We recently took the most epic southern Mexico road trip: eleven days driving around Yucatán, Campeche, Tabasco, and we even took a foray into Chiapas to visit Palenque.

We only took eleven days because it was the school vacation and time, sadly, was limited, had we been able to, we would absolutely have carried on and explored more.

Here’s the outline of our epic southern Mexico road trip.

Day 1: Drive Mérida (Yucatán) to Isla Aguada (Campeche)

Distance: 344km

Time: 4 hr

Break Up The Drive: We stopped outside Campeche at IchHa-Lool Xaan, a nature reserve we love. We had packed a picnic and spent a lovely hour enjoying a walk in the jungle before jumping back in our car. 

Other great options to take a break:

📍 Becal, home of jipi hats

📍 Pomuch with its fascinating cemetery, and strong Día de los Muertos traditions

📍 Campeche city

📍You could also add on side trips to the Ruta Puuc archeological sites in southern Yucatán if time isn’t an issue. 

Day 2- 3 Isla Aguada

Why visit: Isla Aguada at one end of a thin spit of land. It has a laguna on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. Dolphins live in the laguna and it’s super fun to take a lancha to go and find them. It was so cool that we went twice. The first time was part of a small group trip where we also visited a tiny uninhabited island. We could have swum there but for those of us from Yucatán, the water was too cold and not quite perfect enough to warrant getting wet. Isla Aguada is also a pueblo magico.

Instead, we took a lovely walk around the island. We enjoyed the dolphin watching so much though that we hired a private boat to take us back out later in the day to just enjoy watching dolphins. The captain went wherever we wanted, and offered to take us into open water so we could check out the enormous bridges spanning two sections of land. The kids proclaimed this a 5-star trip and that they need to return when they have their own kids. 

We used Marbella Tours and we highly recommend them. You can book via Facebook or their family restaurant, Yahani on the waterfront in Isla Aguada.

What else to do in Isla Aguada: There’s a small museum site with a lighthouse you can climb and an iguana sanctuary. The muelle/malecon is lovely and very much enjoyed walking around at dusk. The kids played on all the climbing frames, rented pedal carts, and checked out sculptures. We also saw a few water activities available. There are official beach areas but we didn’t visit since we can hang out on perfect beaches at home in Yucatán any time we like. While my kids played I watched birds skimming over the water and enjoyed the peace and quiet. 

Where To Stay: Hotel Puerto Sábalo, a cute and laid-back hotel with two pools, big rooms with AC but no restaurant when we were there. The hotel is right on the waterfront and has a small muelle (pier) right opposite. 

Where to eat: We enjoyed the beachfront Restaurante Don Guillo very much. The micheladas were particularly good! We also ate at Yahani, and Luigi’s Pizza on the malecon. 

Day 4: Drive to Tapijulapa (Tabasco)

Distance: 295 km

Time: 4 – 5 hrs

We barely stopped except for a disastrous effort to find a supermarket in Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco. There were so many diversions and roadworks that we found ourselves driving around and around trying desperately to get to the damn Chedraui so by the time we stopped I was in a foul mood, snapping at everyone, the kids had to pee and my husband probably couldn’t remember why he’d agreed to my road trip idea. One quick zoom around the store, no kids smashing car doors into other cars à la Querétaro fun and we were back on the road and I was much calmer. 

Break Up The Drive: Villahermosa or there are plenty of small towns with food options along the way once you leave Villahermosa. We ate leftover pizza in the car as we drove and opted not to stop. We regularly play games with the kids when we take road trips and this journey was a perfect example of why they’re so useful: they distract everyone from boredom and stress!

Day 5 – 7: Tapijulapa

Where To Stay: We stayed about fifteen minutes outside of Tapijulapa in a cabin in the jungle at Kolem Jaa, which was a really cool experience. We had to leave our car and get a small boat over the river and then walk a short way to the lodge site.  Our bags were taken across the river on a zipline. There are around ten big, clean cabins (some with AC) on the site. 

Do note that the website gives an incredibly false impression of this place. I guess it’s probably what it was like a few years back. Now it’s nothing more than a collection of well-maintained cabins, a deserted restaurant (no service), and basic staffing. There are none of the activities that the website promises (we were kinda told if we’d booked in advance we could have had activities but no one gave us that piece of information). We were warned to bring everything we needed for cooking for ourselves as there is a shared microwave and fridge available to guests but nothing else and note that the Internet is extremely spotty. Expect nothing and be happy when you get a little. 

We enjoyed this place very much once we’d got over the disappointment of the lack of activities. We played in the jungle, explored, enjoyed the small waterfall on site and headed off to visit other places. If you’re into jungle fun with little ones then Costa Rica’s jungles are also a good option.

Oh yeah, it’s also marked incorrectly on the map, which made us an hour late arriving. The boat to the site only runs 7 am – 3 pm. If you’re late, you will have to walk over the bridge and through the jungle. We actually choose to take the bridge-walk fairly regularly because we love walking and exploring and because we didn’t want to have to return before 3 pm every single day. 

Why Visit: Tapijulapa is the only pueblo magico in Tabasco and it absolutely charmed us. I believe it can get very busy but it was almost entirely empty of tourists when we were there. We actually visited on all three days we were in the area because it’s so cute. It has a small supermarket and a few very good restaurants. As a family we love just hanging out on cute plazas so this was perfect for us. 

Cascadas de Villa Luz: this is a natural park (around 60 hectares in size) on the far side of the river. Park, take a small boat across and enjoy the day relaxing in or next to the gorgeous sulfur pools and streams, splashing under waterfalls or walk all the way to the artificial pools at the far end of the site. Also up here is a tiny museum and a small and not super exciting cave (that requires an extra fee and in my opinion is absolutely not worth it). If you just want to chill in the streams it’s very relaxing. Here, again, apparently, it’s possible to rappel down waterfalls and do ziplines but we saw no proof of it.

Most people looked as if they took their own food in but we did see a few people selling snacks – we bought delicious empanadas. There are bathrooms and changing rooms by the main bathing areas. 

Note: You either pay to cross the river by boat or walk across the big bridge and find your own way in – cross bridge, walk up steps, turn right at path through field rather than head up to big abandoned hotel and follow path through field and jungle until you arrive.

Botanical Garden, El Jardin De Dios – marked on Google Maps but there are no signs on the road. This is not a botanical garden like you imagine. We arrived and were shown around by a guy and his nephew. They were incredibly knowledgeable and clearly love their land. We had a lovely hour walking, talking, learning and exploring. I don’t think they spoke any English though. 

Where To Eat: We ate breakfast and supper at our cabin so only needed to find meals out when exploring. We ate twice at Restaurant Mariquita, overlooking the river in Tapijulapa. I think the waiter found us hilarious because to begin with I ordered three plates between the four of us but then the kids loved the food so much they kept on asking for more and more and then more tortillas and on and on. They left full, happy and absolutely covered in cochinita sauce. We went back a second time because I had loved my pishul (a local tlayuda kinda meal) so much. 

We also bought amazing roast chicken and tortillas and took them back to the jungle with us. (Note: I try my best to live a meat-free life but when on a trip where this would mean missing out on new foods or eating miserably I eat meat. It would often have been very hard to have a fun eating experience on this trip.

Day 8: Drive to Palenque (Chiapas)

Distance: 158 km

Time: 2 hr 30

Day 9: Explore Palenque

Where to Stay: It’s Palenque so it’s very geared up for tourists. We stayed in Hotel Cabañas Safari and loved it. There’s a small pool, a nice restaurant, and lovely surroundings. 

What To Do: Visit Palenque. Obv. Ha. It’s the second most visited site in Mexico after Chichén Itzá, I believe. We spent a happy, sweaty day exploring this site that we haven’t seen since 2009. It’s changed a lot: no longer can visitors climb on anything at the main site, which is understandable but a shame. There are now more vendors here than at Chichen Itza, which was a little shocking as last time we went there were barely any visitors let alone vendors. 

🚂 The Maya Train should be operational in early 2024, which offers yet more exciting experiences in this region – Palenque town is one of the main stations along the route.

If you park at the ticket office you can walk up to the ruin through the jungle, this gives access to two more little sections of ruin where you can climb and explore. If you choose to drive up to the main entrance be aware that there is very little parking available so you may get frustrated. There are people demanding 50 pesos to ‘guard’ your car up there but the bottom carpark is free. The site museum is also by the ticket office. 

Where Else To Visit: Well, now you’re in Chiapas you could easily extend your road trip to explore one of the most popular states in Mexico. We spent two weeks exploring Chiapas not too long ago and absolutely fell in love. Around Palenque there are adventure parks, Aluxes Ecopark and EcoMundo Park. We didn’t visit but they get pretty decent reviews. 

Where To Eat: Palenque is full of options in town, in the hotels, and on the way to the archaeological site. We headed to the river to eat at Restaurante Don Manuel. At this spot, we discovered not only decent food in the restaurant but also dozens of street snack spots and public bathing in the river. We didn’t swim because we were there during Semana Santa (Easter), so the river was absolutely packed but during quieter times I’m sure it’s a great fun option for a swim.

Day 10: Drive to Campeche (Campeche)

Distance: 365 km

Time: 5 hr

We didn’t actually stay in Campeche as we’ve been many times but we love the city. We chose to stop at an eco-park outside the city, near Chiná. We had a good time at Yax-Ha, staff were lovely and the grounds great. The accommodation was a little more basic than we felt like we wanted but it was ok. The park has a number of pools, which the kids loved, there’s a small (and pretty miserable) farm on-site, paintball and an ATV track. Our favourite thing actually was the food: the restaurant was absolutely delicious, and highly recommended. I think on non-public holidays this would be an absolutely amazing place to visit and I’d love to go back when it’s quieter. 

Day 11: Drive to Mérida (Yucatán)

Distance: 185 km

Time: 2hr 15

If you started in Mérida then now you have time to check out this awesome city or if you live here then you’re home! Why not keep on going though and head to the beach for a rest?

Alternate Road Trip Options

Keep going.

📌 What to do in San Cristobal de las Casa with kids

📌 Yucatán Ten-Day Road Trip

📌 Chiapas Fifteen-Day Road Trip