Our guest lecturer will give us insights to the Book of Mormon, the peoples past and present and the sites our group will visit. Stay in luxury as you see the most significant ruins in Central America. This fantastic tour includes all of the most important Ruins that date back to Book of Mormon time. Best of all we fly from Mexico City to Palenque and we travel by boat from Guatemala to Honduras. This flight and boat trip eliminate 4 grueling days of driving on bad roads plus 3 or 4 nights in hotels! No other tour can offer you so much in such a short time. Other tours can take 14 or 15 days to do what we do in 11 and they will charge over $3,000.
Day 1 Friday: June 8
Today we fly from our homes to Mexico City. Upon arrival we will transfer to our wonderful Deluxe Hotel in Mexico City.
Day 2: Saturday: June 9
We will spend a full day visiting Mexico City and the surrounding area. Our tour will include the Mexico City Archeological Museum and the majestic ruins at Teotihuacan and its gigantic pyramids of the Sun and Moon. This evening we will fly from Mexico City to Villahermosa. This flight saves us two grueling days of driving on bad roads. We will overnight in Villahermosa.
Day 3: Sunday: June 10
Today we will spend touring the big heads of the Olmec Exhibit. Later in the afternoon we will head to Palenque where we will overnight in our beautiful mountain Jungle Hotel.
Day 4: Monday: June 11
This morning early we will head to the ancient ruins of Palenque. This is one of the best and most beautiful set of ruins in Central America and possibly our favorite. This is also one of the cities mentioned by Joseph Smith in a Times and Seasons article. After our tour you will have time this afternoon to enjoy your special resort and their beautiful swimming pools – make sure you bring your swim suit.
Day 5: Tuesday: June 12
We leave early for the Usumacinta River that is the border between Mexico and Guatemala. At the river we will board long boats for our journey down river to the ancient ruins of Yaxchilan. Here in the pristine Mexican / Guatemalan rain forest you may see and hear the famous Howler and Spider monkeys high in the jungle canopy. We will then travel by long boats across the huge river to the country of Guatemala. Our Guatemala buses will be waiting on the other side for our drive to Tikal. We will spend the next two nights at our luxury hotel on the shores of Lake Peten.
Day 6: Wednesday: June 13
Where as Palenque is the most beautiful ruins, Tikal ruins are the most majestic. We will spend the day touring and climbing on the ruins of Tikal. There will be time in the afternoon for those who dare to ride the long zip line through the jungle. We overnight again in Tikal.
Day 7: Thursday: June 14
After breakfast we will travel by bus and boat through the middle of Guatemala to the border of Honduras, with a relaxing afternoon spent at your 5 star Caribbean beach hotel.
Day 8: Friday: June 15
Today we will cross the border into Honduras. After crossing we will continue on into the country of Honduras as we travel to the fantastic ruins of Copan. Time permitting we will tour Copan this afternoon or tomorrow morning depending on the hour. This site is too impressive to be in a big hurry and miss part of it. We will overnight in the Copan area.
Day 9: Saturday: June 16
We will either be visiting Copan this morning or, if we visited it the day before, we will be driving back to the border and on to Guatemala City. If time permits we plan on visiting the ruins of Kaminaljuyu Temple (a prime candidate for the first City of Nephi). If not we will visit the site tomorrow morning. Overnight Guatemala City.
Day 10: Sunday: June 17
The Lonely Planet Guide calls Lake Atitlan “The closest thing to Eden on Earth”. Our day will be spent visiting and sailing on Lake Atitlan, which is a prime candidate for the Waters of Mormon. We will overnight in Guatemala City.
Day 11: Monday: June 18
Unfortunately even great things have to come to an end. Today you fly back to the US and your homes.
