Turns out Merida isn't for everyone.

All prices in Mexican pesos ($). £1 = $24.34 at time of writing - DEC 2025

We took a strange route to get to Merida. Although there was a bus that went straight from Campeche to Merida town centre, we found it was almost half the price to get off at Merida airport instead. From there, we could tap on with our contactless card to the rather reasonably priced airport to city "Va Y Ven" bus. However, it turns out that the buses tap-on system isn't a fan of our credit card, so the driver let us on for free. Even if he hadn't, the bus didn't leave for another 15 minutes so we had plenty of time to pop into the airport and buy a bus card instead.

We stayed on the bus until the ADO bus terminal on Calle 60, and as we walked from there to our Airbnb it really kicked in how out of the way our accommodation really was. While on the bus we had already passed through the Centro Historico, with it's colonial style buildings and tourists milling about. While we walked we also passed by the other tourist hotspots of Paseo de Montejo, a famous boulevard filled with early 20th century mansions, and the "Gran Parque La Plancha", Merida's modern urban park... and then we kept on going. To be fair, we were only located a few minutes away from the "Gran Parque" and the area we chose felt safe enough even if it wasn't centrally located.

Merida felt like a city of two sides, especially in the centre. There was the tourist fronting areas which were unfailingly clean, the buildings were in good repair with fresh paintwork, restaurants leaning towards international menus, and shops branding themselves as boutiques. Then there was the rest, it was grimier with rubbish littering the sides of the streets, bustling with noise, traffic and the chaos of everyday life. The difference was startling.

As much as we tried to like the tourist areas we found it difficult. It was certainly charming in appearance, but it felt like we couldn't relax. As soon as we settled on a bench, or stopped to admire a statue, a "helpful" soul would soon arrive to tell us all about the Maya market that was only going for the next hour, we had to hurry or we'd miss it! Admittedly, the first man George almost got us. He was the most natural of the guys who approached us, and we were having a pleasant conversation about Yucatan with him before he inevitably shoehorned it in. We made non-comital noises ending the conversation and left to explore a nearby church, only to find him waiting outside: "I work for tour guides" he told us, he was happy to take us there. It wasn't even five minutes later when we were approached again in another square, this time by a much more direct fellow who barked that we only had an hour before the Maya market closed. The gentle harassment certainly soured our enjoyment of exploring.

I think the place we enjoyed the most in the Centro Historico was the market. It didn't appear to be geared towards tourists at all and the first building we entered (Mercado San Benito) seemed to sell a little of everything. There was the normal stalls you would expect; butcher stalls, green grocers and places selling spices and mole pastes. There was also everything else, places selling clothes, shoes, games and more. The market building was busy and labyrinthian, the avenues weren't sparkling clean but the market didn't have a overbearing smell and the stalls, albeit far from organised were far from dirty.

Lining the out side of San Benito market under an awning, was a line of no frills Taquerias all specialising in al pastor tacos. Their almost identical giant plastic menus hung from the ceiling, separating out the different businesses. One shop, next to the entrance caught Ben's eye - their plastic tables and chairs were filled with people eating and the al pastor rotisserie was comically huge.

Before we got to the tacos we wandered into the second market, Mercado Lucas De Galvez which, along with selling knick-knacks and "artisanal goods", had a small selection of street food stalls along one side. I couldn't really make out what most of the stalls were selling, but the stools lining them were filled with locals picking up breakfast. Although the setting here was slightly grimier than the other market, it didn't stop us from being drawn to a small vendor who specialised in deep fried empanadas. As we sat down, a customer awaiting their takeaway order gave us a thumbs up and declared they were delicious and that we had chosen wisely. We ordered an empanada each, choosing the slightly salty shredded Oaxacan cheese to be the filling. Once they cooled enough that they didn't burn our fingers we tucked in, the outsides were perfectly crunchy and the cheese inside was melted to perfection. Being deep fried they were slightly greasy but that added to their appeal. We added the complimentary salsas and they were just perfect. At $18 they were more than reasonable and it was hard not to immediately order a handful more.

With the gargantuan al pastor spit still on Ben's mind, we made our way back to that particular spot and ordered a portion which was 5 tacos for $75. We watched as the fire on the spit was turned up and the meat charred before being haphazardly sliced off. They weren't the best tacos Ben had tried, lacking flavour, dry and without the pineapple that normally accompanied them but at least his curiosity was settled.

Before we left the market area, there was still something he wanted to try - he'd heard that the pork tacos found inside the market were pretty delicious, so we headed back in to find them. We found a small stall manned by a cheerful woman. Once she ascertained that he was ordering just a single taco, she pulled out a tortilla and slapped it against the steaming cooked pork in the display case before dipping it into the juices. From there, using her bare hands, she roughly pulled the meat apart gathering enough along with a small amount of fat to fill the taco. The last step was to cup liquid from a separate pot over the whole thing before handing it over with a smile. Despite, (or maybe because) of the strange way it was prepared Ben thought it was delicious and well worth the $32 it cost.

Besides the market, as we're not overly into shopping, we didn't find too much of interest in the centre. There was the Casa Montejo, a small free museum that shows what the inside of the16th century house of conquistador Francisco de Montejo would have looked like. For me, the most impressive part of the museum was the building's facade (which is all that's left of the original structure) and the way the architecture blended European design alongside more local touches.

Another central (and free) museum, was the Museum of Merida. As the name suggests, this museum walked us through Merida's history. Starting with the areas importance to the Maya people when it was the city of T'ho, the museum moved on to the arrival (and subsequent takeover) by the Spanish, and how the name the areas name "Yucatan" may have arrived by miscommunication between the Maya and the conquistadors. It then focused on how the area's importance in fibre production led to an imbalance of classes, with a few owning much of the land and becoming rich on the labor of others. Before finally... revolution! The museum was incredibly informative and well laid out. Once we'd absorbed the historical portions, we headed to the upper floors which showcased the work of local artists.

Away from the centre and nearer to our base in the city was the Paseo de Montejo, here horse-drawn carriages line the avenue, offering rides to those wanting a city tour. I was happy to notice the horses only came out when the sun went down, and that most if not all of them seemed to be in fairly good condition. We mainly used the boulevard when traveling from one part to the city to another. The street itself had a slightly romantic Parisian feel to it, helped along by it's wide tree lined road and the European style architecture that was favoured by the cities elite when planning their fancy homes. Although we didn't eat in any of the restaurants (which seemed to be fine dining and Italian) we did visit Dulcería y Sorbetería Colón twice to sample their refreshing sorbets. Although on the pricier side, they were always delicious and just what we needed to cool down after hours wandering in the intense city heat.

The place we actually spent the most time at in Merida was the "Gran Parque". Day or night the park was a lovely place to visit; the main path that circles round the northern part of the park is covered giving it shade during the day and proving lighting at night. Apart from the main lake, there are a few different water features around the park. Our favourite was interactive, it was fun to watch the locals with their children, running through the water as it changes rhythm to match the songs playing. There was a huge food market located in the park, but every time we wandered by it was dead - I think it was just too sanitised, too much like a fancy food market you'd find in Europe in a place where that just doesn't appeal.

After spending three nights in Merida I can confidently say that I don't understand the draw. It seems to me like a place people go to as a base, a place to explore the surrounding area from rather than a place to go for itself. There's a lot of day trips available, going to Celestun to see the flamingos, heading inland to explore the various cenotes, or making the journey to the archaeological site and wonder of the world Chichen Itza. While we do enjoy a day trip, we tend towards going to and staying at the locations themselves especially when they're over an hour from the base city. Also, after a bit more research, we had decided against all of the trips on offer altogether - they were a bit too expensive and we had found alternatives that suited what we wanted a bit better.

I'm so glad that we had a decent place to stay while we were in Merida. Although it was in a far from convenient location for exploring the centre, it was near the park which we enjoyed exploring and more than anything, it was a nice place to be. The shockingly cold pool, despite being tiny, was perfect for cooling down after a dusty day of wandering around in the 30 degree plus heat. The shared kitchens were great for making simple breakfasts for when we couldn't be bothered to make the journey, and the whole place was a calm oasis away from a city we were far from enamoured by. Plus they had a kettle, a rarity in Mexico that most places are sorely lacking - I would stay there again just for that.

And just for fun...

Please enjoy this picture of Ben sitting on a giant version of the concrete love seats that are dotted around the city!