the train

The glorious red carriages of the Expreso Maya train are an impressive sight as they traverse the Yucatan peninsula. The train consists of up to four seating cars, a dining car, a club-bar car and a luggage car. Passengers are free to wander around the train throughout the journey; relaxing with a drink in the bar or simply admiring the view from their comfortable seats.

Passenger cars

The seating carriages can accommodate up to 64 passengers and are fully air-conditioned. They are exceptionally spacious, with reclining seats and modern toilet facilities in every carriage. Your luggage will be collected from the hotel and stored in a separate car, but there is plenty of space to bring along books, magazines, cameras and other hand luggage for the journey.

The Dining Car

The "Merida" dining car is fabulously decorated with scenes from the heyday of the henequen hacienda. Meals served here are an occasion to remember, with full and formal waiter service and high quality cuisine.

Breakfast usually consists of fruit and pastries plus your choice of eggs, pancakes or other hot dishes cooked to order. Dinner is served with wine or beer and is a leisurely event of three courses plus coffee, a great opportunity to mix with other passengers and discuss the day. You'll be presented with a menu for lunch and dinner earlier in the day (when they are to be served on the train) to give you chance to make your choices. A typical dinner menu is shown below:

Salad (green salad, mixed salad, chef's salad)
Soup (sopa de lima, vegetable soup, cilantro cream, asparagus cream)
Fish in cilantro sauce
Pollo pibil (Yucatecan chicken dish)
Beef fajitas
Ice-cream or sherbert
Flan
Vanilla custard

The Club-bar Car

The "Palenque" carriage houses the bar, library and games room and is open throughout the journey. The decor is a lush jungle theme, illustrated with toucans, jaguars, monkeys, alligators amidst scenes from the Palenque ruins. Occasional lectures are held here, and it's the ideal place to research the next sightseeing excursion (a good selection of literature is available and you can often consult with the guides and lecturers here).

There are also board games for evening entertainment, and a selection of souvenirs, books and handicrafts can be purchased.