Arriving by Plane

Mérida's airport is 13km (8 miles) from the city center on the southwestern outskirts of town, near the entrance to Hwy. 180. The airport has desks for rental cars, hotel reservations, and tourist information. Taxi tickets to town (150 pesos) are sold outside the airport doors, under the covered walkway.

Visitor Information

The city tourism offices and state tourism offices have different resources; if you can't get the information you're looking for at one, go to the other. The city's visitor information office (tel. 999/942-0000, ext. 80119) is on the ground floor of the Ayuntamiento building, facing the main square on Calle 62. Look for a glass door under the arcade. Hours are Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm, and Sunday from 8am to 2pm. The staff offers a free walking tour of the area around the main square at 9:30am, Monday through Saturday. The state operates two downtown tourism offices: one in the Teatro Peón Contreras, facing Parque de la Madre (tel. 999/924-9290), and the other on the main plaza in the Palacio de Gobierno (tel. 999/930-3101, ext. 10001), immediately to the left as you enter. These offices are open daily from 8am to 9pm. It also has information booths at the airport and the CAME bus station.

Keep your eye out for the free monthly magazine Yucatán Today; it's packed with information about Mérida and the rest of the region.

City Layout

Downtown Mérida's grid layout is typical of the Yucatán: Even-numbered streets run north and south; odd-numbered streets run east and west. The numbering begins on the north and the east sides of town, so if you're walking on an odd-numbered street and the even numbers of the cross-streets are increasing, you are heading west; likewise, if you are on an even-numbered street and the odd-numbered cross-streets are increasing, you are going south. Most downtown streets are one-way.

Mérida's main square is the busy Plaza Grande, bordered by calles 60, 61, 62, and 63. Calle 60, the centro's (downtown's) central artery, runs in front of the cathedral and connects the main square with several smaller plazas, some theaters and churches, and the University of Yucatán, just to the north. Handicraft shops, restaurants, and hotels are concentrated here. Around the plaza are the cathedral, the Palacio de Gobierno (state government building), the Ayuntamiento (town hall), and the Palacio Montejo. The plaza always has a crowd, and it overflows on Sundays, when surrounding streets are closed for an enormous street fair. The teeming market district is to the southeast.

Mérida's most fashionable district is the wide, tree-lined boulevard Paseo de Montejo and its surrounding neighborhood. The Paseo de Montejo parallels Calle 60 and begins 7 blocks north and a little east of the main square. Though it has trendy restaurants, modern hotels, bank and airline offices, and a few clubs, the boulevard is known mostly for its stately mansions built during the henequén boom times. Near Montejo's intersection with Avenida Colón, you'll find the Hyatt and the Fiesta Americana hotels.

House Hunting

Address numbers bear little relation to a building's physical location, so addresses almost always include cross-streets. In "Calle 60 no. 549 X 71 y 73," for example, the "X" is shorthand for the word por (meaning "by"), and y means "and." So this address is on Calle 60 between calles 71 and 73. This tidy system disappears outside of downtown, where street numbering gets erratic (to say the least). It's important to know the name of the colonia (neighborhood) where you're going. This is the first thing taxi drivers will ask you.

Getting There

By Plane

Aeroméxico (tel. 800/237-6639 in the U.S., or 01-800/021-4000 in Mexico; www.aeromexico.com) flies nonstop to and from Miami and Mexico City and has expanded its connecting flights from other U.S. cities since Mexicana suspended operations. Continental (tel. 800/523-3273 in the U.S.; www.continental.com), in the process of merging with United, flies nonstop to and from Houston. American, Delta, and Alaska also serve Mérida through code shares, usually at higher fares. The Mexican discount carrier Volaris (tel. 866/988-3527 in the U.S.; www.volaris.com.mx) flies to Mérida through Mexico City, and offers connecting flights from Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose. Another Mexican budget line, VivaAerobus (tel. 01-81/8215-0150 in Mexico; www.vivaaerobus.com ), which flies to Mérida from Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey and has connecting flights from Houston and Las Vegas.

By Car

Hwy. 180 is the old carretera federal (federal highway) between Mérida and Cancún. The trip takes about 6 hours on a good road that passes through many Maya villages. A four-lane divided cuota, or autopista (toll road) parallels Hwy. 180 and begins at the town of Kantunil, 56km (35 miles) east of Mérida. For a toll of 368 pesos each way, you avoid the tiny villages and their not-so-tiny speed bumps. Coming from the direction of Cancún, Hwy. 180 feeds into Mérida's Calle 65, which passes 1 block south of the main square.

Coming from the south (Campeche or Uxmal), you enter the city on Avenida Itzáes. To get to the town center, turn right on Calle 59 (the first street after the zoo).

A periférico (loop road) circles Mérida, making it possible to skirt the city. Directional signs into the city are generally good, but lapping the city on the loop requires vigilance.

By Bus

Mérida is the Yucatán's transportation hub. Of its five bus stations, two offer first-class buses and the other three provide local service to nearby destinations. The larger first-class station, CAME, is on Calle 70, between calles 69 and 71. The ADO bus line and its affiliates operate the station, which is also used by other long-distance lines. All the windows sell first-class tickets except for the last couple to the right, which sell tickets for ADO's deluxe services. ADO-GL is a small step up from first class, while UNO has superwide seats with lots of leg room. Unless it's a long trip, go for the bus with the most convenient departure time. Tickets can be purchased in advance; ask the agent for ticket options and departure times for the route you need.

To and from Cancún: You can pick up a bus almost every hour at the CAME; some lines also collect passengers at the Fiesta Americana Hotel on Calle 60 at Avenida Colón, across from the Hyatt; you can buy a ticket in the hotel's shopping arcade at the Ticket Bus agency (which also takes reservations at www.ticketbus.com.mx) or at the Elite ticket agency. Cancún is 4 hours away; a few buses stop in Valladolid. If you're downtown, you can purchase tickets from the agency in Pasaje Picheta, a mall next to the Palacio de Gobierno on the main square.

To and from Chichén Itzá: Three buses per day (2 1/2-hr. trip) depart from the CAME. Tour operators in Mérida hotels also offer day trips.

To and from Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Chetumal: From the CAME, there are at least 10 departures per day for Playa del Carmen (5 hours away), six for Tulum (6 hours), and eight for Chetumal (7 hours).

To and from Campeche: The CAME station has about 40 departures per day. It's a 2 1/2-hour trip.

To and from Palenque and San Cristóbal de las Casas: There are three departures a day from the CAME to San Cristóbal and four to Palenque. Minor thefts have been reported on buses to Palenque, so don't take second-class buses; check your luggage so that it's stowed in the cargo bay; and put your carry-on in the overhead rack, not on the floor.

The main second-class terminal, TAME, is around the corner from the CAME on Calle 69, between calles 68 and 70.

To and from Uxmal: There are four buses per day from the second-class terminal. (You can also pick up a tour through most hotels or any travel agent or tour operator in town.)

To and from Progreso and Dzibilchaltún: Transportes AutoProgreso offers service to and from its downtown station at Calle 62 no. 524, between calles 65 and 67. The trip to Progreso takes an hour by second-class bus.

To and from Celestún: Buses depart every hour from the Noroeste second-class station on Calle 67 at Calle 50.

To and from Izamal: Frequent buses leave from the Autobuses del Centro station (second class) on Calle 46 between calles 65 and 67, as well as from the Noroeste.

To and from Río Lagartos: Second-class buses leave from the Noroeste terminal.

To and from Isla Holbox: An Oriente bus makes the trip from the TAME station at 11:30pm, arriving in Chiquilá (ferry terminal) at 5am; Noroeste departs in the morning and arrives late in the afternoon.

Calendar of Events

Festivals & Events in Mérida

Many Mexican cities offer weekend concerts in parks and plazas, but Mérida surpasses them all by offering performances every day of the week. Unless otherwise indicated, admission is free.

Sunday -- From 9am to 9pm, the centro stages a fair called Mérida en Domingo (Mérida on Sunday). The plaza and a section of Calle 60 extending to Parque Santa Lucía close to traffic. Parents stroll with their children, taking in the food and drink booths, the lively little flea market and used-book fair, children's art classes, and educational booths. At 11am, musicians play everything from jazz to classical and folk music in front of the Palacio del Gobierno, while the police orchestra performs Yucatecan tunes in Santa Lucía park. At 11:30am, you'll find bawdy comedy acts at Parque Hidalgo, on Calle 60 at Calle 59. After a midafternoon lull, the plaza fills up again as people walk around and visit with friends. Around 7pm in front of the Ayuntamiento, a large band starts playing mambos, rumbas, and cha-chas with great enthusiasm; you may see 1,000 people dancing in the street. Afterward, folk ballet dancers reenact a typical Yucatecan wedding inside.

Monday -- At 9pm in front of the Palacio Municipal, performers dance and play Vaquería regional (traditional cowboy music) to celebrate the Vaquerías feast, which was associated originally with the branding of cattle on the haciendas. Performers include dancers with trays of bottles or filled glasses balanced on their heads -- a sight to see.

Tuesday -- At 9pm in Parque Santiago, Calle 59 at Calle 72, the Municipal Orchestra plays Latin and American big-band music from the 1940s.

Wednesday -- At 9pm, the University of Yucatán Ballet Folklórico performs in the Teatro Peón Contreras, Calle 60 at Calle 57. Admission is 50 pesos. Auditorio Olimpio, on the Calle 62 side of the plaza, hosts guitar trovas (boleros or ballads) and other live music and theater performances, free of charge.

Thursday -- At 9pm in Parque Santa Lucía, the Serenata Yucateca presents regional music, dance, and spoken-word performances.

Friday -- At 9pm in the courtyard of the University of Yucatán, Calle 60 at Calle 57, the University of Yucatán Ballet Folklórico performs typical Yucatecan dances.

Saturday -- At 8pm in the park at Paseo de Montejo and Calle 47, Noche Mexicana features traditional Mexican music and dance performances with craft booths and food stands selling great antojitos (finger foods), drinks, and ice cream. At 9pm, Calle 60 closes between Plaza Grande and Calle 53 for En El Corazón de Mérida, a festival featuring several live bands joined by stilt walkers, mariachis, and crafts and food stands.

Fast Facts

Area Code -- The telephone area code is 999.

Business Hours -- Generally, businesses are open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 2pm and 4 to 8pm.

Consulates -- The American Consulate is at Calle 60 no. 338-K between calles 29 and 31 (tel. 999/942-5700), 1 block north of the Hyatt hotel (Col. Alcalá Martín). Office hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm.

Currency Exchange -- I prefer casas de cambio (currency exchange offices) over banks. Mérida has plenty; one called Cambios Portales, Calle 61 no. 500 (tel. 999/923-8709), is on the north side of the main plaza in the middle of the block. It's open daily from 8:30am to 8:30pm. There are also many ATMs; one is on the south side of the same plaza.

Drugstore -- Farmacía Yza, Calle 63 no. 502-A, between calles 60 and 62 (tel. 999/924-9510), on the south side of the plaza, is open 24 hours.

Hospitals -- Mérida has several good hospitals, the best of which is Centro Médico de las Américas, Calle 54 no. 365 between 33-A and Avenida Pérez Ponce. The main phone number is tel. 999/926-2611; for emergencies, call tel. 999/927-3199. You can also call the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) at tel. 999/924-9813.

Internet Access -- You hardly have to walk more than a couple of blocks to find an Internet access provider; rates hover around 15 pesos per hour. Most hotels provide free Wi-Fi, and the city has installed free Wi-Fi in more than 50 city parks, including the Plaza Grande, Parque San Juan, Parque de las Américas, and Parque Zoológico del Centenario.

Police -- Mérida has a special body of English-speaking police to assist tourists. They patrol the downtown area and Paseo de Montejo, wearing white shirts with a POLICIA TURISTICA patch on the sleeve. Their phone number is tel. 999/942-0060.

Post Office -- The correo is near the market at the corner of calles 65 and 56, with its own entrance separate from the new city museum. It's open Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm, Saturday from 9am to 1pm.

Seasons -- Mérida has two high seasons, but they aren't as pronounced as on the Caribbean coast. One is in July and August, when Mexicans take their vacations, and the other is between November 15 and Easter Sunday, when winter-weary Canadians and Americans flock to the Yucatán.

Weather -- From November to February, the weather can be pleasantly cool and windy. In other months, it's just plain hot, especially during the day. Rain can occur any time of year, especially during the rainy season (July-Oct), and usually comes in the form of afternoon tropical showers.

Getting Around

By Car

In general, reserve a car in advance from home to get the best weekly rates during high season (Nov-Feb); in low season, renting a car after you reach Mérida often yields better deals from local rental companies that offer promotional deals that you can get only if you are there. Always ask if the price quote includes the IVA tax and insurance coverage. Practically everybody offers free mileage. If your visit will be primarily in Mérida except for a couple of day trips, you'll do better to rent for just a day or two, which also spares you the high cost of Mérida's parking lots. These estacionamentos often charge one price for the night and double that if you leave your car for the following day. Many hotels offer free parking, but make sure that includes daytime hours.

By Taxi

Taxis are easy to come by and much cheaper than in Cancún, usually 30 to 60 pesos around town and 100 to 120 to the outskirts.

By Bus

City buses are a little tricky to figure out but aren't needed often because almost everything of interest is within walking distance of the main plaza. The most useful buses run between downtown and Paseo de Montejo, which is a bit of a hike from the plaza. Catch an "Itzimná" bus on Calle 59, between calles 56 and 58, to visit points along the boulevard. You can also take a colectivo (minibus) heading north on Calle 60. Most take you within a couple of blocks of Paseo de Montejo. The colectivos or combis (usually painted white) line up along the side streets next to the plaza and fan out in several directions along simple routes.

Keep Exploring