Mérida

One of my favourite cities in Mexico, its quiet, peaceful, very lovely colourful buildings, friendly atmosphere and a really good vibe! I’ve spent over 2 weeks here and I have done what I do best… Discover all the food places, secret hotspots, out-of-the-ordinary locations and other must-sees in the city!

A rumor goes around saying that Mérida is this safe because it’s the place where the families of the Narcos live. And there’s an unwritten rule that you don’t hurt the children and wives… I’m not a 100% sure if it’s true, I’ll leave that in the middle.

Food

Palermo pizza’s Argentina – Wait… What? The name might come with some confusement, I get that, I mean Argentenian pizza’s from Palermo…? Don’t get discouraged by that, because it is an awesome pizza buffet! Unlimited amount of pizza for 90 pesos (€5), I repeat un-li-mited amount of pizza and on Thursdays it’s even 2 for 1! That’s calculated €2,25 per person!! It’s very well known by locals, so go either a bit earlier in the evening (before 19:00) or very late (after 21:30) to avoid the crowd.
Mercado 60 – Nice little hub in the city centre with several food stands and a bar. Also, live music in the evenings and there’s some salsa dancing going on. It’s a bit touristy and pricy, but great to hang out for one evening
Tierra de cafe – Go here for good coffee. Best coffee I had in a really long time.
Aroma canela – Cutest little café and pop-up store north of the city centre. Good to go on a break if you’re strolling around town. Try some of their delicious cakes or sandwiches.
Apapacho – I will put this in here, even though the food wasn’t amazing… However, their whole ambience and garden outside made up for a lot. I really hope it was just the meals that we choose that didn’t blow our minds, but their menu is huge, the staff is super friendly and you know their heart and soul is put into this place, so worth giving it a try.
Sukra – Simple but good place for breakfast and lunch
La Negrita Cantina – I am probably the only person that has spend +2 weeks in Merida and hasn’t actually seen the inside of this place. Shame on me, because everyone recommends it, it looks cute on the outside and I think it’s a must-go (at least, that’s what everyone kept telling me and I still regret I didn’t go).
La fundacíon Mezcaleria – A very dangerous place… In terms of very low pricing and very delicious mezcals… Enjoy the night whilst dancing to salsa beats and listening to the live band! It has been the best bar I’ve been to in Mérida!

Sleeps in Mérida

I stayed in an awesome guesthouse from our language school. Which had a swimming pool and private room, for a very affordable price.
Nomadas Hostel is also a good choice. They have a big swimming pool and a free breakfast. I would recommend doing one of their cooking classes, really good, cheap food and you’ll get to learn some real Mexican cuisine as well!
I was also bougy and stayed in the Hilton. It’s still quite affordable if you ask me, and let’s be honest, the Hilton beds & towels beat everything! The neighbourhood is super fascinting for a Dutchie like me, ONLY shopping malls… Mall after mall after mall… Do not linger around here for too long, old city downtown is way nicer.

To do's in Mérida

Barrio de Santiago – Cute neighbourhood to walk through and sit down in one of the cafés
Museo Palacio Cantón – My absolute favourite museum in Mérida. The house itself is breathtaking and the expositions are very informative and really interesting. A must-see!
Gran museo del mundo Maya – Being honest with you, yes, the museum is big and modern and really nice (bring a sweater though, it’s freezing cold!). However, I found other musea a bit more interesting than this one. Still a good place to go if you want to know more about the Mayan culture
Plaza Grande – Stroll around Plaza Grande during the day, it’s a beautiful plaza and lot’s of busy streets with little shops surrounding it

Learning Spanish in Mérida

Language school La Casita – 10 out of 10 recommend if you want to learn Spanish! Small classes, good teachers and they organise a lot of activities outside of the classes. Examples are language exchanges, excursions, karaoke nights and walking tours. Get to enjoy learning Spanish, making new friends and chilling in their amazing backyard during coffee breaks.

It also came with a fantastic house where we could sleep, which made the whole experience even better. see image beside.

To do's surrounding Mérida

Progreso beach – If you’re craving a good tanning sesh, then go here! It’s only half an hour away and the beach is good, not the prettiest beach of Mexico, but it’s a good day out.
How to get there: There’s a very convenient bus from Merida to Progreso, operated by AutoProgreso, that runs every 10 minutes between 5:15 am to 10 pm. The price is $20 pesos one-way or $36 pesos round-trip. Catch the bus from Merida to Progreso from the AutoProgreso terminal on calle 62 between 65 and 67 (just type in Google maps: AutroProgreso and it will show up!).
Celestun beach – A bit further away, about 3 hours by bus. The beaches are more beautiful than in Progreso and they have a lot of flamingo’s. I would recommend staying for at least one night.
Izamal – ‘The yellow city’, a stunning little town where all the houses are painted yellow. There’s an old church you can visit in the middle of the town and there are several Mayan Ruines to climb.
– How to get there? -> You can catch a colectivo to Izamal at the Noreste station, the bus station entrance is on Calle 67 between Calle 50 and 52. It will take about 1 to 1.5 hours and the costs are $28 pesos. Not sure how frequent they go, most of the time when the colectivo is full they take off.

Cenotes

Cenotes… Que?

Travelling around in Yucatan and you will hear the word ‘cenote’ a LOT… Cenotes are natural deep-water wells (sinkholes), which are fed by rain and by the currents of underground rivers that are born in the heart of the earth. That is why when swimming in a cenote you feel so much freshness. There are about 3000 cenotes in Yucatan.

Cenote tours

I would suggest doing a tour starting from the town called Homun. Homun is about 1,5 hours’ drive from Merida. When you arrive in Homun there will be motor taxi’s waiting for you to take you to 4 or 5 cenotes. The costs for the motor taxi’s are about 250 pesos (+/- €12), maybe a bit cheaper if you’re good at bargaining. Most of the time the driver will take you to random cenotes, but we specifically asked not to go to the touristy ones. That resulted in having some of the cenotes completely to ourselves! My favourite cenotes were: Hool Kosom and Balmil.

How to get there? -> You can take a colectivo to Homun from Mérida on Calle 67 x 50 y 52. With departure times approximately every hour. It takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes and will cost 30 pesos.