42 Best Mérida Day Trips in 2025
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YucanGO - Your Private Day Trips
Yucango is focused on private and fully customizable tours in the Yucatan Peninsula for individuals or small groups. They also accommodate your requests and offer tailor-made tour packages.
Yucango is constantly searching for more authentic and less touristy places around Yucatan to bring the best experience during your visit.
Archaelogical Sites, Cenotes & Haciendas
What Should You Have Seen?
If you ask yourself what is a "must-see", visiting an archaeological site of the ancient Maya is definitely one. A visit to a cenote is certainly also a highligt. There are thousands of cenotes on the Yucatán Peninsula and many can be visited. And you should also not miss a visit to an old hacienda.
Archaelogical Sites
Besides the very famous sites of Chichén Itzá and Tulum in the east, there are many other interesting options not far from Mérida. The 9th century Maya site of Uxmal, for example, is similarly large and impressive as Chichén Itzá.
Mayapán is also an under-rated but amazing archaeological Mayan site which is reminiscent of Chichén Itzá. Dzibilchaltún is the oldest Mayan archaelogical site and only 30km away from Mérida.
Grutas de Lol-Tún is the most important cave system in Yucatán which has been used by humans since the Ice Age. The cave contains also ancient paintings and petroglyphs attributed to the Maya from the Late Preclassic Era (400 BC - 100 AD).
Puuc is a Maya region (or route) as well as an architectural style. The Ruta Puuc includes many places of interest. But in fact there is no exact route for Ruta Puuc - usually it is mainly associated with the smaller and less touristy Maya archaeological sites of Kabah, Labná, Xlapak or Sayil.
Cenotes
Nowhere else in the world are more so-called cenotes than on the Yucatán Peninsula. A cenote is an natural underground cave or sinkhole filled with groundwater. A great way to visit many different cenotes at once are Homún and Cuzamá. There are over 20 cenotes in the area, including the well-known Cenotes Santa Bárbara.
Haciendas
Many haciendas date back to the 15th or 16th century. Cattle were often raised at the time. With the henequen boom at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, many haciendas were converted into sisal plantations.
But when synthetic fibers started replacing natural ones, henequen cultivation finally ceased and today many haciendas have been transformed into luxury hotels and restaurants. One of the top recommendations is Hacienda Sotuta de Peón (about 30km from Mérida).
Hacienda Mucuyché is also fully developed for tourism and you can visit two great cenotes (cenote Maya Azul is certainly one of the most spectacular on the Yucatecan Peninsula). There is also a restaurant and a large pool. Hacienda Yaxcopoil is an old traditional and still very original plantation near Mérida.
And when you visit Misnébalam, you will probably be the only visitor: The former Hennequen Hacienda Misnébalam is now an abandoned ghost town that is haunted.
The Emerald Coast & Nature Trips
Progreso
The Gulf of Mexico north of Mérida is an ocean bay almost completely enclosed by North America. The Yucatan coast is known as the Costa Esmeralda (Emerald Coast) for its emerald colored water.
Puerto Progreso is the favorite beach of the Yucatecans due to its proximity to the city. Not only when you are traveling with children Museo del Meteorito (Meteorite Museum) is a nice stop located on the Progreso beach promenade.
West of Progreso
The "Pig Beach" not far away at Yucalpetén between Progreso and Chelem, which houses small Vietnamese pigs, is an alternative if you want to experience something unusual.
Further west, there is Sisal, which has been awarded the title of "Pueblo Mágico" and has very beautiful beaches. In fact, the beach at Sisal is one of the most beautiful beaches in the north of Yucatán (along with the beach at Celestún and San Crisanto)
The beach of Celestún is a further west. Due to the further distance, however, Celestún is the best choice if you also want to visit the nature reserve. Celestún is a beautiful biosphere reserve with mangrove forests, flamingos and other wildlife.
East of Progreso
Chicxulub is a sleepy fishing village next to Progreso. There is a great attraction for kids, the Sandero Jurasico theme park. Or combine the beach of Xtampú with the pink lagoon, the saltworks and the Mayan archaeological site of Xcambó. Another recommendation is the very tranquil San Crisanto with its picturesque beaches, jungle-like mangroves and pink lakes.
Las Coloradas is a beautiful biosphere area characterized by it's pink lagoons, mangroves forests and flamingos (but 200km away from Progreso). The unusual coloration of the water has a natural background.
The biosphere reserve Río Lagartos is a great place for nature and animal lovers and it is only a few kilometres away - so you should combine the two destinations. In the far northeast is Isla Holbox, which is now very touristy.
Caves
Besides the cenotes, the Yucatan Peninsula also has extensive cave systems to offer. These can extend over many kilometers. While a tour through the Grutas de Lol-Tún is more of a relaxing walk, Grutas de Calcehtok are for you if you are more adventurous (but there are tours with different levels of difficulty).
City Tours and East Coast
Old Colonial Towns
When you are in Mérida, you will know why. But on the Yucatan Peninsula there are other very worthwhile cities to visit. You can also use the larger cities again as a base for further excursions and stay overnight if you wish. But also many smaller villages on the Yucatan Peninsula like Sisal, Maní, Hunucma, Uayma or Ticul have a special charm.
Campeche is located in the west of the Yucatan Peninsula and is the capital of the state of Campeche. The city center has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 due to the well-preserved colonial architecture of the old town and the fortifications with several bastions. Similar to Mérida, you will find an old town with beautiful colonial houses.
Izamal is a historically important small town and one of the most beautiful places on the Yucatán Peninsula. Izamal is also called the "Yellow City", because in the old town every house is painted in a sunny yellow. Unusually, within the city there are several preserved Mayan pyramids.
Valladolid is the third largest city in the state of Yucatán and is located pretty much between Cancun and Mérida. This makes it a good place to visit if you are traveling along this route. Valladolid belongs to the "Pueblos Magicós" on the Yucatán Peninsula and there are other great destinations in and around Valladolid.
The spectacular Cenote Suytun is close to Valladolid. Also Cenote Zazil Tunich is a beautiful experience near to Valladolid. The excavation site Zona Arqueológica de Ek' Balam is located in the jungle, about 30 km north of Valladolid.
The small town of Uayma, which is very popular thanks to its 17th century church of Santo Domingo, is just 15 km from Valladolid.
Pueblos Mágicos
The award Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) has been granted by the Secretariat of Tourism since 2001 for unique folklore, a rich history or stunning natural beauty. On the Yucatán Peninsula, there are 14 Pueblo Mágicos (as of 2025):
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Quintana Roo: Bacalar, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Cozumel
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Yucatán: Izamal, Maní, Sisal, Valladolid, Espita, Motul, Tekax
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Campeche: Isla Aguada, Palizada, Candelaria
East Coast (Riviera Maya)
The well-known Cancún is a major city on the Caribbean coast of Mexico and the center of the Riviera Maya. It is one of the most visited cities in the world, but this is not so much due to the City center "El Centro", but to the 20 kilometer long "Zona Hotelera". Playa del Carmen is also a city and a popular beach resort on the east coast of Mexico. It is a bit quieter and the hotels are less big.
Isla Mujeres (Spanish for "Women Island") is a small island 13 km north of Cancún in the state of Quintana Roo. The island is about 7km long and only 650m wide. Since 2015 the island belongs to the Pueblo Mágicos. You can reach Isla Mujeres in about 20 minutes via a fast ferry, which starts e.g. in Puerto Juárez (which is the nearest ferry port).
There are also spectacular amusement parks. Xel-Há Park is for example a natural water park near Tulum and Xcaret Park is located near Playa del Carmen. If your family is bigger, you will be poor after buying the tickets, but the huge beautiful parks with many attractions will compensate you enough.