Secret Expedition – Mexico 2026

Climate & Clothing

Mexico sits comfortably in the tropical zone, which basically means it’s warm and humid all year round. Don’t pack too much – honestly, you won’t need it. Light, airy, quick-drying fabrics are your absolute best friends out here.
Drink plenty of water – even if you don’t feel thirsty. Europeans tend to dehydrate quickly in this climate, which leads to headaches and that general “I’m-melting” feeling.
The sun is strong enough to tan you through the clouds, so do watch out! You can easily find SPF 50+ suncream locally. A hat is a must as well.
A fun (or not-so-fun) fact: lime juice + sunlight can cause skin irritation.
Mexican cultural norms favour long trousers and long sleeves – but you’re on holiday! Shorts will be far more comfortable most of the time. Still, pack long sleeves and long trousers for our forest adventures.
For most of the trip, lightweight shoes like sturdy-soled sandals work perfectly. For a few archaeological sites, when we climb pyramids, proper lace-up shoes that support your ankles will come in handy.
January on the Yucatán is dry season, but a light rain jacket may still save the day.

Mexican cuisine is wonderfully tasty, though the way food is prepared can be very different from Europe. Many local kitchens wouldn’t quite pass EU standards – yet the food is delicious. Mexicans rely on spicy sauces to keep troublesome bacteria at bay. These are always served separately and come in several strengths. Use a little at the start and end of your meal – your stomach will thank you.
If you’re someone who often gets a dodgy stomach while abroad, a little alcohol can act as an extra disinfectant. A small glass of your chosen 40% spirit before bed usually does the trick. Medication containing nifuroxazide also works well.
Never drink tap water here. We’ll stock up on bottled water along the way.
On the Riviera Maya – and only there – you can buy freshly made fruit juices, free of preservatives and added sugar. Coconut water is also available. Elsewhere on the peninsula, such drinks are harder to find… so beer often becomes the go-to.
Local cuisine is heavily based on corn flour, which many Europeans find unusual in taste. Luckily, wheat-flour tacos are often available too.
Fresh fruit is everywhere – in every shape, size and variety you can imagine!

Our adventure takes us all the way around the Mexican part of the Yucatán Peninsula. We’ll be travelling through time, space, and completely different worlds. I always do my best to choose places that make sense both logistically and comfort-wise – but do keep in mind that Mexican standards can differ quite a bit from European ones.
In Tulum, Valladolid, Bacalar, San Francisco de Campeche, Mérida and Río Lagartos we stay in “normal” hotels. But Valladolid, Mérida and San Francisco de Campeche are historic colonial cities. We stay right in their beautiful old town centres, where some architectural quirks may surprise you – plumbing and toilets were added to these buildings much later. In many places, hot water is hot only when the sun has warmed it.
Xpujil – where we spend three nights because it’s the logistical hub for our southern-peninsula explorations – is a completely different world. Every building there struggles with humidity and mould. The place we use is renovated yearly, but the jungle always wins. Think of Xpujil as a camp – a base in the forest. That includes insects: mosquitoes everywhere, geckos on the walls, cockroaches in the streets… and you’ll want to shake out your shoes in the morning because a scorpion might be hiding inside!
All around us stretches primordial jungle – one of the last of its kind on Earth – and hidden within it lie countless ancient Maya structures waiting to be discovered.
The list of hotels:

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