travel and stay in Merida yucatan
Top Beaches near Merida
Travel to Merida Mexico and discover some amazing beaches
While the Mexican Caribbean beaches in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum are considered the best Mexican beaches in the area, the Yucatan beaches all have a charm.
Although Merida is not on the beach, Puerto Progreso, a cruise port city, is just about 23 miles (36 km) and 30 minutes by car.
In this article, you’ll discover the Top 5 best beaches near Merida, Mexico, and what you need to know to visit them.
Puerto Progreso Beach – Closest Beach from Merida
Puerto Progreso is the closest beach from Merida (30 – 45 minutes away) and is popular for weekend trips among locals.
Progreso is a cruise port town, so there’re thousands more people than usual when a cruise dock. So check the cruise schedule to avoid bumping into big groups of tourists. Nevertheless, Progresso offers the perfect balance between a laidback, tranquil beach town with many tourist facilities.
Progreso has a large population of ex-pats from the U.S. and Canada living in Mexico. In addition, Progreso can be windy, making it popular among windsurfers, kitesurfers, and kiteboarders.
While in Progreso, we recommend the following:
Walk the Progreso Malecon: Stroll down the Malecon (walkway) to find a bite to eat, do souvenir shopping, and get a better feel for the town. If you are ready to relax on the beach, find your favorite spot and rent a shaded palapa with beach chairs for $100-200 pesos ($5-10USD) for the day.
Lounge at a Progreso Beach Clubs: The two best beach clubs in Progreso are Silcer Beach and El HaGuay.
Take Kiteboarding Lessons: The western side of Progreso has several kiteboarding schools that offer lessons and equipment rentals. Three well-reputed Progreso kiteboarding schools are Yuckite, Kite Beach, and AlphaKite.
Visit El Corchito: Located about 10 minutes by car off the beach is the El Corchito Ecological Reserve. For about $50 pesos ($2.50USD), you take a short boat ride over to what’s known as Raccoon Island, where you can swim in two Yucatan cenotes as the raccoons run by.
HOW TO GET FROM MERIDA TO PROGRESO BEACH
The most convenient way is by car. The second option is to take an Uber or a taxi to Progreso for about $15USD each way. If you prefer, you can also use Auto Progreso, a private bus terminal in Downtown Merida, with departures about every hour or so. The drive is 45-minutes, and tickets cost around $25 pesos ($2USD) each way.
Celestun
Though the town has some of the most beautiful Yucatan beaches, they are often overshadowed by the Celestun flamingos. However, there’s no reason you can’t experience both.
Playa Norte (North Beach) is the most popular among the best beaches in the area because it has better amenities and restaurants.
Besides soaking up the sun on the beach and swimming in the ocean, you can visit the Ria Celestun Biosphere Reserve and admire a large flock of flamingos. The best time to see flamingos in Celestun is from November to early March when it’s estimated to have 35,000 flamingos.
Another popular activity is the mangrove tour via kayak to see the birds in their natural habitat and take a dip in a cenote (freshwater sinkhole).
HOW TO GET FROM MERIDA TO CELESTUN BEACH
You have three options: By car is a 90 minutes drive, by bus is close to three hours, or taking the Merida to Celestun tour.
Sisal
Recently proclaimed Pueblo Magico; Sisal is a cute small town on the northern Yucatan coast, only 1-hour drive from Merida, with spectacular white sand beaches, a pier to walk down, and few places to eat and drink.
The beach here is spectacular; you can have long walks on the beach or just bask in the sun. There is just one infinite public beach where you can find chairs and sunbeds for rent $50-100 pesos ($2.50-5USD) for the day. In addition, some restaurants will let you use their beach facilities if you buy something to eat or drink.
HOW TO GET FROM MERIDA TO SISAL
The fastest way is by car, but you can take a bus in Downtown Merida.
Chuburna and Chelem
Chuburna is 20 to 30 min from Progreso by car.
This town is popular among ex-pats, mainly U.S. and Canadian retirees. As you might imagine, Chuburna is idle with little to do but a nice place to spend the day on relatively-empty beaches.
Chelem is just a continuation of Chuburna, you don’t see when one ends and the other begins. However, in Chelem, you can find more restaurants, bars, and a couple of coffee shops.
HOW TO GET FROM MERIDA TO CHELEM & CHUBURNA
The easiest way to get to both Chuberna and Chelem is by car. If you are staying in Progreso, you can call an Uber or take a taxi over to either town, which should cost about $100 pesos ($5USD) each way.
Chixchulub
Chicxulub (pronounced che-che-lube) is located just one town east of Progreso, 15 minutes by car.
The town of Chixchulub has nothing interesting to offer except for the vast, beautiful stretch of beach. Still, this town is becoming one of the most popular where wealthy families from Merida choose to have their second home and U.S. and Canadian ex-pats retire.