Yucatán without a car: 7 days from Cancún airport to Mérida by Tren Maya
A one-week Yucatán route by train, bus and colectivo: Valladolid for Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam, a night in Izamal, and Mérida with a day trip to Uxmal.
You can see the best of the Yucatán Peninsula in a week without renting a car: fly into Cancún, take the Tren Maya straight from the airport station to Valladolid, use colonial Valladolid as your base for Chichén Itzá, Ek Balam and the cenotes, then continue by train to Izamal and finish in Mérida, with a day trip to Uxmal by bus. Train legs replace the long highway drives, and local colectivos, buses and short taxi rides fill the gaps. Plan on roughly US$750 to $1,150 per person for the week, excluding flights.
How the route works
The Tren Maya stations you need on this route are Cancún Aeropuerto, Valladolid, Chichén Itzá, Izamal and Teya-Mérida. Cancún Aeropuerto sits at the international airport, which makes it practical to go straight from your flight to the train. Several trains a day run between Cancún Airport and Mérida, but timetables have changed often since the line opened, so check current departures on the official sales site, reservas.ventaboletostrenmaya.com.mx, or the official app.
Foreign visitors pay the international fare. Recent third-party fare listings put the international tourist-class fare from Cancún Airport at about 500 pesos to Valladolid (around 1 hour 35 minutes) and about 960 pesos all the way to Mérida (around 3 hours 40 minutes). Fares are dynamic, and buying well ahead is usually cheaper. You need your passport to buy tickets and to board, tickets are in your name, and luggage is limited to one suitcase plus a carry-on.
Stations are generally outside town centers. Valladolid's is on the outskirts, roughly a 10 to 15 minute taxi ride from the main square, and Teya-Mérida is east of the city, so budget for a taxi or ride-hail at each end.
Day by day
Day 1: Cancún Airport to Valladolid
Skip Cancún's hotel zone entirely. Walk or take the airport shuttle to the train station and ride about an hour and a half west to Valladolid. Check in near the main square, then walk the Calzada de los Frailes to the Convent of San Bernardino at dusk. If you land late, stay one night near the airport and take a morning train instead; that is safer than racing for the last departure.
Day 2: Chichén Itzá early, cenote afternoon
Chichén Itzá is about 40 kilometers from Valladolid. Leave early by ADO bus or colectivo (shared van) so you arrive near opening time, before the tour buses from Cancún and the worst of the heat. Since March 2026 the site has used a single combined ticket instead of separate state and federal payments; local press reported the foreign adult price at about 697 pesos. Back in Valladolid, cool off at Cenote Zací, a few blocks from the center.
Day 3: Ek Balam and Cenote X'Canché
Ek Balam, about 30 kilometers north of Valladolid, is smaller and quieter than Chichén Itzá and has some of the best-preserved stucco carving on the peninsula. Colectivos run from Valladolid, or you can hire a taxi for the round trip and agree on waiting time up front. Cenote X'Canché is next to the site and reachable by bike or on foot from the entrance. Expect a foreign-visitor fee of roughly 690 pesos for Ek Balam based on 2026 local press reports.
Day 4: Valladolid to Izamal
Take a morning train west to Izamal. The town's center is painted almost entirely in ochre yellow and is easy to explore on foot. Climb the ramp to the vast atrium of the Convent of San Antonio de Padua, then walk a few blocks to Kinich Kakmó, a large Maya pyramid in the middle of town that you can climb. Izamal is small, quiet and cheap for an overnight, and most day-trippers leave by late afternoon.
Day 5: Izamal to Mérida
Continue by train to Teya-Mérida and take a taxi into the center. Spend the afternoon on the Plaza Grande, the cathedral and Paseo de Montejo. If you are in town on a Sunday, the center closes to cars and fills with food stalls and music. Mérida is the best place on this route for food: try cochinita pibil, sopa de lima and panuchos at a market or a local loncheria.
Day 6: Uxmal by bus
Uxmal is south of Mérida and is not on the Tren Maya, but ADO-group buses leave from Mérida's bus stations, and the ride is about an hour and a half each way. Its Pyramid of the Magician and Nunnery Quadrangle are among the most elegant buildings in the Maya world, and the site is usually far calmer than Chichén Itzá. Foreign visitors paid about 586 pesos in 2025-2026 reports. Check the return bus time when you arrive so you are not stranded.
Day 7: Mérida, then fly out
Mérida's airport has domestic connections and some US flights, so you can often fly out of Mérida rather than backtracking to Cancún. If you have a morning free, visit the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya or take a short trip to Dzibilchaltún and its swimmable cenote just north of the city. If you must fly home from Cancún, allow the full train ride plus a buffer.
Sample budget for 7 days
Prices below are per person in US dollars, assuming double-occupancy mid-range guesthouses and an exchange rate of roughly 18 to 20 pesos to the dollar. Entry fees in Yucatán have risen several times recently, so treat them as approximate.
| Item | Estimate (USD) |
|---|---|
| Tren Maya: Cancún Airport to Valladolid, Izamal and Mérida | $55 to $80 |
| Buses, colectivos and taxis | $60 to $100 |
| Chichén Itzá, Ek Balam and Uxmal entry | $95 to $110 |
| Cenotes and museums | $30 to $60 |
| Accommodation, 6 nights (half of a double room) | $250 to $450 |
| Food and drink | $210 to $320 |
| Buffer for tips, water, SIM card | $50 to $80 |
| Total | about $750 to $1,150 |
When to go
November to March is the most comfortable time, with lower humidity and cooler mornings. April and May are the hottest months, which makes midday visits to unshaded ruins hard going. The rainy season runs roughly June to October, usually as afternoon storms, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs June through November, so buy travel insurance if you go in late summer or fall.
What to watch out for
- Train schedules change. Reconfirm your departure the day before, and do not plan a tight connection to a flight.
- Buy the right fare type. Discounted local and national fares require Mexican ID; a foreigner holding one can be refused boarding.
- Carry cash. Colectivos, small cenotes and many market stalls do not take cards. Use bank ATMs and decline dynamic currency conversion.
- Heat and sun. Start each ruin visit early, bring more water than you think, and wear a hat. Shade is scarce at Chichén Itzá.
- Cenote rules. Many cenotes ask you to shower first and skip sunscreen and repellent to protect the water.
Before you go
Book the Cancún-to-Valladolid train as soon as your flight is set, keep your passport handy for every train trip, and leave one flexible half-day in case a train runs late. With bases in Valladolid and Mérida and a quiet night in Izamal, you will see the region's three great ruins, swim in several cenotes and never touch a steering wheel.