Day Trip to Izamal from Merida

Izamal is truly one of the hidden gems in the Yucatan area and is worth a visit if you have some time to spare. Izamal is one of the oldest and most important Mayan cities. Locals refer to it as a city of three cultures due to its blend of the pre-colonial, colonial, and modern eras.

The Mayan structures in Izamal were so massive that rather than destroy them, like the Spaniards often did, they built churches on top of them.

Getting there

From Merida, it’s about an hour or so by bus (70km). To reach Izamal, take the bus from Noreste station on Calle 67. Take the bus bound for Izamal of course. A one-way ticket will cost about 27 pesos. Buses leave hourly until 7:00pm.

The town is pretty small; you can easily get around on foot. From the bus station, just walk a few minutes and you’ll see the center of the town. There is absolutely no need to plan for Izamal, it’s that small.

The City of Yellow Walls

When I arrived I couldn’t help but notice every building was painted yellow. I later found out this was a local tradition. Speaking of tradition, there are a large number of Mayan people living here. In Izamal, you can hear many locals speak the Mayan language! Growing up, I had always heard of people speak of the Mayan people as if the entire group was extinct, and a part of me believed in that. Seeing full-blooded Mayan people speak their language was a beautiful thing to see.

El Atrio del Convento de Izamal monastery is the most popular landmark in this town and is worth a visit.

You’ll likely find people standing in front of the monastery asking you if you want a tour of the place for a small fee. A tour is not necessary, but seeing how cheap it was, I figured why not.

The inside is interesting, there aren’t many tourists here and the inside of the monastery is so quiet, it almost gives it a haunted feeling.

30 minutes is probably all you need for the monastery, anything over is probably too much.

After lunch I wandered around the town admiring the architecture and yellow covered walls. If you’re into photography, then you’ll love Izamal.

As I was wandering around, I found an old Mayan ruin nearby, just minutes away from the monastery actually.

The climb to the top wasn’t bad at all, a lot quicker than any other ruin you’ll find in Mexico.

From the top of the ruin you could oversee the city. The views were beautiful and to my surprise, it was empty.

I spent an hour watching the sunset while eating the other burrito I had taken to go. Not a bad way to end the day, not bad at all.

Izamal is one of my favorite cities in Mexico and one I highly recommend. This is Mexico off the beaten track for sure.