Merida has plenty of activities to keep you busy. Whether hanging at a comfortable hostel and meeting fellow travelers, wandering through museums, watching live music or dance performances, or enjoying the daily activities centered around one of the city’s many parks, you won’t likely be bored in Merida.

And what makes this town even more attractive to the tramper is that all of the above can be done for free. There are a handful of museums in Merida with free admission, and during the month of January, the Main Zocalo and other parks become performance spaces for music, dance, and theater. January is the month of Merida Fest, and is a great time to visit, if you don’t mind things being a little more crowded. Other months, though not as action-packed, still offer free music and performances. Just ask around!

Also close to Merida are several Ruin sites, With Uxmal being the most well known, and most visited. Within an hour or so of Merida there are also a staggering number of Cenotes, or “sinkholes”, which is an uninspiring translation… See below for pictures and more information.

In Merida:

There is a free daily walking tour in Merida that leaves from the Tourist Office on Calle 62 at the Zocalo at 9:30am. Here the dominant language in the group seems to dictate whether the tour is in Spanish or English. Without walking very far, you’ll learn about Merida’s history, including which buildings were made from the stones of the pyramids that once stood where Merida does now.

You’ll also stop in at the Palacia de Gobierno, which is also free to visit, and features the art of painter Fernando Castro Pacheco.

Museo de Arte Popular is an awesome museum featuring the “Folk Art” of Mexico: weaving, traditional dress, pottery, masks, and more. There are great overviews of the art pieces written in Spanish and English. The rooms are well air-conditioned, and admission is free. Find them on Calle 50-A between Calles 57 and 59. (And if you are hungry after, you’re close to two great restaurant options. Check out “Eating” for more information.)

OTHER MUSEUMS IN TOWN INCLUDE:

Museo de la Cuidad (free) on Calle 56 x 65 y 67. Worth the visit if you are interested in learning more about Merida’s history.

Museo Regional de Anthropologia (P$46) on the grand Paseo de Montejo, covers archeological history of the Yucatan Peninsula, including information about many of the near-by ruins.

Further from town, and more expensive to visit, The Gran Museo del Mundo Maya (P$150)  is grand, indeed. Here, Mayan history and culture are covered in depth. Located on Calle 60 Nte, #299E.

BIKING:

There is an effort in Merida, which seems to be grass-roots, to make the city more bicycle friendly. There is a group, Ciclo Turixes, which does weekly night bike rides on Wednesdays. And if you happen to be in town during Bike-Week (in 2014 Bike Week was the end of January) there are many more events, including using pedal-power to project a movie in one of Merida’s parks.

You can check out there website here: www.cicloturixes.org

And Around:

CENOTES:

The most popular Cenotes near Merida are either the three around Cuzama, or the Cenotes at San Ignacio. However, there are many less popular cenotes that you can easily visit. Check out the pictures below for information and a map, offered in the local magazine, Yucatan Today, which serves as an excellent source of travel information for the region.

 

We were recommended the Cenotes near the town of Homun, which are smaller than at Cuzama but also have less visitors. You can catch a colectivo to Homun on Calle 67, between Calles 50 and 52. The cost is P$24 one way. Just ask around until you find the right van. Let the driver know you are headed to the Cenotes, and you’ll be dropped off at a restaurant, before you reach the town center, where yuca-taxi drivers will be waiting to offer their services. There is one Cenote located just around the corner, but there are at least four others in the area that are popular destinations. The drivers will have photos of the different Cenotes, and can offer descriptions of each.

Our recommendation would be to start early and try to visit as many Cenotes as possible. One just wasn’t enough.

If you only want to visit the first, closest to the restaurant, you don’t need a taxi. But for P$100 ($7.70 USD) or less, you’ll be able to tour others as well. The driver will wait at each Cenote, and at the end can drop you off at the combi station for Merida. The prices seem flexible, most likely depending on how many people are in your group, what time of day it is, and how good business has been recently. Still, P$50-P$100 is a good estimate, and perhaps more if you are traveling alone.

Other information:

-The last combi returning to Merida from Homun is at 6:30pm.

-At each Cenote you’ll pay an entrance fee of around P$10-P$15.

-There was not any food or water being sold at the Cenotes we visited. While a stop at a tienda in town could probably be arranged with your taxi driver, it’s a good idea to pack something if you’ll be out all day.

-The smaller Cenotes are sometimes located on private property. We visited a very small one, with a tree that you could jump from. We had to pick up a young boy, the son of the land-owner, to come with us, and we paid him the entrance fee. So yes, this is normal.

-If you have portable speakers and an IPod, and can blast music while Cenote-hopping, you’ll officially be the coolest yuca-taxi in town.

Visiting Cuzama: There are second class buses that leave Merida for Cuzama from the bus terminal at the intersection of Calles 50 and 67. From the town of Cuzama, you can take yuca-taxis to the Cenotes. You can read more about the trip also in this Yucatan Today article.

PROGRESSO:

Progresso is the most easily accessed beach town near Merida. It’s about a 45 minute or hour drive, depending on traffic. Take a short nap, and wake up on the beach. Buses leave frequently between Progresso and Merida. And after the heat and traffic and noise in Merida, the beach at Progresso is ideal. Of course, visiting Progresso when the sun is shining is also ideal. This wasn’t the case for me, and the pictures of cloudy skies and empty streets don’t really do the town justice. Before you go, check the weather, and also check out more information here.

 

 

GETTING // GOING          •         SLEEPING          •          EATING          •          DOING           •          MAP

Take me back to MEXICO // Take me HOME