On the Yucatán Peninsula, working haciendas and Maya ruins form the backdrop for a contemporary creative movement shaped by ancient traditions of craft. Our journey centers on direct access to that world, with visits to private estates, studios, and cultural sites rarely open to the public.

We’re joined by designer Nate Berkus, whose expertise in interiors and objects make for thought-provoking conversations about beauty, sourcing, and material culture.
Hacienda Itzincab de Cámara, our home for four nights, is a converted 14-room estate set on grounds that include an unrestored Maya pyramid. Visits range from privately owned haciendas still active in henequen production—extracting fibers from agave plants to be used for textiles, ropes, hammocks, and more—to modern art spaces such as Plantel Matilde, the private residence and studio of sculptor Javier Marín.

The journey also includes a visit to the ruins of Uxmal, an ancient Maya city; a meal hosted within a Melipona bee (or stingless bee) sanctuary; and a closing gathering at Hacienda Yaxcopoil, a weathered yet impressive estate that speaks to the region’s layered history. Along the way, we’ll ponder how materials, landscape, and lifestyles in the Yucatán have evolved over time and carried through to present-day design.
Highlights:

Day 1

• Check into Hacienda Itzincab de Cámara, a historic estate built atop an ancient Maya site. The property is reserved exclusively for our group, with full access to its terraces, pools, and expansive gardens teeming with birdlife.
• Mark the beginning of the journey beneath the hacienda’s garden tunnel, tasting Yucatán specialties as local dancers perform the Jarana, the region’s traditional folk dance.

Day 2

• Join Nate Berkus for a visit to artist Angela Damman’s working sisal and henequen hacienda, and learn how fibers are extracted from agave leaves, then washed, combed, and dyed by hand.
• Settle into a private lunch with Nate and Angela at her secluded hacienda.
• Lounge by the pool or wander the gardens for leisure time at Hacienda Itzincab, followed by an alfresco dinner on the patio.

Day 3

• Among the Yucatán’s antiquated haciendas, we gain exclusive entry to Plantel Matilde, the home and studio of Mexican artist Javier Marín. Along with hosting resident artists, Marín is also committed to the cultural and social development of Sacchich, the town where his studio is located.
• Stop at a community-led ceramics studio and share a rustic meal with local Sacchich residents.
• Explore Mérida, Yucatán’s cultural capital, through private access to a unique space that merges art, design, and food, before gathering for a lively dinner and evening curated by Nate.

Day 4

• Visit Uxmal, an ancient Maya city distinguished by finely carved stone mosaics and exemplary Puuc architecture, set amid the low jungle of the Yucatán.
• Spend the afternoon at a bee sanctuary with a matriarchal Maya community, where stingless Melipona bees are raised for their prized honey.
• Learn the art of tortilla making and observe the preparation of traditional Yucatecan dishes, followed by a shared lunch.
• Toast our final evening in the Yucatán at Hacienda Yaxcopoil, a beautifully preserved estate and one of the region’s most important 19th-century sisal plantations. Dinner follows as a live trio plays boleros, a traditional Yucatecan serenade.