Travel to Mérida: The Yucatán Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

Travel to Mérida in Mexico

The Yucatán Has More To Offer Than Just Cancún and Tulum

 

In a conversation with a friend about our recent travel to Mérida, she said, “I thought Cancún or Tulum were the only areas to visit on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula?”  You too may have been thinking the same.

Those white sand beaches dotted with palapas, and calm Caribbean blue waters are not the only things to experience in this part of Mexico.  While beautiful, Tulum and especially Cancún lack the culture and city vibe you might be seeking on your travels.

However, Mérida, which is just an hour away from the coast, is a beautiful colonial city and the capital of the Yucatán!  Its old-world charm will captivate you.  And the rich history and culture of both the Spanish settlers and the Mayan people live on within Mérida’s ancient walls.

 

Merida: La Cuidad Blanca, ‘The White City”

 

When you travel to Merida, the first thing you’ll notice is all the white-washed stone buildings, sidewalks, and corner cafes.  This is because most of Mérida’s buildings are constructed with limestone, which is found throughout the Yucatán.  And it’s why Mérida is known as La Ciudad Blanca or the White City.

Although, some locals may tell you Mérida is called La Ciudad Blanca because it’s so clean and safe.  Both of which are also true.  Therefore, Mérida is gorgeous and safe to wander around during the day or at nighttime!

 

 

A Little Bit of Mérida History

 

Built on an ancient Mayan city in 1542 by Spanish explorers, Mérida is the largest city and the capital of the Yucatán.  And it still has one of the largest historical districts or centro históricos in the Americas!

In addition, Mérida was a walled city from colonial times through the mid-19th century.  You can still see 3 of the colonial arches or entranceways on the outskirts of the centro histórico.  These have stood the test of time, even with the constant changing of traffic patterns and architecture.

Along the main avenue, called the Paseo de Montejo, you can still find many elaborate homes and gorgeous examples of colonial architecture.  However, some of these have been restored and serve as banks or financial institutions.  And there’s even a Walmart on the main drag!  A plus and minus I suppose.

The best way for you to see the city and the Paseo de Montejo is at night, and by a horse-drawn carriage!  More on where to find them down below.

 

Best Time to Travel to Mérida

 

As Mérida is located in a tropical climate, plan on hot and humid days.  The average temperature is about 92 degrees year-round!  The hottest times of the year in Mérida are late April through September.

In addition, you can expect the most rain to fall between June through October.  Therefore, the best time to travel to Mérida is during the drier months from November through mid-April. 

 

 

 

Travel to Mérida: How to Get There

 

Most often you will fly to Mérida’s airport, Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport, formerly known as Mérida-Rejón Airport or MID. it’s a small, easy airport, and you can fly direct from places like Miami or Houston in the United States or from Mexico City.  Check out airlines like AeroMexico or United.

You can also fly + drive from Cancún, but plan on about 3.5 hours to drive west across the Yucatán Peninsula.  However, I would not recommend a day trip from Cancún to Mérida.  Instead, spend a night or two so you have plenty of time to explore.

We’ll talk more about day trips from Mérida, but if you’re driving across the Yucatán Peninsula, plan to stop in Valladolid and of course Chichen Itzá!

 

Driving in Mérida: Whether or Not to Rent a Car

 

If you only plan to be in Mérida for 2-3 days, you can skip the car rental and walk, taxi, or take a carriage ride to most places.  And if you want to visit Uxmal, a cenote, or the flamingos, you can book a private tour or go with a group.

In addition, your phone map apps will be very helpful getting around.  You’ll have service throughout the city, but do not expect 5G.  Cell service in Mérida will feel more like 3G.  Therefore, print or pick up a map of Mérida just in case.

If you do rent a car, you will find plenty of free street parking on the main roads throughout town.  However, in downtown Mérida, or the historic district, you will find it challenging to park right in front of the restaurant or museum you are heading to.  Therefore, parking lots or estacionamientos are available for a few pesos per hour.

 

 

Top Things to Do on Your Travels in Mérida

 

1. Stroll the Paseo de Montejo

Mérida is located about 45 minutes to an hour from the nearest beach.  So you’ll spend most of your time in Mérida sightseeing around the cobblestone streets.  And Mérida’s Paseo de Montejo is where it’s at!

Pack comfortable sandals, but be prepared to dress up a little bit.  Mérida is not a beach town, but you can wear flip-flops, sundresses, and shorts at the museums and when dining out.  Even in the nicer establishments.

And with the warm weather, make sure your walk along the Paseo de Montejo includes stopping at cafés and dulcerias!  More on the best ones coming up!

 

2. Learn About the Culture + History of Mérida

Mérida is most certainly the cultural capital of the Yucatán.  And there’s so much history to be found within these quaint city streets or calles.  From the Spanish colonial settlements to the traditions of the indigenous Mayan people, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to soak it in while walking through the main city squares of Mérida.  Here are a few you should visit:

• Plaza de Santa Lucia or Parque de Santa Lucia
• Plaza Grande aka Plaza de Armas- also where you’ll find the Mérida sign that people love to photograph!
• Plaza de San Cristóbal
• Parque Hidalgo- with its gorgeous steps
• Parque de la Mejorada
• Monumento a la Patria- and the far end of the Paseo de Montejo

 

In addition, there are several museos and public buildings where you can learn even more:

• Museo Casa Montejo
• Palacio de Gobierno
• Museo Palacio de la Musica
• Anthropology and History Museum

 

3. Take a Horse Drawn Carriage Ride at Night

Our favorite way to take in La Ciudad Blanca?  Hop aboard one of the calesas or horse-drawn carriages and listen to the sounds of the horses’ hooves as they trot through the city streets at night.

Make sure to get a guide that will point things out to you along the way and that speaks English if you do not speak Spanish!

You can find the horse-drawn carriages staged in the following locations around the downtown area:

• Santa Lucia Park, just outside of Deli Town
• Calle 61 across from the cathedral at the OXXO
• Along the Paseo de Montejo.  

The ride takes about 45 minutes to an hour and costs about $400 MXN pesos for 4 people.

 

4. Visit + Dine at the Museo de la Gatronomia Yucateca

The Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca is a museum that showcases the ancient traditions of Mayan cooking, and it’s also a restaurant.  Make a dinner reservation, and arrive about 45 minutes early to enjoy a self-guided tour of the museum.

Here you will learn all about the fruits, vegetables, spices, and meats used in Mayan cooking.  In addition, you’ll see the tools used to prepare each dish, plus see what a Mayan village might have looked like.

If visit the Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca at dinnertime, you’ll also witness the traditional preparation of spices and several dishes.  This includes the conchinita pibil (suckling pig) which is cooked in the earth in a smoldering stone-lined barbeque pit.  The slow roast takes many hours, but the result is absolutely delicious!

 

5. Listen to Live Music

Throughout Mérida’s historical district or centro histórico, you will find plenty of musicians playing in the streets.  Our favorites were the drummer who seemed to play non-stop into the wee hours of the morning outside of the Casa Tho Concept House, a great place to shop for local goods!

And then check out DeLorean Bar + Redicom Records.  This spot is part bar, part outdoor café, part record store, part tattoo parlor, and they also host regular live acoustic sets right on the plaza!

 

6. Sit in the Kissing Chairs

We first spotted these chairs along the coastal walkway in the small Yucatán town of Akumal, when we were married there in 2007.  But in Mérida, you’ll find them in almost every park!

The kissing chairs are also called Tu y Yo Chairs or Sillas Confidantes.  Make sure to visit the giant kissing chairs in Parque Santa Lucia, which stand at 8 feet tall!

The origin of the kissing chairs is unknown.  But, it is said that an overprotective father created these so that his daughter and the young man courting her could sit together, and get to know one another, in the most modest way possible.

 

7. Visit the Flamingos in Celestún

About an hour and a half drive west of Mérida brings you to the Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún.  This fragile wetland ecosystem is home to hundreds of species of birds, fish, plants, and other wildlife.

The best way to see the Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún is by boat.  And there are dozens of tour guides with covered panga-style boats to take you on a tour.  The cost is about $1200 MXN pesos for a boat of 6 people.

 

The biggest reason travelers visit Celestún is to see the flamingos!  However, there are even more reasons to go:

• Mangrove forests filled with ospreys, egrets, and almost 400 species of birds!
• Crocodiles well-camouflaged on the shoreline
• Mapaches (raccoon-like creatures) in the trees
• Watch as fishermen toss out nets or pull up traps to catch crabs and shrimp
• Swim in the clear waters of the Ojo de Aqua cenote

 

 Plan to visit the Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún between January to mid-April to spot hundreds and sometimes thousands of pink flamingos gathered in the shallow waters.  The lagoon even seems to turn pink from their reflection!

Why are they here?  Well, the flamingos spend their winter in the Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún and then travel to the Río Lagartos on the northern tip of the Yucatán in the summertime to have babies.  Then the flamingos return to the reserve the following winter.  Learn more from Travel & Leisure about this bird-watchers paradise!

 

8. Float in the Pool

For more water-loving travelers, make sure you rent an Airbnb or stay in a hotel with a nice pool!  With year-round temperatures in Mérida in the mid-90s, you’ll want to return to your Airbnb or hotel and jump in to refresh or just relax.  And start that book you’ve been meaning to read!

 

9. Visit the Mayan Archeological Site at Uxmal

Take your rental car or sign up for a tour through the jungle savannah to reach the Zona Archeológica de Uxmal (pronounced OOSH-MAL).  About an hour south of Mérida, this ancient Mayan city was home to 20,000 people!

It’s the second most visited archeological park after Chichen Itzá, and here you’ll see ancient carvings, ornate sculptures, temples, pyramids, and dozens of iguanas! 

Curious as to why, at some point during the 10th century, before the Spanish arrived, the Maya departed Uxmal?  Read more from Smithsonian Magazine.

 

 

10. Eat Churros and Marquesitas

While touring Mérida, try the local favorites from the street carts throughout the city center.  Fresh churros with chocolate or Nutella are a perfect way to end the evening.  But find friends to help eat them as they come 6 to a carton!

Or, be brave and try a marquesita or queso de bola!  These deserts are native to the Yucatán and consist of a crepe rolled like a tall taco and filled with cajeta, a type of caramel, condensed milk, Edam cheese, plus toppings.

We were skeptical at first, and curious as to why a Dutch cheese is used in the marquesita.  (It’s thanks to Mérida’s status as an international trading center and Dutch travelers that have been visiting for centuries!)  But it’s delicious!

11. Visit the Cenotes

First, you might be wondering what exactly is a cenote and why you’d want to visit one.  Well, the Yucatán Peninsula is composed of mainly limestone, which is porous, fragile, and erodes over time.

The cenotes are then caves, sinkholes, or natural depressions in this limestone landscape where groundwater has seeped through or rainwater has collected.  There are over 6,000 cenotes on the Yucatán Peninsula!  And these were one of the main water sources for the Mayan people.

The cenotes’ waters are translucent blue and crystal clear.  You will find fish swimming, and plenty of stalactites to swim around.  So they’re perfect for snorkeling and cooling off in the tropical heat!

 

There are a few cenotes close to Cancún and Tulum, but many of them are located farther inland, closer to Mérida and Valladolid.  Here are a few to visit on your Mérida trip:

• Cenote X’Batun + Cenote Dzonbakal– These cenotes are located down the same dirt road so you can visit them on the same day. And they are close to Uxmal. We loved Cenote Dzonbakal, pictured below, the best!
• Cenote Hacienda Mucuyche– You must book a tour of the hacienda to visit this cenote, learn more here. 
• Cenotes Santa Barbara– Located in the town of Homun, there are actually 3 cenotes here: Cenote Chaksikin, Cenote Cascabel, and Cenote Xoch!

 

12. Visit the Archeological Site at Chichen Itzá

And lastly, about 90 minutes east of Mérida lies Chichen Itzá.  This is the most popular tourist site in Mexico with over 2.5 million visitors traveling to explore this ancient city each year!  You cannot climb the pyramids, but you’ll get plenty of exercise walking around this pre-Hispanic city and learning about its history.

Plan on at least 2-3 hours to see the full site.  If you want to stay overnight, we stayed at the Hacienda Chichen & Yaxkin Spa.  It’s a gorgeous jungle retreat and a testament to the conscious preservation of the ecosystem found in this part of the Yucatán.

If you’re driving from Cancún or Tulum, definitely plan to stop here on your way to Mérida.  It’s also close to Valladolid, another colonial city similar to Mérida, so you can visit both on your way to Mérida if you have time!

 

Where to Eat in Mérida

 

Finally, when you’re out touring the city, you’ll no doubt be hungry.  And besides the street food and the Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca, here are a few places we recommend:

• Catrín– A cute bar/restaurant serving Mexican food but the bonus is the outdoor patio area with its light show at night!
• Apoala– Delicious traditional Mexican cuisine and by far the best service of any restaurant in Mérida!  Plus it’s in the Parque de Santa Lucia where you’ll find several other bars and restaurants, and the giant kissing chairs!
• Dulceria y Sobreteria Colon (there are several of these throughout the city)- Ice creams that taste more like gelato and tumble down the side of your old-fashioned glass are the perfect cure for hot days in Mérida.
• Eladio’s Bar– Behind these cute pink walls lies the best local bar and restaurant in Mérida!
• El Lucero– Great outdoor dining and live music under the treetops.
• Café Impala– This retro diner on the corner of Paseo de Montejo and Calle 47 stays open late!

Where to Stay in Mérida

If you’re in town for just a night or two, stay in one of the restored colonial-style hotels within walking distance to the main plazas.  Try the Gran Hotel Mérida or Piedra de Agua Hotel.  In town for a longer stay or want a full kitchen?  Check out the numerous Airbnb options available!

Interested in camping or more low-budget travel? Use Sēkr to find the best campsites throughout Mexico.  There are some good campgrounds near Valladolid, as well as Chelem and Tulum, the last 2 are on or near the beach!

Beach camping in Mexico might seem unsafe, but staying in these locations is like camping in a friend’s backyard.  Plus you’ll have access to a pool or the beach, bathrooms, hot showers, food, and cold beers!

Get started by signing up and downloading Sēkr to your phone, for free!  Then find campsites, read reviews, and meet fellow travelers along the way.

Mérida + Mexico Travel Made Easy

 

We hope you too might travel to Mérida after reading this blog!  Interested in visiting more places in Mexico or other international destinations?

• Baja Mexico Travel Guide
• Oaxaca Mexico Travel Guide
• Valle de Guadalupe: Mexico’s Wine Region
• Adventure Travel in Spain
• Cuba Travel for Outdoor Adventurers

 

Until next time, hasta luego, amigos!

Meredith McConvill