Mérida Travel Forum

Is there a English speaking BUS TOUR of Merida and surrounding tourist places?
Also from Merida I want to go on BUS TOUR to Campeche, Uxmal, Progreso, Chichen Itza etc...
Is there a bus tour I can take from my hotel in Merida to all these places and then back to my hotel @ night? (PS: I don't know what hotel I am staying yet).
I have 1.5 (a day and half) to explore these places and then another 1.5 (day and half) to go explore Playa, Tulum and Chetumal. What is a inexpensive BUS Tour I can take?

Thanks in advance.
Bansi

Hi everyone,
We are taking a trip to Chelem in August. We will be arriving at Cancun. If we hire a car just to get to Chelem, is there a drop off point? If we take the bus from Cancun, can we get a bus all the way to Chelem, or will we have to change to a taxi at some point?
Thank you !!

Hi, I will be traveling with a 3 year and I will be 6 months pregnant at the time of travel. I was wondering how safe it is to travel by bus from Cancun to
Merida. My husband will not be with us and we do have family friends in Merida. I also speak decent spanish and have traveled in mexico before.

Hello to All and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! My husband Nick and I are planning a trip to the Yucatan (Merida) at the end of Feb. 09. It will be our first trip there and are really looking forward to it. Because of the great airfares from Miami to Cancun, we will be flying into Cancun but our final destination will be Merida. It looks like such a wonderful city. We want to look at the place and look at some real estate (we've been browsing the internet for quite some time now). We're still undecided whether we want to be in the city or in the beach area. It there is a beach town with lots of stuff going on, like maybe Progreso, we might decide for the beach. That's why this trip is so important. We love Mexico and the Mexican people (and their food, of course). We wanted to know if it would be best to rent a car in Cancun upon arrival and drive to Merida, or if it would be better to take the bus from Cancun to Merida and just rent the car there. How far is it? How are the roads? Is it safe? If we go with the bus, how long a trip is that? Is there an express bus directly from Cancun to Merida that doesn't stop in every little village? How much does it cost? Any misc. information that any member can provide to assist us in this trip will be greatly appreciated. We are very limited on time (max. 5 days) because of our business so needless to say we want to explore as much as possible. It is NOT a sightseeing/tourist trip - it's mainly to research the options of living in the city or the beach areas. What are the best beach areas to live permanently? Are there any other American couples/expats living in these areas? I cannot think of anything else right now...
ANY INFO WILL BE GREAT. Thank you to all who reply.
Eva

We will be in Merida Dec 9-13-08 for the first time to check out possible retirement options. Where would one go to meet expats for a quick download on local info. Breakfast cafe, bar, resaurant, local bartender?

More interested in local lifestyle than notable tourism stops.

John Shukers

What is the best way to get from Merida to Chichen Itza? Are there private individuals one can hire?
What is the best way to get from the airport into town?

JBL

Does anyone have any recommendations for affordably priced ($20US to $40US) hotels in Merida that are near the action. I would like to be close to the zocalo, street markets, nightlife, etc...I do need a room with a bath, but besides that, I'm not to picky.

Thanks

Hi guys,

My wife and I have finally decided to go around Yucatan (along with our teenage daughter) on the first week of May, flying into Merida from the US and right after a 3-day stay at Mexico City. Please give your views on this proposed itinerary:

day 1: arrive in Merida in the afternoon, check in at hotel and explore the town.
day 2: being a Sunday, I heard it's fiesta time in Merida so hang around till noon, then in the afternoon go to Chichen Itza and check in at a local hotel.
day 3: tour Chich ruins in the morning, go and tour Coba in the afternoon, then return to Merida afterwards.
day 4: go to Uxmal/Puuc route for the whole day, then back to Merida.
day 5: go to Cancun early morning, stay there the whole day then back to Merida.
day 6: fly back to the US via Mexico City.

Given this schedule, do you think days 2-4 could only be done with the use of a rental car or could we manage by bus? And does anyone have any feedback on the Dolores Alba hotel in Merida or Chichen? It's not listed among the VT Merida hotels tab though the Frommer's website rates it 1-star (out of 3).

Thanks for any remarks!

Unfortunately Merida seems to be overbooked during the time, I want to visit Mexico. So I'm not able to book via www.opodo.de and www.expedia.de. Unfortunately it is impossible to book via www.orbittz.com (or similar American offerors) without having a US billing addess (it works for some European countries, but unfortunately not for Austria).

So where to book? Do you know other adresses? How does http://www.mexicohoteles.com.mx/ work (unfortunately only in Spanish but self-explanatory... Are all mentioned hotels available? Will I be booked immediately?).

Do you have any other ideas?

I need a hotel in Merida from 10th or 11th March till 16th or 17th (depending on the flight I'll catch) and in Cancun from about 17th till 24th.

Hi VTers.
Looking for ideas on places to stay and things to do in Merida. Going there in May (for a 5 day weekend). Plans to visit Chichin Itza, other than that we're open.
We're a couple, in our 20's, would be willing to stay in a hotel or hostel...mainly we need something on the cheaper side.
What about travel to the ruins? Should we book a tour or take a bus? One more question, should we stay in Chichin Itza or head back to Merida for the night?
Thanks, as always, for all help!

What is the most comfortable way to get to Tikal from Yuacatan peninsula (I suppose Campeche and/or Tulum will be the southernmost point I'd reach in Yucatan without this detour) Apart from the mentioned I'd be staying in Merida and Cancun the most time of my journey.... Is there any chance for a short trip to Tikal? How long would you estimate, that this trip takes?

btw: I suppose it is forbidden to cross the borders with hired cars, isn't it?

Is Merida a good basis for daily trips to all the sights in Yucatan peninsula?
Especially I'm thinking about visiting Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Valladolid, Ek Balam, Izamal, Tulum and may be Campeche.
Do you think it is more clever to go back to a prebooked hotel in Merida every night or to book several hotels near all the sights (a typical "round-trip") (btw, I suppose it is also a question of cost).
How long would you plan for such a trip? Did I miss some must-sees? And would it be possible to do all daily trips from Cancun as well?

Btw: Is there any comfortable way to see Tikal as well or is it too far abroad?

I just read an article in the Merida Insider on Dengue Fever. Is this a concern in the Merida/Progreso area? As a visitor, what precautions would you suggest?

Thanks, Kate

We want to rent a car for one month (beginning mid-February) at Merida airport. We are looking for an all inclusive rental rate. Where should we find the best deal?
Thanks.

Planning on a one or two day stop in Merida and am looking for recommendation for lodging right in the middle of where what ever happes in Merida is happening. Not looking for any frills, just a real Mexican experience.

Hello Everyone

Thank you very much for all the information and suggestions that you have given us here on this forum. We're two college students on budget so we decided to do pretty much everything by bus. We bought Moon Handbooks and it's great with giving us the bus schedule and duration for all the cities.

Day 01 (Sunday): Stay in Merida to enjoy the street festivals

Day 02 (Monday, Christmas Eve): Take one of those ATS buses that go to the Puuc Route and visit Uxmal and other smaller sites along the route.

Day 03 (Tuesday, Christmas Day): Take the first class bus early and enjoy the sight. Leave for Valladolid by bus after lunch. Have Genesis Retreat pick up from the bus station and transfer to their guesthouse. Hopefully, we would have time to tour Ek'Balam before the sun sets. Stay the night at Genesis Retreat.

Day 04 (Wednesday): Take the first bus out from Valladolid to Tulum. After lunch, we would like to go to Coba but there is no bus from Coba to Merida after 2:30 in the afternoon and I don't think there is enough time. So it seems like we are going to have to skip Coba this time. Perhaps, we could take a quick ride to Cancun and stay around for a while. Take a late evening bus back to Merida.

Day 05 (Thursday): Visit Campeche by bus. After staying in the town for a while, take a bus to Edzna.

Day 06 (Friday): This is our last day in Mexico and I haven't planned this out yet. We would like to visit one of the haciendas. We're thinking of Hacienda Sotuta de Peon and it looks like we're gonna have to contact a local tour company. Any other suggestion?

The itenerary above is only going to work out if the buses run like any other days on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Please feel free to comment or tell us what you think.

HJ

Hello Everyone

My friend and I will be in Merida from December 22nd (Saturday) to December 28th (Friday). This is our first time visiting Mexico and we are going to set our base in Merida to explore the ruins and visit the nearby small towns.

Our biggest concern is whether we should join a local tour group or take a bus on our own. We would like to go to Chichen Itza and Valladolid one day. We are planning of devoting one full day to explore the Puuc Route and another day to visit Tulum and Cancun. Is it possible to go to Tulum and Cancun from Merida by bus on the same day? We would also like to go to Campeche and visit a hacienda if time permits. We're two asian girls and we don't speak spanish. Would it be easy for us to take bus to all of the places I mentioned above?

The other question is what we should do on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Do buses operate on those days? If not, is there any public celebration in Merida? We're not really into hopping bars, drinking or clubbing, etc.

Thanks for your time.

Heidi and Justine

I tried Ticket Bus but I did not find the schedule of buses from Chichen Itza to Merida. I know the buses go hourly from Cancun to Chichen Itza. BUt the continuation onward I can't find. I little help?

Also I can't find the schedule from Merida to Chetumal.

Are 'Holiday Schedules' Different. Are bus services offered on 24/12/2007, 25/12/2007, or 26/12/2007?

Is ADO better than UNO? Does it matter?

How long is the ride from Chichen Itza to Merida?

Thank you,
as

HI, I will be in Chelem/Chuburna/Progreso area for 3 weeks in Feb 08 and would like to rent a kayak for a few days that I could keep at the beach house we are renting. Is there a place in Progreso that rents them out for a few days at a time?

Thanks, Kathy

I will be staying in Chelem area in Feb. but will have company arriving at Cancun Int'l midway thru my stay. What is the easiest way to have them bus to either Merida or Progreso? Or should I do the 6hr return drive to pick them up?
Thanks

My girlfriend and I are flying in from New York to Merida via Mexico City. We will be arriving Mexico City at 10 o'clock at night on December 22nd and our flight to Merida is at 11 o'clock on the following morning. We are thinking of booking a hotel room in or around the airport for the night to catch some sleep and unwind but I just would like to make sure that we could get our luggages checked out and go through customs and immigration in Mexico City Airport, not at Merida Airport, which is our final destination? Should we pick the Hilton which is just inside the airport just in case we won't be able to get out of the Mexico City Airport?

Thank you for your time =)

Heidi

My husband and I will be in/around Merida from December 23rd to the 31st and I am curious as to what may or may not be happening in the city over the Christmas holiday. We're hoping there may be street festivals of some sort here, as last time we were in Mexico during the holiday the town we were in basically shut down. If anyone has info on what/when/where, it would be appreciated!

Thanks!
Traci

How hot and humid is the weather there in May?

Would there be a lot of rain at that time?

How convenient is it by bus from Merida to Chichen Itza and Uxmal?

On a previous visit to Mexico my husband spent a day in Merida and really loved it. We have been thinking of going back with our teenagers in December and are looking at renting a house in Progreso on the beach. I was wondering if it is a safe place for a family to stay.

We, two, are going to Palenque in Jan 2007.

one flying from usa. one flying from Hong kong.

merida or cancun will be the landing/ entry point to mexico.

i wonder which way is the best to visit Palenque.

we do not have much time: Jan 12-21 for staying in mexico.

Not want to wasting time on transport.

I'm considering renting Casa Walker in Merida, Mexico.
Does anyone know about it? Has anyone rented it?
Any info would be appreciated.

I am actually looking for vacation rentals in Merida. I have found Suites del Sol, Luz en Yucatan and In Ka'an. Does somebody know something else?

Hello Group,

I am probably going to move to Merida in the beginning of September, 2006.

Would anybody have any idea of how to go about finding an apartment for under $300 for a long stay ?

Thanks very much,

Blooper

Just found this site and there is alot of great info - maybe too much.

Two of us - guys , in our 60's are going next Thursday (saw a great airline deal). Have reservations at Hotel Caribe.

Questions - we are mostly interested in seeing the ruins and getting a feel for the area. We don't want to rent a car (unless someone suggests that is a must). Shall we stay in Merida and go on tours to the ruins? Or should be take a bus and spend the nights at or near the sites.

For a 7 day trip, which are the must sees?

Any other tips or suggestions - I also like to go to out of the way or quirky places -- very curious

Thanks in advance

Joel in Atlanta

I am thinking about taking my family-six adults and five kids (6-13) for a one week trip to Mexico and wanted them to see Merida and some of the nearby Mayan sites. However, I am concerned about things for the kids to do. Are there family type activities in the area? I have not been able to find them. Your help would be appreciated. We hope to go in February.

Stan Diamond
travelshow@aol.com