Welcome to Merida, the capital of the Yucatan state in Mexico, known for its rich culture, colonial architecture, and vibrant nightlife. But that’s not all – just a few hours from the city lies the stunning coastal town of Celestun. With its pristine beaches and flamingo-filled lagoons, Celestun is a picturesque town for the perfect beach getaway.
As my trip across Mexico was coming to an end, I was slowly getting burnt out from always being on the go. I decided to take it easy and relax in Merida during my time here. For this reason I didn’t do much sight seeing, but rather more relaxed and local adventures.
Table of Contents
- How to get to Merida
- Where to stay in Merida
- What to do in and around Merida
- Walking Tour around the City
- Enjoy cenotes near Homun
- Day Trip to Izamal
- Progreso Beach
How to get to Merida
Valladolid to Merida
I took the trusty ADO bus from Valladolid to Merida for about 200 pesos. Buy the bus ticket off the ADO app using PayPal (US credit cards for some reason don’t work). I highly recommend buying the ticket online or through the app because they offer several discounts. The bus ride was only 2 and a half hours long. The Merida bus station is very central and made it very easy for me to walk to my hostel.
Where to stay in Merida
There are several amazing hostels in Merida. I stayed at Casa Garza Hostal. It was a nice, quiet hostel in close proximity to everywhere I needed to go. I stayed in the 4 bed female dorm and I cannot recommend it enough. The hostel offers a good free breakfast every morning. The common areas are very chill and clean. There’s also a pool that I never saw anyone using. There is also a fully equipped kitchen and free filtered water. The WiFi is pretty good all around, I never had any issues.
The female dorm had an ensuite that was incredibly clean and comfortable. There are additional bathrooms near the pool area, however, the only shower was the one in our room. The lockers were big enough to fit both of my backpacks. I had a very comfortable stay here. It’s not too social, definitely not much of a party atmosphere, but it’s perfect for someone who wants to relax and take it easy.
What to do in and around Merida
Walking Tour around the City
I went for a walking tour that was advertised at my hostel. It wasn’t led by someone at the hostel, but by another company. The walking tour met at Parque de Santa Lucia around 9am and took us all around the city. Our guide was very informative and recommended some great places to eat. Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca was a great spot to try some authentic dishes. There was also a small museum in the back of the restaurant that was very interesting to walk through. La Chaya Maya was another restaurant recommended to have authentic food. Sorbetería Colón is a popular ice cream or sweet shop that dates back to the early 1900’s.
Some nights there is also a night light show or video mapping show on the Catedral de Mérida right in the main plaza. You may notice a bunch of chairs and lights set up, this is for the show. The show tells the history of the region and it’s really cool to see against the wall of the big cathedral.
Visit Celestun and the wonderful flamingos
Going to Celestun was the one thing I really wanted to do while I was here. I had heard such great things from everyone that had gone. It may not have been the right season but I did hear from others that they were still able to see several flamingos. (Flamingo season typically runs from November to April and I was visiting in July).
How to get to Celestun
I took a bus from the Terminal de Autobuses Noreste, about a 15 minute walk from my hostel. I bought a one way ticket to Celestun for about 60 pesos. The bus was not as comfortable as the ADO buses but it was fine for the hour and a half ride to Celestun. I got dropped off at the bus station right next to the main plaza in Celestun.
Find a boat tour to the nature reserve to see the flamingos!
I started walking towards the beach and came across a boat driver asking me if I wanted to see the flamingos. He told me that he is waiting for more people who want to take the tour so the cost will be cheaper for me. It was me and 2 other local tourists who were waiting. I figured I could go grab some lunch while we were waiting so I walked over to the market and grabbed a very basic torta for 20 pesos.
Boat tour around Celestun
It didn’t seem like we were getting anyone else to join us for the boat tour so we paid the boat driver about 500 pesos and took off on the boat. The ride to the flamingos is about an hour and goes down and around the cape south of Celestun. The boat driver didn’t speak any English, but I was able to make by using my beginner Spanish.
First we went to the flamingos, and MY GOSH, were they spectacular. There were hundreds of them creating a huge pink blob, which was so unexpected since I went during the off season. They were huddled in areas around the lagoon and completely un-phased by our boat driving by. It was so surreal being this close to flamingos in their natural habitat, it almost felt like a dream.
After a few minutes admiring the flamingos, we went for a drive through the mangroves. This almost felt like a video game because the mangroves were narrow in some parts and our driving was turning and dodging the trees. Nonetheless, it was really cool riding through them.
Our last stop was at the Biosphere Reserve. There was a small dock with a boardwalk into the mangroves. There was swimmable pools with clear blue water between the mangroves and it was absolutely beautiful. If I had more time here, I definitely would have gone for a swim.
The boat driver dropped us off on the same beach we started on. All in all, the whole tour took about 3 hours and it was well worth it.
Walk on the Celestun beach
After the boat tour, I walked along the extremely clean beach. The beach is filled with small shells casting a white and bright glow. The turquoise water against the white beach look almost like a dream. I came across a couple swings and a Celestun sign that I took photos in front of. And then I made my way back to the main plaza to take the bus back to Merida.
Enjoy cenotes near Homun
I was so burnt out from being on the go so often, I skipped going to Homun. Homun is best known for the very affordable cenotes around the small town. Since I had already been to several cenotes, I was ok with skipping this. Here is my list on Google Maps of cenotes that I wanted to visit in Homun.
Day Trip to Izamal
Another one of those activities I was too tired to do but heard good things about. Izamal is a Pueblo Magico of Mexico and also known as the Yellow City of Yucatan. It’s a beautiful colonial city with amazing architecture and archaeological sites. Izamal is a fairly underrated city compared to some of the other Pueblo Magico cities around Mexico, but that is even more of a reason to visit this quaint little town.
Progreso Beach
Progreso is another nearby beach town that I planned to go to for a beach day. But I figured my next stop was going to be totally on the beach, so I decided to skip going here as well.
Where to Next?
After a much needed relaxing few days in Merida of not doing much other than eating good food and people watching around the city, I was ready to go to my last stop on my trip across Mexico. This final leg of the journey takes me to the beach town of Holbox! Join me as I reminisce this beach side paradise in my next post!