Quick Trip to Merida

Overview

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Merida is not your typical Mexican tourist destination by any means. It is much more of a local/cultural experience than many of the stereotypes commonly associated with Mexico. In Merida you won't find hordes of Americans, clubs full of kids on spring break or chain attractions like Senor Frogs. Merida is a city of close to a million people. The economy is not based on tourism so Merida is an opportunity to go to Mexico and sort of observe the natural culture and traditions of the Mexican people of the Yucatan. Given that my experience of Mexican vacations had essentially consisted of Cabo, Cancun etc I found it very interesting to see the other side of the coin. Here people go about their business a...Read More

Merida is not your typical Mexican tourist destination by any means. It is much more of a local/cultural experience than many of the stereotypes commonly associated with Mexico. In Merida you won't find hordes of Americans, clubs full of kids on spring break or chain attractions like Senor Frogs. Merida is a city of close to a million people. The economy is not based on tourism so Merida is an opportunity to go to Mexico and sort of observe the natural culture and traditions of the Mexican people of the Yucatan. Given that my experience of Mexican vacations had essentially consisted of Cabo, Cancun etc I found it very interesting to see the other side of the coin. Here people go about their business and day to day lives as people would in any large city. Nice restaurants and bars are full of locals enjoying a nice dinner out with their family instead of all the foreign crowds. The streets are filled with people shopping and going about their daily business. I imagine that this is the experience in most Mexican metropolises that aren't geared toward a tourist crowd such as Mexico city. Seeing it for the first time was a great experience.

Quick Tips:

Apparently in the summer in Merida (as in much of the Yucatan and Caribbean) it rains A LOT. Although Merida is landlocked in the Yucatan about a four hour drive west of Cancun it is less than an hour to beaches on the Gulf Coast. Because the Yucatan is so flat there is nothing to stop thunderclouds from sweeping inland off the ocean. It will likely rain on and off all day if you are here during the summer.

If you plan on venturing out of the city to the Mayan ruins or to a cenote (sinkhole) or even if sitting out in the city itself be aware of mosquitos. There are quite a few of them and everyone I was with got bitten multiple times just from sitting out at the pool at our hotel which was in the middle of downtown. Unlike many large cities in the states where mosquitoes don't seem to be a problem within the urban jungle that is not the case here.

Keep in mind if traveling to the beach in Merida that the nearby water is not the Caribbean. While it will be quite warm don't expect the bright blue and turquise water that you get in Cancun, Playa del Carmen or Riviera Maya etc. Those are Caribbean waters and the coastline near Merida is the Gulf of Mexico.

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting to Merida from the United States can be a little bit complicated and time consuming. It is a seemingly long trip for traveling a relatively short distance. That is because there are no direct flights from the states to Merida (again because it is not a popular tourist spot). Your two options for getting there will either be to change planes in Mexico City or to fly into Cancun and rent and car and make the four hour drive. Depending on your layover time one option might not necessarily be faster than the other. Coming from Los Angeles, all the flight into Mexico City left LA between 11PM and 1AM and arrived in Mexico City between 5AM and 7AM which would have been fine (albeit a bit inconvenient).....except that the flight to Merida were not until 10AM. No one likes a four hour layover after a redeye at five in the morning. If your itinerary ends up looking like this it may be worth a direct flight to Cancun at a more convenient time and them just sucking up the drive.

Getting around Merida itself is relatively easy. All of the streets in downtown are essentially in a grid and consecutively numbered so finding places on foot is pretty simple. The city center is also fairly compact which helps facilitate walking.

There are also a ton of taxis in Merida so if it is raining or you don't feel like walking you can usually get a cab with relative ease as long as you are on a main street. Taxi fares are reasonable and definately cheaper than rates in major US cities. Read Less

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Hotel Casa Lucia

Hotel

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Hotel Casa Lucia is a very nice and quaint boutique hotel localed in the heart of Merida. It is on Calle 60 in between Calle 53 and Calle 53. (Note that in Merida all the even street are parallel with all the odd streets perpendicular forming a grid....very easy navigation) On weekend evenings Calle 60 is cordoned off and the street is filled with vendors and outdoor dining. The hotel is also located directly across from Santa Lucia Park and Santa Lucia Church. In the morning on the weekend the park turns into a crafts market with local vendors selling all different types of wares. It should be noted that "Hotel Santa Lucia" and "Hostel Santa Lucia" are also in the area immediately surrounding this sq...Read More

Hotel Casa Lucia is a very nice and quaint boutique hotel localed in the heart of Merida. It is on Calle 60 in between Calle 53 and Calle 53. (Note that in Merida all the even street are parallel with all the odd streets perpendicular forming a grid....very easy navigation) On weekend evenings Calle 60 is cordoned off and the street is filled with vendors and outdoor dining. The hotel is also located directly across from Santa Lucia Park and Santa Lucia Church. In the morning on the weekend the park turns into a crafts market with local vendors selling all different types of wares. It should be noted that "Hotel Santa Lucia" and "Hostel Santa Lucia" are also in the area immediately surrounding this square so be careful not to get confused.

The hotel itself is very nice with a very attentive and courteous staff. I was staying at a hotel for a wedding that had actually rented out the entire place as the whole hotel is only about 15 or so rooms. Ten of the rooms are adjacent to the swimming pool and gardens in a two story building. The corridors run outside with 5 rooms to a floor. The other four or five rooms are in a building attached to the lobby (2 or which are reached through a staircase in the lobby and 2 or t 3 from a staircase outside)

The rooms themselves are quite large and were very very clean. All the rooms have either one large or two double beds, a television with a DVD player, a double closet, alarm clock, safe, and a very powerful and very very effective air conditioner. The bathrooms are enormous....way bigger then necessary. The shower is so big it doesn't even have a door because there is no way the water from the showerhead is going to get all the way to the floor outside the shower area. Maid service was prompt and did an excellent job. We knew everyone in the hotel and not one person had an instance of anything being stolen or disappearing from their room. The maids didn't even take the few dollars in change that I intentionally left out for them. Never did I use or feel the need to use the safe that was provided. I felt perfectly comfortable here leaving items such as my wallet, cell phone and Ipod lying out.

The food at the hotel was some of the best I had in Merida. Not traditional Mexican food however, much more heavy on the Italian and American side. The garlic and butter marinated mushrooms were out of this world. I had a pepperoni, olive and basil pizza that was delicious. I also tried the fettucine with mushrooms and cream sauce which was very good as well. I've never been a fan so I didn't try and but I heard from everyone else that the guacamole was really really good. They have a small dining area in front of the hotel with about a half dozen tables and it usually seemed to be fairly busy. If you are staying at the hotel a simple breakfast of toast with butter and jam, coffee and orange juice is included every morning. If you want to add eggs or an omelette it is like $2.

The pool area at the hotel is simple but very quiet and relaxing. The pool is quite warm and has a little maybe five foot wide ledge at one end that is only a few inches deep where toddlers can take a dip. There are about half a dozen padded lawn chairs and a couple of hammocks under a covered area. There is some grassy landscaping in between the pool and hotel building with a couple of fountains. There is a sterio system out by the pool if you want to bring CD's and a masseuse came by a couple of the days we were there to offer fairly cheap poolside massages. If you didn't want a massage right then you could schedule one with him and he was willing to come back any time of the day or night that you wanted.

The lobby and restuarant staff were very friendly and helpful. They would bring anything you ordered at the bar of the restaurant out to the pool for you when it was ready. You always had the option of paying or just charging it to your bill. I went to the store to buy water and booze the first day and when I showed up at the hotel with my grocery bags in the rain in a taxi no less than 3!! employees of the hotel came running out the front door, insisted I not carry any of the bags myself and hurried them all to my room for me. While I gave them a tip you are never under the impression here that they are helping you because they expect money. We all felt like they had pride in their jobs and genuinely wanted to make the stay pleasant. A member of the staff also offered to go to the store for my brother's wife to pick up milk for their baby so they wouldn't have to go looking for it. He ran to the store and came back with milk for them in less than 10 minutes.

All in all this hotel was very nice by Merida standards. Don't expect the Four Seasons but it was more then adequate with a very genuine and kind staff. For $115-$165 a night it is a pretty good bargain as well. Highly recommended. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 16, 2025

Hotel Casa Lucia
Calle 60 No. 474-A entre 55 y 53
Merida Yucatan Mexico 97000
(999) 928-0740

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Nectar

Restaurant | "Nectar Restaurant"

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Nectar is supposedly one of the finest dining experiences in Merida...not including a spattering of American chain restaurants that leave something to be desired as far as a cultural/local experience. The restaurant is a little bit hard to find and about a 7 or 8 minute taxi ride from downtown. As I remember it is in a more expensive part of the city as I recall passing a Porsche dealership and a large American style shopping mall a couple of minutes before we arrided. Specifically, the restaurant is located at 412 Avenida 21, which I believe was a one way street so the restaurant is located on the right hand side. I highly recommend arriving by taxi as it seemed fairly confusing to get to...Read More

Nectar is supposedly one of the finest dining experiences in Merida...not including a spattering of American chain restaurants that leave something to be desired as far as a cultural/local experience. The restaurant is a little bit hard to find and about a 7 or 8 minute taxi ride from downtown. As I remember it is in a more expensive part of the city as I recall passing a Porsche dealership and a large American style shopping mall a couple of minutes before we arrided.

Specifically, the restaurant is located at 412 Avenida 21, which I believe was a one way street so the restaurant is located on the right hand side. I highly recommend arriving by taxi as it seemed fairly confusing to get to. The streets in this area of town are not in the same simple grid formation as you find in downtown and streets names can change fairly erratically so if you have a car and choose to drive yourself make sure you know where you are going beforehand. The staff will be more then happy to call for taxis when you are ready to leave. I would peg the dress code here as something equilavent to a relaxed version of business casual. Most people were dressed nice but as it was about 90 degrees the night we went I chose to wear a nice pair of shorts and a long sleeved button up shirt and felt perfectly appropriate. I just wouldn't show up in flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt. I would also recommend making a reservation, especially on weekends.

The ambiance of the restaurant is very pleasant. The kitchen is clearly visible from the main dining room and everything both in the kitchen and dining area is spotless. There is a large and very well stocked bar adjacent to the dining area. They have a wide selection of alcohol although the restaurant is known primarily for its wine. I'm not the most skilled wine conoisseur but what I was served was quite good in my opinion. The cocktails were also well made. The tables and place settings are simple and elegant. The staff is very attentive and spoke more then enough English for us to effectively communicate. If a staff member did not speak English well (which nearly all of them did) they would hurry off to get someone else who could answer our question.

The food was good for Mexico. I was satisfied with my meal for the most part. We were with a party of around 30 and had most of the restaurant to ourselves that night. The overall opinion from everyone seemed to be very positive although there were a few people in our party who were not particularly pleased with the individual dish they had chosen. Some of the dishes seemed to have confused simplistic presentation as elegant. For instance my sisters caprese style salad was a huge white plate with a sliced tomato in the middle stacked verticle and layered with herbs, cheese and vinaigrette. It wasn't bad but it was the kind of thing you could essentially throw together yourself at home.

The beef and tuna tataki were apparently very good although that when I ordered it I was not aware that tataki meant "seared" which was my own fault. I'm not very adventerous with eating questionable things in foreign countries and was not about to eat raw beef in Mexico so I left my appetizer untouched but other people at the table ate it and said that it was very good. My main course of fettucine with chicken in a mushroom cream sauce was quite good, as was the chocolate dessert. My sister in law ordered the shrimp cocktail appetizer which she seemed very pleased with and everyone that ordered meat and wild game seemed to enjoy their dishes quite a lot. I got the impression that this restaurant does considerably better with meat than with simple dishes such as salad.

Overall it was a very pleasant experience with a very attentive staff. The food took quite a long time to come out but I feel as though that should be expected whenever you have a 30 person party. Everyone recieved the food that they ordered with no noticable mistakes which for a party that size is a task in itself. The restaurant is relatively expensive for Merida, main courses were probably around $20 but the food was good and it made for a good night out. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on July 16, 2025

Nectar
Avenida 21, #412
Merida

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Restaurante Bar Amaro

Restaurant | "Amaro Restaurant"

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Amaro is located close to the city center of Merida. The restaurant is just a couple of blocks from Park Santa Lucia. It is located on Calle 59 just about a block off of Calle 60 which is the main drag running through the center of the city. If you are staying anywhere in the center of the city it will be within easy walking distance of your hotel and there would be no need to get in a taxi. All of the streets in downtown Merida are on a grid system with even numbers going one way and odd numbers the other. There is a fairly large sign for the restaurant hanging over the door so it shouldn't be too difficult to find. The interior of the restaurant is very welcoming and nicely laid out. The...Read More

Amaro is located close to the city center of Merida. The restaurant is just a couple of blocks from Park Santa Lucia. It is located on Calle 59 just about a block off of Calle 60 which is the main drag running through the center of the city. If you are staying anywhere in the center of the city it will be within easy walking distance of your hotel and there would be no need to get in a taxi. All of the streets in downtown Merida are on a grid system with even numbers going one way and odd numbers the other.

There is a fairly large sign for the restaurant hanging over the door so it shouldn't be too difficult to find. The interior of the restaurant is very welcoming and nicely laid out. There is a huge courtyard in the middle of the restaurant with tables fringing around it and a few tables in the actual courtyard itself. The areas fringing the patio are covered because of the frequent and sporadic rain in Merida. The atmosphere is nice and the restaurant doesn't get too noisy because of the open roof. We were there on a weeknight and they had live music which would lead me assume that they have live entertainment most nights of the week and definitely on weekends. The music was a local Mexican artist who was actually quite good. The noise was not overpowering and was actually quite pleasant to eat too. There is a bar in the far corner of the courtyard with a bartender that you can order drinks from if your waiter isn't around.

The food at Amaro was quite good. The menu is geared towards vegetarians but they do have a number of meat options. The menu features Italian as well as Mexican cuisine. I was pretty unadventurous and ordered a simple pizza. It had sliced tomato and mushrooms and was actually excellent. It was better then most pizza I usually can find in the states. The flavor was great and the dough was perfect. The wait staff was very attentive and courteous. We were quite a large party and all the food came out in a timely and organized manner. The menu features many salads and pastas in addition to local and Mexican dishes.

Dress is casual. I wore a polo shirt and a pair of shorts but you could get away with a t-shirt at this place no problem. Prices are quite affordable. Not extremely cheap but a good deal for the quality of the food and the atmosphere. For $50 two people should be able to get entrees, an appetizer, drinks and dessert. Definitely a spot worth checking out. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on July 16, 2025

Restaurante Bar Amaro
Calle 59 #507
Merida, Mexico
(999) 928-2451

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Uxmal Mayan Ruins

Attraction | "Day Trip to Uxmal Ruins"

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The ruins of Uxmal are one of the most famous Mayan archaeological sites in the Yucatan. With the exception of Chichen Itza, which is midway between Cancun and Merida, the is probably the largest ruin complex in this part of Mexico. The ruins are about an hour and a half drive from Merida. We rented a car and the drive was quite simple and well marked along major highways. You can also take a tourist bus but with such an easy drive I don't know why you wouldn't just get your own car. When you get to Uxmal you will have to pay a few dollars to park. Adjacent to the parking lot is a complex of shops selling souvenirs, cold drinks and ice cream, and local wares. There is also a restaurant. Th...Read More

The ruins of Uxmal are one of the most famous Mayan archaeological sites in the Yucatan. With the exception of Chichen Itza, which is midway between Cancun and Merida, the is probably the largest ruin complex in this part of Mexico. The ruins are about an hour and a half drive from Merida. We rented a car and the drive was quite simple and well marked along major highways. You can also take a tourist bus but with such an easy drive I don't know why you wouldn't just get your own car.

When you get to Uxmal you will have to pay a few dollars to park. Adjacent to the parking lot is a complex of shops selling souvenirs, cold drinks and ice cream, and local wares. There is also a restaurant. There is a window where you will have to buy a wristband in order to pass through the turnstile to get into the ruins complex. You have to walk up a fairly long ramp from the turnstile but when you get to the top you will have a view of a huge Mayan pyramid. From that pyramid you follow a path around to the back of the pyramid. Be sure to check out the carved stone faces going up the side of the pyramid. From there the path goes on to the famous Uxmal Quadrangle, a giant public grass covered square surrounded by buildings. From the quadrangle you go down some very steep stairs through a grassy area to the ball court where the Mayans used to hold competitions.

After the ball court you proceed on toward a second equally large pyramid. This is the one that you are allowed to climb! If you want to climb a pyramid this is the place to do it as they no longer allow tourists to climb the pyramid at Chichen Itza. It is VERY VERY steep and the hardest part is coming down, not going up so after you go up a little ways turn around and make sure you feel comfortable enough coming down before you go all the way so you don't get stuck at the top.

After descending the pyramid head back toward the entrance. Be sure to check out all the iguanas running around all over the place. They are huge. After returning to the visitor center grab a drink and cool off. If you are hungry there is a cool restaurant a couple of miles from the entrance to Uxmal. After leaving the driveway and the main gate turn left on the main road and you will see it a few miles down the road on the right. It is called Restaurant Halach-Hunic. Their specialty is poc-chuc which is a traditional Yucatecan dish that is chicken or pork sealed in tinfoil and then cooked underground in a pit. Also ask the waiter to give everyone in your party a cucaracha shot. They put a giant sombrero on you and give you the shot and then shake your head around. It's pretty entertaining.

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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 16, 2025

Uxmal Mayan Ruins
62 km south of Mérida
Uxmal, Mexico

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Merida Journals

Quick Trip to Merida