Yucatan Peninsula (2016)

For our last trip in 2016, we decided to go to Mérida and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Airfare

We flew Delta Airlines from JFK to Mexico City and then took another flight on Aeromexico to Mérida. There are no direct flights to Mérida from NYC. If we had known this beforehand, we would have flown direct from New York City to Cancun and then taken the bus to Mérida — it is a much easier way to make this trip! The total for our tickets was $283.28, which at the time seemed like a good deal (after we purchased, there was a influx of cheap deals to Cancun). But we might have never visited Mérida without buying a ticket to go there!

This was also the last time we took advantage of my Delta Gold Medallion status. It expires in 2017 and because of the lack of business trips to DC in the past year (and because we pay as little as possible for plane tickets), I wasn’t able to renew my status.

Trip Planning Notes

• We knew that Mérida was inland and near the ruins, so we also wanted to spend time on the coast — hence 3 nights in Mérida, 2 nights in Cancun, and 1 final night back in Mérida.
• Even though I really wanted to visit Tulum, Christmas is the most expensive time to visit. Many places in Tulum were fully booked, and what was left were expensive eco-hotels that cost more than $300. We also didn’t want to stay at an all-inclusive, so many places in Playa del Carmen were out of the picture. We finally ended up with two nights at the Westin Cancun, thanks to our Starwood points (only 7,000 per night). I value SPG points at 2 cents a point (20,000 Starwood points = 25,000 airline miles, and I value a round-trip plane ticket costing 25,000 miles to be ~$400) so this was roughly $140 a night.
• We purposely did not dine outside of the hotel in Cancun, since I read that Cancun food is pretty expensive and overrated. We wanted to maximize beach time and relax as much as possible.

Itinerary

Day 1 / NYC and Mérida, Mexico

• Departed NYC @ 9:10am
• Arrived Mérida @ 5:36pm
• Checked into Hotel Jumalis
  • $81/night + tax for the Corazon room, 50% Paypal deposit, cash only for the balance
• Dinner @ Chaya Maya
  • We went to the one near Parque Santa Lucía
  • So… the internet is mixed about this restaurant. It is definitely a go-to-restaurant for Yucatan food. But it is really crowded (we waited for 40 minutes on Christmas evening), seems pretty touristy, and wasn’t the best Yucatan food we ate during the trip — although it wasn’t as bad as we had been led to expect!
  • We ordered the tamal colado (which is sort of a really soft, cornmeal pudding-like tamale) and the los cuatro yucas. The los cuatro yucas included the cochinita pibil, pavo en relleno negro, queso relleno, and pavo en pipián, served with corn tortillas that women in front were making. It was a good way to try all four Yucactan specialities — and our favorite was the relleno negro.

Day 2 / Mérida, Mexico

• Walked around Mérida
  • Palacio Municipal: Go upstairs and you’ll get a nice view of the plaza below
  • Mercado Lucas de Galvéz: There is A LOT to see at this gigantic market from produce to fish to random products, so take the time to explore
• Lunch
  • Chicken Itza: The rotisserie chicken here is very delicious and cheap! We got there around noon, but someone on Chowhound said that they sell out very quickly, so we wouldn’t recommend going there any later.
  • Platos Rotos: This place has great lunch choices written on a chalkboard each day.
• Walked down Paseo de Montejo and tried the sorbet @ Dulceria y Sorbeteria Colon
  • There is another location of this chain near Palacio Municipal
  • The best flavors we tried were coconut and peach. We also tried corn and guava and both were not good (the corn tasted very sweet with frozen corn inside).
• Happy Hour @ La Negrita Cantina
  • Awesome vibe!
  • This place is VERY BUSY. It also looks smaller when you enter than it really is. Once you get in, work your way to the back courtyard where you might hear a live band playing because the ambiance is really nice and you get to be outdoors. Hover as you watch people finishing their drinks, then grab a table and flag down a waiter to get your drinks/food.
  • Bars here give you free antojitos when you order — we got some spiced popcorn and a bowl of chicharrón
  • Look for their specials. Jess ordered a mojito and it was the special that night, so she was double-fisting.
  • Closes at 10 — much earlier than you’d think — and they run out of food earlier than that.
• Dinner @ La Reina Itzalana at Parque Santiago
  • The park has multiple restaurants, but this one was recommended and looked the busiest
  • We ordered panuchos (16 pesos) and nachos con pastor especial (which were DELICIOUS BUT GIGANTIC)
  • Here’s a photo of the menu
  • We read reviews that the flan is good, but we were far too full to order it
• Stayed @ Hotel Jumalis

Day 3 / Mérida and Uxmal, Mexico

• Rented a car from Budget at the Fiesta Americana
• Daytrip to Uxmal to visit the ruins (1.5 hour drive)
• Lunch @ The Pickled Onion
• Tried to visit Kabah, but ran out of time (if you do have time, we drove by and it looks like a really quick stop and far less touristed
• Dinner @ Apoala
  • Note that it was very difficult to reach Apoala to make a reservation. They do not like to pick up their phone and did not respond to any reservation requests via email. Our host even had trouble reaching them! We would recommend walking to Parque Santa Lucía and talking to them in person at night to make a reservation later in the week. We would also recommend eating outside.
• Stayed @ Hotel Jumalis

Day 4 / Mérida and Cancun, Mexico

• Departed on the 11am ADO bus from the Fiesta Americana ADO bus station to Cancun airport (Rob wrote a blog post about booking and taking the ADO bus from Mérida to Cancun).
• Arrived in Cancun Airport — took an Uber to our hotel
  • Uber is very contentious in Cancun and is not looked at favorably by the taxi industry (which have gigantic signs on the back that say Uber is illegal), so  you have to pretend that the Uber driver is your “friend” and sit up front
• Stayed @ Westin Cancun Resort & Spa
• Dinner @ Arrecifes
  • This is the nicest restaurant on the property
  • If you go, ask for an outdoor table because the breeze is pretty nice
  • You get 10% off your bill if you are an SPG member
  • The food was just okay and, frankly, hard to see in the darkness outside (I realize that I’m contradicting my recommendation of an outdoor table, but it was extremely difficult to see anything outside

Day 5 / Cancun, Mexico

• Spent a good part of the morning trying to get a new room at the Westin because, although it is non-smoking, someone across from us was smoking in their room and it completely stunk up their room. I will say that the majority of the staff and the manager weren’t happy, but there was one woman who helped resolve the issue and moved us to a higher room with a balcony. However, the room we were in was not renovated (versus the original room we were staying in).
• Breakfast @ El Palmar (in the hotel)
  • Since we used points, we did not have the option of all-inclusive or free breakfast. The buffet is pretty extensive, but we ended up just ordering a la carte and saving ourselves some money.
  • The website says El Palmar offers dinner, but we never saw anyone there during dinner.
• Beach time! You can order food and drinks on the Westin beach — just make sure you flag down one of the very hard-working waiters! We positioned ourselves in lounge chairs near the lifeguard station instead of staying in the rows of lounge chairs closer to the pool. The pizza is not very good, so don’t order it at the beach. Stick to easy-to-eat finger food.
• Dinner @ Sea & Stones (in the hotel)
  • This place is smaller than Arrecifes and El Palmar, so the waitstaff told us we needed a reservation. Since we hadn’t made one, we sat at the bar instead — but the guys working the bar were really nice and it ended up being a great experience. The bar only seats two people.
  • Their pizza is made in an oven on premises and tastes so much better than the pizza on the beach!

Day 6 / Cancun and Mérida, Mexico

• Hung out at the beach in the morning
• Lunch @ El Galeón Del Caribe (Pescadillas el Galeón)
  • A local lunch place up the road from the Westin Cancun
  • The food here was really good and really cheap
  • We had the fish tacos (they are deep fried), the garlic shrimp, and the best dish of all — the giant bowl of ceviche!
• Rode an Uber to Cancun airport and took the ADO bus back to Mérida
• Dinner @ Mercado 60
  • This is a food court of sorts with a really cool vibe, live music, and lots of different stalls
  • Hover over people and grab a seat whenever one becomes vacant
  • We had a mixed platter of typical Yucatan food at Ki’o’och near the back (highly recommended) as well as BBQ from another place (not recommended)
• Stayed @ 62nd Street Guest House
  • Closer to the center of Mérida than Hotel Jumalis — great location
  • Not as nice as Hotel Jumalis (a little more basic), but clean, and the owners are extremely friendly
  • We did spend a good deal of time trying to kill three mosquitos that were tormenting us in the room (Zika warning!)
  • $43/night, cash only

Day 7 / Mérida, Mexico

• Headed home early in the morning
• It took pretty much the entire day to get back
• Departed Mérida @ 8:48am
• Arrived JFK @ 8:38pm
• Rob fell asleep before midnight on New Years!

2