There are thousands of cenotes in the Yucatan. Cenotes were actually made when the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit earth! You can read about the giant crater the cenote created, the Chicxulub crater, at that link. Living in Merida, there are so many cenotes near Merida to choose from. While it’s fun to tour around and check out small off the grid ones, like this one, sometimes you want something *perfect* that will be good for when family and friends come to visit you.

For me, the best cenotes in Merida to take my family to are the Santa Barbara cenotes at Homun. If you ask most locals which is your favorite cenote, they will often say “Homun!” without even thinking. At Homun, are the “Santa Barbara cenotes” which is a set of three cenotes.

Upon arrival, you can choose to tour just one or have access to all three. For three cenotes, the cost is 150 MXN ($7). For an additional 70 MXN, you can add on lunch, which I highly recommend. The cost includes access to three cenotes, transport between them either by horse-drawn carriage or bicycle and lifejackets.

I grew up near Amish country and am very used to horse-drawn carriages but still felt a little bad riding in one. My mom did as well. I think if we went back we would ride bicycles which would be a lot of fun, but most families there used the carriages. The ride is just 3-5 minutes out to the cenotes, then you walk between the three, then you take a ride back.

As you can see, no one is around! We arrived at 9:30. They open at 9 and we were the only ones there for the two hours we spend in the cenotes. As we headed back toward the restaurant, we saw a few families showing up and during lunch, tour buses started to come in.

This is from the first cenote. It was dark down there in the morning! As we started walking down, even I was nervous but then the guy who worked there came and turned on the lights. It’s truly in a tiny hole. My mom was asking “are there snakes!?” but no, there aren’t. Once you get through the small hole, it opens up to a huge staircase and a beautifully lit up cenote. This was probably the coolest one.

The second cenote is just a smidge further down the path and between these two cenotes are bathrooms and a shower. There’s also bathrooms and a shower at the entrance but in case you wanted to rinse off here, it’s an option. There are picnic areas outside of the cenotes where you can sit your things and relax once you come up.

The second cenote has enough light coming down that there are no artificial lights inside. It’s beautiful. Because we got there early, we avoided crowds but that means the sun isn’t lighting up the whole place, so we could only really swim on the side that had light.

The third cenote is the most open of the three. Although it’s large, it’s maybe the least impressive because it’s so open and not really down in a hole.

I brought the two Usnorks that I have so we could look under. These are snorkels that cover your whole face to make you look like a weirdo but also so that you can breathe through your nose or nose, whatever you like. You can also dive down and the snorkel can’t get water inside of it which makes them unique. I got it on Amazon, you can see [easyazon_link identifier=”B07G11XCF5″ locale=”US” tag=”Hipinhee-20″]reviews for Usnork here[/easyazon_link].

After the third cenote, we walked through the (not very impressive) gift shop into the restaurant. I wasn’t expecting much since it was just 70 pesos (drinks not included, but beer was I think 30 MXN) and a tourist site, but it was actually very good food.

The panuchos were very tasty, the Sopa de Lima is some of the best I’ve had, and we had a starter of the beef empanadas that were very tasty. I definitely recommend eating lunch here! My parents loved the food as well.

Logistically, we drove here because I have a car but you could also rent a car which would be the easiest way. A car rental for a day can run you between $1-20 (yes, for real, tips on booking here). You can also hire a local tour company or driver for the day from many of the agencies in Centro.

What to take? The wind does make it a little chilly so bring something to cover up with after you’re done swimming. Take a hat, sunscreen, water shoes if you don’t want to go barefoot (you can go barefoot from the steps can be slippery), snorkel, and a towel.

I’ve been to many cenotes around, but you know what you are getting with this set and there are three in one place to check out, so I’d say this is the best cenotes in Merida for a day trip with a traditional lunch if I *had* to choose just one.

Pin my favorite best cenotes in Merida for later:

The post Favorite Cenotes Near Merida: Santa Barbara Cenotes first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

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My parents recently came to visit and I really wanted to show them a Hacienda. I had been to some for lunch outside of Merida and had stayed in a couple of smaller ones in town, but I was looking for a really epic one since they were on vacation. Hacienda Sac Chic has won tons of awards and is well-known as a luxury wedding destination and Casa Sisal, another home of theirs on the same property is a house that really inspires Ben and I when it comes to how we want to build our dream house in Cholul. I decided it was perfect to check these out, and they invited me to stay complimentary to share about it with you!

When you first enter, you don’t see the pool straight away but as we toured the house and got settled in, we were drawn to it like moths to a flame! It was a hot day, and the pool was perfect. It’s such a beautiful setting and right next to a bamboo forest!

I actually had to take a photo of these leggings for Instagram, and they are made from bamboo. I didn’t know there would be so much bamboo at the Hacienda, but WOW how well did that work out!?

The entrance had so much colorful walls and different types of plants. I love the cactuses! there were archways throughout the area you could walk around the whole garden exploring and even go up on the roof.

The Hacienda called Casa Antigua is from the 1850’s and is made from limestone. In the main house are two bedrooms, one with a loft up top, a living room, kitchen, and a huge bathroom plus a pool outside. Across the courtyard is Casa Nueva, has three bedrooms as well with a sunken in living room (so cool and something I want to do in my future dream home!), and is a little more modern. We stayed in Casa Antigua. The house was renovated by the architect Salvador Reyes Rios and his partner and wife Josefina Larrain and they made most of the furniture using local craftsmen.

My room, coffee in bed, and the loft which is above

I’m actually obsessed with the blue concrete in the bathroom. I think it’s chukkum which is a local way of doing concrete here and I want to do this in grey one day! It’s so beautiful.

Casa Sisal, Near Merida, Yucatan

Old meets new when you dip under an old archway and cross the grounds into Casa Sisal. I love the Hacienda and my parents really loved it – but Casa Sisal is a modern stunning home that if I could, I would live in! No one was staying there so they let us come over to take photos and use the pool.

This bedroom is everything! I love the chukkum, it was so smooth and polished, I love the cream color and simple elegant design. Sometimes simple is best, and in this house that’s what makes it!

The glass doors were great and while you usually see black aluminum in homes, I loved the white they had which really kept things looking fresh and bright. This house had a sunken in living room, too that you step down into and a big open modern kitchen.

In case you’re wondering why I had so many outfit changes, it’s because I had some clothing to promote on Instagram so went ahead and shot them here! I’m not normally packing so much for an overnight trip.

In terms of how much it costs, it does change based on the season. Casa Sisal is $375/night which for a luxury mansion in seclusion like this I think is a good price – most likely you’d have another couple to split it with since it’s two bedrooms.

The Hacienda is split into two houses, Casa Antigua where we stayed ($700/night) and Casa Nueva ($975/night) or you can take both of them for $1550/night. Obviously, it’s not super cheap but this is one of the top Haciendas in the Yucatan and often people rent this out for weddings. Check out booking and more rate information here.  Just an FYI, the BARN I am getting married in back in Ohio is charging $1500/night to take the farmhouse the night before the wedding. Lol! 

Logistically, I drove here and visited the nearby Santa Barbara Cenotes on the way in, before we checked in. You can hire a chef, but we brought a cooler with our own food to cook dinner and our own drinks. Once you’re here, you are pretty much staying here; it’s quite secluded and it’s really like finding a mansion in the jungle! It’s a magical experience. We packed Rummikub and played a few games before bed, toured the grounds, and spent time reading by the pool. There IS WiFi at the property and there is staff on site to make sure everything goes smoothly.

So, where would you want to stay, the Hacienda or Casa Sisal!? And who thinks I should have booked my wedding for here!? Haha kidding kidding, it’s still in Ohio but maybe we should throw a big party here one day for our anniversary! ;)

The post Hacienda Sac Chich, Near Merida, Yucatan first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Hacienda Sac Chich, Near Merida, Yucatan appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

If like me you are so excited to be planning trips around Mexico, you might be asking “Do I need travel insurance for Mexico?” and the answer is yes. I’ve been living here for about 9 months in Merida, a city in the Yucatan and have loved exploring new places around the country. After five years in India, it’s a very different vibe altogether! I’ve written about travel insurance on my blog, but want to address travel insurance for Mexico specifically in this post.

Do I need travel insurance for Mexico travel?

The truth is that yes you do, and not only for Mexico but essentially anywhere you travel you should always be budgeting in travel insurance into the equation. Even in a place that is light on the wallet like India, you need insurance, which I have written about in detail here.

Click here to get an insurance quote.

Often, people think that because they are going to a country which is less expensive than the one they are in, that health care will be “cheap” and they can go without it – after all, if something happens, they can just pay out of pocket? The truth is that something like a broken arm or kidney infection could run your $2,000 USD while an insurance policy will run you as low as $61 for a week of travel or $111 for two weeks (I just did a quick search to check).

You can run your own quote here. Just enter your home country and state, where you are going (Mexico), your dates, and age. It will tell you two different quotes the standard plan and the explorer’s plan.

Mexico is a great country to travel but of course, like many big cities around the world some places here do have a higher rate of petty theft, scams, and you do need to be street smart. The smartest of travelers still sometimes face issues abroad and having travel insurance for those or getting sick is such a relief – as your home insurance likely won’t cover your outside of your country. The amount of expats I have read about in the news here in Mexico who have $50,000 hospital bills from car accidents and aren’t allowed to leave the country until they pay is just crazy. It’s not a risk I would take.

Some reasons you might need travel insurance for Mexico are:

• Your flight gets canceled or delayed
• Your luggage is lost and the airline is being useless as usual!
• Your luggage, purse, or other belongings get stolen
• You get ill and need an overnight hospital stay
• You have a serious accident and need surgery or even life-flighted to a bigger better hospital
• You need someone from your home country flown to Mexico to help you in the case of an injury or illness and their flight needs to be paid for.
• You are doing adventurous activities in Mexico like scuba diving
• If you are renting a car (more on this later, it’s so important!)

Why World Nomads travel insurance for Mexico?

World Nomads is the best travel insurance there is based on cost and coverage. They focus their insurance on adventurous travelers and make sure to cover a wide and varied set of issues with a low fee. Everyone from Hostelworld to Frommer’s and Lonely Planet recommend this travel insurance and so have I on this blog for five years. I’ve personally used it since 2009.

World Nomads offers:

• Competitive prices
• Known to reimburse easily and without hassle
• Cover adventurous activity injuries in their “explorer” package
• You can extend your policy while you are traveling, which most other won’t allow, if you decide to stay longer in Mexico
• Customer service available 24/7

World Nomads rates are easily affordable for budget backpackers but their coverage is so good that even if you are a mid-range to a luxury traveler, they are the place to book through.

Renting a car in Mexico, travel insurance options:

If you are renting a car in Mexico, you will want to know about this! With the “explorers” package from World Nomads, CDW is covered (collision damage waiver). In Mexico, 750,000 MXN liability insurance is always legally on a car rental and with your CDW from the travel insurance that means you can decline all coverage when you rent a car. So those “upsells” they do at the car rental place, you can decline it. Many people can already do this with certain credit cards (I do with my Chase Sapphire) and it saves hundreds of dollars. This will pay for the travel insurance itself. There are such cheap car rentals in Cancun and other tourist hotspots. I’ve gotten a month car rental for $15 (kid you not, it was $.50 a day and then I declined insurance). Insurance would have been $20/day for the month which would have been a $600 fee that I got to avoid. You can too with travel insurance. There are so many small benefits like this!

Be careful to note that some car rental places will really try to push for the insurance and tell you that you are not covered, but you are. You might need to print out proof to show them. Remeber when booking to print out your car rental rules where it will state the 750,000 MXN liability is already there – they often try to make you pay twice for it.

What is an isn’t covered on World Nomads travel insurance

I would go into this in detail but I already wrote a post that breaks this down point by point with screenshots so click out to see what’s covered on WN insurance. Get a quote for World Nomads travel insurance for Mexico here or using the widget below.

The post Do I Need Travel Insurance For Mexico? Costs & Options first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Do I Need Travel Insurance For Mexico? Costs & Options appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I love my city! I’ve been living in Merida Mexico for about a year now, and since I’m a blogger I have put in even more effort to get to know this city inside and out. I love to share on my blog about places I know well and Merida Mexico is one of them! Here are the best things to do in Merida Mexico during your trip here. It has so much to offer from culture and festivals to food and drinks, architecture and history; Merida Mexico has it all – and many activities are free!

This list is meant to simplify what you can find online and put the best of the best of Mexico with experiences and tour but also make sure to cover the top tourist attractions so you don’t leave with FOMO. I hope you love Merida Mexico as much as I do.

Read more: 40 things to do in Mexico, my wishlist!

50 Things to do in Merida Mexico

Merida, Yucatan Mexico | Let’s get started on this epic list of Merida things to do! 

I’m breaking this things to do list into sections starting with where to stay and basics, what to do culturally, museums, markets and shopping, what to do in Merida when it rains, festivals, food, cantinas, day trips, and more!

1. Experience the Haciendas

Choose your home here wisely! I love the cute boutique hotels and even hostels. I loved Luz en Yucatan and Hotel Hacienda Merida both a lot. You can also go higher end at Rosas X Chocolate or Casa Lecanda. For a hostel, look no further than Nomadas Hostel. You can also visit Haciendas during the day for a spa or pool day with yummy food.

2. Rent a Renovated Colonial Airbnb in Centro

There are SO many epic Airbnb options in town that are renovated colonial home. They are affordable and will honestly blow you away. We stayed in a bunch and I wrote up some favorites here. If you are a larger group or family you can get a mansion here for $200 or so a night and you’ll love it!

3. Park Hop to catch the Merida Vibe

Walk from park to park to shop, eat, and sightsee. Santa Ana, Santa Lucia, and Santiago are all lovely to explore. Don’t forget to enjoy the free WiFi.

4. Free City Walking Tour

Take a free walking tour of the “white city”. I’ll admit, I haven’t done this haha! I have always loved a free walking tour in my backpacking days and all my fellow expat friends here say this one is actually really worth the time. You can meet at Plaza Grande (the main square) at the Merida tourism office. They do these every morning at 9:30. While it’s free, you should give your guide a tip.

5. Carnivalito Bus City Tour

You can also tour Merida by bus for 75 pesos! This meets at Santa Lucia at 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, and 7 pm. This tour is in Spanish but it’s still enjoyable if you don’t speak the language just to get your bearings.

6. Learn to Salsa

Take a salsa class! You’ll see cantinas offering classes, like Dzalbay one of my favorites. I haven’t taken classes because I have two left feet, but they are very popular.

7. Visit the Gran Museo Del Mundo Maya

Did you know that 30% of the people here speak Mayan – and many Mayans live in town not just out in the country working on farms like you might imagine? It is a culture that is very much part of Merida from the food to the clothing. You can learn more about the Maya at the museum. Keep in mind that the video at the beginning is in Spanish without subtitles as are many of the plaques – but not all. There is still a lot of English information. It will cost you 150 pesos and is closed on Tuesdays. The hours are 8-5. You can take an Uber or use their parking garage

8. Visit Palacio Canton

Palacio Canton is another Mayan museum, much smaller, on Paseo de Montejo. No need to check it out truthfully if you have been to the grand museum, but if not then definitely go in here for a little information on the Mayans. The price is 60 pesos.

9. Casa Museo Montes Molina

Ever wonder what the inside of the mansions on Paseo Montejo look like? Pop into Casa Museo Montes Molina which is where the “Montejos” used to live for generations – the founders of Merida! Tours are on the hour 9-11 AM most days. In general, just cruising along Paseo Montejo is a nice way to spend a morning!

10. Visit the Cemetario Paneton Florido

See what a Mexican cemetery is like. They celebrate their dead loved ones here and these places are the “gate to the other life”. Full of color and beauty, it’s not unusual to do cemetery tours in Merida or elsewhere in Mexico.

11. Watch Pok Ta Pok Mayan Ballgame

Watch the Mayan ballgame on Fridays next to Grande Plaza at 830 PM. Pok Ta Pok is the game which was played by the Mayans in ancient times. You’ll see a real ballcourt when you visit Chichen Itza. The hoops are way up on the walls and they had to get the ball through them – with their hip and it was made of rubber! Ouch. I was told that the losers were sacrificed at the top of the pyramid. But these days, they just play for fun to re-enact this game in costume. This is free to come to watch, like most things in Merida.

12. Enjoy the Teatro Jose Peon Symphony

Have a fancy grown-up night at the symphony! You can go listen to music at the Teatro Jose Peon which is usually on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. I have seen tickets being sold outside – sometimes there have been big lines, I imagine when someone famous is playing. This is right there in Centro, so just pop by and see what is playing and grab some tickets (or just look online). Tickets are usually under 200 pesos and if you want to go in when there is no show, you can wander around for free.

13. Photograph the Colorful Streets

In general, you need to make time to explore the colorful streets and practice your photography! There’s nothing like these colorful walls with the many, many VW bugs lining the streets (the factory was based here!). It’s really beautiful. I recommend going to the street that has Casa Lecanda (use Google Maps) and walk from there.

14. Visit the Merida Sign and Giant Kissing Chairs

Other tourist photography tips: you can go to Santa Lucia to get a photo of the giant “kissing chairs” and the Plaza Grande to see the giant colorful “Merida” sign. Kissing chairs are supposedly for couples who are meeting up but have conservative family chaperoning. They sit in these chairs so they are separated and cannot kiss! You’ll see normal sized kissing chairs all over Merida.

15. Friday Night In Plaza Grande

Feeling like you have nothing to do? Have guests to show around but not sure what’s left to see? There’s almost always something going on in Plaza Grande, even on weekdays. Just head down there to see what’s up! It’s the main square. On Fridays, the whole street of Calle 60 which leads to here is shut down and pedestrian. This is where and when the ball game is – every single week!

16. Ride a bike on Paseo Montejo for Bici Ruta

Take a free ride for “Bici Ruta”. On Sunday mornings until around noon, you can take a bike (for free) and ride along the shutdown Paseo Montejo. They even have tandem bikes. It’s so family-friendly and you can hop along from cafe to shop or just ride for fun. From here, you could then head down to Plaza Grande for the market I mentioned earlier.

17. Vaqueria Night Ballet

Every night has an activity. Enjoy Vaqueria Night which is when there is a ballet and Orchestra. This is at Plaza Grande and Calle 62 and starts pretty late, around 9 PM but get there a bit early.

18. Dance at Santiago on Tuesdays

On Tuesdays, at Santiago Park, you can go dance your little heart out! They have a band and lots of couples go bust a move. Get there around 9 PM.

19. Yucatan Serenade at Santa Lucia on Thursdays

Thursdays is live music at Santa Lucia. You need to arrive early to get at seat for the “Serenade” and see local dancing and music.

20. Noche Mexicana

Every Saturday is Noche Mexicana. Christmas at Noche Mexicana in Merida is so dreamy but it’s great all year. This is at the end of Paseo Montejo – where the road ends, near Cafeteria Impala. At Christmas, they put up a huge Christmas tree, lights, and giant polar bears and nativity scenes. Grab at marquesita and have a stroll any other time of the year and get all the tacos!

21. Lucas Galvez Market

Get into the REAL local vibes at the Lucas Galvez Market. When I’m here, it reminds me of being in Goa. Ben and I thrive in chaos! It’s really not that chaotic actually, but compared to the perfectly manicured squares like Santa Lucia, it’s refreshing to see such a lively market. Try local fruit juices, taco stalls, shop around, taste things you see that you haven’t seen before. This isn’t a tourist market and you aren’t getting souvenirs here – this is a true local market.

22. Plaza Grande Sunday Market

Want souvenirs? Then head to Plaza Grande on Sunday mornings for a lovely market with lots of handicrafts like hammocks and bags, but also some of the best food! You’ll get tacos, panuchos, salbutes, kibis, empanadas, tortas, and more for such local fair prices that you can literally try it all. I love spending a Sunday morning here.

23. Shop Bohemian Decor

If you are looking for more bohemian “Tulum” style stuff, check out Casa Tho, Jiwa, Coqui Coqui, Kukul, and the small shop inside of Catrin. Merida doesn’t have a lot of this, to be honest. There are also some great homewares stores in the North but honestly so unaffordable. Much of that type of things here is too novelty and prices are sky-high.

24. Fair-trade art at Casa De Las Artesanias

Go to Casa De Las Artesanias for fair priced artisan souvenirs that are fixed price, not negotiable, which is owned by the government if you aren’t into haggling.

25. Avoid the rain at one of these malls

Check out a mall if it rains – you have TOO many options. Merida actually has too many malls – some are better than others but overall they are pretty similar. The newest ones are Harbor (has a Sephora) and La Isla (has a lake outside). The ones I usually go to are Galerias or Altabrisa.

26. Enjoy a VIP movie

Check out a VIP movie if it rains. The American ones are in English with Spanish subtitles for the most part. In Merida, at the Cinemex Platino theatres, you will get big comfy recliner seats, blankets, and you just push a button for someone to bring you a glass or wine or buffalo wings haha. It’s awesome and $5. PLUS, many offer BOGO tickets throughout the week.

27. For the kids: go-karting, laser tag, bowling, and arcades

Other ideas if it rains are go-karting, laser tag, bowling, and arcades. You’ll find a lot throughout the North of town. Centro is great and historical but can feel touristy; in the North (Norte) you have real-life everyday things going on like wives popping into Costco for their groceries – which by the way, has a cenote in the parking lot!

28. Saturday Slow Food Market

If you’re staying for a longer time and cooking at home, you might enjoy the Saturday Slow Food Market. Many local people come here like a farmers market and sell hummus, delicious bread, herb olive oils, plants, fruit/veg, and even farms with meat like ribs or lamb – it’s all here.

29. El Dia de Los Muertos

At the start of November, it’s time for Day of the Dead festivities “El Dia de Los Muertos” but in Merida, you have a combination of that with Hanal Pixán which is the Mayan version. The parades are AWESOME and I actually cried some happy tears. Like most festivals here, there are so many things that are involved in the culture like unique face paint and food. Get in on all the fun!

30. Noche Blanca

If you’re here in December, check when Noche Blanca “White Night” is. We have experienced it twice – once on accident – and it was around the 6th of the month. For six hours straight, it will be live music all over the place! Like all the festivals, it just means stages set up, roads closed, more shopping and street food, performances, live music, and more. They do walking tours down to the cemetery which is a site to see.

31. Merida Fest

If you’re here in January, enjoy Merida Fest. Mexicans love a reason to party and it seems like there is always a festival and fireworks. This goes on for a couple of weeks and there is always something going on down in Plaza Grande.

32. Merida’s Carnaval

Play around at Merida’s Carnaval located at X’matkuil Fairgrounds and watch the floats go by. The date changes so you can check here to see when it will be – sometime in Feb/March. There are free shuttles for all from downtown but you can also just grab an Uber there.

33. Eat local

You have to try everything! Cochinita Pibil – slow roasted pork you can have on tacos or panuchos. Chilaquiles – basically breakfast nachos. Huevos Motuleños – breakfast dish, Mayan style. Tacos, panuchos, salbutes – all kind of similar tacos, fried or unfried, with or without beans is the difference. Queso Relleno – pork stuffed in Edam cheese. Sopa de Lima – lime soup with turkey. The list can go on and on. I love Pastor Suizo for tacos, La Chaya Maya is okay but touristy, El Barrio, and the famous ones Manjar Blanco and Wayan’e.

34. Have Netflix-Famous La Lupita’s

For the best lunch, go to La Lupita at Parque de Santiago. It’s been featured in the new Netflix show “Salt Acid Fat Heat” for the “acid” episode. Order everything. Most stalls in this market close by 2 PM, so go early enough.

35. Dinner at the trendy night markets

Go to a trendy less local market for a different scene. There is Mercado 60 which has pizza, BBQ, wings, and is great for big groups of people. Our families loved it. It’s affordable and has local food, too. There is usually live music. Casa Domingo is a similarly good option, a little more upscale than Mercado 60.

36. Enjoy the booming cafe scene

You can’t go wrong with trendy Manifesto Cafe, local cafe Sukra, hipster Bengala Kaffeehaus, or fancy Latte Quattro Sette.

37. Take a cooking class

You’ll see many haciendas and small boutique hotels offering them as well as tours you can book online like Viator. What an awesome way to spend the afternoon!

38. Botanas at the Cantinas

Around 5 PM, get to them to get a seat. They close by 10. Inside these little assuming swinging “Western” doors are crowded lively bars with live music. Favorites are Dzalbay, Cantina Negrita, El Cardinal, and Eladios has good snacks and allows children in. There is one on the beach and in town. For craft beers, head to Hermana Republica.

39. Bar Hopping

After the cantinas close around 10 PM, head to the bars: Casa Chica, Mayan Pub, Fundación Mezcaleria and many more.

40. Enjoy Culinary Creations from Around the World

If you’re dying for a non-Yucatan meal, don’t fret. There is everything from ramen to authentic Italian here. I have a FULL list of my favorite restaurants, bars, markets, desserts, and more in this blog post.

41. Head out to the beach

You can pop over to Progreso (again I suggest renting a car, but Uber is also available) in just 30 minutes. I suggest Eladios for the best free botanas, cheap tacos and beachy drinks. If you want something nicer, check out Crabster. I love it there. Milk is also a great option. If you want a pool, go down to El Pez Gordo near the “Progreso sign” on the far side of the beach.

42. Snorkel in a cenote

There are plenty of cenotes all around Merida and thousands in the Yucatan state. The best thing to do is just google map cenote and see which ones you might pass on your way out to a day trip. Many people stop at Ik Kil and Santa Barbara is also a good one.

42. Lay in the Coconut Groves of San Crisanto

For a more secluded beach, there are so many, but we love San Cristanto aka “the coconut grove”. Such a beautiful stretch of beach. Rent a cabana or bring an umbrella. We pack a cooler and bring lunch. If you want to eat on the way, stop in at “Angeles Azul” on the way. The best coconut shrimp!

43. The Ecological Reserve Corchito

On your way into Progreso, stop into The Ecological Reserve Corchito. I can’t remember the price, but I think just 20 pesos to enter, and you can access four cenotes (three of which you can swim in) and kids love it here. To get to it, you have to take little three-minute boat ride across. It’s not something I’d do again unless I had friends with kids visit me.

44. Take Advantage of ADO and Local Buses for Day Trips

If you’re wondering what to do in Merida Mexico when you have done all the things in town, it’s time for a day trip! Take advantage of local buses, ADO buses, and affordable taxi rides to get around. Don’t feel trapped in Centro. Norte and day trips are essential to understand this city. You can also fly in and out of Cancun for better prices/routes and book a comfortable A/C reclining seat bus ride into Merida.

45. Take a trip to Celestun to see the flamingos

There are a few that are definitely worth doing. Celestun is about three hours away. I highly recommend renting a car even just for the day for this – tours can be boring. You’ll drive out, buy a ticket, take a boat ride out into the area where the flamingos are and if you’re lucky November to March you can see thousands. Keep in mind, you also just see them randomly when you drive to the beach up past Progreso to the NE.

46. Visit Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins

Of course, you have to take a day trip to Chichen Itza! These are huge Mayan Ruins and are a “Man-made Wonder of the World”. You can leave early and be back in Merida by two. There are tons of tours but you can easily drive yourself as well. Even I’ve done this drive! The roads are big and safe. It takes about an hour and a half. For more information, I have a whole article with tips here.

47. Visit the yellow city of Izamal

Just an hour from Merida is a cute all yellow city with great haciendas you can enjoy a traditional lunch at, churches to walk around, and old fashioned vibes (like horse and carriages where the horses are wearing ladies’ hats).

48. Do a tour to Uxmal Mayan ruins

I loved Uxmal even more than Chichen Itza. It’s a more spread out ruin and fewer people go. On the way there and back you can stop at a very hidden cenote, Muna Point, shop handicrafts straight from locals, and an amazing hacienda for lunch. All the details for this day trip are in this blog post.

49. Las Coloradas Pink Lake

Go see the giant pink lake that Pinterest loves, Las Coloradas. It’s about three hours away. This lake is bright pink from the salt and makes for an interesting site and great photos. You can no longer swim in it. Pictured above is NOT Las Coloradas; I haven’t been. If you also don’t know if you’re up for the mission, you can see these (pictured above) just on the way past Progreso when you go the beach!

50. Valladolid Cenote

If you’re up for it, head to Valladolid about 2 hours away. This cool city is famous in the Yucatan for it’s stunning cenote. It looks like the light just shines down from heaven onto a stone walkway out into the cenote! So epic.

I hope you enjoyed these 50 things to do in Merida Mexico as much I did writing it! I have so much more information to share and will be doing so in the future like shopping guides and such. For now, make sure you’ve also read:

1. Best restaurants in Merida
2. A little guide to Merida
3. Day trip to Uxmal
4. Chichen Itza tips
5. Great Airbnb options in Merida

If you want to move to Merida, check out these articles:

1. What it’s like living in Merida (after 9 months)
2. How to move to Mexico

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The post 50 Unmissable Things to do in Merida, Mexico (2019) first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post 50 Unmissable Things to do in Merida, Mexico (2019) appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Merida, Mexico has some amazing food! When I first visited it was for just two weeks, and I tried tons of the “top ranked” places I had researched. Now, six months after living here, I’ve gone a bit deeper and tried out places that blog mentioned, locals told me about, places around my house in Norte, and of course some chain restaurants that you see all over the place. I’m going to share my thoughts on the best restaurants in Merida.

Best Restaurants in Merida, Mexico

This is a big city with tons of different neighborhoods and I’m sure like any list, there will be places I have missed. I, myself, still have a huge list of places I want to try. To organize this list, I’m going to put divide it into cafes, markets, restaurants with Yucatan/Mexican food, restaurants of other cuisines, bars, and dessert places. Within each category, I’ll list places I loved, places I just “liked” but others seem to love, and a list of the places I haven’t yet visited in case you are curious. As time goes on, I’m going to keep this blog post updated and add more places I try from that list.

There are specifically a lot of Yucatan places I haven’t tried because there are simply SO many good ones around (50+ worth checking out). Most are located in Centro and are open only until 2 PM. As I live in Norte, it has been hard to go to them all, but I’m working on it.

What is food like in Merida, Mexico?

Food in the Yucatan is not the same as food all over Mexico, as it really varies here state by state. As it’s not a huge tourist destination in comparison to something like Cancun, you can expect less quesadillas and more panuchos and salbutes thanks to the Mayan influence. Turkey is a popular meet here, as is pastor (pork on a spit like shawarma). You can expect corn tortillas, not flour as the norm. The cheese here is usually edam. Don’t expect salsa at table or taco sauce, it’s more haberno sauce (so spicy) or a green tomato sauce and maybe some pico de gallo. When it comes to seafood, it’s all about the ceviche! You’ll try pib, chicharron, poc chuc, cochinita pibil, castacan, and queso relleno for sure while you’re here! A lot of the meat and cheese here has a smoky flavor – so keep that in mind when you order something like sausage (from Valladolid) which is not really my jam.

Meal times are a little different here than in the USA. Small stalls for lunch close up by 2 PM, sit-down lunch restaurants don’t get started for lunch until 2 PM, and dinner places often don’t open until 7 PM. Cantinas (small bars) close up by 10 PM and then you go to the more “clubby bars”. That means if you go for live music at a cantina you’ll want to go out early, like 5 or 6 PM on the weekend.

The best thing about going to a cantina in the early evening is botanas! What are they? Free snacks! When you order a drink, you’ll get snacks brought out. The more you order, the more/better the snacks get. You’ll have bean dip, tortillas, little hot dogs, popcorn, and sometimes even tacos and ceviche.

Best Cafes in Merida

Manifesto

This is a cute cafe in Santiago that has very simple wooden, calming decor and WiFi so would be a great place to work or to meet friends for a coffee.

Bengala Kaffeehaus

Bengala Kaffeehaus has a couple of locations I believe, but I have been just to the one near Santa Lucia square a few times. It’s cute but has high bar stools so for me isn’t comfortable to work. It’s quite a small space but does serve good coffee. This is a local fave and I actually met some cool people here and just chatted with them about moving here on my first visit (before I lived here).

Latte Quattro Sette

This is to me the most aesthetically pleasing coffee shop. I love how it’s decorated. It’s next door to the popular Lecanda Boutique Hotel and this cafe has the same owner as the hotel and I believe Oliva Enoteca (a good Italian restaurant). Great coffee, a good place to work, and a fun place to meet friends. There is quite a lot of seating. They have basic breakfast items too like yogurt and granola or avocado on toast. This is near Santa Ana.

Cafetería Impala

This is a big cafe on Paseo Montejo and is a good place for a simple brunch/late lunch and to people watch. You can then stroll alone this big main road to shop and enjoy an afternoon popping into museums along the way. We take our dogs walking here and stop for a coffee and some huevos motulenos or a sandwich.

Coqui Coqui

This is actually a boutique that sells luxury perfume, homewares, and clothing. It’s a boutique hotel as well (one room on top) and has a sister boutique hotel in Valladolid with several rooms. But, in the back is a tea room and chocolate tasting room. You can head back there for a nice afternoon tea and snacks. Very chic!

Sukra Cafe

This is a little cafe on Paseo Montejo. Food is good and affordable, coffee is strong, and the juice is fresh. It’s a great spot to meet friends and have a casual breakfast or brunch.

Voltacafe

YUM! I love this little cafe in Altabrisa. It’s owned by the same people who own Apoala. I really want to go back and try more – we head this way a lot to do our shopping and both Ben and I said it’ll be a new regular for us. I had the eggs benedict and he had a ham/bacon sandwich. Each was 140 MXN – so pretty affordable for such a nice/fancy-looking cafe. It has a European design but is kind of hidden in a little plaza that looks like it wouldn’t even be worth going into if you were just driving by.

La Barrita

La Barrita is the cutest cafe in Merida Norte. It’s about 10 minutes from my house and I love to pop in on a Sunday morning to do a little work or read while having their signature house coffee (mocha with tiramisu syrup) and a chicken and pesto panini for lunch. You can also order them with Rappi (a delivery app). It has great food and also happens to be adorable. There is street parking.

Dalia Cafe

This is a very cute, stylish “instagrammable” cafe in the Norte that also serves great sandwiches. I’ve been trying to explore this part of town more, up near the periferico. The roast beef and bacon waffle sandwich was great and Ben had a ciabatta serrano ham sandwich. Expect about $5/dish. Merci, another place I want to try is right next to here.

Petite Delice

Located in a little shopping center called “Victoriaplatz” which is the same plaza the cute boutique animal store “Humanimals” is, is this little cafe. It has around 10 tables and serves tasty French-style cafe food. It’s brunch food, not lunch. They have pastries and bread for sale to-go which are really good. I had the egg white omelet and it was so good. I just keep ordering it! I’d like to come here more often and work, but it gets crowded and I’d feel bad taking up a table.

Alexandra’s Cafe

Just a couple shops down from Petite Delice is this interesting work cafe. It’s basically a co-working space that allows you to pay hourly or buy monthly memberships and then you get free coffee/tea and snacks like muffins and cookies. You can sit quietly and work on their fast WiFi. By the hour it’s expensive for local standards: 77 pesos, especially since it’s just standard coffee with milk/sugar that you pour yourself. But, if you need to crack down and get work done it’s a perfect little place to do just that. Additionally, if you were going to come often, it would be a steal as you can get a six-month membership to come as much as you want for around 3,000 pesos ($160). I mean it’s essentially office space, so that’s a deal!

Te Extrano Extrano in Lagala

Lagala is a new space in Centro that has a shop, cafe, and is kind of a cultural center. Their restuarant Te Extrano Extrano is beautifully designed. The food and drinks are delicious – it’s health food though, so keep that in mind. There are small portions and if you’re vegan there will be a lot of options for you although they do have steak as well.

Merci

Merci is located next to Dalia Cafe in the North. It’s very tasty. Most of these brunchy cafe’s in Merida are very similar (Dalia, Volta) and have great eggs, salads, toasties, coffees, smoothies, etc. I like the vibe here and it was pretty busy on a Sunday morning!

Cafe’s I Haven’t Tried Yet But Want To:

Toesto Cafe, Cafe Orgánico, Midtown Cafe, Escargot Rústico, Cafe Cream, Estacion 74 (Merida coffee club meets here Tuesdays at 10 am),

Best Food Markets in Merida

La Lupita at Santiago Park

Parque de Santiago has a covered market that has many little eateries inside. The most popular is La Lupita, which has been featured recently on Salt Acid Fat Heat on Netflix. Everything I’ve ever had there is tasty. Keep in mind basically all these types of places close by 2 PM so you need to go early. I have tried most of what’s on the menu and you can’t really go wrong – but make sure to get an empanada, too! Another popular stall in this market is Le Reina de Itzalana, which is open in the evenings, and has very good food & sopa de lima!

Saturday Slow Food Market

The Slow Food Market is every Saturday morning until about 1-2 PM but some vendors leave early once they sell out so best to go in the morning. As a tourist you might not want to come here but for those who live here, it’s great. You can get delicious fresh bread, hummus, and even meat from local farms like pork chops and ribs.

Taco Asada at Grande Plaza Market

On Sunday’s if you come into Centro, you’ll want to go to the Grande Plaza Market, which is from early morning until the afternoon. They have shops with local vendors, food stalls, and performances (the main one is at noon). We had tacos at one called “Taco Asada” which was really tasty so keep going back to it – however, just go anywhere here. You can just see where the locals are eating and eat there. Pictured above are tacos, a torta, and the bottom photo is a kibi.

Lucas de Galvez Market

This is the big main market, and one of the only places in Merida that reminds me for a second of being back in India. I haven’t really had time to explore this properly to tell you where to eat – but again, just go to a place that locals are eating at and eat there. You can shop here, get your fruit and veggies, and get a real feel of the “real local” Merida that tourists don’t really go to. The most famous stall here for a pastor is “Javis al Pastor”. This is also called the San Benito market.

Mercado 60

Mercado 60 is just near St. Lucia square. This is an evening market with a mix of Yucatan and International food. I’ve tried BBQ ribs, buffalo wings, tacos with mole (didn’t love them), and also gone just for the drinks and live music. There is usually a very cool vibe here and it’s somewhere we usually go with friends who come to Merida to visit us.

Casa Dominga

This is kinda of like Mercado 60 but fancier. They have a popular wine bar called Taninos Para Todos. I didn’t remember to take a photo here, sorry! But, there is a variety of food and I ordered the burrito. Here, they will come to take your drink order and it’s more of an older crowd while Mercado 60 is a young crowd. Outside is a valet and fancy cars – it definitely is more upscale.

Parque de Santa Ana

There is a strip of restaurants (food stalls) next to the park which have the standard Yucatan fair. There are also coffee shops along here and it’s a cool place to hang out in the evenings with a few bars. There is a place called Marias (or Marys, I can’t remember) that is really good!

Markets in Merida I Haven’t Tried Yet But Want To:

El Mercado Miguel Alemán (local), El Mercado San Sebastián (local), Nacion Gourmet (sister to Mercado 60 in the Norte but has very mixed reviews), Mercado Garcia Rejon (local), Paseo 60 (open-air A/C market with places like Oliva and Bryan’s Burger Bar inside, brand new)

Best Yucatecan/Mexican Restaurants in Merida

Pastor Suizo

I eat Pastor Suizo at least once a week. This is a chain restaurant, no frills, just good pastor. If you aren’t familiar with pastor, you soon will be – it’s like a gyro or kebab (the layered meat on the spit). I like to get a pastor gringo which means it is on a “harina tortilla” which is a flour one (corn is more popular here) with cheese and pineapple. I also get beef tacos here. Cover everything with all their sauces!

Taquitos PM

It’s always a toss up when you ask locals which they prefer: Pastor Suizo or Taquitos PM? Both are pastor chains you’ll see all over, even in shopping malls. Taquitos PM is definitely bigger and more commercial. Ben likes Taquitos PM better while I like Pastor Suizo! You’ll have to try both and see.

Chilakiller’s

Chillakillers is a must! Chilaquiles are a popular breakfast food in Mexico which is kind of like breakfast nachos. You put a green or red salsa on the tortillas and it gets nice and soggy – add some guac, onions, cilantro and such. You can add egg, chicken, or whatever they have on offer. Chillakillers serves chilaquiles on steroids (get the steak ones) and amazing tortas. I love it!

El Pez Gordo

El Pez Gordo is a chain restaurant in Norte with tex-mex style seafood: think fried shrimp tacos, cornflake covered fried shrimp, and you can order it with a flour tortilla. Their guac is the best and has mango on top. This is a chain restaurant and you might think it’s not “real Mexican” but regardless, it’s tasty.

El Fabuloso Pez

Literally, right across the street is this spot which some others had told us tastes better than El Pez Gordo. Ben agreed, but I personally still like El Pez Gordo better! They are very, very similar and have pretty identical menus. It’s kind of weird!

Crabster

This is actually on the beach in Progresso and has really nice seafood. The chef is “famous” I’m told. I’m not so down with the cheesy seafood tacos, but everything else was so good! This is where we took our family for Christmas lunch. There is seating inside and on the beach with the cabanas.

Micaela Mar Y Lena

We love this seafood restaurant in Centro! You can order family style and get a whole fish or shrimp by the kilo. With the family platters, you get 3 sides (which are pretty small). This was enough food for four people but we also got the guacamole as a starter (with pico and chicharron on it) and the papaya chicken skewers (so so good). I loved it and will be back for more!

Eureka

This is the best Italian in Merida. The photo above doesn’t do it justice because of the dark lighting, but I love this restaurant in Itizma. Mussels in proseco, tasty fruit balsamic salad with goat cheese, and the focaccia with smoked provolone were so good. We had the steak and the shrimp lemon pasta and we just loved it. Compared to other Italian food I’ve had here, this one is the best! The space is really cute as well and perfect for a date night.

Pollo Brujo

You’ll notice this chain around town, and it’s always popping at lunchtime. You can get a takeaway rotisserie chicken with lots of different sauces and build your own taco. After seeing this so many times, we finally tried it and it’s become a staple for a quick meal.

Hermana Republica

Oh, Hermana Republica, how I love you! This is one of the first “nice” Yucatan style dining places we went to and there are two locations (they are building a third). One is in Centro and the other in Norte. As you can see from the photos, it’s delicious and you can’t really go wrong with anything you order. They have their own craft beer and it’s a very cool spot to go have a chilled out meal and drinks or just go for snacks and have some beer.

Catrin’s

Catrins is a cute little taco place and has a nice a nice boutique at the entrance as well if you’re into a little shopping. I got a very cool basket/backpack here that I love! I found my tacos very bland if I’m being totally honest but Ben’s were good. The guac was decent – I feel like often at these places unless you add a ton of haberno, you aren’t going to get a lot of flavor. This place is quite popular though!

Mi Viejo Mohino

Great for breakfast, okay for lunch. I like coming here for coffee and a breakfast burrito type dish. Lunch/dinner is kind of like a diner style with so many things – you could order crappy American food or you could order a pretty tasty quesadilla. If you stick with Mexican/Yucatan food then it’s pretty good. It’s very cheap which is why a lot of people love it.

La Chaya Maya

La Chaya Maya is the most popular place for tourists to come try Yucatan food. There is always a local Mayan lady in the traditional clothing making corn tortillas in the front of the restaurant which draws in the crowds. Many people will say it’s touristy and crap and don’t go – but honestly, it was fine! You’ll start to notice that all panuchos and salbutes and sopa de lima tastes the same, so if you want to come here and feel the Mayan vibes, go for it.

Trotters

I had passed her 100 times and never thought to go inside because it looks like a tourist trap, to be honest. But a friend wanted to meet here and I was pleasantly surprised by the place! First off, it was full of locals. The food was delicious Yucatan-fusion food, and they had great mezcal cocktails. The vibe is really fun and it would be a great place for drinks and taking family or friends who visit you out for a meal.

Los Trompos

Los Trompos is another place that some will say is just a tourist trap – but it’s clear that locals love this place. It’s a chain and it’s always busy. The one in centro has chairs out into the street. There is live music, it’s very cheap, and I love the tacos. I’m not a fan of the pizza, although it seems like everyone else is.

El Barrio

El Barrio is just off a backstreet behind Paseo Montejo. I loved the tamal aztec style – it was full of poblano peppers and cheese. Yum! The chilaquiles were good as well. I didn’t try anything else here but based on peaking at other people’s plates, it all looks soooo good.

Azul Angeles, San Crisanto

When Ben and I go to the beach we sort of eat at the same places. We’ve tried new ones a little bit and been disappointed. In Progresso, we often eat at Eladios for shrimp tacos. When we go up toward San Crisanto we stop at a little place on the street called Azul Angeles or Blue Angel. I don’t think it’s on the map, but you’ll see it on your right before you reach the town.

K’u’uk & Apoala

Alright now for two popular places that just didn’t do it for me, Ku’uk and Apoala. Ku’uk is fine-dining Yucatan style and is in a big mansion. I thought it was over-priced. I didn’t get how their Sopa de Lima was better than any other food stall. Ben and I both thought our mains were bad and didn’t bother with dessert. On the plus side, alcohol was strangely cheap. Apoala is in St Lucia square and serves fine-dining Oaxacan-fusion food. We thought it was mediocre and over-priced. Both of these are top-ranked restaurants in Merida but neither are ones we would go back to.

Yucatecan/Mexican Places I Haven’t Tried Yet But Want To:

Rosas & Xocolate (the gorgeous pink hotel you see on Instagram – the menu didn’t appeal to us to be honest so we didn’t eat here when we stopped in, but has a dessert place too, Ek Chuah), Maiz de lo Alto, Manjar Blanco (very recommended), Wayan’e (everyone says best tacos, four locations), La Prospe del Xtup, Cacique, Nectar (fancy Yucatan), Los Platos Rotos (Mexican not just Yucatecan),La Tradición, Los Almendros, La Terraza Amarilla de San Fernando, Amaro, Bistro Cultural, La Pigua (seafood), El Marlin Azul (seafood), El Apapacho, Cocina Economica La Lupita (like a cafeteria), Maiz, Canela y Cilantro, Miguelito’s (hole-in-the-wall), Taqueria Ivan (hole-in-the-wall for conchinita), El Cangrejito (shrimp tacos), El Capricho (Yucatecan buffet)

Best Restaurants in Merida That Aren’t Yucatecan/Mexican

Local 59

I love this little Canadian-owned cafe in Centro. Our first Airbnb was by here, and I loved walking up to it for a big breakfast. You can’t go wrong with anything you order. They are known for their perogies. I’ve had a couple sandwiches as well which were so good, as was the soup and salad!

Amore Y Gusto

Located in Norte, in Benito Juarez is this little Italian place you would never think to go into – but it’s so tasty. I love the burrata, the shrimp starter, and the lasagna is SO good. I’ve had a couple of pastas I love and some I didn’t – so that can be hit or miss. This is a very good spot though that I highly recommend.

La Tratto

La Tratto is an Italian chain restaurant. They have really good thin wood-fired pizzas, great Ceasar salad, and I am obsessed with this 3-cheese dip that they do.

Monique’s Bakery

Bocadero

I haven’t remembered to take a photo of this food since I always order it at home from Uber Eats BUT this is one of our favorites to order at home. They do American food (think TGIF) and Tex-Mex.  Ben likes the BBQ ribs and I like the burrito. The cajun fries and chicken strips are good, too. This is located in North Merida.

Raffaello Pizza

In Centro, Raffaello’s is known as the best pizza and for being truly Italian. We took my parents here and we all loved it. The “Benjamin” is good and I loved the Hawaii pizza, too. They are thin crust and super quality ingredients. We were border-line drunk and I forgot to take photos. I’ll be back soon, though!

Milk Bar

In Progreso, Milk Bar is the best! It serves breakfast all day. The coconut shrimp is the best on the beach and they have American food (like sausage gravy biscuits and chili dogs), seafood, and Mexican food.

Dadaumpa

Yum, yum! We love Dadaumpa in Centro. It’s tasty Italian, has cool owners who are really friendly, and it’s so affordable. 150 MXN for pasta or less, and cheap alcohol to boot. The ragu cannelloni was the bomb, the lemon chicken tagliatelle was yummy, and the pizza was good, too.

Tokio 07

All kinds of Japanese yumminess in this adorable restaurant! When you walk in, it’s like you’re walking into the kitchen. Grab a glass of wine and have a late lunch of pork gyoza or ramen. They have a ton of vegetarian options, too.

Pizza E Core

This is the best pizza in Merida! I love sourdough pizza and this is very similar to Franco Manco in London, one of my faves when I’m there. The crust isn’t thick (to me) but has some heaviness to it, not like a traditional Italian thin crust. The sauce is very flavorful and they do huge chunks of cheese – there are about 15-20 kinds of pizza on there but other than that it’s a small menu with two antipastis and two salads to choose from. This is in Centro.

Blatt Salat Haus

This is my go-to when I need a healthy bite. You can order salads that are small, medium, or large and you pick your toppings: 3 cold toppings, 1 protien, and then a dressing. It’s just 100 pesos ($5) for the small salad which I actually think is really big. You can also get wraps for around 80 MXN that are healthy and tasty.

LIAN’S

Lianas is a great place for Chinese. I’ve actually only ordered takeaway from here, but we’ve tried so many things on the menu and like it all. The Thai food isn’t great Thai, buuut this is a Chinese place in general, so that makes sense. The Mongolian beef is a favorite, but pricey at 200 MXN and I love the orange chicken and fried rice. Sorry for the terrible photo! I was just about to eat then remembered I should have taken a picture, and had put like 7 different things in my dish so it’s pretty messy lol.

130 Grados

If you want the fanciest International meal you can have in Merida, it’s probably 130 degrees steakhouse. The steak are PRICEY but you can order it by size. I found the guac to be bland, and the cheese sausage dip is probably amazing but I don’t like smokey flavors – so didn’t love it. The mac and cheese was so good and I would go back just for that and a steak! We left here pretty darn drunk because their bar is STOCKED, ha!

Oliva Enoteca

Oliva is the top-ranked Italian restaurant in Merida, and although I love the vibe, I really thought it was just okay. My shrimp in my pasta didn’t seem that fresh. My started of the pork belly was very good, though! I’d go back for sure and try it again – some others have also said it’s been pretty hit and miss for them, too.

Rosa Sur 32°

On my birthday, we went to Rosa Sur 32 degrees in Santa Lucia square. It was the BEST meal ever. We raved about it. We loved the hidden little space in the courtyard and the dish I had was fantastic. We had pork belly, pork chops, and Ben had some steak with mole and the oysters. For dessert, we had a guava ice cream treat that was heavenly. This is a restaurant by Chef Mario Espinosa from Rosas & Xocolate. However, we went back recently and the menu had changed and we didn’t like anything we ordered. I’m not sure what happened there but with a meal of $100 with drinks, I’m not sure we’ll be rushing back.

Pho MX

This Vietnamese place is popular with expats here, even those from Portland and Seattle who say it’s comparable. I often eat at “Pan Asian” restaurants that have some Vietnamese on the menu but also went for basics like spring rolls and chicken wings. They have those here and they were good. I tried the beef pho and it was also good. Everything was okay but heavy on the anise star flavor – maybe I’m just not that into Vietnamese food? Not sure that I’ll go back (I prefer ramen I guess) but again, people love this place so definitely one to go try.

P.F. Changs

You guys know this place, haha! You can’t go wrong with P.F. Changs for a bite of Asian food! It’s in the Altabrisa mall next to iHop and Fuddruckers – yes, that’s right, there are TONS of USA restaurants here. This list is for my favorite places to eat, and really the truth is there are some American chain places I like to go to and you might want to know they are here.

Texas Roadhouse

Again, one I have to mention. When I crave Texas chili, rolls, or a simple salad with ranch dressing, this is where we head. It’s new this year and on the weekends in the evening,s it can be a waiting list. They even do line dancing.

Panfila

I’m kind of getting to the places that aren’t topping the list here, but I’m mentioned because some people rave about this healthy place. I think it’s best for vegans/veggies but it’s above a big Lifestyle Fitness and people go there after they work out. I thought my turkey sandwich was a little weird but the other girls I was with ordered healthy things and loved theirs.

Illuminati Pizza

Illuminati pizza is a favorite with folks in Merida, but Ben and I weren’t that into it. The cheese pizza had some local cheese on it I didn’t love (manchego I think) and Ben’s BBQ pizza was pretty much falling apart.

Eskondida Pizza

Even better than the above, is Eskondida pizza. We order it from Rappi to the house and it’s still nice and warm when it gets here. They do NY style pizza and are supposedly actually from New York, but that could just be a rumor. It is a very tasty pizza! It’s affordable too at around $7 for a small pizza and $12 for a medium, etc. They do pasta, salads, and bread appetizers as well.

La Recova

La Recova is a popular steakhouse in Santa Lucia square that is always packed. While it’s a great environment with live music and a lively vibe, we thought it was just okay. My shrimp alfredo was good but Ben’s steak was pretty basic. I think people go mostly just for the vibe.

Boston’s

I don’t have a photo, but when we order takeaway there is a Boston’s down the street and we get pizza from them. Sometimes we order Pizza Hut or Little Ceasars, but Bostons is the go-to. They do all kinds of American snacks. I’m pretty sure this is a Canadian chain restaurant.

Sanbravo

This is a seafood and steak restaurant. We pass it when we walk down to Pastor Suizo and it’s always packed with very fancy people having their Mercedes valeted. We finally tried it and $75 (for two people, no alcohol), we decided it was good but nothing crazy special. I think the vibe here is “over the top fancy, make you feel SO special” which some people are down for – but several waiters kind of stood over us the whole time, they have you pick out your steak knife from a selection of unique one-of-a-kind knives, and bring a trolley drink cart over to make your cocktails. It’s cool in a way, and really $75 isn’t bad for two appetizers that were huge, a shrimp and a steak main, and a dessert. So, it’s kind of a toss-up. Portions are huge and we definitely didn’t need starters. I’d probably go back to try more like the seafood pastas and risottos but we weren’t “wowed”.

Sonora Grill

Sonora Grill is kinda of like Sanbravo in that they take their drinks and steaks seriously – but it’s very laid-back inside and not pretentious at all. It had a lively crowd while still being fancy. The steaks were amazing (many people had told us they are the best in Merida) and affordable starting at around $20 but up to $75 for a Japanese one). The truffle and parm fries were so good, too!

Hennesy’s

This is the main Irish (and maybe only one) in town, located along Paseo Montejo. It’s popular with expats and you can always find someone to chat to if you pop into the bar. They have classics like shepherd’s pie but you can also get good pasta and sandwiches here.

La Bierhaus

There are two locations, one of which is up north near our house. We like it here! They do live music on the weekends around 10 PM which was 90’s and fun. The food is typically German pub food. The menu makes Ben really happy because he actually grew up for five or so years in Austria and loves schnitzel and German-style potato salad, goulash, and more. They are known for their sausages and brawts. I loved mine, although the bread crumbled. The saurkraut is great. The schnitzel is pork (as it should be) and tastes amazing but is too thick, it hasn’t been pounded down as much as a real schnitzel should be. So, it’s the closest to real German you’ll get in Merida and worth a visit, but it’s still not 100% true German.

Mr. Pampas

Mr. Pampas is a chain restaurant Brazilian BBQ which is the kind that does all you can eat buffets. The meat comes around to the table on sticks and you can go up to the salad bar. The meat is actually really good and a nice variety from ribs to chicken livers, but it’s quite salty… I mean, delicious, but salty. The arrachera is great. It all was. The salad bar is more quantity over quality but still, you have several different lettuce salads and all the dressings then you have soups, cold salads (like cole slaw, macaroni), and then hot stuff like pasta, potatoes, rice, there is a lot! There is also a dessert bar, but it was the least impressive part. Overall, if you were hungry for meat this is the place to go. After 7 PM, it’s 200 pesos, so for $10, it’s a steal. Even if you just wanted a huge salad with all the toppings, you’d pay more at somewhere like TGIF, so I mean, can’t say anything bad about this place!

Korean Grill and Icecream

This was recommended by many, but being on the tourist strip of Paseo Montejo we always thought it might not be authentic or worth going. It actually was when we tried it out, though! We had the fried shrimp and fried dumplings as starters, I had ramen, and Ben had some beef dish with miso soup. Prices were really affordable, wine was around $3 a glass, and we would definitely go back.

I’m going to mention a few places that we tried and thought were okay as well.

Angry Angus has burgers, BBT has American food like wings, potato skins, buffalo strips in alfredo pasta, and it’s okay – it’s something we order when we just want snacky Netflix food, then there is Lapalapa which is the same food basically but is not as good; I won’t order it again. Bryan’s is also one people rave about that we thought was just okay.

Obviously, you have all the mall food too: Burger King, McDonald’s, mall-style Chinese food, Alabama Mama, and then more chains like Chilis and TGIF. We like TGIF here but Chilis was terrible – maybe we got unlucky though.

Non-Yucatecan/Mexican Places I Haven’t Tried Yet But Want To:

Lo Que Hay (vegan/veggie), Numen (vegan), Wokies Monchis (burgers), La Rueda Steak House (steak and wood-fired pizzas), La Terrazza (Lebanese), La Cubanita (Cuban), Pita (Mediterranean), Dang Ren (Chinese), Billy O’s Burgers, Patio 57 (Lebanese), Siqueff Restaurante (Lebanese), Ave Del Paraiso (Thai), Casa Thai (Thai but tried to go and it’s closed for renovations)

Best Bars in Merida

Eladios

Eladios is a good stand-by for a bar to go to. The big one in centro is kind of hit or miss with the music, and the one on the beach is great. It’s a chain. This place gives the best/most botanas (free snacks!).

La Negrita Cantina

This is the most popular pub I think and it’s popping up in guidebooks so a lot of travelers come here (hostels send them here as well). I love seeing the locals dance, love the bands, and the outdoor patio. It’s a favorite!

Mayan Pub

If you want a party party experience, then go to Mayan Pub and wander into the back patio. You can go here later at night after the cantinas close.

Casa Chica

This place is a really cute bar on Paseo Montejo. It has palm trees and neon flamingos – kind of a chic upscale vibe but not necessarily expensive – although it’s not a cantina so don’t expect free botanas. Casa Chica, La Negrita, and La Fundacion Mezcalaria are “sister” bars with the same owners but all have very different vibes.

El Cardenal

This is a great little cantina that has a big courtyard, a very friendly owner, and is one that we love to go to with friends.

Dzalbay

They do live music here on the weekends and we’ve seen a couple of great bands here. Come early to get a good seat – it’s a small place. Also, in the hot months here, these cantinas that are inside-only can be very hot!

Malahat

This is a speak-easy behind Santa Lucia square. If you want to go somewhere later at night, this is a cool spot and something a little different. You can ask at Apoala where the entrance is.

Fundación Mezcaleria

This cantina is a really lively place that often has live music. While many cantinas close at 10, this bar does not open until 8 pm and stays open late. It gets packed so if you want a table come early. Their food is actually pretty good if you want a drunk snack. Four people drinking many buckets of beer for 5 hours and having food was just 500 pesos. This is a great place for dancing and going a little crazy.

Bars I Haven’t Tried Yet But Want To:

Esvedra (fancy place, has pizza), El Porvenir, Beso de la Flaca (open late, dancing), Casa Negra (open late), Pipiripau (open late, hipster), La Pura at Santa Ana Park, Delorean (live music), Bela Chela (gastropub), La Linda Cerveceria (micropub, craft beers), La Valentina

Best Desserts in Merida

Pola Gelato

This is a very cute ice cream shop (very instagrammable) but I gotta say, I didn’t think it was very good gelato, and I must be the only person in Merida who has said that.

Sorbeteria Colón

A famous ice cream and sorbet spot.

Cafe Creme

A cafe and place for coffee and also nice french pastries.

Marquesitas on the street

This is the most popular street food and you’ll see the common combi is Edam cheese and nutella. I’m not a fan but everyone else is! It’s basically a crepe and you can get all kinds of flavors, minus the cheese if you want.

I want to try a dessert place called Browniques Youssef as well that looks tasty.

This is a big list it seems like, but I still feel like I’ve barely scraped the surface!

Merida has so many good restaurants and I cannot wait to try more. I added in to each sections places that people rave about which I haven’t been able to try yet so that you can go try those, too. Most good Yucatan food is in Centro and closes by 2 PM so I rarely get there since I live in work from home in the North of the city, but eventually, I’ll get to them all and update as I do!

Pin the best restaurants in Merida for later

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The post Best Restaurants in Merida first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Best Restaurants in Merida appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

After moving to Merida, we wanted to do a few things: get the pets in safely from India and find a local vet, learn Spanish, buy a car, and get our temporary Mexican residency. We did all these things, but the permit for residency takes time and you are not allowed to leave Mexico during that time. I needed to leave Mexico for work and had to apply to leave – which is necessary or your application will be canceled and voided. This is how to get an exit permit from Mexico while your temporary residency is pending.

I wrote a detailed guide to getting residency for Mexico with how I did it (interviewing at the Mexican consulate in Atlanta then following up to finalize the permit in the INM office in Merida). You can read all about that here. But, while you are waiting on that permit to be finalized, you cannot leave and that can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

How to Get an Exit Permit from Mexico While Your Temporary Residency is Pending AKA “El Permiso de Salida y Regreso”

This is the exact page to find the information from the Mexican government on this. It’s in Spanish, but just right click and say “translate page” and you can read it in English if you need to. You can also look at the requirements to leave on this page and the form you need to fill out here.

Where do you go to get permission to leave Mexico while your temporary resident visa is pending? The INM (immigration office)

What is the cost of the exit permit? Currently 405 pesos, but this changes each year.

How many times can you use the permit? It can be used only ONCE.

How long is the permit good for? It expires in 90 days from the day it’s issued.

TIP: If you apply way ahead of when you need to leave, they will wait to issue it closer to your flight date thinking that you want as much of those 90 days as possible but if you are only leaving for a short time, not a full 90 days, let them know they can process it right away.

What you need to take with you to the INM to get the exit permit

1. Copy of the application form pending the resolution (original AND a copy of the pending paperwork for your visa)
2. Proof of payment of rights (405 pesos). You can do this online with this form (which is of course, in Spanish), print, then take it to the bank and make the payment.
3. A child-sized photograph (size 2.5 x 3 cm.) In front, white background, with forehead and ears uncovered, without earrings and without glasses
4. This form filled out online and then printed
5. A copy of your flight itinerary or other travel outside of Mexico
6. Proof or writing with which the foreigner accredits or states causes of force majeure when he requests this procedure before the immigration authority of the place destined for the international transit of persons through which he leaves the national territory.

Here are some screenshots from the government site saying what is needed in case you want to see that:

Here is another place that listed what is needed:

Do not make mistakes on the form in #4. This is what causes delays. Remember when you type your “Calle” which is your street number, you must put the streets it’s between. Example: you live on Calle 50 between 30 and 32, you need to write Calle 50 x 30 y 32. The form is fairly easy to get through IF you know Spanish. If not, you really shouldn’t guess as you’ll just be running around like a chicken with your head cut off back and forth to the office with fixes.

This is what the online form looks like. Fill it out online, submit it, but also print it out.

Number five is pretty important. You need to prove that you NEED to leave Mexico and they give you a letter that has blanks on it that you just fill in. You have to apply at the same office that your visa is pending. I had flight tickets that were my proof.

I had all these documents photographed but honestly, it takes ages to black everything out in my photo editor and I don’t think it’s important to see the forms, they are linked :)

This is what they say is their process on the website:

“Upon entry of the foreign person, the migratory authority of the immigration screening filter will record the income of the foreign person, in the status of stay indicated by the exit and return permit. The foreigner has the obligation to obtain in the permit of departure and return, the migratory stamp upon leaving the national territory and upon his return. The foreign person must complete the FMM for statistical purposes, both at departure and upon return.” FMM is just that form that they give you on the plane to fill out when you land in Mexico, so you’re basically going to do this backwards.

What is happening is when you enter the country on the temporary residency but it’s not finished, you have that FNM paper. You have to go to the INM office and change that FNM paper to the plastic residency card – which is how you finish the residency. You have to give them over that FNM paper. Since you don’t have it, you cannot leave Mexico as that is the paper you show to leave Mexico when you aren’t a resident.

So, you have to get the exit permit which is a literal piece of paper that you will show at immigration when you leave Mexico that says you can leave. You have to keep this paper! It’s like the opposite of the FNM form. When you go to leave, you will get an FNM form from the airline staff and do it backward like you would as a resident – it seems odd, but you will fill out the BOTTOM part for them to stamp with your exit details (fill out the top, too but that is for when you come back with your airline and date information) and you will take that with you to immigration to leave Mexico. They will stamp that and your exit letter. You need to keep the exit letter and the TOP part of the FNM paper. If you were a resident, you would just have the FNM paper.

Then when you re-enter Mexico, you will show that again. On the plane when they are passing out FNM forms, you don’t need one because you have that top half with your entering flight information. Show it with your letter. They will stamp your incoming letter, passport, and keep that FNM paper.

I did this three times. One time, they forgot to stamp my FNM paper when I exited from Mexico City and the immigration in Merida just rolled his eyes about it and still let me go through without issue when I re-entered Mexico.

That’s the gist of it. Then you’ll go to the INM and hopefully finish your residency that is pending. Take them the final exit permit letter which is stamped in and out. You need to keep this!

The process is easy at the airport. Just make sure you get that FNM form when you check into your flight. One thing you need to keep in mind is that you don’t have a forced immigration line in Mexico City if you are doing a “through” flight from somewhere else in Mexico out. AKA, I went from Merida to Mexico City then took my international flight from there.

In Mexico City when you get off your first flight, you are already in your terminal. There are kiosks you will see signs for foreigners who are residents. Go there. You cannot board your flight if you don’t have the stamped paper. This is for all residents of Mexico temporary or permanent. The sign is pictured below. They will be the ones to stamp your bottom half of FNM and give you the empty top half to keep for your return. It’s literally just across from a Starbucks.

If you are like me and have 5 trips lined up and have to keep getting exits permits (haha, I highly suggest avoiding this!), then you’ll want to go to the office and submit the next one right after you get back.

I needed so many exit permits for trips to Panama, NY, New Orleans, Florida, and Ohio and had so much lined up to do here like buy a car and work, that I just needed help with this. I couldn’t be running back and forth to Centro fixing errors from forms I couldn’t read in Spanish. I had actually done all this research already to share about it on the blog and had read so much about the process and even then, I didn’t want to do it myself.

Hiring Help to Help Get my Exit Permits

When I first came to Merida, I had joined an expat group so I could learn about living here called Expats in the Yucatan. It’s run by Yucatan Transitional Services (YTS), a company that helps people move to Mexico (buy cars, immigration, translation, you name it). When we arrived at Cancun airport with two dogs, a cat, and a ton of luggage, we knew a taxi wasn’t going to cut it. I hired YTS to pick me up at the airport. They were helpful and professional and with good rates, I ended up just working with them on basically everything I needed help with since moving to Merida – like finishing my visa process and making sure everything was in order for buying a rental car.

This process isn’t that difficult if you have time to fix mistakes and can understand Spanish. I lacked both time and Spanish skills and this was something I didn’t think twice about getting outside help with. I live in Norte, so with the Ubers back and forth and waiting at the office and the headache… not for me! I highly suggest them. If you want to connect with them, you can message them or email Erick at etgomezllanos@gmail.com.

For more information on your temporary visa, this is my original post which has how to get the visa, which I did partly on my own and part with the help of YTS.

The post How to Get an Exit Permit from Mexico While Your Temporary Residency is Pending first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post How to Get an Exit Permit from Mexico While Your Temporary Residency is Pending appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

We moved to Merida, Mexico in May after 5+ years in India and it was a priority for us to get our residency for Mexico. In this article, I want to walk you through how to get your temporary resident visa for Mexico and what I did to get mine in the Atlanta office, following up in the Merida Mexican immigration office (INM). It will be the same process regardless of which office you go to in terms of paperwork, but timings could be different. Below are the Mexico visa requirements as I’ve come across them in the process getting my visa.

Why get residency for Mexico? Well, it’s not mandatory. Mexico allows me as an American and my boyfriend from the UK to enter for 6 months at a time on a tourist visa. You can leave and re-enter no problem – and it’s free. So, why did we get residency? The main reason to rush it is that we want to buy a used car and register it under our name (article on how to do that here). We can also buy land as foreigners on a tourist visa, but residency will make the process easier for us. We will also be able to have local bank accounts with our residency. Also, our pets are imported to Mexico and we are really living there so it just makes sense. I also will file FEIE in the USA on my taxes as a resident of Mexico.

The temporary residency is for people who plan to stay longer than 180 days (6 months) and less than 4 years. If you want to stay longer than four years, you will want a permanent residency, but it’s easier to get the temporary first, then you can apply for permanent later (it’s much harder criteria to get the permanent resident visa for Mexico but if you had the temporary for 2+ years, then you are basically going to be approved for permanent later without meeting the other criteria). With this visa you can enter and exit Mexico as you like. NOTE: It is only given for one year at a time and needs renewed each year, up to 4 years.

Almost all information on visas for Mexico required buying ebooks or paying for the information. I wanted to try this on my own, and now that I have, I just wanted to share what I did. There is more detailed information online about different consulates, but this is just my experience and the exact steps I took.

Mexico Immigration Laws: How to Get Your Temporary Resident Visa for Mexico

There are two steps to the visa. The first is going for an interview at a consulate outside of Mexico, then the second step is finalizing that in Mexico. You do not have to interview in your home country – you could go to Belize if you want, Ben (being from the UK) could do it in the USA if he wanted. You can search for any Mexican consulate and go there for your interview BUT you will need to notarize your documents from your home country if you go to a consulate outside your country. For example, Ben needs to get his bank statements notarized in the UK to go to a meeting in the USA so he might as well just do it in England.

Mexico Visa Requirements

Step 1: the interview at the consulate

Which consulate to choose:

I am from Ohio and there is no consulate there, so I decided to go to Atlanta. The reason for that is that from Merida to Ohio, I flew through Atlanta. It was an easy process and the immigration interviewer there was very chill, so I recommend it. I am based in Merida so I flew with Southwest from Cancun Atlanta which saved some money but you can alternatively fly straight out of Merida. I took a bus from Merida to Cancun (about 4 hours) which I booked in person at the ADO bus station downtown. The bus from Merida to the Cancun airport doesn’t leave from the downtown CAME station, though, it leaves from the Fiesta Americana Hotel area (you’ll see it on Google maps) where there is an ADO office.

Atlanta airport is South of the city and the consulate is up in the Northeast. You’ll likely have to stay overnight as flights arrive in the evening, then you can make an appointment for the following morning. I wanted to stay near to the consulate so I wouldn’t hit traffic in the morning and decided on the Crowne Plaza Midtown. It is just 10 minutes from there to the consulate. You’ll have your interview in the morning, then you cannot get your passport until 4 pm so you can hang around that area and pick it up (I went everywhere via Uber and there are restaurants and cafe’s nearby). You could also ask for a late checkout and just go back to the hotel.

The hotel was fantastic and worked perfectly for location and budget. I paid $12 in an Uber pool to the hotel from the airport and then $4 to the consulate. There is an ATM in the hotel where you can take out USD to pay for your visa at the consulate. I was told they only take cash, however, it looked like they had a card reader to me. The hotel also has a cafe inside and yummy breakfast. I didn’t want to stress of going into downtown Atlanta, walking around trying to find coffee or an ATM so was glad to just do this at my hotel. The room was nice, bed was comfortable, and I had a view of the Skyline.

I got into Atlanta in the evening, ordered food, had a little spa sesh, and tried to relax. I was nervous for my interview the next morning, but turns out there was no reason to be. It was so easy and simple! I flew out the night of the interview, so one night is all that is necessary in Atlanta. It will be done in one day unless you have issues with your paperwork.

Paperwork needed for the interview & scheduling your interview

For Atlanta, you will start on this website but if you are not going to Atlanta, that’s okay just search “Mexican consulate _(name of the city)” and choose the website which starts with this: “consulmex.sre.gob.mx”, that will be the official one. This is the USA government website which helps you find a consulate near you, which you also might find helpful.

So, once I am on the Atlanta consulate website specifically (or whatever one you are on) you’ll want to select which visa you are trying to get and see what information that they say you need.

You’ll choose temporary residency (more than 180 days but less than 4 years). You, unfortunately, are not allowed to skip ahead to the permanent visa.

I emailed the Atlanta consulate ahead of time with questions to make sure I had everything I needed. They were awesome and the person I emailed, Sophia, is the same person who did my interview. This is the email for her: sgarciac@sre.gob.mx

Scheduling your interview:

You cannot schedule it too early. Actually, I had to wait until June 14th for the July appointments to open up. So wait to book your flight until you know you have the appointment set up. It’s easy. You can call them and arrange it or make the appointment online using this website. Just make a login and set up the appointment. I chose 11 am but the timing doesn’t matter too much as you cannot get the passport back until 4 pm. I was worried that if I did a late one like 3 pm, that I wouldn’t get it back the same day (even though they said I would get it back the same day).

What paperwork you need at your interview:

Once you click on the temporary visa it will show you exactly what you need. That is this page (click here). It’s honestly laid out very easily and you just need to decide which angle you are going to apply from.

These are the steps as outlined by the consulate:

1. Fill out the Mexico visa application form. (click here).
2. Complete the consular interview in person (outside of Mexico).
3. Valid passport or travel documents; original and one photocopy.
4. Submit one photo: passport size, visible face, no glasses, frontal view, in color, uncover face and white background. (I got my photo taken in Merida but recommend you go to the exact photo place outside of the INM and do the image that you’ll need for your follow up INM appointment as they require even more like shoulders must be covered and no jewelry, even earring studs – then you won’t have to do photos twice)
5. If the Foreigner is not a native of the country where the visa is requested, it is required that an original and photocopy of the documents are provided to prove migratory legal status. (Ben would have needed his UK documents notarized).
6. Payment of the visa fee. (it was $36 for me)
7. Submit one of the following assumptions: In conjunction with the requested conditions of stay, the visitor must submit an additional requirement of one of the following assumptions: Proof of Property in the country where visa is requested, economic solvency, invitation by a Mexican institution, scientific or educational research for work in Mexico, study in Mexico, relative of a Mexican national or resident in Mexico, frequent traveler, visitors in an adoption process; employee representative directed to give advice to a Mexican company, investor, owner of property in Mexico, and all the assumptions designated  by the Law.

So, number 7 is the most important. This one is where you need to read this page to see which one you fall under and can prove the paperwork needed to meet it. I chose A which is what most people choose.

a. Economic Solvency:

1. Original and photocopy of investments or bank accounts with a monthly average equivalent to five thousand days of minimumwage valid in Mexico City (aprox. $22,000 USdls.), during the last twelve months.

2. Original and photocopy of proof of employment or pension with monthly income free of tax equivalent of three hundred days of minimum wage in Mexico City (aprox. 1,300.00 USdls.), for the last six months.

I emailed the consulate to ask about this as I’m a freelancer and would be able to show my bank statement, but I would not be able to show proof of employment. They said having just number 1 was okay. Basically, they want to know you have money before you come to live in Mexico. I printed out 12 months of bank statements from Charles Schwab. She went through every single one. It’s a HUGE stack of paperwork. I also had letters from my top partners from my blog and proof of payments from work, but she didn’t need any of that. It was the shortest interview ever and I was approved, she took a horrible photo of me (lol), and then told me to come back at 4 pm to pick up my passport. I did, the visa was in there, and she told me I should go to the INM in Merida to finalize it and get my permit card.

Step one is the interview which gives you a piece of paper in your passport (the visa sticker). This is not the visa itself which is a “temporary permit card” made of plastic and you will not get that until you go back to Mexico to your local immigation office (INM) and finalize your process with finger prints, etc. You have 30 days to get to the INM after you enter Mexico and start the process.

Step 2: Finalizing the process at the INM to get your temporary permit card

When you get to Mexico, you’ll go to the INM within 30 days to finalize your visa. This is actually the hard part. You need to fill out an online form (the formato solicitud) and get two forms from the INM that are not online (the formato basico and the carte dolicitud canje). You’ll have to go to the payment page and fill out a pago de derechos and print it. Take that to th bank and make your payment there and bring that proof to the INM. You’ll then have to wait for an email that you can go back to the INM and make a fingerprint appointment. This can take a couple of weeks. Once you make the appointment, you’ll go in and do fingerprints and give them your photo (you can take this at a place just next to the INM, don’t wear white, no jewelry, they’ll know the size). Once this is submitted you’ll wait for approval.

At the time I did my visa, August of 2018, the visa cost was 3961 MXN. This could change, but when you do the form for payment, it will come up with the cost so you know what to take to the bank.

It sounds like a breeze, right? Well, the forms are in Spanish. The office workers speak only in Spanish. If you make even a tiny mistake on the form, you have to re-do it and start again. Many people take months going back and forth until they get it right which is fine if you have the time to do so. I didn’t! I have so many trips lined up and every time I leave while my visa is pending, I need an exit permit, so I really just wanted to do this right and get it done.

Read More: How to get an exit permit while your visa is pending

I hired Yucatan Transitional Services (YTS) who I have hired in the past to pick me and my dogs up at the airport when we moved here from Mexico. They are just a great team and when I looked at rates, there’s are half what other places charge. I had a lot going on and it was just an easy choice to say, okay, let’s let someone who does this literally every other day for hundreds of people do it so I don’t have to run back and forth to INM fixing mistakes. I found them through a Facebook group called Expats in the Yucatan which is full of expats here who help each other out with questions ranging from “has anyone seen Hormel chili at the grocery store?” to “I need a notario for a house I want to buy, any suggestions?”. I’ve been asking stuff in there a lot since I moved and find it really helpful.

If you want to hire someone, I recommend them highly. You can message them or email Erick at etgomezllanos@gmail.com. All their rates are on their Facebook page but it’ll be between $200-$300 (they cap it at $300). You can also do parts yourself and if you get stuck, reach out to them at that point. It doesn’t hurt to try – I just didn’t have the time (and to be honest, the patience). It’s affordable to get help and most people I met who did it themselves lived in Centro and walked to INM a few times a week sorting this out. I live in Norte and have things to do (like work!) and couldn’t be going to Centro in an Uber all the time to check on this. They do all of that. They go to the bank. You just show up on fingerprint day! Best decision I made!

Once you get approved you’ll get an email. In my case, Erick did, as he did my paperwork for me. Then you’ll finally go pick up your little plastic residency card (best feeling ever( and have a CURP number so you can buy a car, get on the national health insurance, and much more! I wish you the best of luck with the process, as I know how daunting it can be. I go into these things thinking “I can do it myself” but honestly, just let someone help you, lol, it’s much better that way so you can enjoy your move and get settled in!

PS: I had all these documents photographed but honestly it takes ages to black everything out in my photo editor and I don’t think it’s important to see the forms, they are linked :)

Getting Mexico Permanent Residency:

I will eventually do this. You can do it right away, and skip the temporary residency but I did not meet the requirements yet. The following are the requirements for which you need to meet one:

1. Have certain close family connections in Mexico
2. Apply for retirement status and prove they have sufficient monthly income (or substantial assets) to support themselves
3. Have 4 consecutive years of regular status as Temporary Resident
4. Have 2 consecutive years of regular status as Temporary Resident where that Temporary Visa was issued through marriage to a Mexican National or a foreign permanent resident
5. Be granted residency on humanitarian grounds or through political asylum.

Since one requirement is having 4 years of temporary residency, I may wait until my temporary runs out OR I might try for #2. I actually didn’t check into how much money you need each month for this, but most people in Merida told me it was difficult and they mostly only let retirees or those who bought land in Mexico already be approved for it.

NOTE: You cannot leave Mexico while your visa is being finalized. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months depending on which INM office you are at in Mexico. I had to leave which means that I needed to apply for an exit permit, which I have written a separate post about you can read here. 

Pin How to Get Your Temporary Resident Visa for Mexico for later:

The post How to Get Your Temporary Resident Visa for Mexico (Step by Step, Merida INM) first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post How to Get Your Temporary Resident Visa for Mexico (Step by Step, Merida INM) appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Literally the minute Ben and I got to Mexico, we wanted to have a car. Of course, Ubers and taxis are here in Merida but we just like to have our freedom. Buying a used car in Mexico as a foreigner is possible but it’s not like India where we lived prior, and we could just pay someone $600 cash for a beat up old car and drive off with the car (no worries about paperwork!).

Buying a Used Car in Mexico as a Foreigner

Here is what we found out straight away about buying a used car in Mexico: the only ones you’re going to find for $1000 and under are mostly the old beat up VW bugs you see everywhere. I’m not knocking it – I want one! I plan to buy a white one as a second car down the line just for fun. It reminds me of my Omni van in India! Used cars here are priced the same as the USA for the most part and you can use Kelley Blue Book to see what prices should be. If you want something in good condition and only 5 years old you’re looking at around $3,500-8,000 USD depending on what type of car you want.

The next thing that is important is that you can rock up and buy a car on a tourist visa, no problem… you can even get insurance to drive as a tourist without issue BUT you can’t register the car to your name until you have residency here, either temporary or permanent. You cannot even register the car while your temporary is pending.

Luckily, when you buy a used car in Mexico, the plates are usually good for a year so there is no rush to register the car in your name. You could, if you want to, buy the car right away and then go through the residency process, then once you’re a resident and have your little plastic card, you can register the car to your name. OR you can just rent until you’re a resident if you don’t like the idea of waiting to register.

99% of people I speak to say that you cannot get a car in Mexico in your name unless you are a resident, but I did read once that you can apply at the INM for the “CURP” number as a tourist, and get the car in your name. Others state they tried this and it failed. You could give it a go! Since I am getting residency, I didn’t do this, but if I were a tourist, I would certainly try it.

Now, if you buy a car as a tourist because you’re here just under 6 months and don’t get it registered to your name because the owner has the plates good for a year, that’s no problem but you will have issues selling it legally. So you might just eat that cost or try to have the previous owner help you re-sell it.

A note on renting in Mexico:

We rented through ACE / MEX Rent A Car and paid just $17/month turning down all the insurance they offer since my Chase Sapphire Reserve covers me in full. Most expats here will tell you that if you get in an accident you aren’t really covered and will go to jail because you don’t have Mexican liability insurance. You won’t because you get that insurance when you book. When you rent through Expedia, or whoever, it will say very clearly “750,000 MXN Mexican liability coverage included”. When you go to pick up the car, and they say you need to buy this, just show them that. They might lie, as they did to me, and say the legal limit is now 1,000,000 MXN, but they are lying and it’s not so just tell them you know the rules and it’s 750,000 MXN. Technically, all rental cars in Mexico are legally meant to come with this liability.

So, your credit card if you have insurance will cover your CDW (collision damage waiver). For your card to cover you, you have to TURN DOWN all insurance the rental place offers, or your card insurance is null and void. Simply ask your bank for a letter stating this, and stating you are covered, and for how much, and then show that to the rental office.

With the letter, we were fine and got the .47 cent a day rental. BUT they, of course, can just tell you to eff off if they don’t understand the situation or are mean. We found that to be true at Hertz, who told us that we had to buy insurance or couldn’t take the car. So, we left and booked on ACE. We did ACE/Mex Rent A Car three times now without issue in Merida near the airport.

Just know, they will try everything to get you to take the insurance. Friends who rent in Cancun never have this problem as they see more American tourists with credit cards like these and are used to looking at the letter and declining all insurance.

Okay, so moving on to buying a used car in Mexico as a foreigner…

The first thing you need to do is think about if you’re going to get residency here or not. You will need it to register the car in your name. If you don’t register it in your name, you could ask a trustworthy Mexican friend to register it in their name and you just get insurance as a driver. I’m told by my attorney this could mean if there was an accident, and you were reimbursed, that money would go to the person the car was registered to – so they do need to be someone you trust.

Ideally, you should just get residency here. If you are buying a car it’s likely you love Mexico and live here and residency isn’t too much of a hassle. I have a WHOLE post on it you can read about here which goes step by step into the process.

We started looking at cars on second-hand websites like:

• Vivanuncios
• Autos Yucatan
• Segunda Mano
• Mercado Libre
• Facebook Marketplace

You can also go buy from a dealership, but we figured those prices would be higher. You could test your luck, though! I think you’d get a little bit more security that way since they are meant to have already vetted the cars. We did look at some but there was usually only one car in our budget in each lot, and it was crap. Our budget was no more than 140,000 MXN or around $7,000.

We sent messages through those platforms and only about 5% of them got replies. This is mostly because they don’t remember to de-list cars that have sold. When people do call, you’ll likely forget which car they are calling about (as you’ll message a million) and they’ll likely speak only Spanish making the whole thing more confusing.

We would simply say in Spanish we don’t speak it well and can we WhatsApp or SMS so we can use Google Translate. We’d set up a meeting place (the McDonald’s near our house cuz duh, I need a cheeseburger after such an excursion, or their house) and go look at the car. You CAN take the car to a mechanic here in Mexico and that’s kind of normal – everyone does it and the owner shouldn’t mind. They all brough their cars to meet us at the mechanic after we had seen it once and then wanted to know if it was god. Thanks GOODNESS we did as one car we really wanted was total crap and the mechanic was like “this is a terrible car”. It would have been a scam and honestly, we didn’t see that coming, the guy was so normal and seemed honest.

Don’t rush the process. There are THOUSANDS of cars online. You can also just see them parked on streets with numbers to call. Call if you see one you like! We budgeted around $5,000 and there are lots of good deals in that range but in the end, we wanted an SUV and upped our budget. You can up it to $7,000 and get a 5-year-old SUV or you could get a one-year-old Chevy Aveo. It’s so hard to decide.

Things to keep in mind are that you will want a car that is “common” since it’s used and might need repairs down the line. I know that’s boring, but it’s smart.

Buying the car, getting the title, registering it, and paying

Paperwork for buying a used car in Mexico:

Once you find the car you like,  you need to make sure it has everything you need. First of all, don’t even bother looking at cars with plates outside of the state you are in (for us, Yucatan). It causes more of a headache, and although it’s possible we looked into this heavily as there was one we really liked and it’s just not worth the trouble.

So, once you find a car, get it checked by a mechanic, negotiate the price (based on what the mechanic says about the car), it’s time for the paperwork. You need to make sure the owner is the owner (aka it’s not stolen and the title is in their name), the plates are real, the VIN matches, taxes have been paid, there are no outstanding tickets, the “factura” is legit, and more. You can go to the SSP to get this checked out (the same place you can change over the registration.

We hired Yucatan Transitional Services to make sure it was all done right. We had immigration going on at the same time, a missing cat, and work. The guy we were buying from spoke only Spanish and was a little impatient about the sale, so we needed someone to help translating. It was SO WORTH it as we had issues getting the money and didn’t have time to check on paperwork. Erick from the YTS did the paperwork checks for us, talked with the owner so the owner had everything in order (a copy of his ID (signed), the original factura (aka title, signed), a letter that he no longer is responsible for the car that we both signed, and made sure to give us all the other paperwork he had for the car. Once you have the factura which is signed and the ID, you are good to go.

We actually used YTS mechanic they partner with to check our cars so we knew it was a trusted mechanic. It is 300 MXN to check out a car.

You can then take the car to the SSP to switch over to your name. The owner doesn’t have to go – although if you did your paperwork check there, you could check the paperwork, pay the owner, and switch it over right then. I can’t register it yet as I am not a resident yet (my last step of the process is still pending). But, I own the car and can go register my plates in a month or so. The plates are good on ours until 2019, and usually, when you get a car they are good until a year or so – you can keep using those plates and it’s not necessary to go register the car until they are expiring but I just want to because I just do!

Getting the money:

It’s not easy to get $7,000 in cash in Mexico as a foreigner that doesn’t have residency yet when you need it TODAY, lol. If you have some time, you can set up an account with Intercam bank who will let you even on a tourist visa, then you can transfer money supposedly without fees. We didn’t have time for that, so tried Western Union (the site was having tech problems, yippie).

Make sure to note that there are limits to how much you can pick up. Elektra limits pickups from 50,000 MXN per person per day. Others like Coopel allow only 25,000 MXN. Go just 2 pesos over, and you’re not getting that money. You’ll have to cancel the transaction which is a headache.

We ended up doing our max ATM withdraws on multiple cards each and asked him to wait a day for us to buy the car. We tried XOOM but that was a fail as they wanted to verify my identity and it would take 3-7 days (they are partners with PayPal and I had a horrible time with them, do not recommend). We then did worldremit which worked well but has a 25,000 MXN transfer limit, so we did 4 transactions through them to ourselves (2 to Ben and 2 to me). Two of them worked and the other two got held for verification, so we picked up 75,000 MXN that way at Elektra. Still short on day two, Western Union still wasn’t working and my WorldRemit account was blocked as was Ben’s, so my mom had to pull money from my bank in the USA, take the cash to Western Union and send it to us that way. It was just over the 25,000 MXN limit and we couldn’t go to Elektra again because they have a 50,000 MXN limit per person regardless of if it’s WU or Moneygram or whatever – so we went to Famsa bank that allowed 50,000 per person but didn’t know we were hitting up other places (lol, it was ridiculous) and got the remaining amount. Honestly, what a headache lol. My ATM card doesn’t charge fees thank goodness but all these transfer costs money and give bad exchange rates. Highly suggest getting a Mexican bank account set up ahead of time and transferring money in.

All in all, it was a hassle to get so much cash for us because we were unprepared and needed the car ASAP. Once you start looking for a car, go ahead and get the money so if you find one you can just buy it.

Getting Car Insurance in Mexico

Guess what? It’s not illegal to not have car insurance in Mexico. Can you believe that some people just don’t get it? Don’t be that person! I think it’s crazy. You can expect about 2,000 to 4,000 MXN for a used car per year as an insurance payment.

We went with SARCA insurance company who found us a policy – again, a partner of YTS that Erick helped us find. I did compare rates elsewhere and got some quotes from others that were recommended on Facebook, but theirs were the best + they gave us multiple quotes at once.

We met with Ricardo (yucataninsurance@gmail.com) after we chose the one we wanted and paid for it with a card at his office. It is done the same day you decide and takes just a minute then it’s live and you have your policy printed. Here, you ensure the car not the driver so now anyone can drive the car not just the policy owner.

So, next I just have to register the plates in my name once my residency goes through and that’s it!

Update: my residency went through and you can read how to become a resident in Mexico here. 

Pin tips on buying a used car in Mexico as a foreigner for later:

The post Buying a Used Car in Mexico as a Foreigner first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Buying a Used Car in Mexico as a Foreigner appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

This post is in a paid partnership with Rosetta Stone.

I love being an expat and being thrown into another culture, learning to live the way they do. I did this is Goa for over 5 years and it definitely taught me a lot about life! I’m now excited to do the same thing in my new home of Merida, which includes learning Spanish.

When I moved to India, I was keen to learn Hindi but quickly realized after a summer of classes it wasn’t necessary as everyone spoke English in Goa or the local language, Konkani. Moving to Merida, Mexico is completely different and I knew before moving I would have to learn Spanish – fluently.

Where I am now living is a totally Spanish-speaking, less touristy, and it’s important for me to learn the language as I don’t want to be seen as an outsider, want to show I can speak it as a sign of respect, and it just makes life easier. It was hard to communicate when I first visited.

We love showing friends around the Yucatan and taking our dogs out to the beach, and speaking to locals make it all so much easier.

We visited Merida in December when we looked into moving there. I knew right away I would need to brush up on my Spanish so I started re-learning it immediately after that trip. I took Spanish for 5 years in school but that was 10+ years ago and without using it after that, I definitely “lost” it. While some came back to mind, it was very elementary, I couldn’t get my point across, and I definitely couldn’t understand replies.

Practicing my Spanish in Chiriqui!

Why I chose Rosetta Stone for learning Spanish

I have known about Rosetta Stone for at least 10 years and it’s definitely the go-to language learning software I know the most, and trust the most (from knowing others, like my brother, who have learned using it). I downloaded a free app to try and learn, but it was tedious and I wasn’t moving forward at all yet the app told me I was 48% fluent (as if). I wanted to try my free options first – and it was sadly a bust.

In Merida, I thought it would be better as I could sign up for private classes. They offer quite affordable classes at the University but with my frequent travels, it was going to be impossible to join a class. Private tutors were too expensive.

With not just living in Mexico, but planning trips like the one I just did in Panama and others I have planned in my mind around Central and South America, I really wanted to be fluent in Spanish. Rosetta Stone was by far my best option. It wasn’t a tough choice since the free app was not working for me and Rosetta Stone is much cheaper than taking a class, doing online lessons, and I can move at my pace – which is fast. I wanted to breeze through things quickly, not be at the pace of an entire class or tutor’s curriculum. I actually had a lot buried in my brain and wanted to be able to fast-forward a bit.

You can buy it as a monthly subscription so fast learners can save money. It’s on your phone and you can choose to download it or use it online. I recommend the best value option, which is a 24-month plan at $7.49 a month (or a one-time payment of 179.76). This is if you use my link to sign up as I have a discount price for you!

It’s usually $10.38 a month (or a one-time payment of $249). This was much cheaper than private classes and I considered doing one year but thought that with one year costing $131.88, I’d rather do a bit more to have it for a full two years.

The app has an iOS rating of 4.8 out of 5 which over 23,000 people ranking it and it’s available in 24 languages. I love that you can gift people the app and it’s actually going to be a great present for some friends this Christmas!

While waiting for food to come or dining alone while traveling is the perfect time to practice, like here in Bocas Del Toro!

Using the Rosetta Stone app

I breezed through the beginning on the content as I knew a bit going into it, but it is a relief to go through it again (at a fast pace) so that I know I actually DO know what I think I know – it’s a little bit of confirmation rather than just skipping ahead to where I think I am in Spanish. You can skip ahead – I’m just kind of OCD and wanted to do the full course.

The app is like a game – it’s easy to get through, is fun, and it’s repetitiveness isn’t too much (there is a fine line between repeating enough to remember it, and taking it too far to where it gets boring).

The app has TruAccent technology so it can listen to you speak and give you a green light if you are saying things right. This is key because if you don’t speak with the accent correctly, locals are not going to understand you. Even some common words I thought I knew from school are actually said differently than I thought!

There are speaking, listening, and “game” activities. There are stories and phrasebooks and various learning tools in the app, outside of the lesson you are in. The Phrasebook is unique as it allows you to access the most common words used in real life situations. I love that I can download sections at a time to use it offline – but that I don’t have to download all the lessons in the app which would take up more space on my phone (that should instead be full of photos of my dogs and my travels).

With the app, I am relearning some of the core verbs and nouns that I once knew but not in a boring way of learning one verb, conjugating it, and being stuck on that – but instead it would be learning the verb in a sentence with new nouns, which photos showing up the version of the verb like “I” or “they”. This app is a 180 from the free app I tried and I got through a 28 part lesson in one night because it is addicting, similar to a video game.

These are the 20 units so you can see what topics are covered in what order:

While they recommend 15 minutes per day to get through it at a good pace and become fluent in a language, I am trying to get through a lot faster. Their website says that on average users spend 1.15 hours per week on the app, in case you want to know what is “normal”. I was worried moving fast that I wouldn’t retain but since I’m living in Mexico and traveling in Latin America, I’m using what I learn in my everyday life, just reiterating what I’ve learned that day in real life conversations.

As you go through, you’ll be inside a “unit” but inside are SO many lessons, usually around 30. It keeps your progress for you so you stay organized.

The hardest thing about another language for me is listening and being able to translate that. Most learning apps or classes speak slowly so you can understand, but the locals aren’t going to do that. Instead of listening and translating, Rosetta Stone (to me) encourages understanding the language being spoken without needing to translate it word for word, while they talk at the same pace a real person would – by using their Dynamic Immersion method which allows you to learn the language, not just the words. So necessary!

Downtime in Panama City, waiting for a taxi with my app out!

A look at the lessons

I think taking a look at the styles of learning is important in deciding if the app would work for you, so I took some screenshots of the various learning styles they use. I can’t really explain how the speaking and listening goes, but hopefully, these can give you a sneak peek.

So, as an example of how one little lesson might start. In this case I had already learned the word “la mujer” (woman). They were teaching “lleva” and “zapatos” now, which are first being introduced. Since you know “woman”, you can figure out the rest with the images.

Then, after you match that text, another sentence comes up. Again, we know “child” already in this case (el nino). So, we know that the girl must be wearing a shirt – so we just learned the rest of those. You’ll match all 4 images with text.

The next images will come up. This time they are throwing in numbers, groups and conjugating that verb. It picks up like this through lessons while teaching you new words as you go along. I love this style of learning.

For more information, I think this video is really helpful.

How it’s been going and what’s next

I started learning in June so it’s been going on all summer. I’m happy to say I feel confident talking to people in restaurants, asking for help finding something in a grocery store, talking to my taxi driver about not just directions but asking about life (where he’s from, if he’s married, etc) and getting inside scoop on cool secret places to go in Merida!

I now can have conversations like this confidently and not in a joking “I’m bad at Spanish way”. I don’t have to intro a conversation with “I’m really bad at Spanish but I’m trying to learn…”. I can just speak and they reply without it being a big deal. I’m not nervous to speak Spanish.

Right now, the biggest thing I need to learn is phrases that are used that don’t translate, more vocabulary, and more being able to understand others. I’m glad I took that app for 24 months so that I can now slow down a bit and pick up some vocabulary each day. I hope that in around six months I can say that I am MUCH more conversational and will be able to write a follow-up to this and eventually write a post about being fluent!

Learning a language as an expat is KEY to fitting in, but it’s also the biggest thing to make travels easier. I can’t express how important it is to know the basics before you travel somewhere, especially if they don’t speak English there but even if they do, to show respect and in return get respect.

If you want to try learning a language with Rosetta Stone, you can click here to see their monthly subscription rates for Spanish or you can go to their homepage to see what other languages catch your eye! If you want to give someone the “gift of learning”, a year of Rosetta Stone is literally the best gift ever.

Pin using Rosetta Stone for learning Spanish:

The post Expat in Mexico: My Journey Learning Spanish first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Expat in Mexico: My Journey Learning Spanish appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

I love when friends come to visit me as it gets me out exploring and playing a little bit of tourist. My friend Jules, from Goa, came to visit us a few weekends ago and we did a LOT over the weekend. On Friday, we made a pretty epic little day trip from Merida to Uxmal and I thought I’d share it with you in case you want to cover my tracks, as we stopped at a great look-out point and saw local handicrafts being made, saw Mayan ruins, swam in an empty cenote, and ate traditional food at a stunning ancient Hacienda.

It’s fantastic that if someone comes to visit for three days, one can be spent in culture at the ruins, haciendas, and cenote hopping, day two can be the beach, pink lakes, and flamingo spotting, then day three can be downtown Merida exploring the amazing architecture, local markets, and seeing shows. There is so much to take friends to do here!

Day Trip from Merida to Uxmal, Muna, Secret Cenote, and Hacienda Ochil

This trip is a very easy peasy one and doesn’t mean too much time in the car – about an hour out there and an hour back of actual driving. Luckily, there are SO many Mayan ruins, cenotes, and haciendas all over the Yucatan within a drive from Merida, so you have a lot of options. That can also mean TOO many options and it can be hard to narrow it down. Since I have unlimited time, I’m just trying to hit up as many places as I can and then eventually will be able to share my favorites. In this case, we chose Uxmal as they are the closest huge set of Mayan ruins to Merida. Many say they prefer these to the world wonder two hours away, Chichen Itza, which we visited last winter.

While reading up on this, I noticed there is a route PUUC RUTA, of the Pucc route. This goes to Uxmal on the same path but hits up more ruins, caves, and haciendas. You could certainly do this whole route in one day but for us, we found it would be a little too repetitive to keep seeing more sites all in one day and we’d rather drive back out – hitting up new lunch spots and cenotes each time.

We went to Muna lookout point where you can see the ruins from afar and see handicrafts being made. This is the highest point in the entire state – which is not very high ha! Yucatan is notoriously flat and low. From there, on to Uxmal. Next, to the Kankirixche cenote to swim, then lastly to lunch at Hacienda Ochil. I’ve mapped these all out for you below.

Visiting Uxmal Mayan Ruins from Merida on a Day Trip

When you first walk in, there are shops, snacks, and restrooms. Then you get your ticket and enter. Once you walk into the complex of the ruins, you’ll see straight away a huge pyramid – although small compared to Chichen Itza. As you walk around it and onward, you’ll find so much more to see – more ruins and the area where they played the ball games.

The price was 234 pesos per person, or around $12. It is a tiny bit less expensive if you are Mexican. I recommend hiring a guide here so you can learn about the history. You can stay as long as you like, but 1-2 hours would probably be the average. We went Friday afternoon and there were no crowds. We preferred Uxmal to Chichen Itza.

Stopping at Muna on the way out

You can avoid going to Muna as it’s an exit off the highway, but if you get off and go through Muna town it’s just about 5 minutes longer on your journey and you’ll go up and back down some winding roads. At the highest bit, is Muna lookout point. Online it looked like we’d see epic views of Uxmal, which is about a 10-minute drive further, but whoever had posted those must have had a serious zoom lens, as the ruins are a dot in the distance.

However, I recommend stopping here as it’s more about seeing the local handicrafts. I loved seeing the liquor, bees and honey (which is famous from Uxmal), the rain sticks (Jules bought us one as a present), and all the jewelry and carvings.

Cenote Kankirixche

On the way back home from Uxmal, there is stop on the main road for Hacienda Ochil – from there you can take a road toward Kankirixche cenote or you could go another way to a couple more cenotes. We chose this one on a whim. You can choose to either eat first then go to the cenote or swim then eat. We chose to swim first, then head back to the main road to eat. It’s just 10 minutes to the cenote.

You’ll see the “here” point on the map, but wonder “umm… where is it!?”. You need to drive a bit further and you’ll see on your left a dirt road. Take it about 5 minutes until a man is there asking for 30 pesos per person to access the cenote.

It doesn’t look like much:

But then once you look inside, it’s magical.

There were a few people there but they were leaving as we go there so we ended up with the whole thing on our own. It’s really incredible and better than the famous ones we visited near Tulum as it was so secluded. When you first look down it, it looks kind of dark but once you’re inside, it’s bright blue light. Cenotes are really interesting and were said to be created from the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs – the whole of Merida is on top of a cenote. You can read more about them here. Most people think of Yucatan when they hear cenote as most are here but you’ll find them in some other places like Belize, Austrailia, and even the USA in Roswell.

PS there are a ton of horse flies here and they hurt so much when they bite! They aren’t down in the cenote thankfully but you wouldn’t want to pack a lunch and hang out here – just swim and go. The toilets were clean, but no toilet seat just a squatting situation. You can change there.

Lunch at Hacienda Ochil

Hacienda Ochil is completely beautiful. Haciendas are from when the Spanish came to Yucatan and colonized it – they built these. They are basically mansions. Around the Yucatan, you can go to them as hotels, spas, weekend getaways, or just pop in for lunch. Many have their own cenotes. We didn’t go in the cenote here, but just ate lunch and wondered around.

Yucatan food is unique to this part of Mexico and that is due to the Mayan influence. You’ll have things like salbutes, panuchos, kibis, cochinita pibil, poc chuc, queso relleno, and more. Tacos, empanadas, tamales, and other things you find around the rest of Mexico have a Yucatan twist. Haciendas are a great place to try the local food – not that you have a choice and it’s typically all they will serve. That means no making it “gringo” style on a flour tortilla. It’s going to be the Yucatan style all the way.

The food here was very affordable and tasty. The fish (which is freshwater, not sure the type) was the best dish. From here, we were stuffed and exhausted so headed home which was about 50 minutes back into town. For this trip, we didn’t have to wake up early. We watched a world cup game and didn’t head out until around 1130. We were home by 6 pm. We had a glass of wine at lunch and took things slowly – so you can definitely do it quicker or longer and add in more stops.

Pin this day trip from Merida to Uxmal for later:

The post Day Trip from Merida to Uxmal, Muna Point, and an Amazing Cenote first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Day Trip from Merida to Uxmal, Muna Point, and an Amazing Cenote appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Lately, I’ve noticed in Facebook comments people are asking what it’s like being an expat in India compared to Mexico and if I can share a little bit about it. It’s really hard to compare two countries and I haven’t been living in Mexico that long but I want to write about this since you’re asking – so I’m giving it my best shot! I hope that this will give some insight into how my life has changed since moving from Goa to Merida and if you’re living in Goa considering the same, it will help you make a plan.

Being an Expat in India Compared to Mexico

Weather in Merida compared to Goa

Goa has a rainy season from June to September. Merida does as well! But, Goa’s monsoon is WAY more intense than the springtime rains that come to Merida. Unless you live on the coast in Progreso, you won’t really be bothered by the rains at all. It doesn’t rain for long and it passes quite fast.

I’m told May and the rainy season is “unbearable heat and humidity” but haven’t found that to be the case. It’s less hot than Goa’s April/May although hotter than Goa’s monsoon. I find it much less humid here compared to Goa.

In the season time which is October to March, it is clear sunny days every day in both places. Evenings get cool in December/Jan but overall it’s hot year round. Basically, the weather is quite similar with Goa being much more intense.

Below: Merida nearby beaches on the left, and Goa on the right.

Immigration in Merida compared to Goa

India immigration is a pain – requiring a lot of visa paperwork and to stay long-term, an employer to invite you. Even then, you have to do visa runs every six months. India makes it difficult to stay long-term unless you are part Indian. Now, they are making it even harder – some saying they will ask if you are paying taxes if you stay for six months on a business visa. Tourist visas for over 60 days are a long process to get, requiring you to mail your passport and fill in a lot of paperwork, plus they are expensive.

Mexico allows for tourists to come for six months for free. You can exit and re-enter after that. You can apply for residency so that you don’t have to exit even if you don’t work for a Mexican company and are instead self-employed or retired. Tourists can buy land here but not in India. Residents can get health care and other benefits in Mexico but not in India.

Food in Merida compared to Goa

Both Mexican food and Indian food are spicy. I find the Habenero a bit spicier than what I eat in India. The food isn’t really comparable – they are so different – but they both have their homecooked specialties and in the same way when you go to any local restaurant in Goa and they have the same 10 things on the menu (xacuti, prawn curry rice, rava fry), Merida restaurants have their 10 things (kibi, panucho, salbutes, tacos…)

Below: Mexican food left, Indian food right

Prices in Merida compared to Goa

You do get bang for your buck here in Merida. We paid the same price for rent in both places and in both places we had amazing houses that were on the highest rent scale. You can get a house rental here for just $150 a month if you really try, same as Goa although it’s rare and most people pay around $300-500 per month. You could pay over $1,000.

Housekeeping, groundskeepers, pool cleaners, etc are more expensive here. In Goa, you might pay $75 for someone to come a few hours every day for a month or to live with you for around $250 while in Merida, you’ll pay someone to come to your house and clean about $15 for a full day (once a week, comes to about $60 for the month) or maybe someone to live with you to help for around $500 a month. Pool cleaners seem to be around $5 per clean and groundskeepers about the same depending on how big your yard is.

Local food here at markets is as cheap as the food in Goa’s markets and local restaurants. Chain restaurants and cafes are comparable to Goa’s normal dinner places like Sakana or Baba Au Rhum. Merida has some luxury restaurants that are much more expensive than anything you’d find in Goa like a $100 steak.

For travelers, you can get a hostel in Merida for $7 while in Goa you can get one for as low as $4 but usually closer to $10. So it’s about the same.

Petrol seems to be about the same. Buses are a little more expensive. Groceries and such are about the same. Keep in mind, Goa is more expensive than other areas of India. If you live a western life in Goa with imported food and such, then you’ll find Merida very comparable.

Driving in Merida compared to Goa

The roads here are the other side of the road (right side). Cars are a mix of manual and automatic, while Goa is just manual. Roads here use proper rules with stop signs, stop lights, police directing traffic, and roundabouts where people follow the rules. In Goa, it’s much more relaxed, no stop signs, and people just kind of honk and go. Here, you have to follow the rules and you cannot speed.

There are police checkpoints in both places where you can be breathalized and searched for drugs or other illegal things and we have been multiple times in both places.

Religion in Merida compared to Goa

Funnily enough, they are both mostly Catholic!

above: Merida left, Goa right

Things to do in Merida compared to Goa

In Goa, mostly it is beaches and partying – maybe a little go-karting and going to the markets. Here in Merida, it’s beaches, cantinas, and markets. But, there is more to do in Merida since it’s a big city like city events, baseball games, tons of nearby tourist attractions, several malls and movie theatres, ballet, museums, shows, the symphony, etc.

Shopping/Western Stuff in Merida compared to Goa

Goa did end up getting a mall a couple of years ago with a Marks and Spencers and McDonald’s but mostly shopping consisted of VERY local markets of foreigners making clothes in upscale boutique shops. Mostly, I had to buy things in the USA I wanted to have in India, and bring them. For Merida, I can get it all here – literally every grocery item I want so far except grape jelly.

In Merida, there are 10 or so big malls with places like Zara, H&M, Starbucks, you name it – they really have everything. There are also shopping centers like Home Depot, OfficeMax, Sears, and all the big stores. I think I’ll do a whole post on this later and kind of sum them up.

For Western food, Goa had Dunkin Donuts, McDonald’s, and Subway as the big Western places. Merida has everything from Carl’s Jr to Texas Roadhouse.

Merida also has many boutique places similar to Goa that are cute curated shops, however when it comes to cute boutique hand-made clothing and homewares Goa definitely beats Merida.

Travel connections in Merida compared to Goa

Merida is an international airport with cheap flights to the USA and Latin America. You can take a $35 5-hour bus to Cancun and catch cheap flights all over like a $500 round-trip flight to London.

Goa does have some international flights but only through Doha, and charter flights to Russia. Mostly, you have to fly to Mumbai then catch an international flight which adds a lot of time to your travels waiting in airports for layovers. I would say Merida is more connected, however, if you want to get to Asia for Merida or Latin America from Goa, they are equally as challenging and long journeys.

Rent/home buying in Merida compared to Goa

As I mentioned, tourists can buy land in Mexico by setting up a trust with a bank here. It’s supposedly painless and you just hire a lawyer to help you out. In India, there is no way for a tourist to do this legally.

Tourists cannot legally buy a car and register it to their name in either country as a tourist. In Mexico, you can BUY the car but you cannot register it.

Renting in Goa and Merida have been similar for me: signing a lease with a notary or lawyer present.

In Goa, you cannot pay bills online as a foreigner with a foreign bank card. In Merida, you can. Actually you can take your lease to the electricity office in Merida as a tourist and get the bill changed to your name which allows you to prove your residence for other things you might want to do here like buying a new car.

Amenities in Merida compared to Goa

Many people have the same situation in both places where they hire people to help at their home to clean or do gardening.

There are people in both places that will help you with parking, pumping your gas, and other tasks – in India they are paid to do that and no one tips but in Merida you are meant to tip 5-10 pesos for this. Speaking of tips, Merida is a bigger tipping culture by far and when you pay on a card, it’s like the USA where you can choose what percent you want to give. In Goa, when you give 10% it’s really the max anyone would give and mostly just Americans who leave that. Many locals will not tip.

Healthcare & gym in Merida compared to Goa

Goa has loads of yoga classes and a few other ones like kick-boxing and Pilates. There are gyms as well – although many do not have A/C and are crowded.

In Merida, I would imagine the yoga is not as good but there are many gyms where you can get a private trainer very inexpensively. I am taking private pilates classes here on the reformer for the same price I took group classes in Goa on a mat.

There are country clubs here where you can join and do swimming or tennis and there is even a polo club. There are also random classes here like Zumba and Barre.

I found a fantastic masseuse to come to my house in Merida that is AMAZING but is $30 for an hour while in Goa I paid about $8.

Safety in Merida compared to Goa

Merida is said to be so safe that you can walk around any area at 4 am alone and not have a problem. I have found it to be incredibly safe so far and the locals have been nothing but friendly.

In Goa, I would not recommend going out drinking alone as a solo female traveler for SO many reasons which I’ve covered in this article about safety in Goa.

For Merida, I will never have to write such an article, as there just aren’t these kinds of issues.

I also find that the police in Merida are friendly and not out to “get you” whereas in Goa, they definitely were and were constantly taking bribes for no reason. In Merida, if you have a flat tire, you can expect the police to help you and of course, not take any money from you.

While Mexico has it’s own safety issues, they are cartel related and totally different from the issues in India, so impossible to compare. Merida and the state of Yucatan thankfully don’t have the cartel issues and this is a safe city and state.

People in Merida compared to Goa

I’ve always found people in Goa to be incredibly friendly. So far, that is the same here in Merida. I will say that Indians can be a little blunt – which I’ve shared about in stories in my This is India series before. Mexicans seem to be more polite and bubbly. Either way, they are really nice in both places. It’s too soon to compare. In Goa, of course, I encountered bad times with some people but I was there for 5 years. I haven’t been here long enough to have a bad encounter I don’t think.

Making friends in Merida compared to Goa

It took me a long time in Goa to find a group of girlfriends (who are now my best friends!). I don’t know if I’ll find that in Merida. Overall, Goa is FULL of young people and if you put yourself out there and party and go out, you’re going to make loads of friends. Merida is more digital nomads working online or retirees. There are meet-ups here for expats and it’s a very different vibe than in Goa. Let’s see how it goes!

Overall quality of Life in Merida compared to Goa

I guess it seems like I’m saying Merida is better – but I’m not. I’ve never said Goa was perfect or the best place to live but the lack of Western amenities and safe roads was always made up for with STUNNING sea views, amazing people and vibes, and just that “Goa Life” you can’t really imagine. Merida is a city, and of course has more “real life” vibes. I go to coffee shops to work. It’s just a totally different life – yet, there are empty stunning beaches here, too, and it’s a similar price point for most things here compared to Goa. I am loving living in Merida so far. It’s not that “hippie vibe” at all but it’s something new and I’m really enjoying be back in the real world for now. Of course, I miss Goa, and I think it’s going to be somewhere I go on long vacations every winter for probably the rest of my life!

For more India expat information, check out my This Is India series.

The post Being an Expat in India Compared to Mexico first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Being an Expat in India Compared to Mexico appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Time flies and it’s been a month since we moved from India on the 22nd May to come to Mexico. I know I haven’t really been sharing much, and I apologize although I’m sure you haven’t even noticed! My mom did, though, so that’s something ;)

Moving to Merida

I thought I’d just have a chat and tell you what we’ve been up to, how the move went, and what our new place is like here in Merida. I know I didn’t give much of a heads-up before we left then kind of fell off the face of the earth, which was a “bad blogger” of me to do. But, life definitely gets in the way sometimes.

The Actual Move

The move itself went pretty smooth – and actually as good as could be expected since we brought our 3 pets with us. We didn’t fly here together due to regulations with the pets so I got in a couple days before Ben. That gave me time to find the nearest OXXO and eat about 10 hotdogs (sorry, not sorry). The people working at OXXO probably said no dogs allowed since I took Shanti in with me – but my Spanish is still “muy mal” so I just smiled at them. Jk, sort of.

We stayed in a great Airbnb in Centro (the center of town). This is a gorgeous city with colorful colonial buildings from back when the Spanish were here. The little streets are so pretty and the many of the homes here are renovated architectural gems. They are really stunning. We stayed at this particular one for a week – they allowed pets which was great. It had a pool and was perfect. Then after a week, we moved into our 6 month rental in Norte (the North part of the city).

Our Neighborhood & House

At first, we thought it might have been a mistake going North as we really loved being in Centro, able to walk the dogs every morning to the park and walk to basically anywhere we wanted. It was really nice and convenient. It also got us out of the house a lot – in fact, I didn’t even have a chance to work or watch TV because we were always doing something fun in town. We ate local food all day and night and it was delicious! I could pop into the local markets and there is always some kind of festival going on.

But, we now love the North! It’s a $3 Uber into town 15 minutes if we want to go to Centro – but here we are also near where we do all our errands (Chedraui, Walmart, Sams Club, Costco, the Mall, you name it…) and we live within a 5 minute walk to all of these places I should not be going to Dairy Queen, Krispy Cream, TGIF, McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr. The list goes on and on. Luckily, there are also loads of Yucatan style food places around here like little Pastor places and we get our fill of tacos.

It’s really safe and I can walk around any time of day here. We can walk the dogs around the neighborhood and haven’t had any encounters with stray dogs (which is great since in Goa it was impossible to walk our dogs due to that, and dogfights ensuing).

We actually live across the street from the best movie theater in Merida. They give you a blanket to take to your giant reclining leather seats. When you want food, you just hit the button on your seat and they take your order – 2 tickets on Wednesdays (their 2 for 1 day) is 140 pesos ($7). I actually went to see Amy Schumer’s new movie by myself, lol. I don’t exactly have friends yet!

This is at Local 59, in centro, really tasty brunch

Our house is AMAZING. I already shared an album of photos on Facebook you can click here to see but I’ll put a couple more below. I said the rent on Facebook so might as well repeat it here. It’s 21,000 MXN per month. This is a high rent for Merida but this is a kick-ass house. That’s around $1,050. It includes a weekly housekeeper, biweekly groundskeeper, and pool cleaner. Like India, here, you have a lot of staff to help take care of your home, although most people here have a housekeeper weekly or biweekly come the entire day, while in India, they have someone come daily for a few hours.

mi casa!

we have papaya and bananas plus the neighbors oranges fall onto our side :)

We have had to buy some things when we moved in, like a TV, which Ben has been dying to get for years. We also stocked up our pantry and such – so spent a big amount at Sam’s Club but are finally all settled in. It’s literally 100% like being in the states here – it’s so modern, it’s so clean, it’s so just orderly and you can get anything you need.

It’s funny because on Facebook groups for expats here, I joined months back just to see what people complained about. I expected to face so many challenges plus according to them, basically, nothing we are used to in the USA is found here. I have found that to be totally not the case. So far, I haven’t been able to find a Swiffer but found a decent replacement, grape jelly (but maybe that’s for the best), and an affordable quality pool float (why are they a million dollars here!? – but I got one from Amazon USA).

Here is a random shot of the groceries you can get in Merida:

TIP: Moving to Merida? You can use Amazon USA to order things here. Some items are kind of novelty here: Kitchenaid mixer ($700 USD), pool floats (swear to god, $200 online), steam mop ($300)… and for example, I saw the steam mop I wanted on Amazon USA (not the Mexican site) for $50. If you sort by international deliveries with Amazon Global, you can have them deliver and pay the customs upfront. I paid $30 for shipping and customs on the mop. I also got two pool floats ($35 in total and one’s a donut with a bite out of it, so cute). It all came fine and on time. Basically, if the customs is more than they think, they take the hit. If it’s less, you get refunded. AND $75 was still a hell of a lot cheaper than a steam mop purchase in Mexico. By the way, I’m so domesticated now that I use a steam mop.

What We’ve Been Doing

We have been totally re-energized moving here. We wake up early, walk the dogs, I make smoothies (seriously), and we usually work in the mornings. I lounge in the pool a bit. We eat normal lunch food like turkey sandwiches (you can get all the normal lunch food here!). We cook more. I even bought a crock pot and make Pinterest recipes now. I baked cookies! It’s just so many things we didn’t do in Goa. We do go out to dinner a lot still.

Ben’s mom send my sunflowers for my birthday! They are my favorite flower and it was so nice – thanks, Alex!

some homemade meals – lasagna was yummy!

We tend to see a movie a week so far, haha. We go into town for drinks around 4 sometimes to see live music and bar hop on weeknights. When you drink at the cantinas, they give you free snacks. The more you drink, the better the snacks get – by the end of it, they’re bringing out free tacos! There’s always markets and cool stuff going on during the weekends, too, so we are usually out and about. We saw an awesome Beatles’ cover band and it’s just nice to have music other than Goa’s Psytrance.

We have tried TONS of popular restaurants here (for blog research, of course) and have been up to San Cristano, which is meant to be one of the best stretches of beach about 30 minutes from us. I found an awesome masseuse that comes to the house and a great nearby hair salon, Kate Miasik. You can get ALL the USA brand beauty products here as well. The mall has like Clinique, Mac, Bumble & Bumble, etc.

I started pilates class on the reformer which has been awesome and I love actually doing some exercise. Ben and I want to join a club near our house so we can join and play tennis. I might even take lessons because I SUCK at tennis, lol. There is SO much to do here. I’ve met up with some cool bloggers and girls I met on Facebook (sounds weird, but it’s kind of a great way to get out there and meet people). I’ve been cool people in bars and stayed in touch. We plan on seeing some baseball games here; the team is the Leon’s and Ben has never seen a baseball “match” as he calls them.

My friend Tia’s mom, Natti (you know, Natti’s Naturals in Goa?) just visited us from Tulum for the weekend so it was nice to already see a Goa face here. We went to IHOP, lol. Like in India how in Goa we were secluded and would go to Mumbai or Bangalore for some Western life, she did the same with coming from Tulum to Merida. How funny.

Learning Spanish

You MUST learn Spanish here. Wow, we are like idiots trying to do anything. I would say 90% of people we encounter don’t speak English. This is so different from India and something we took for granted in India. I luckily have some High School Spanish in the back of my brain, resurfacing. Ben, not so much. But, we are getting by.

I plan to start some classes with Spanish55 who offered me (as a blogger) and Ben each a free 1-hour private online class each month for 6 months. I don’t know what 6 hours can do over 6 months but we’ll see.

I plan on taking real classes here too, but really need to find a private tutor. The University is so cheap (like $120 for a semester) but I travel so much and would miss too many classes to take it seriously and I’m too OCD to take a class and not try to get an A (and a gold star sticker if they are giving those out).

Since everyone speaks Spanish, we are learning a bit each and every day. Sentences will come out of my mouth that afterward, I think: “holy cow, how did I know to say that!?” Other times, we struggle for 20 minutes (no exaggeration) trying to order a pizza over the phone.

Is the Heat Really Too Much to Handle?

We were told the heat was unbearable and the humidity is something no one can stand. We were also told mosquitos would eat us alive and ants would run our kitchen. While it is hot, it’s nothing like Goa in April/May. It’s 100% normal bearable heat – honestly, nothing more than an Ohio summer. The humidity has been under 60% so far while it’s 100% in Goa and even, I kid you not, Ohio! So, I haven’t found it too hot. In Centro, the ants and mosquitos are annoying but outside of there, it’s totally fine. I haven’t gotten one bite (which is good, because they do carry Zika here) and I haven’t seen any ants in the kitchen. Kitkat kills cockroaches for us – but other than that, no critters here!

It’s rainy season, but it’s rained maybe two nights and during the day a few times, lasting just an hour or so each time. Very light drizzles, not huge storms and downpours. Coming from years of Goa’s monsoon, this is nothing. In fact, we miss the monsoon!

We have had one power outage but it wasn’t due to a storm, it was some technical issue with a neighbor that took the street out. Mostly, the issues we had in Goa as expats living in a small village don’t exist here.

Instead, we have the issue of this being a city that follows laws and you cannot just bribe here and there like in Goa (driving cars without papers and license), etc.

Here, we need to do things properly and we need to learn Spanish!

Becoming Residents & Driving

So, we do have a rental car here and we cannot buy and register a used car until we are residents.

If you search online for a car rental in Merida, Cancun, and many other places in Mexico, you’ll find them for 50 cents a day. We booked for $7 for two weeks when we got here. Basically, everyone under the sun will say “it’s not real, you have to pay more when you get there, you’re an idiot thinking it’s real!” But, you guys – it’s real.

We’ve done it three times now. You just have to book through Kayak, or lately directly through Mex Rentacar and make sure it says the rental includes the 750,000 MXN liability insurance which is mandatory in Mexico and IS included on all rentals (but you need to make sure it’s listed in your booking or they try to upsell you on it). They also tried to lie at first and say the law is 1,000,000 MXN but after asking him to prove that to me, he dropped it.

Next is the CDW insurance – if your credit card at home covers you, you just need a letter from your bank’s benefits team saying so. You can then decline all coverage. I am with Chase Sapphire Reserve and they gave me one in two minutes when I asked. I put Ben on my credit card as an authorized user, so he has his own card with his name on it, and he can rent then as the primary driver and is covered with my insurance. They will try to make you take the car rental insurance but you have to be firm. Europcar basically told us no way, we had to take it, so we just left and rebooked at Mex Rentar. You just reserve online and don’t pay until you get there so it’s fine.

Anway, we did it 3 times, no issues but it’s annoying so we cannot wait to buy a car. To do so, we have to become residents. I’ll be writing a whole blog post about becoming residents. I have an appointment in Atlanta in July at the Mexican Consolute (none in Ohio) and will stop there on my way to Ohio with Ben. Even he could have done his interview there, IF he had his paperwork notarized in UK, which we didn’t do. It’s harder to get approved being self-employed so I’m a little nervous but will just take literally way too much extra bank paperwork and such to make sure I’m prepared.

Once we get the interview done, we have 30 days to register this in Mexico at the immigration office to actually be temporary residents (which is apparently a pain). In a year, we have to renew, and can renew up to 4 years. Then, if we stay on, we have to transfer and apply to permanent residency. Then we can pay into the government healthcare and other benefits.

As temporary residents, we can take that and a bill in our name to go register a car we’ve bought and got insurance for it. We can also get health insurance here in Mexico rather than paying expat health insurance which is really expensive.

The information online about residency makes it seem incredibly hard and like you need to hire a third party to do it. So, I guess we will find out as I’m going to try on my own and see if I can make it work.

What We Miss From India

Our friends! My bestie, Tia, is about to have a baby and my other BFF, Amy, and her daughter Ava I really miss. Priyanka and Rishab and all the people we always hang out with are so missed! We miss Babu and Leena, Ryance, and Sonu, literally everyone. I miss puppy, the little pup that hung out at our house and we talked Sonu into adopting – they are BFF’s now so it’s perfect.

We miss the monsoon and our home, and the chilled out jungle vibes. I love Goa and I’ll miss it a lot. I will be back there soon. I JUST updated the Goa ebook with all the changes that happened last season (this winter) and it’s got loads of new information in it. Nothing happens during the monsoon (and if it did I would see from all the friends of mine on Facebook who post about everything new in Goa!) but when I go back, I’ll check out any new places that open for next season and add them, too.

What’s Next | Building a House

We hope to build a house here! We have looked at land but have not had much time to really dive into this. I think in August we will get more time to really think about. It’s likely we will extend this house rental to a year instead of six months.

What’s going on with the blog? Are you even traveling anymore!?

I am still blogging and traveling! Not only that, but I have loads of trips and projects lined up that I cannot wait to share. But, this post is already far too long, so I’ll put it in a post for Monday. Stay tuned!

The post Update: One Month After Moving to Merida first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Update: One Month After Moving to Merida appeared first on Hippie In Heels.

Looking for a cute affordable place to stay in Merida? We were, too! Airbnb in Merida is a great option. We came to Merida for two weeks and booked one hotel ahead of time for three nights when we arrived, the from there we winged it. We bounced around sometimes booking Airbnb’s the day off with the “instant book” option. I LOVED the unique boutique hotels here but loved the Airbnb’s in Merida even more. I’ll share exactly where we stayed, some that I loved but were booked up, and save you the research time.

If you sign up for a new account with Airbnb, you can use this link to get $40 off your first booking. If you already have an account, maybe your travel buddy doesn’t and you can book under their new account to save the money. I believe it’s only on bookings over $75, but they change their benefits and rules every few months.

Airbnb in Merida: Cool, Cute, Affordable Airbnb’s in Merida + Some Unique Hotel Options

Why do I love Airbnb? I love having a whole house to myself, seeing how people there live (design-wise, and just feeling more a part of local life), being able to cook something, most of them have a pool to chill at all alone in Merida, and you get a little more luxury for your dollar if you know how to look! I’ve used Airbnb in England, Ireland, USA, Mexico, India, and more! In Merida, it’s all about staying in restored colonials – nothing better!

Rates here are so affordable that you can have a whole house to yourself for cheaper than a night at a hotel, and if you are traveling with a group you can get a huge mansion for like $20/person.

1. Casa Monarca

This is the first Airbnb in Merida we stayed at – we booked two nights but then wanted to stay longer. Unfortunately, it was already booked up. I will definitely stay here again if I visit Merida again (which I plan to). This is owned by a couple who seem really nice and have done the BEST job restoring this old colonial house into a modern mansion. They kept so many of the original tiles and Merida style design.

This house has a bedroom upstairs with a full bath, and a second bedroom which is dettached as a guest room in the back, also with a full bath. It’s all pure luxury. There is a pool, garden, and hammock outside. The kitchen was perfect and had everything we needed to cook and the downstairs sofa and bed were SO soft and comfortable. This one does not make you pay the electricity bill like many Merida Airbnb’s do (they read the meter and charge what you use). You can use Uber and pay about $2 to get anywhere from this location and you can easily walk to most popular restaurants and bars instead. Parking is on the street like almost all properties in Merida.

Click here to book or save Casa Monarca. At the time I booked, it was $91 per night. The place holds 4 people, so that would be $25/night per person if you had a group. What a steal!

2. Casa de Colores, Santiago

ignore my Carl’s Jr, lol

What a place! This is a 4-bedroom casa that we splurged out even though we were only two people. It was just so beautiful and for $166 a night, how wild you can have a whole mansion to yourself with a huge pool. The way this place has been restored is so stylish; it’s the coolest Airbnb I’ve stayed at. We just stayed a night, but typically they do have a two-night minimum. You’ll see a lot of the nicer Airbnb’s do, although sometimes the owner will make an exception.

Parking is on the street, but it’s a quiet area and there were tons of spaces. The road was nearly empty. You can walk to some cool places here; Santiago is a great neighborhood. I think the photos tell you everything about this place! The master bedroom as a jacuzzi and private garden outside.

Click here to book Casa de Colores. At the time I booked it was $166 per night. This place is for 10 people (one room has two double beds), so that would be just $16 per person if you filled the rooms.

3. Casa de Luz

We stayed here three nights when we first arrived and if it wasn’t booked, we would have stayed longer. I wrote a full review here. This is on booking sites and Airbnb, like many boutique hotels in Merida. The room we stayed in was lower level with its own balcony by the pool. The design of this place is a little more simple, not super upscale and is a hotel as well. You will have a key to the front door and to the room. You don’t have a whole house here.

Click here to book Casa de Luz. At the time of booking it was $120 per night.

4. La Casita of Maison Azul

OMG – beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful one in all of Merida! It’s a one bedroom house which is separated but in the same complex as the owner’s main house. The pool separates them, but they are not always home and when they are gone they rent that out as well, so you sort of have the place to yourself. This place is beautiful and romantic. I cannot get over how beautiful it is!

Click here to book Casita of Maison Azul. This is around $100 per night and breakfast is included and cooked for you by the host.

5. Casa Naranja

While we love the luxe life with Airbnb, we couldn’t splurge every night especially when it was one days that we wouldn’t even get to enjoy the Airbnb and just needed a place to sleep. This is the most affordable option we found that was still cute and had what was necessary. It’s a one bedroom near Santiago Park (so walkable to many places). It has parking out front, WiFi, and surprisingly, considering the low price, A/C is included.

Click here to book Casa Naranja. It is around $25 per night and you have the place to yourself.

6. Casa Esmeralda

The design of this is basically how I picture my future house! I’m obsessed. It’s a “chic, airy, garden escape”. It’s a redone colonial with two bedrooms and the most amazing garden I’ve ever seen which surrounds a massive swimming pool. The place is mostly white with big pops of color and has kept it’s Yucatan-style. It has WiFi and you can walk to the city in 20 minutes or just Uber.

Click here to book Esmeralda. It is currently $132 per night. You get the entire house which fits up to 6 guests, making this place cheaper than a hostel once you split up the cost, at $22 per night per person.

These Airbnb’s in Merida just scrape the surface and I was limited by my short time there of being able to check out more. I stayed in some hotels, too while I was in Merida. If you want a hotel, I can recommend Hotel Hacienda Merida. Rates are around $80/night and the rooms are lush with fluffy beds, romantic feel, robes, and really nice toiletries. The bar and pool are awesome and it’s right next to Saint Lucia square. Book on Hotelscombined to save, since they compare rates from Expedia, Booking.com, and all the rest.

Some photos of the hotel mentioned:

For more insane Airbnb’s in Merida, put your dates in on this page and see what is available while you are there.

It’s amazing what you can find. If you’re traveling with just one person, you’ll find amazing entire houses cheaper than a hotel and if you have a group, you can stay at the most kickass mansion cheaper than each of you would spend at a hostel. Remember to use my link to sign up to Airbnb to get $40 off your first booking.

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The post Airbnb in Merida, Mexico: The Cutest Merida Airbnb’s + Unique Merida Hotels first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

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Ben and I spent about two weeks in Merida Mexico in November of 2017 before deciding to move here which we did in May of 2018. While I haven’t been there long enough to tell you everything about the city (I’m working on it and will be posting more soon), I was there long enough to help you guys with your future trip to Merida, so I put together this little Merida Mexico travel guide in case you are coming for a visit.

If you want a perfect day trip from Merida, Mexico, check out this post which will take you to a secluded cenote, beautiful hacienda, to see local handicrafts be made, and to Mayan ruins.

A Little Merida Mexico Travel Guide

Amazing architecture and colorful buildings all around!

Santa Lucia Square

The daily city tour bus that leaves from Santa Lucia square, which is in Spanish only

Christmas in Merida!

Nearby beaches, on the gulf side, which you can reach within 30 minutes from the city

Can’t get enough of the colorful buildings and tiles called “pasta tiles”

Before you go to Merida Mexico

• Passport & Visa – You do need a passport, but as an American, I did not need a visa. A tourist visa for Americans and UK citizens is 180 days. You can check on iVisa to see if your nationality needs a visa.
• Health insurance – From what I’ve read medical care is fairly cheap in Mexico, but as always I recommend getting health insurance and you can get a quote here from my favorite company, which is also what Lonely Planet and Frommer’s recommend.
• WiFi – Merida has public WiFi which you can connect to and it will remember and reconnect you when you are in those areas. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. I had a WiFi device and Ben had a local SIM card, so we were covered. Almost all restaurants have WiFi there.
• Flights – We came from India which isn’t that helpful to most people reading this. From the USA, flights to Cancun are usually cheaper than directly into Merida and you can rent a car or take a local bus to get to Merida from Cancun. But, you can also fly straight into Merida which is better. I use Kiwi.com to get the best deals.
• Rental Car – From Cancun, we drove to Merida. We also went to Chichen Itza and Tulum. There are barely any gas stations on the highway, FYI. You don’t need a car in Merida, according to most expats there, but we used our car multiple times a day and I could not have been comfortable there without it as we went all over the city, to the beaches, etc and like to have our own transport, not bothering with local buses. For good deals search on Rentalcars.com because they search all the car rental companies and it saves time and money. Keep in mind, you need to get pesos before you leave the airport because there are tolls on the highway which are actually expensive (like $15 in total).
• Uber – There is Uber in Merida! It’s very cheap and they are reliable. Most did not speak English but it wasn’t a problem for us to get anywhere. It’s all in the app!
• Language – Although it is mostly Spanish-speaking, there are some Mayan-speaking people, too. Most people we met did not speak English and my Elementary style Spanish was incredibly helpful. If you stayed here long-term, you would have to learn some Spanish. Makes me realize we take India for granted since everyone here speaks English.
• Money – You should take out pesos from an ATM when you arrive. Right now it’s about 18 or 19 pesos to the dollar, which is a really good exchange rate. I use Charles Schwab so I have no ATM fees. Some ATM’s will give out USD, but I think using pesos is easier. Here are some tips for handling money abroad.
• Day Trips from Merida – Celestun to see the flamingos, Los Colorados for the pink lake, Chichen Itza and Uxmal for Mayan ruins, and Even Tulum could be day trips. Check out what each one is and tour options by clicking each link. We had a rental car and the internet so drove ourselves. Celestun and the ruins are 1.5 hours away but Los Colorados and Tulum are 3 hours away.
• Moving to Merida – I have a detailed article about how to move to Mexico, in particular, Merida from getting a car, finding long-term rentals, getting a license, residency, and more. Read it here.
• Living in Merida updates – I have a one month update of living here and a six-month update you can check out if you’re considering the move.

Where to stay in Merida Mexico

We stayed in a handful of Airbnb’s and three different hotels. We kind of bounced around because it was fun to see all the haciendas and colonial homes. I am obsessed with the old colonial houses here and wanted to stay in as many as I could!

I wrote an article about the many Airbnb’s in Merida that we stayed at. I think renting a car and using Airbnb is the best way to just get the feel of a city and have some freedom – and not feel like a tourist. Check out that article to see incredible Airbnb’s that will not break the budget – some are SO cheap.

We also stayed at a few hotels. We didn’t book anything until the day of and just took what we could get sometimes. When we first showed up we stayed at a relaxing one called Luz En Yucatan (review here), later we stayed at an amazing one called Hotel Hacienda Merida. We also stayed at a really horrible huge hotel because it was last-minute and I won’t even mention it, lol.

Where to eat in Merida Mexico

Below are the restaurants I ate at when I first visited Merida, but since then I’ve been living here and have tried so many more, 50+, and I wrote a summary of the best ones in this article the best restuarants in Merida which you’ll definitely want to check out.

Eating is basically the best thing to do in Merida and I planned entire days around what I was going to eat, which I’m sure doesn’t come as a surprise.

When we arrived, we stayed near Santa Lucia square which has a lot of great cafes and restaurants around. Santa Ana square is also popular, and then you have Paseo Montejo which has a lot of restaurants and bars (a little more upscale). But you can stay in “centro” and walk to all these places plus Uber is in Merida so you can hitch a ride just about anywhere in centro for $2 and to downtown areas like Walmart, Malls, etc for around $5.

Since living here for half a year, I have tried at least 50 restaurants and will write a new post soon with my favorites. Until then, here are some around centro that I think tourists will most likely want to visit.

Bengali Kaffeehaus, Merida Mexico

This was told to me from a friend and I came here for a quick coffee but ended up staying for two hours chatting with a woman, Penelope, who had lived in the Yucatan for years in Uxmal where there are more Mayan ruins and Jaguars! I loved hearing her thoughts on Merida and really enjoyed the coffee and vibe here. It’s a tiny place, though, so not somewhere I’d take a laptop and try to work.

La Chaya Maya, Merida Mexico

Give me Yucatan food all day, every day! I was there long enough to try some yummy things but La Chaya Maya was great and full of locals. People will say it’s a tourist trap, but locals do go so that’s up to you. Yucatan food is different from Mexican food outside the state because of the Mayan people. Pictured above is Sopa de Lima which has turkey in it and really does taste like lime and then panuchos which is kind of like a taco, also with turkey. If you want a DELICIOUS place, check out Chilakillers – delicious breakfast.

• Cochinita Pibil – slow roasted pork you can have on tacos or panuchos
• Chilaquiles – basically breakfast nachos
• Huevos Motuleños – breakfast dish, Mayan style
• Tacos, panuchos, solbutes – all kind of similar tacos, fried or unfried
• Queso Relleno – pork stuffed in edam cheese
• Burritos, quesadillas – basically like the tacos (lol) not like what you get in the USA
• Sopa de Lima – lime soup
• Churros & pancakes – street food desssert

There so are many more things, I haven’t even scraped the surface! At the places I mentioned, you might pay 200 pesos for your meal.

Los Trompos, Merida Mexico

This is a popular, cheap place to eat which has chains around town and does delivery which we also did one night at our Airbnb. I ordered the beef tacos and the buffalo ribs – I can’t believe that I never thought to put buffalo sauce on ribs!? They serve all this kind of stuff with ranch dressing which is SO KEY. The hot sauce at Trompos is sooo hot and so good. I live for habanero sauce!

This again is a touristy place, but popular all around. Other yummy places for tacos would be Lupitas in the Santiago market, Taquitos PM, and Pastor Suizo (who I get a takeaway from at least once a week).

Mercado 60, Merida Mexico

Love, love, love this place. It’s a food market near Santa Lucia. I had wings from the wing shop, and Ben had BBQ ribs from that BBQ shop. There was pizza, local food, craft beer, and a band playing cover music. It was a really nice vibe and affordable.

Hermana Rebuplica, Merida Mexico

I wish I could remember all the names of what we ate here. This is a popular place with two locations. We went to the one outside of Centro, where we had some friends nearby (thanks, Monica!). We ordered a lot because there were five of us. The top image is kibi, which is a local dish you’ve got to try. They are filled with a spiced pork. The sandwich is the conchita pubil I mentioned before, a slow-roasted BBQ pork.  This place is a fusion restaurant which serves modern Yucatan food. It has an upscale vibe but is affordable. They are known for their craft beer which was really good!

La Tratto, Merida Mexico

This is a popular Italian place in Santa Lucia. It’s pricey for food in Merida, but still like 200 pesos for a main. The pizza was good, burger was okay, and the ceasar salad was good, BUT this cheese dip WAS AMAZING. You’ll see it on the appetizers, it’s the only cheese dip. This is a chain retaurant around town and good if you’re missing Western food.

Mi Viejo Mohino, Merida Mexico

This was a recommendation from my hotel, near Santa Lucia which a good selection of breakfast items… and yes, this is breakfast if you can believe it! It is a mocha frappe and some kind of avocado sauce beef tacos. They are known for having cheap, tasty, diner like food. I went back for lunch another day and thought it wasn’t very good, though.

Apoala, Merida Mexico

This is meant to be the best Mexican with Oaxacan touch, located in the square. The reviews made it sound amazing but I was disappointed. It took so long for anyone to pay attention to us, take an order, get a bill, and the food was not that good (maybe I just didn’t like the style), plus is was really expensive compared to anywhere else we ate.

Casa Dominga, Merida Mexico

This is kind of like Mercado 60 (the same types of food) but more expensive and really rich looking people were hanging out here with some fancy cars outside at valet. We preferred Mercado 60 as it was more laid back, but the food here was good. We ate at the burrito stall.

Ek Chuah at Rosas Y Xocolate, Oliva Enoteca, Trattoria La Pasta, Blue Marlin, and La Pigua were all on the list but we ran out of time.

We also cooked at home in the Airbnb a couple times as we could get so many things at the grocery store here that we can’t have in India. It was nice to have a home-cooked meal with good ingredients!

We did not go out and party at all, but La Negrita was always recommended and we walked past one night to see it full with what looked like people waiting to get inside. Lucero del Alba and El Nuevo Tucho were also recommended by our hotel, Luz en Yucatan.

I originally, wrote this post months ago when we first visited, and now that I’ve been here a while, instead of updating this, I’m going to just do a new post where I put my favorite restaurants. Ben and I eat out at least 5 times a week between lunch and dinner, so I’ll get to work on this soon!

What to do in Merida Mexico

• Shop (tips below)
• Eat (tips above)
• Daily events on offer (listed below)
• Free tour of the city via bus leaving Palacio Municipal at 930 am
• Mayan World Museum of Merida (I went but it was closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and I don’t know if that’s always or just that week was unlucky)
• Walk Paseo Montejo for shops and food
• Other museums, zoos, and more on this map but I didn’t think they were worth the time, although I’m sure they are lovely – it’s up to you!

Where to shop in Merida Mexico

There are lots of little shops but most are not catered toward tourists and this is NOT Tulum, so don’t expect bohemian style homewares or clothing. I have to say I was bummed since I didn’t have time to shop in Tulum and the Merida shopping wasn’t great from what I could tell from looking and researching really hard.

The best thing is the weekly markets so I’ll share about those first. Merida is the “cultural” capital of the Americas and they have a lot of community stuff going on, which is awesome.

• Monday – 9 pm dance performance at Palacio Municipal 
• Tuesday – 830 pm live music at Santiago Park
• Wednesday – 9 pm show at Olimpo Cultural Center
• Thursday – 9 pm traditional performances at Santa Lucia Square
• Friday – 8 pm Mayan style ball game (like the ancient times) at Plaza Grande & the whole of Calle 60 is closed and there is a lot going on like street vendors, shopping, and live music.
• Saturday – Paseo de Montejo at Calle 47 a big market with music from 7-11 pm then later there is one from 9-1 am at Calle 60when the street closes
• Sunday – “Domingo in Merida” the biggest market is on Sunday in the main plaza all day. During the day, Santa Lucia has a market, too. Plaza Grande has a handicrafts market.

I did check out some of the most famous shops in Merida and loved meeting the shopkeepers.

Uxmal de Taxco

Just put this place on Google Maps, and you’ll be there without issue. It’s just near Santa Anna park on Calle 60 between 45 & 47. I met the owner, pictured above, who told me about the history or his family working with silver. They use 100% pure silver, which is quite unique!

Casa De Las Artesanias

This is a government co-op shop with fair fixed price so you do not negotiate here. They had all kinds of handmade souvenirs and I recommend coming here instead of a normal souvenir shop. From hot sauce to Christmas ornaments, there was something everyone would want to buy. It’s a VERY small shop and just a few shops down from the silver shop mentioned above.

Artesanias

On the corner of 55 and 60 is a little shop with more upscale souvenirs. They are unique and made in Mexico, but it was expensive.

I didn’t make it to Crafts from Chiapas State or El Studio which were both recommended to me, so if you have time check those out, too.

Furniture & Boutique Stores

If you want to splash out of more “Tulum” style stuff, you can visit Casa Tho, Jiwa, Coqui Coqui, Kukul, and the small shop inside of Catrin. Like with food, I’ve now been to so many more shops around Merida and will do a new post of the best shops I’ve found with images.

Day Trip from Merida Mexico #1: Celestun

Celestun is about an hour and half from Merida. It is known for the flamingos that hang out here. You cannot swim in the water where you do the boat tour as there are crocodiles in there! We didn’t go at the best time. We were told in a month (December) there would be 10x more flamingos than what we saw – but wow, even what we saw was amazing.

We spoke in Spanish with our boat driver and it was a lot of fun to learn new words and even understand why flamingos are pink (they eat a pink worm!). The water was red, too from a mineral in the mangroves this time of year.

When we left, we did a mangrove tunnel tour (really cool just a few minute detour). There was a rainbow that made it even better! It was 1400 pesos for the two of us from a random guy who walked up to us in the parking lot. The official ticket window was selling boat tours for 1600 pesos for two people.

You do have to do a tour to see the flamingos. You can drive down from Celestun park to the beach which is beautiful. Enjoy sunset there and eat some seafood! The road to Celestun does not have much in ways of food or gas, so fill up and keep in mind it is a very skinny, windy road, so don’t drive too fast!

Day Trip from Merida Mexico #2: Chichen Itza

One of the new wonders of the world is Chichen Itza, the largest Mayan ruins and the most famous. I loved visiting here! I wrote a whole article about what you need to know before you go. You can take a tour or rent a car. Go early!

Getting to Merida and Away

As mentioned, we flew into Cancun because it was so much cheaper. We were going to rent a car anyway so it was no issue for us. If you also choose to fly to Cancun and drive to Merida due to flight prices, then you might need an airport hotel the night before you fly back out. There are two options, the Courtyard Marriott and a Comfort Inn. The Courtyard Marriott isn’t much more expensive but is a much better hotel, so I recommend spending a bit more for it.

You’ll see that Uber is a headache in Cancun, similar to why Uber can’t come to Goa (violence and fighting with taxi Mafias). We left our rental car and had three Ubers cancel after messaging can we meet them further from the airport to avoid violence. We finally got an Uber but once reaching the hotel realized we weren’t going to be able to go out to dinner in Cancun by the beach like we planned. We were stuck at the hotel. Luckily, they have GOOD yet expensive food. We had nachos, a burger, and Ben had a steak that he actually loved.

Update: That is the ins and outs of Merida from my first visit here in November. This guide is great if you’re passing through but now that I’ve been here much longer, I’m getting to work on new posts that go way more in-depth into Merida! Stay tuned.

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The post A Little Merida Mexico Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Eat, Drink, and Shop first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

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Before coming to the Yucatan, we didn’t book anything ahead except our first few nights in Merida since we knew we wanted something central to get our bearing. In this Luz En Yucatan review, I’ll share why I chose this hotel and what you can expect here!

That’s a tray of complimentary booze in the main hall! Yes, really!

Luz En Yucatan Review, Merida, Yucatan

I love to look for boutique, unique properties when I travel and I found Luz En Yucatan just doing a Google search. The reviews were amazing and rooms started at just $57 which changes as the tourist season rises and falls.

You can click here to see current rates, read reviews, and book.

We stayed three nights and then checked out but a few days later we wanted to come back! It was sadly already booked up. It’s pretty popular so I recommend booking it well before your trip. The place is run by Tom and Donard who use to be Trek America guides. I loved hearing their stories and hearing about how they redid this hotel years ago. There were so many colonial style historical homes that were in shambles, and this was one of them! They put their heart into fixing it up, even sleeping on a mattress on the floor for 7 years while they did all the work.

The property is set up like many hotels here which is that it’s a home so kind of seems like a B&B. There is a key to the front door which you’ll be given, and then a key to your room. The pool is a shared space. All the amazing tiles you see are original from many years ago!

Our room was on the ground floor and had a little porch/balcony area. Above us was an apartment-style room that a family of 5 was staying in and even cooking dinner at to save some cash. They were actually so interesting, the Taylor family, and I told them they need to start a travel blog! They took their kids by rental car all over Mexico and were headed next to the USA. I loved hearing their stories. Actually, it’s another reason I love to stay in small boutique style hotels like this; so you can meet other travelers.

The room has everything you need – and keep in mind the low price. Our room had two beds which is pretty common in North America, TV, WiFi was great (I even streamed Hulu on a VPN and got my This Is Us fix), fridge for the many snacks I bought, and a big water dispenser. It also had A/C which you’ll find is not always the norm at boutique style hotels or Airbnb’s here. Electricity is expensive and many places are fan-only. Ben and I basically cannot live without A/C so definitely had to find a place that had it!

The bathroom was really nice – hot shower, full water pressure (again, something we didn’t find at all the places we stayed in Merida!), and they had some soap and shampoo dispensers in there.

They had someone clean the room every day and replace towels, the staff was really nice, and they even gave us a 4-page document with all their personal tips and recommendations for Merida. That made my job as a blogger WAY easier, lol.

The best thing about this place is the location. It’s just a minute walk from Saint Lucia park (Parque de Santa Lucia) which has some of the best restaurants in town in it and is near some awesome coffee shops and famous Yucatan lunch places. I hit them all up and will follow-up with a blog post soon about the best food I ate and the shops I checked out. You can take Uber in Merida without issue but while staying here we didn’t have to; we could walk everywhere.

It’s a great place because of a few reasons: It’s got the colonial charm Merida is famous for, it’s a great location, it’s got a family cozy feel, FREE booze, and the location couldn’t be better. I’d highly suggest staying here while you’re in Merida!

Click here to check rates and availability on HotelsCombined who compare all the top booking sites prices. Enjoy your stay!

The post Luz En Yucatan Review – Affordable Urban Retreat in Central Merida first appeared on Hippie In Heels.

The post Luz En Yucatan Review – Affordable Urban Retreat in Central Merida appeared first on Hippie In Heels.