Tren Maya Voyage Tips and guide

Tren Maya (Maya Train in English) is a rail travel itinerary in the Yucatan Peninsula of southeastern Mexico. The train passes through all five states of the Yucatán Peninsula with stops at all major cities of the region as well as popular resort destinations, ancient Mayan archaeological sites, colonial cities, and natural attractions including national parks, once remote jungles, underground cenotes, and small rural villages that previously saw few foreign visitors. The Tren Maya opens up parts of the Yucatan interior that were once difficult to visit.

All rail cars have air conditioning, reclining seats, electric sockets, and available entertainment services. Internet connectivity is available, but passengers report that it is not dependable as it drops out along some sections of track.

Three classes of train are available:

• Xiinbal for basic passenger service, this is the most common train class
• Janal with different seating configurations and dining cars serving regional food and drinks, and
• P’atal cars with sleeping cabins for long-distance travel (such as Cancun to Palenque)

Ticket prices vary considerably depending on your citizenship and residence, distance traveled, and train class. People who live in the local area (the five states of the Yucatan Peninsula) pay the lowest fare. Mexican citizens from states outside the Yucatan pay a mid-tier fare. Foreign tourists pay the highest fares. Most passengers buy tickets on a per-trip basis, though an unlimited 7-day travel pass (called MayaPass) is available.

The unlimited 7-day MayaPass is only valid for travel in the areas between Merida and Tulum (i.e., within a couple hours of Cancun). It includes many of the Yucatan's most popular tourist sites including Chichen Itza, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum. The MayaPass can only be purchased inside the official Tren Maya app (available in the app store for Android or Apple phones). MayaPass is not sold at Tren Maya ticket booths or kiosks in train stations.

Prices for the MayaPass (as of 2026)ː

• International (Foreign visitors): M$4,899.00

• National: (Mexican citizens)ː M$3,599.00

• Local: (Residents of the 5 Yucatan states)ː M$2,399.00

Official information about Tren Maya is on the government's official Tren Maya site.

Schedules, prices and ticket purchases are available on the official ticketing siteː Tren Maya Tickets

The best place for most travelers to embark on the Tren Maya is at the Cancún International Airport (CUN ^IATA). This is the largest station on the railway and is the terminus for trains on both the northern and southern legs of the loop. Cancun has the most international flights of any airport in the region. The next best airport to fly in or out of is Tulum International Airport (TQO ^IATA). Both Cancun and Tulum airports have Tren Maya stations on the airport grounds with free shuttle service between the airport terminals and the train stations.

Other airports in the region include Merida, Campeche, Chetumal, and Cozumel, though these have fewer flight options and will require you to find your own ground transportation to the train stations.

The train route is basically a loop with a tail. It consists of a north-western leg from Palenque to Cancun and a south-eastern leg from Escárcega to Cancun. Cancun and Escárcega are the two "hub" stations where connections can be made between the two legs. There are 34 points where passengers can get on or off the trainː 20 of these are major, full-service stations (estaciones) while 14 are smaller stops (paraderos). Full-service stations have ticket windows, baggage check services, restrooms, food services and are staffed during train operating hours. Stations often have tour vans or shuttle services to nearby tourist attractions. Stops might have some services, but should never be counted on for more than a platform where the train will stop for a couple minutes. Some stops may have kiosks for ticket purchase, but travelers intending to board the train at minor stops should plan to book ahead using the web site or app.

• Cancun - known internationally for its beach resorts, its also a city of about 1 million permanent residents, largest station on the railway (Stationː Cancun International Airport)
• Mérida - beautiful colonial city and a gateway to several wildlife refuges, Mayan archaeological sites and cultural attractions (Stationː Teya-Merida)
• Campeche - port city on the Gulf of Mexico with beautiful colonial architecture and historic Spanish fortresses (Stationː San Francisco de Campeche)

• Palenque - huge site with distinctive architecture in the jungles of Chiapas (Stationː Palenque)
• Chichen Itza - one of Mexico's most famous and popular Mayan sites (Stationː Chichen Itza)
• Tulum - Mayan temples with a spectacular setting atop cliffs overlooking the white sands and turqoise waters of the Caribbean (Stationː Tulum)
• Coba - inland Mayan site with the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan (Stationː Tulum)
• Kohunlich - large site known for its Temple of Masks (Stationː Kohunlich)
• Calakmul - seldom visited large site set deep in the jungle (Stationː Calakmul)
• Uxmal - large, well-maintained site where you can visit the Palace of the Wizard (Stationː Maxcanú)
• Edzna - big site with beautifully restored ruins from about 400 BC, in the jungles of Campeche (Stationː Edzna)
• Xpujil and theRio Bec sites- a cluster of several Mayan city-states in southern Yucatan (Stationː Xpujil)

• Cancun - Mexico's most popular beach destination, known for its luxury hotels, nightlife, and white sandy beaches (Stationː Cancun International Airport)
• Isla Mujeres - the lively, funky island town is known for its wide Playa Norte (Stationː Cancun International Airport)
• Playa del Carmen - hip, casual resort town with easy access to Cozumel (Stationː Playa del Carmen)
• Puerto Morelos - mellow beach with an eclectic vibe where foreigners mix with locals (Stationː Puerto Morelos)
• Bacalar - though not really a Caribbean beach, Bacalar is famous for its calm waters on the Lagoon of the Seven Colors (Stationː Bacalar)

• Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve - mangrove swamps and jungles along the Caribbean sea (Stationː Tulum)
• Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve - lagoons where pink flamingos live, feed, and breed (Stationː Teya-Merida)
• Celestún Biosphere Reserve - more lagoons where pink flamingos live, feed, and breed (Stationː Teya-Merida)
• Calakmul Biosphere Reserve - deep jungles where jaguars prowl and monkeys swing from the canopy (Stationː Calakmul)

During the planning phase for the Tren Maya project, it became obvious that the train was going to provide practical access to places that had previously been almost impossible to get to, particularly archaeological sites deep within the jungles. While the train could bring travelers there, the locations had no tourism infrastructure, and private funding was unwilling to take a chance on unknown sites becoming big tourist attractions. The government made a decision to build and operate facilities for travelers. The Ministry of Defense (SEDENA) was tasked with building and operating six tourist-class hotels along the train route to ensure that travelers could find comfortable places to sleep, eat, and rest when they weren't sightseeing or riding the train.

All of the Tren Maya hotels have on-site restaurants, bars, swimming pools, gyms, and spa spa services. All rooms are air-conditioned, have cable TV, and provide WiFi internet access.

The six SEDENA-operated Tren Maya hotels areː

• Hotel Edzna
• Hotel Calakmul
• Hotel Chichen Itza
• Hotel Palenque
• Hotel Tulum
• Hotel Nuevo Uxmal

There are also numerous hotels in cities and towns along the route, most pre-dating the train, and many with lower prices or more luxurious amenities than the government-built hotels.

The Tren Maya is a modern state-of-the-art railway system constructed after 2020. Security on the trains and in and around stations is provided by the Mexican Army. The presence of uniformed soldiers does not indicate any exceptional threat, but rather is an indication that the government takes traveler security seriously.

• Guatemala
• Belize

• Maya civilization
• Yucatec Maya phrasebook