Main Takeaways

Binance Pay Travel Route is a blog series designed to offer a guide to the most interesting destinations where you can use Binance Pay for your travel expenses. Please note that not all the spots featured below accept Binance Pay.

There’s something about Yucatán that gets under your skin. Maybe it’s the salt air rolling in from the Caribbean, thick with the scent of seaweed and spice. Maybe it’s the hum of the jungle, alive with the calls of howler monkeys and the rhythmic splash of cenotes hidden beneath limestone. Maybe it’s the way history and entertainment intertwine here, where ancient pyramids share the skyline with high-rise resorts, and tequila is as much ritual as refreshment.

Now that Binance Pay is available on Despegar, this heady, intoxicating destination has never been easier to access. With a few taps, travelers can book flights, hotels, and experiences using cryptocurrency, sidestepping the hassles of traditional payments. The promise? A journey unburdened by exchange rates, bank fees, or bureaucratic delays, just the open road into the heart of the Mayans.

One of the most alluring travel packages currently available on Despegar Mexico is a six-day, five-night trip to Cancún, a journey that promises indulgence, adventure, and cultural immersion.

Here is an itinerary that moves between the electric and the ancient, the indulgent and the wild. Please note that some spots featured below are suggested additions to the original package and they may not accept cryptocurrency payment.

Day One: Landing in the Land of the Maya

The moment the wheels touch the tarmac at Cancún International Airport, the world outside the cabin window shifts into a different register. Here, the light is sharper, the colors more saturated – the sea an impossible shade of turquoise, the sky an endless vault of blue.

The drive from the airport to the Hotel Zone is a study in contrasts. To one side, the city sprawls – chaotic, lively, unfiltered. To the other, the resorts rise, airbrushed against the horizon like something out of a travel brochure. Thanks to Despegar, this stay is already pre-arranged, allowing you to bypass long check-in lines and settle into your suite.

By sunset, the energy of Cancún reveals itself. Restaurants spill onto streets scented with grilled octopus and slow-roasted cochinita pibil (a traditional Yucatec Mayan slow-roasted pork dish). At Lorenzillo’s, the lobster is pulled straight from the lagoon, cracked open and drenched in butter. The night hums with the promise of revelry. But tomorrow, the real adventure begins.

Day Two: Crossing the Waters to Isla Mujeres

At dawn, the ferry to Isla Mujeres cuts across the Caribbean, the water so clear it seems to glow from within. The island is a place apart – quieter, unhurried, where the pace of life is dictated by the whirr of golf carts and the crash of waves on Playa Norte’s white sand.

The day unspools slowly. Enjoy a morning dip in the luminous shallows of Playa Norte, where the horizon is a blur of sky and sea. A visit to MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte) is an absolute must, where coral-laced sculptures lie eerily still beneath the waves, like relics from a forgotten world. This underwater museum, featuring over 500 submerged sculptures, is an artistic marvel that intertwines nature and creativity beneath the waves.

Underwater museum MUSA. Source: Montereyboats.com

Have lunch at Zama Beach Club, where the ceviche is sharp with lime and the breeze carries the scent of salt and sun-warmed palms. Afterwards, feel free to explore Punta Sur, the island’s southernmost tip. Here, you’ll find the remnants of a Mayan temple dedicated to the goddess Ixchel, as well as panoramic views of the Caribbean’s untamed beauty.

By sunset, you’re back in Cancún, stretched out on a lounger with a mezcal cocktail in hand, watching the last of the light dissolve into the sea.

Day Three: Into the Heart of the Maya Empire

No trip to the Yucatán Peninsula is complete without venturing into the heart of the Mayan civilization. Chichén Itzá, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, is an awe-inspiring, iconic site of Mexico’s ancient heritage.

The road inland is long, straight, hypnotic – a ribbon of asphalt cutting through the jungle. The air smells of earth and wild orchids, thick with heat. And then, at last, Chichén Itzá rises from the canopy, its stone steps as precise and imposing as they were a thousand years ago.

Cenote Ik Kil. Source: Trip Advisor.

There’s something otherworldly about standing at the base of El Castillo, the great pyramid built in perfect alignment with the cosmos. Twice a year, on the equinox, the setting sun casts a shadow that slithers down its side: a serpent descending from the heavens.

Not far from the ruins, Cenote Ik Kil yawns open like a mouth in the earth, its waters a deep, glassy blue. Cenote Ik Kil is an ethereal sinkhole hidden in the jungle. Vines dangle from the rim, outlining the paths of falling droplets. The plunge into its cool depths brings a pleasurable shock, a favorite among travelers.

Day Four: Tulum’s Cliffside Temples and Jungle Pools

Southward, the coast unfolds in a dreamscape of white sand and verdant jungle. The ruins of Tulum Archaeological Site stand dramatically on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean, their centuries-old stones whispering tales of the once-thriving Mayan port city. Tulum, once a fortress against invading forces, now welcomes all who seek its sun-drenched shores and bohemian charms.

The ruins are a marvel, perched on cliffs high above the Caribbean, battered by wind and time, yet still standing, still watching. The Maya built this city to face the rising sun, its walls guarding secrets whispered by the waves below.

After wandering through history, the jungle calls. Hidden among the mangroves, the cenotes of Tulum offer a subterranean world of sapphire pools and cathedral-like caverns. At Gran Cenote, shafts of sunlight pierce the water, illuminating the labyrinth of caves below. Turtles drift through the stillness, undisturbed by the world above.

Lunch is a slow, leisurely affair at Gitano, where the air is thick with woodsmoke and the tang of citrus. Enjoy a plate of grilled octopus, a smoky mezcal, and the distant thrum of the jungle. Time slows to a crawl.

Return to Cancún in the evening and toast to another unforgettable day with a rooftop cocktail with your travel companions.

Day Five: The Living Spectacle of Xcaret

If ever there was a place where nature and culture collide in riotous celebration, it is Xcaret. Part eco-park, part archaeological wonderland, it’s a playground where jaguars prowl in the underbrush, scarlet macaws wheel through the sky, and the past comes alive in vibrant color.

Here, the underground rivers weave through limestone caverns, their waters eerily still and impossibly clear. The Xcaret México Espectacular, a grand theatrical tribute to Mexico’s history, bursts into life each evening with hundreds of performers in elaborate costumes telling stories through dance and fire.

Xcaret compound. Source: Travel Agent Central.

Dinner is served inside Las Cuevas, a restaurant carved into a network of caves, where candlelight flickers against the stone walls. A final toast to Mexico, to adventure, to the magic of a journey made possible with Binance Pay.

Day Six: Farewell to the Caribbean

The last morning in Cancún is the time for bittersweet farewell. A final stroll along the beach, the soft rush of waves against the shore. A last sip of café de olla (Mexican spiced coffee), its cinnamon-sweet warmth lingering on the tongue.

At the airport, the check-in process is as smooth as the trip itself: no fumbling with foreign currency, no last-minute ATM withdrawals, as everything has been settled via cryptocurrency payment via Binance Pay on Despegar.

As the plane lifts off, the Caribbean recedes into the horizon. But Mexico, with its pyramids and cenotes, its wild jungles and electric nights, has a way of staying with you, beckoning you to return to its mystical callings. Thanks to Binance Pay, it would just take a few clicks to arrange your next trip to the gateway of Latin America.

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