 | Mérida Flights and Airline Tips | Tips 1 - 10 of 10 |  |
Getting to Mérida is not the easiest from Canada. It lands up taking the better part of a day no matter which route you take.
As far as I know, with the less expensive ways to fly to Mérida, you end up flying the Continental Airlines Houston to Mérida leg, or the Mexicana Airlines Mexico City to Mérida leg. There are flights from Cancun to Mérida on a feeder airline called Aeromar, but they seem to moderately expensive.
Most of the travellers we talked to either fly to Mérida via Houston or Mexico City, or fly to Cancun and take the bus from Cancun to Merida. There is a first-class bus that goes from Cancun to Mérida several times a day. Takes four hours; costs 215 or 250 pesos each one way; we used the bus – it is quite comfortable for us bigger gringos.
First time we went (2005), it was Winnipeg – Minneapolis – Houston – Mérida -- Northwest Airlines all the way. Last time we went (2006) it was Winnipeg – Denver – Houston – Mérida. Both times the return flight ticket was under $1000 Cdn. on sale, it is normally around $1300 Cdn. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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After researching this topic ahead of time and reading what others had to say about it , we decided to skip renting a car, which is expensive in Mexico because of the costly insurance. We started our trip in Cancun, which has buses running along the island & into town every 5 minutes. Upon leaving Cancun, we took a 1st class bus to Chichen Itza, which is half way to Merida. The bus was very comfortable, the trip took 2 hours and cost about $9.00 US. After spending the night and most of the next day at C. Itza, we took a taxi to Merida for $50.00 US.
In the city of Merida we could walk most places.
Driving would be a little stressful considering how fast the traffic moves and all the one way streets. When we got tired, we caught a cab.
The day we went to Progreso, we simply went to Calle 60 and began walking until we saw a bus coming along with Progreso on the front windshield. We put out our arm & the driver stopped for us. The cost was only about $1.40 US.
When it was time to go back to Cancun to get our flight home, we took Aerocaribe Airlines for $130.00 per person & were in Cancun in 40 minutes. Even with spending on the flight to Cancun, we still saved several hundred dollars over renting a car for the same period of time.
And we saved on the stress of driving in a foreign country, getting lost, finding parking, etc. We were pleased with our choices. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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We struggled for two days with the decisions of how to visit the ruins, etc. There are basically three ways.
One is to go on a tour. Mérida, for instance has numerous tours that leave each day -- tours to Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Celestun and the like. If there is only one person touring, that would be the way to go. Price 400 or 450 pesos (~40 or 45US$) per person. Advantages: English-speaking guide is included, no worries about driving in Mexico. Disadvantages: Limited times, tours tend not to start early enough and bring you to the ruin over hottest time of the day.
Second way is to take public transportation and just go. Advantages: Cheapest and most Mexican way to go. Disadvantages: You need to know a bit about where you are going, public transportation is not as efficient and comfortable as tour buses (for example, the public bus from Mérida to Celestun takes 2 hours one way and only goes once an hour).
Third way is rent a car and drive. Cost (in 2005) was approx 300 pesos per day for non-airconditioned, 400 pesos for air-conditioned car. Advantages: You can go when you want to. You can drive to Uxmal or Chichen Itza and see the sound and light show the evening before, and see the ruin the next day (and only pay the park entrance once - 88 pesos per person for the big ruins, less for smaller ruins), for two people total cost turns out to be little cheaper than using bus tours. Disadvantages: You still have problem of tour guides. They can be hired at each site, but may not be available, and if you hire an english-speaking tour guide for only the two of you, it turns out quite expensive (flat rate was 350 pesos for approx. two hours of guiding), and car renting in Mexico is a little scary -- see the following tip for more info on renting a car in Mexico. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Car rental issues:
- you can only insure yourself down to 10% of the value of the car, and if you are involved in an accident, you are presumed guilty until proven innocent. We were also told that Mexican drivers would be as likely to zoom off after an altercation as stop (luckily we steered clear of any accident).
- Mexican road signs are not as clear as Canadian signs. In rural areas, other than on main highways, we never knew which road we were on,
- If you plan on driving off the main highways, roads can be quite miserable with pot holes the size of Alaska. We drove one such road from Uxmal to Celestun.
- you are advised not to drive after dusk,
- one of the reasons it is not wise to drive after dark -- there are speed bumps (called topes) in every town - many of them. If you ever hit one at even 30 km/hr you would propel your head through the roof of your car. Most of them are marked -- but not all.
- they have strange rules on the road (blinking left on the highway doesn't mean you are turning left, it means you are telling the car behind that it is OK to pass you -- a misunderstanding that almost got us involved in a crash),
- Gas stations are few and far between. We never saw a gas station between Mérida, Uxmal and Celestun until we got back to Mérida,
- Traffic-wise, rural driving is fine, but driving during rush hour in Mérida was scary to say the least. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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A car is needed to truly explore Yucatan. That will allow you to visit the countryside, the jungles, and the small towns outside of Merida. All gasoline for the cars is pumped at stations owned by Pemex, Mexico's state owned oil company, which has a complete monopoly on gasoline and deisel.
You won't see any gas prices - you pay whatever is being charged. We estimated that it was somewhat more expensive than the US, but not as bad as Europe.
There are loads of Pemex gas stations all over Merida, and they are open 24/7. However, once you leave the city, the gas stations are few and far between. For example, we did not see a single station along the 90 minute route from Merida to Chichen Itza. Before starting out on any day trips, fill up your tank.
Another word of warning - our Hertz rental car came with an empty tank. We noticed that just as we were heading out of Merida the first morning. Do not assume that Hertz operates as they do in the US. Look at your gas tank! Luckily we did before we got out into the middle of the jungle! Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Discover Mérida on board of the panoramic bus "Carnaval". This guided tour is visiting the most important and representative places of this beautiful city.
A 2-hours-tour on panoramic bus with capacity of 30 people and guide service.
Mon to Sat 10 a.m. 1,4 & 7 p.m.
Sun 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Price: 75 M$
Tour starts at Calle 60 x 55 Centro, Parque Santa Lucia Leave a Comment Theme: OtherPhone: 927-61-19, 927-24-76, 926-79-16Other Contact: carlosgamboamorales@prodigy.net.
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There is a Tourist Red bus that takes tourist from Merida to the many Ruta Puuc sights, including Uxmal, Sayil, and Kabah. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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Go on, you know you want to (OK, so we didn't either.....). Take a horse and carriage round the streets, sit back and relax at a slowwww pace. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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From Merida, there are several buses going to Palenque. I took an overnight bus from Palenque to Merida and made it with no worries. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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There are plenty of Colectivos that ply the roads to Dzibilchaltun. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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