Need alternate airport for mexican pyramids
 

Hi...is there a less known airport (than Cancun) if we want to visit mexican pyramids? Flying into Cancun seems so expensive for the christmas break (Yes, unfortunately, we were unable to plan a vacation until now). Really need a vacation to a nice warm place that is family friendly too! Thanks!

I'm afraid that's going to be a spendy time to fly anywhere, especially purchasing this late. You could try this:
http://www.kayak.com/explore/

See if there's anyplace that looks like a good deal for your dates. What are your dates? Maybe that would help us help you better.

Thanks! Well, we can travel anytime for 4-7 nights between Dec 21-Dec 31st.

Kayak tool is nice. Thanks! Also, I should mention that I am open to other warm destinations as well (not just mexico).

Depending on which Mayan ruins you hope to visit, you might also check for options into Merida (near the magnificent ruins of Uxmal and the Ruta Puuc) or even Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas (which I believe is the airport closest to Palenque).

And of course there are Mexican pyramids and other ruins in/near Mexico City....

Does if have to be near ruins? If not you could add the Pacific Coast resort towns like Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta to your list of possibilities.

kja is right... you could fly in to Merida where you would be much closer to archeological sites that are really worth seeing like, Uxmal and the whole Ruta Puuc. You are able to plan on the internet for this famous route, and by spending several nights in popular hotels stratigicaly positioned so as to maximize your time for something that will last with you for a life time. Lets not forget the fabulous city of Merida which on it's own is worth the visit, that is if you also like real Mexican culture, theatres, ballet, museums, fine restaurants and great hotels, week end fiestas, centuries old churches and spectacular colonial architecture especially on the PASEO DE MONTEJO. I can assure you that you will want to return !

Villahermosa is the closest airport to Mexico's best Mayan ruins--Palenque, Bonampak, and Yaxchilan. It's not a big destination for American tourists, oddly enough.

Your best and cheapest option will probably be Cancun although as mentioned you are going at a popular time of year so I would not expect any fares to be cheap. Merida is an alternate but would probably involve at least one change of planes.

but I doubt any of the smaller airports are going to have cheaper fares than Cancun (will they?)

You should look into flying into Merida, Mexico from Houston. It is as convenient to the Mayan ruins as Cancun. Ithink there is one flight a day to and from Houston/Merida.

Pat

Yes, 1 flight a day between Houston and Merida. We took that flight earlier this year and it was great. Merida airport is really easy to navigate because it isn't very big, you don't have gobs of people or timeshare sharks. But...flights are notoriously more expensive into Merida than Cancun. Being the holiday season though, maybe things have flipped with so much demand for Cancun. It is definitely worth checking out.

Biggest Pyramids are just outside Mexico City. Pyramid of the Sun there is the third largest in the World. Only two in Egypt are larger.

wow.. I will look into these options. Visiting the mexican pyramids, machu pichu and puerto rico are some of my dream vacations.. hopefully one of them is coming true this christmas. Santa... where are you (and which airline and hotel do you run)?

Airfares are almost always cheapest to the major airport, you don't get cheaper fares by going to small airports.

I have sometimes found it better to pay a bit more for airfare to an alternate airport than to pay less to get somewhere that isn't as close to where I want to be. It depends on the difference in price, the cost of the ground transportation, whether I need to stay overnight before moving on, opportunity costs....

I don't think you are going to find truly cheap airfares anywhere this close to Christmas, but you might look at costs on Interjet, which may be more favorable. They have service to a lot of individual airports in the Yucatan region, usually through Mexico City. This is the equivalent to JetBlue in the US, and they now have service to several major US airports, including JFK and LAS.

Actually I have gotten cheaper airfares to smaller airports than the more common bigger ones on occasion, several times at least, in different countries. It really "just depends".

Note there are pyramids near Mexico City (Teotihuacan), but then you will not get the beach experience. Also pretty close is Cholula (check flying into Puebla - it can be surprisingly cheap). There are pyramids like Monte Alban in Oaxaca (rather smaller). There is Quemada in Zacatecas, etc.

That said, for me when I was looking a few weeks ago for a trip around Christmas/New Year's, Cancun was the cheapest airport in Mexico for me, although the hotels by the beach are priced much higher (which doesn't matter, as I'm not following a standard resort itinerary or staying at those hotels).

Check with Google Flights, Kayak, and ITA Matrix Software. My airfare has risen quite a bit in just a few weeks, so you may be experiencing that sad phenomenon of the cheap seats having already been sold. If you can handle the uncertainty, consider bidding on Priceline.

We flew to Merida--it was a great small airport. Merida itself is a blast and easy driving distance from the different pyramids in the Yucatan. Also, as indicated above, Mexico City to see Teotihuacan. You could also visit the National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City to get a great overview of the different cultures.