Mexico Unplugged: Self-Launched Mexico City to the Yucatán

Land at MEX and take the Metro (Line 5 then Line 2 to Zócalo, ~£0.50) or an authorised airport taxi (~£12) to a hostel in the Centro Histórico or Roma/Condesa. Spend the afternoon acclimatising with a wander around the Zócalo, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Skip the paid Torre Latinoamericano and head to the free rooftop terrace of the Sears building opposite Bellas Artes for the same view. Dinner: tacos al pastor anywhere busy with a queue (~£5).

🚌Airport Metro ~£0.50 or authorised taxi ~£12

🛏Hostel dorm in Centro Histórico or Roma (e.g. Casa Pepe, Hostel Home) — £13-18/night

• →Zócalo and Metropolitan Cathedral (free)
• →Palacio de Bellas Artes exterior and Sears rooftop viewpoint (free)
• →Evening taco dinner in Centro

Pre-book the National Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec (free entry for many, ~£4 otherwise; closed Mondays) and give it 3 hours. In the afternoon take the Metro to Coyoacán and, if you're a Frida fan, book the Museo Frida Kahlo ticket online in advance (they sell out — ~£12). In the evening do your own taco crawl: start at El Huequito or Taquería Orinoco for al pastor, then work through suadero and cabeza at a market stall. A paid taco-crawl tour via GetYourGuide runs ~£30-40 if you'd rather have a guide explain it all.

🚌Metro card top-up ~£3 for the day

🛏Same hostel — £13-18

• →National Museum of Anthropology
• →Museo Frida Kahlo (pre-booked online)
• →Self-guided street-food crawl

Get to Teotihuacán independently: Metro to Terminal Autobuses del Norte, then a public bus to the ruins (~£3 return, 1hr). Arrive at opening (8am) to beat the crowds and climb the Pyramid of the Sun. Alternatively a GetYourGuide half-day tour with transport and guide is ~£30. Back in the city by mid-afternoon, take an ADO or Estrella Roja bus from TAPO to Puebla (~2hrs, £9-12). Check into a guesthouse near the Zócalo and eat mole poblano for dinner — this is its birthplace.

🚌Metro + public bus to Teotihuacán ~£3; ADO bus Mexico City–Puebla ~£10

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in Puebla Centro — £14-20/night

• →Teotihuacán archaeological site (entrance ~£4)
• →Evening walk around Puebla's Zócalo and Rosary Chapel

Morning in Puebla: the Rosary Chapel inside Santo Domingo church (free), the Amparo Museum if you like art, and the Parián market for talavera pottery and cemitas. In the afternoon take a colectivo or Uber to Cholula (~£3) to walk the tunnels under the Great Pyramid and see the volcano views from the hilltop church. Back in Puebla, sample a pasita at La Pasita bar in the evening — the sticky raisin liqueur Intrepid's tour visits.

🚌Colectivo/Uber to Cholula ~£3 each way

🛏Same guesthouse in Puebla — £14-20

• →Santo Domingo Church and Rosary Chapel (free)
• →Great Pyramid of Cholula tunnels (~£4)
• →La Pasita bar

Take a first-class ADO bus from Puebla's CAPU terminal to Oaxaca (~4.5hrs, £22-26). Check into a hostel near the Zócalo, then do a self-guided walking loop: the Zócalo, the Andador Macedonio Alcalá pedestrian street and the Templo de Santo Domingo. Head to Mercado 20 de Noviembre and eat at the long communal tables in the smoke-filled pasillo de carnes — pick your meat and have it grilled (~£7). Grab ingredients for a hostel-kitchen dinner or join a half-day Oaxacan cooking class booked via GetYourGuide (~£45) if you want the full market-to-table experience.

🚌ADO bus Puebla–Oaxaca ~£24

🛏Hostel dorm near Oaxaca Zócalo (e.g. Paulina Youth Hostel) — £13-17/night

• →Self-guided walk of Oaxaca Centro
• →Mercado 20 de Noviembre food market
• →Optional cooking class (~£45)

Take a shared shuttle or local bus from Oaxaca's Hotel Rivera del Ángel to Monte Albán (~£4 return, 20min) and explore the Zapotec hilltop city with a local guide at the entrance (~£15) or an audio guide. Afternoon back in town: browse the folk-art shops on Calle Alcalá and the Centro Fotográfico Álvarez Bravo. Evening: mezcal tasting at a proper mezcalería like In Situ or Mezcaloteca (~£10-15 for a flight).

🚌Shared shuttle to Monte Albán ~£4

🛏Same Oaxaca hostel — £13-17

• →Monte Albán archaeological site (~£4 entry + guide)
• →Folk-art browsing
• →Mezcal tasting

Do the Intrepid day independently by colectivo: from Oaxaca's Central de Abastos take a colectivo to Santa María del Tule to see the 2,000-year-old cypress (~£1, entry ~£1), then another short colectivo to Teotitlán del Valle for the Zapotec weaving workshops (free to browse; a rug starts around £40). Stop at a roadside mezcal palenque on the way back for a tasting (~£5). In the late afternoon catch an overnight or evening bus toward Tehuantepec/Juchitán (~4-5hrs, £12-16) — or sleep in Oaxaca and leave early the next morning.

🚌Colectivos ~£4 total; ADO bus Oaxaca–Tehuantepec ~£14

🛏Basic hotel in Tehuantepec or Juchitán — £12-16/night (or a second night in Oaxaca)

• →Árbol del Tule
• →Teotitlán del Valle weaving town
• →Mezcal palenque tasting

This is the trip's big travel day. Take an ADO bus from Tehuantepec or Juchitán to San Cristóbal (~7-8hrs with a change or direct overnight, £30-38). The road climbs into the Chiapas highlands and the temperature drops sharply — dig out a jumper. Arrive, check into a guesthouse in the cobblestoned centre, and take an easy evening orientation walk: the Zócalo, the yellow Templo de Santo Domingo and the Na Bolom cultural centre. Eat pozol or a bowl of sopa de pan.

🚌ADO bus Tehuantepec–San Cristóbal ~£34

🛏Guesthouse in San Cristóbal Centro — £12-16/night

• →Evening walk of San Cristóbal's Zócalo and Templo de Santo Domingo

Take a colectivo from the market to San Juan Chamula (~£2, 20min). Pay the small church entry (~£2) and respect the no-photography rule inside — this is a living Maya church with pine needles on the floor, candles and shamans, not a museum. Continue to Zinacantán for weaving co-ops. In the afternoon, book a GetYourGuide or local-agency boat trip to Sumidero Canyon (~£20-25 including transport, 5hrs) — best in the morning light, so swap the order if you prefer.

🚌Colectivos to Chamula and Zinacantán ~£4 total

🛏Same San Cristóbal guesthouse — £12-16

• →San Juan Chamula church (~£2)
• →Zinacantán weaving co-ops
• →Optional Sumidero Canyon boat trip (~£22)

Book a shared tourist shuttle or an ADO bus from San Cristóbal to Palenque (~6-7hrs, £18-25). The road drops through the Lacandón jungle past the Agua Azul turnoff. Arrive in Palenque town (or the quieter El Panchán jungle cabaña area) and check in. Afternoon: swim in the river at El Panchán or relax in a hammock. Book your Palenque ruins entry online in advance and organise a collectivo for the morning.

🚌Shared shuttle San Cristóbal–Palenque ~£22

🛏Jungle cabaña or guesthouse in El Panchán / Palenque town — £10-16/night

• →Afternoon river swim at El Panchán
• →Pre-book Palenque ruins ticket (~£5)

Be at the Palenque ruins gates for opening (8am) — the mist and the howler monkeys are worth it. Entry ~£5; a licensed guide at the gate costs ~£20 for a 2hr tour, or pre-book via GetYourGuide. Afterwards take a colectivo (~£4 return) to Misol-Há waterfall and swim in the pool at its base (£2 entry). If you have energy, add Agua Azul's turquoise cascades on a combined tour (~£12).

🚌Colectivos to ruins and Misol-Há ~£6

🛏Same Palenque cabaña — £10-16

• →Palenque archaeological site with local guide (~£25 combined)
• →Misol-Há waterfall (~£2)
• →Optional Agua Azul cascades (~£12)

Early ADO bus from Palenque to Campeche (~4hrs, £16), where the walled colonial centre with its pastel houses and sea fortifications is a UNESCO site. Eat a seafood lunch on the malecón (pan de cazón is the local dish, ~£7) and walk the old city walls. Then continue on an ADO bus to Mérida (~2.5hrs, £10). Check into a hostel near the Plaza Grande and join the free evening festivities — Mérida's Plaza Grande hosts music and dance most nights.

🚌ADO Palenque–Campeche ~£16; Campeche–Mérida ~£10

🛏Hostel near Mérida's Plaza Grande (e.g. Hostel Zócalo) — £12-18/night

• →Campeche walled centre walk (free)
• →Mérida Plaza Grande evening music

Pick one day trip. Uxmal: a shared tour via GetYourGuide (~£30-40) or an ADO bus to Uxmal plus local transport, arriving early to have the Puuc pyramids nearly to yourself. Cenotes: go independently to Cuzamá by colectivo and hire a horse-drawn truck between three cenotes (~£15 total). Or take a bus to the flamingo reserve at Celestún (~£25 with a boat tour). Back in Mérida, eat cochinita pibil from a market stall and walk the Paseo de Montejo's grand mansions.

🚌Colectivos or ADO buses ~£5-15

🛏Same Mérida hostel — £12-18

• →Uxmal ruins (~£35 with shared transport and guide)
• →or Cuzamá cenotes (~£15)
• →or Celestún bird sanctuary (~£25)
• →Cochinita pibil dinner

Take the earliest ADO bus from Mérida to Chichén Itzá (~2hrs, £9) to reach the site at opening (8am) — this is the difference between a crowded photo and a peaceful one. Entry ~£30 (the price has risen sharply; pre-buy online). Hire a guide at the gate or take a GetYourGuide guided entry (~£15 extra). Then an ADO bus to Valladolid (~45min, £3) to swim in Cenote Zací in town (~£3), before continuing by ADO bus to Playa del Carmen (~2.5hrs, £10). For a local Maya family lunch, look for a comedor in Pisté village next to the ruins (~£6). Evening orientation walk down 5th Avenue.

🚌ADO Mérida–Chichén Itzá ~£9; Chichén–Valladolid ~£3; Valladolid–Playa del Carmen ~£10

🛏Hostel in Playa del Carmen, a few blocks back from 5th Avenue — £15-22/night

• →Chichén Itzá with local guide (~£45 combined)
• →Cenote Zací, Valladolid (~£3)
• →Pisté village lunch (~£6)
• →5th Avenue evening walk

Last day, your choice: colectivo to the Dos Ojos cenote for snorkelling and cave diving (~£30 with tour, ~£8 DIY transport and entry), the ferry to Cozumel from Playa's ferry pier (~£18 return, 45min) to snorkel at Chankanaab or rent a scooter, or just park on the beach. To get to Cancún Airport, take an ADO bus from Playa's terminal to Cancún (~£9) then the airport bus, or a shared shuttle (~£15) — no need for Intrepid's £80 private transfer.

🚌ADO bus Playa del Carmen–Cancún ~£9 plus airport bus, or shared shuttle ~£15

🛏Same Playa hostel if you're staying on — £15-22

• →Dos Ojos cenote (~£25-30 with snorkel tour)
• →or Cozumel ferry and snorkelling (~£25)