenotes are the result of unique geological conditions created by the same meteorite that killed the dinosaurs.
For more traditional water sports, Yucatán’s massive white sand beaches, like Progresso, are never crowded. Their location on the Gulf of Mexico also shelters them from the massive influx of seaweed that annually piles up on the shores of Caribbean beach resorts.
