I stepped off the shiny new Max Canu station platform, hoping to see the magnificent Mayan ruins of Uxmal. All we needed was a taxi to take us there, about 30 miles away.
“There are no taxis,” the station master said as we stood on the polished limestone floor of the high-ceilinged station. Despite the bright morning sun outside, it was cool and windy. He then told me that I was the third person in two weeks to get off at Maxkanu with the intention of arriving in Uxmal.
I was in the middle of a 5-day trip exploring several destinations in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with the brand new Maya Train. Once completed, the train is designed to run 965 miles (1,554 kilometers) on a 34-stop loop, whizzing through colonial cities, ruins, glitzy resorts, and tropical forests while keeping passengers cool and comfortable. Masu.
Now I was surprised. Scrambling for taxis has never been a problem in Mexico. But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find a taxi to Uxmal there, since the drivers who gathered in the main square of Maccanu offered me nothing but dilapidated vans to hopscotch around the small town. The next van he leaves in 45 minutes.
The layers of Yucatan’s history have long fascinated me. On previous road trips, I clambered through deserted Mayan temples and palaces, stepped into the cool nave of a massive 16th-century church, and restored a testament to the ostentation and hardships of the peninsula’s 19th-century plantation economy. I visited the hacienda. I thought traveling by train would allow me to immerse myself more in its history.
But as I found out with Max Kanu, trains don’t always take you where you want to go.
During my trip in February, I traveled the only route available at the time, an east-west section that ran from Cancun to Mérida, which opened in December, and south through the port city of Campeche to the Mayan ruins of Palenque. Cancun and Playa del Carmen opened last month, with three trains a day. We encountered schedule disruptions, unfinished stations, and train shortages. There are only two daily one-way trains between Cancun and Campeche, and only one goes to Palenque. Overnight sleeper trains and special dining trains seem years away.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador considers the Maya Train his flagship development project and hopes to have the remaining trains open before he leaves office on October 1. Based on my experience, that goal seems difficult to achieve.
$29 billion route through the jungle
I started my trip in Cancun. There, in the predawn darkness, the station floated like a glowing spaceship. As the agent scanned the ticket I had purchased online, about a half-dozen more agents pointed to my tourist-class car, which was about a quarter full. I went to Campeche, about 300 miles away, and planned to make one stop each day. At a speed of 120 kilometers per hour (approximately 75 miles), the train travels the route in about six hours, the same time as a car. (Once construction is complete, train speeds should increase to 160 kilometers per hour.)
The car’s wide windows looked out onto a low jungle wall. The turquoise seats were comfortable and there was plenty of space between rows. I bought a very nice cappuccino at the snack bar, but declined the plastic-wrapped sandwich. The remaining items were fruit cups, milk crates, and junk food.
Although the train will ultimately cost far more than the $29 billion previously budgeted, it is not the first time ambitious planners have ventured into the region. Cancun was once a small fishing village, but half a century ago it was chosen as a tourist hub. Last year, 10 million international tourists arrived at the airport, more than Mexico City, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta airports combined.
However, uncontrolled growth has highlighted the fragile environment of the Caribbean coast. Scientists have warned that the Mayan train will push these problems southward, threatening the region’s water supplies, unique underground limestone cave systems and vast nature reserves.
López Obrador stormed out, claiming he would hand over the train to the military and spread Cancun’s wealth and attract new tourists. Mexico welcomed more than 42 million international tourists last year, spending about $31 billion.
Local governments sense an opportunity. “The train will allow people to spread out across the peninsula,” said Yucatan state tourism secretary Michel Fridman. The state of Yucatan touts dozens of tourist attractions, far beyond sites like Mérida and Chichen Itza.
With train service starting, transit companies will start connecting the station to lesser-known places nearby, she said.
It is natural to question whether rail is the most effective way to develop tourism on the peninsula. Travel companies already offer trips to many destinations from major cities with good bus service. According to the U.S. Department of State’s travel guidance, it is considered safe to drive a rental car in most areas.
Has your trip been canceled?
It took us two hours (and one time zone change) to arrive in Valladolid, a colonial city with beautiful streets and ancient churches, and we bought the rest of our tickets at the train station. A tourist class ticket from Cancun to Valladolid costs 472 pesos (about $28) for foreigners and 355 pesos (about $21) for Mexicans. Fares for the spacious first class are P755.50 and P566.50, with discounts available for senior travelers and residents of the five rail line states. (First class bus fares from downtown Cancun to Valladolid range from 222 to 344 pesos, depending on the time of day, and the journey takes 30 minutes longer.)
It was impossible to run the new Mayan train tracks through the densely populated city center, and Valladolid station, like all stations, was outside the city center. A waiting bus took passengers downtown, and the ride was 15 minutes and cost 35 pesos.
That day, I visited Ek Balam. This is the ruins of a 9th-century Mayan kingdom, a 100-foot-tall palace with a carved façade depicting winged warriors, stylized animal features, and geometric patterns framed by giant tusks. stands tall. Admission to this site includes entry to the X-Canche Cenote, one of the limestone sinkholes sacred to the Maya.
Later that afternoon, as I was strolling through the Folk Costume Museum, a private collection of traditional costumes, embroidery, and hats, a WhatsApp message from the ticket office flashed on my phone. The train scheduled for the next day was cancelled.
We decided to deal with this problem in the morning and enjoy the city. As we passed the antique shops and boutique hotels of the elegant Calzada de los Frailes, it was clear that Valladolid’s tourism and the infrastructure to handle it are well established. The Maya Train is just an alternative way to reach the city that tourists discovered many years ago.
“We are on the Tren Maya River!”
In the morning, I found out that my train had not been cancelled, but the Tishkokob station where I had a ticket was closed. Instead, I got off one stop short in Izamal, known for its ocher streets and the huge Franciscan monastery of San Antonio de Padua, built on the ruins of a pyramid.
During the 90-minute ride, there was widespread enthusiasm among passengers to give the train time to resolve the issue. “We are an experiment,” said Oliva Escobedo Ochoa, 64, on vacation from her home in central Mexico.
Leticia Iliasic, 57, a Mexican national, was traveling with her Croatian husband and relatives from Mexico and Croatia. They had originally planned to catch an earlier train to Merida, but it was cancelled. “I knew this was a new project,” she said. “We don’t care.”
The group had already sent a video to friends proclaiming, “We’re on board the Tren Maya!”
At Izamal station, I hitchhiked 15 minutes into the center of town with a man who asked me to take a picture with the train and his father. From there I negotiated a taxi to Hacienda San Lorenzo Aque. This farm continues to process agave fibers called heneken into coarse rope. Known as Yucatan’s “green gold,” worldwide demand for henequén brought incredible wealth to the region in the mid-19th century, and the peninsula was dotted with more than 1,000 haciendas. (Many hotels are now luxury hotels.)
A place where geometry, nature and the divine come together
It was on the third day that I realized I was stuck at Max Kanu, after a 90 minute train ride from Izamal. The station master, an army captain, offered to give me a ride to Uxmal, as he had done with the stranded tourists before me.
Last ticket sale at 4pm for Eying Uxmal, I accepted.
My situation made it clear how far off the promise of the Maya Train is for tourists wanting to explore more of the Yucatan Peninsula. In time, that will change, Tourism Secretary Fridman said. “The idea is to build more hotels along the railway lines,” she says. “It will happen little by little.”
But Uxmal, the most spectacular of Mayan ruins, more than made up for that inconvenience. Uxmal’s magnificent buildings feature intricate decorative masks and friezes that combine geometry, nature, and the divine. New plaques on each structure provide detailed information in English and Spanish. This is part of the government’s investment to improve the display of Mayan ruins for the railway project.
Most tourists take a day trip from Mérida to Uxmal by car or bus, or stay in one of three nearby hotels. As we finished dinner at the hotel, the dining room started to fill up. 47 Polish tourists had arrived.
Panama hat and cramped van
My plan for the day was to take a taxi to Bekal, a town where Panama hats are knitted in limestone caves to keep the fibers soft, then catch an afternoon train in nearby Calquini and head to the port town of Campeche. .
However, we spent a lot of time watching hat-making demonstrations, wearing new hats, and buying presents, and it took very little time to get to the station. Unfortunately, I missed the last train of the day.
In the main square of Calquini, we spotted a van leaving for Campeche. Price: 65 pesos. Travel time: Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, about the same time as you would spend on a train. Of course, I was trapped in a cramped seat and had to listen to sentimental ballads chosen by the driver, but I was dropped off in downtown Campeche, close to my hotel.
The next day I visited the Mayan Archaeological Museum. The museum’s expertly curated collection includes unforgettable jade funeral masks, pictographs, delicate porcelain figurines, and more.
Jose Madrigal, 45, an engineer from Fremont, Calif., was trying to get his twin sons interested in Mayan pottery. The boys had just turned five years old, and their birthday present was a ride on the Mayan train. “They love trains,” Madrigal said. The family then continued walking briskly through the museum. They had to take another train.
Should I take the train?
Yes, if you are traveling between large stations. This train can also be used to get to Palenque, but access to Palenque can be difficult and some roads pose safety concerns. Travelers can carry their bicycles on board.
To check train times, check your destination on the website. You cannot purchase tickets online more than a week in advance. But when you finally get on board, the ride is smooth and the coffee is great.
Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for the weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter for expert tips to travel smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Are you dreaming of a future vacation? Or just an armchair trip? Check out 52 places to go in 2024.
