From the Ring of Cenotes to the walled city: Galopina to Casonas MX
From the trees of Galopina to the patios of Campeche, there are three ways to make the journey: direct with a stop in Becal, with more time via Uxmal, or by Tren Maya. The choice depends on what you want to explore and how much time you keep for your casona (a large traditional house).
Direct, with a stop in Becal
Jipi weavers in a cave in Becal. Credit: Gustavo Costa
About 200 km via Mérida and the Campeche highway, about two and a half hours. Once in Campeche, Becal keeps a tradition tied to one material and one technique: weaving jipi (Panama) hats. Many houses have a cave dug into the limestone at the back, whose humidity keeps the fiber supple during weaving; the craft passes from parents to children and grandchildren. You can walk around the center, see the hat fountain and the Franciscan church and, if you want to see the process, arrange a visit with a workshop. Not all of them receive visitors at any time.
Via Uxmal: time to look at the architecture
About 210 km and about three and a quarter hours of driving, plus the visit. Uxmal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the most representative site of Puuc architecture: carved and fitted stone mosaics, masks of the rain god, geometric motifs. The Pyramid of the Magician rises 32 meters; the Nunnery Quadrangle, with four buildings around a courtyard, and the Governor’s Palace, with its long carved facade, help you organize the visit. Allow about two or three hours. This variant covers Uxmal; the full Ruta Puuc, with its other sites, needs more time to plan.
By Tren Maya
By Tren Maya: for those traveling with transfers or returning the car in Mérida. With waits and connections, allow about four hours door to door.
Planning the train transfer
Add the transfer from Galopina to Teya station (about 30 to 40 minutes), the advance arrival the operator requires (at least 15 minutes), the train to Campeche (just over two hours) and the transfer from the station, on the outskirts, to your casona (about 20 minutes by taxi). Campeche’s Tren Ligero light rail also links the station with the historic center; depending on your arrival time, check that it is running. Tickets are issued in the passenger’s name and ID is required; timetables and purchase, with the operator.
Arriving at Casonas MX
Casa Zotz · Credit: Jasson Rodriguez
Inside the wall that Campeche built in the late 17th century against pirates, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, Casonas MX restored nine 18th-century casonas following its own principle: change as little as possible, use breathing materials such as lime and chukum, and work with INAH, Mexico’s national heritage institute, on every intervention. Behind the flat facades painted in the historic palette, patios and walls full of memory offer the privacy of a house of your own.
Each casona is booked whole, with hotel service and a House Manager who knows it by heart; the house is chosen according to each traveler’s profile and tastes. For a private dinner or an event in the casona, Casonas MX arranges the cooking of the peninsula with local chefs and restaurants, from pan de cazón (layered tortillas with fish) to papadzules (tortillas with pumpkin-seed sauce and egg). Outside, the city is explored on foot: the wall, the bastions and the streets of the historic center.
Campeche and its surroundings
A street in the historic center. Credit: Gustavo CostaFort of San José el Alto. Credit: Delio CarrilloThe historic center, with the cathedral towers. Credit: Delio CarrilloFive-Story Building, Edzná. Credit: INAH
Direct: about 200 km and about two and a half hours; the stop in Becal comes on top.
Via Uxmal: about 210 km and about three and a quarter hours, plus the visit.
By Tren Maya: about four hours door to door.
From Campeche: day trips to Edzná and Hacienda Uayamón.
Reviewed on October 13, 2026.
A route of independent houses in Holbox, Espita, Seyé, Campeche and Bacalar. Each house is a destination. Together, they make the journey.
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