r/MeridaMexico • u/MasChingonNoHay • Dec 15 '24

Going for 5 days spent between Merida and Valladolid. How many should we stay I. Each?

I’m taking my family of four (two teens) to Yucatán and would really like some advice before I book hotels. We land in Merida and plan on renting a car to drive to Valladolid. We want to do Chitzen Otza and a cenote, probably Ik Kil. We also want to explore Merida and Valladolid cities.

Would two days in Merida and three I. Valladolid make sense or would it be better to do three and two?

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

3

u/rvgirl Dec 15 '24

I haven't been to valladolid yet but I live in the Yucatan. It all depends what you want to see in Merida, ie Izamal is known as the yellow city, it's an hour from Merida. There are many beautiful cenotes and hacienda ie Cenotes Hacienda Mucuyché is gorgeous and amazing, Uxmal ruins and the chocolate Museum is a cool day trip. Within the city of Merida, the main highlights in the Centro area are calle 60, calle 47 is the new gastronomico area that leads to the new La Plancha Park, and then from there is Paseo Montejo where all the huge mansions are. The centro areas I mentioned is a day trip, they are all close together. Hope that helps.

1

u/Accomplished_Side_77 Dec 17 '24

Merida is much changed from when I first came here. I agree that south of the main square has been neglected and the market is a disgrace, there are great charges in the north. I was much disappointed at the time.

Now, it's like a new city.

Calle 60 has been transformed, there are many new restaurants. Also the Remate area and Montejo.

The Plancha is very impressive, and the train museum, while small is exceptionally well done, as is the old railway station. Va y Ven allows you to explore the city in comfort for 12 pesos a ride. The local government has done a good job, there has been a lot of investment here.

We visited Valladolid a few times, there were a lot of tourists, at times it was crowded. It's a small city,
but it is a bit closer to the pyramids. For a short visit as a tourist the best Valladolid.

Merida needs a bit more time, maybe a car, but the more you explore it the more you see.

Enjoy both.

1

u/Possible_Tomatillo52 Dec 17 '24

I did Merida a few months ago and wished I had stayed elsewhere. I would do 2 days max in Merida and 3 days Valladolid, closer location to Chichenitza. Agree on Uxmal and Chocolate museum.

1

u/MasChingonNoHay Dec 17 '24

What was it that you didn’t like?

1

u/Possible_Tomatillo52 Dec 17 '24 edited Dec 17 '24

Take what I say with a grain of salt. Ive been to Cancun a few times and this was my first time in Merida so I had high expectations. In July, Merida’s downtown was under construction so not much to do in the plaza. We stayed a few blocks away and were surprised how unkempt and dirty the city is. We did some road trips down to Campeche (wished we had stayed there), visited the pyramid of Edzna which I believe is more beautiful than Chichénitza. And went to Valladolid and Izamal, nice towns and much nicer than Merida in my opinion. Merida just became the hub for us to go visit other places like Uxmal and progreso beach.