My husband and I are going to Merida, Mexico in early November for a wedding. Our lodging will be paid for since we'll be in the wedding party. We will be in Merida for 5 days. As we begin planning--any suggestions for other places we should go? Or, should we extend our stay in Merida for a few days? We may have 7-10 days to spend if we can identify an itinerary that is cost-effective and makes sense in terms of time coordination.

Oooohhhhh....*SO* many possibilities.

Personally, I'd bum in Merida for a couple days, then rent a car and head out to 2 or 3 of the Mayan archaelogical sites, like Uxmal, maybe spending a night or two in one or more of the luxury hacienda inns (there are 4 or 5 of them managed by Starwood as part of their Luxury Properties line, reservable at www.starwood.com).

I've also thought about that tourist train called Expreso Maya that does multi-day excursions from Merida to Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Campeche and other destinations. It's a bit pricey, but looks *VERY* fun. They're on the web at: http://www.expresomaya.com/en/

Just a couple ideas...hope it helps!

Mark
www.tiogringo.com

tunicat,
The area around Merida is fascinating and well worth a couple of days...my husband and I made a trip around the Haciendas mentioned above and loved it. It's challenging but relatively safe to dive and we loved Labna, Uxmal and many of the small Mayan sites.

The haciendas are spectacular and can be quite expensive (though wonderful) but you can see all the details in my trip report...there are also details of a very inexpensive b and b run by an very nice American woman and her mexican husband. I the report was titled something like haciendas and Mayan ruins...there were two parts, you should be able to find it through the search feature.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for both responses. I plan on researching the options presented--all sound very appealing. Also, we have a relative who works for US Air--so we can fly for pretty cheap to Cancun. Any thoughts on the best way to get to Merida from Cancun? Seems international flights are very expensive.

Check this magazines weblinks, can be useful:
yucatantoday.com
www.royalresorts.com/rr_life_en.pdf (page 12, article: 10 things 2 do in Merida)

Read about the Ruta Puc, the Ticopo mayan show, also the turibus it's a great option to a city tour in the city
From Cancun to Merida it's about 198 miles, you can rent a car in Cancun Airport and drive. The toll highway from Cancun to Merida it's 170$ pesos plus 65$ pesos, there are two toll booth, total $470 pesos round trip. This road finish in Izamal, there's 80 km more in federal road to Merida.

The federal road it has no cost, but it's has a lot of speed bump and some holes in the road. Both roads have exit to Chichen Itza ruins.

ADO buses departs to Merida every hour aproach from downtown bus station, and it cost $180 pesos one way in firts class (A/C)

Enjoy yout trip, and eat some Cochinita Pibil and others yucatan traditional dishes.

To me, the best way from Cancun to Merida is by bus. You have many choices from the Cancun bus station, including ADO, ADO-GL and UNO (you can check schedules and prices at www.ticketbus.com.mx). Also, ADO offers frequent bus service from the Cancun airport to the bus station.

Just a few more random thoughts to add to the mix:

We based ourselves in Merida and took day trips from there, to Celestun on the Gulf coast (for birding and seeing thousands of pink flamingos), and also a day in the Puuc route (Uxmal, Kabah, Labna, Sayil, Loltun caves, etc.) Then we drove to Chichen Itza and stayed there (Mayaland Hotel) before driving over to Playa del Carmen (a short distance from Cancun).

Btw, we flew in to Cancun and drove out to Merida first... only 4 hours. Then we flew back out of Cancun after working our way back east across the peninsula.

My favorite restaurant in Merida: Cafe Amaro.

Enjoy!
Carol