Tips For A Perfect Day Trip From Merida to Izamal Mexico

One of the easiest day trips you can take while visiting Merida Mexico is to the nearby town of Izamal – also known as the Yucatan’s Yellow City. Izamal gets this name because most buildings in its historic center are painted yellow. This makes for a very visually striking town to explore. Izamal is also one of Mexico’s Pueblo Magicos – towns in Mexico recognized for their cultural and historic significance. We enjoyed a great day visiting Izamal Mexico. Here’s everything you need to know for taking your own perfect day trip from Merida to Izamal.

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Some Brief Izamal Mexico History

Izamal dates back to Mayan times and was founded in the 1st century BC. Over the next several centuries, it grew into one of the most important Mayan cities and religious sites in the Yucatan. The Mayans built several pyramids here, including one dedicated to their Sun God. This pyramid, called Kinich Kak Moo, still stands. It’s the largest pyramid in the Yucatan, and the third largest in Mexico (the photo below is only the very top part of the tiered structure).

After the Spanish conquered the Mayans in the 16th century, they built their own city at Izamal. One of the first structures they constructed was a Franciscan Monastery called the Convent of San Antonio de Padua. In order to build it, the Spanish partially destroyed the Mayan city’s most holy pyramid, and put the Monastery on top. They even used part of the pyramid’s stones to construct it. This Monastery subsequently became one of the most important Catholic buildings in all the Yucatan. Its location on top of a holy Mayan site actually helped in the conversion of local Mayans to Christianity.

The Spanish aren’t responsible for Izamal’s yellow color though. In the 1950s, Izamal’s mayor decided that the city needed a facelift – something to make it more attractive. So he declared that all the buildings in the center of town should be painted yellow and white. Hence…the Yucatan’s Yellow City.

Our First Exposure to Izamal

Originally, I wasn’t sure if we would take a day trip from Merida to Izamal. Getting around the Yucatan using public transportation has its challenges, and we generally depend on public transportation for the bulk of our day trips worldwide. I wasn’t certain that the hassles of getting from Merida to Izamal would be worth it in the end.

However, a brief stop in Izamal was included in an organized tour we took from Merida to Chichén Itzá. And as we drove into the Yellow City, after an already long day, I was immediately enthralled with its beauty.

As I explain in my post A Frustrating Day Trip To Chichen Itza, we didn’t have nearly enough time during this initial quick stop in Izamal. Only about 80 minutes. And most of that was at the Convent.

But we did see enough to know that we definitely needed to return – despite the transportation hassles. And we did!

Getting From Merida to Izamal

So how do you best travel the 40 miles from Merida to Izamal using public transportation? You have two options – bus or train.

Bus

The bus from Merida to Izamal is the most flexible option. But it can take a little bit of research. Several different bus companies provide connections from Merida to nearby towns. And these companies operate out of several different stations around the city. This can be quite confusing. Furthermore, most of them do not have their schedules posted online.

Fortunately for you, I’ve already helped with some of that research. I concluded that the best option for this journey was via the Oriente bus company, with departures from the Noreste Bus Terminal in the Merida city center (here’s a link with the exact location.)

But because you won’t find the schedule posted online, you’ll need to go to the station ahead of time, and check there for the most updated departure times. They are posted on a large board above the ticket windows, along with the current price. You can generally expect that a bus will leave from Merida to Izamal every 1-2 hours depending on the time of day. Our tickets cost a little under $2 USD each.

However, the return schedule is inconveniently not posted in Merida. You will need to wait until you arrive in Izamal to see it. It’s posted at the bus terminal there. Though, as with the Merida to Izamal schedule, you can also expect a return bus about every 1-2 hours.

The bus journey between Merida and Izamal takes approximately 90 minutes. For our own Izamal day trip, we departed Merida at 10am and returned on the 3:30pm bus.

(For more tips about transportation in Merida, check out my post Using Uber in Merida & Other Tips for Getting Around)

Train

You also have the option of taking a train from Merida to Izamal too. But the train schedule isn’t nearly as flexible as the bus, and the journey itself is a bit more complicated.

Tren Maya is a new train line that connects many of the major cities across the Yucatan. And originally, I thought we would be using Tren Maya a lot for our day trips. It turns out however, that it’s not very practical, and we never rode it. I think it’s much better for one time connections across the Yucatan, rather than back & forth day trips.

For one thing, the Tren Maya stations are often not conveniently located. The Merida station is a 20-30 minute Uber ride from the city center. And likewise in Izamal, the station is several miles outside of town, necessitating a taxi ride back and forth (no Uber in Izamal Mexico). So even though the train ride itself is only 40 minutes, you’ll need to take extra steps in getting from city center to city center.

The second issue is that Tren Maya only passes through Merida five times daily. So for a day trip from Merida to Izamal you would need to choose between a 7am or a 9:20am departure. And then between a 1:45pm or a 6:40pm return.

I personally didn’t consider those times ideal for this particular day trip. The various combinations leave you with either not enough time in Izamal or too much time. (The cost of the round trip train ticket between Merida and Izamal is approximately $15 USD.)

Our Own Bus Experience

Oriente is one of several second class bus companies in the area. These buses are mostly used by locals to get from place to place. Consequently, their routes have many stops. Plus as we rode ours, it seemed that riders could just flag the bus down anywhere along the route, and the driver would stop. That’s one reason our 40 mile bus ride took 1.5 hours. ADO (the First Class bus company with fewer stops) does not offer a connection from Merida to Izamal.

Our bus itself looked nice on the outside. The interior was a bit worn down, but the seats were reasonably comfortable for the long ride. And it had air conditioning.

I thought the journey itself was interesting, and this helped pass the time. The route took us through a couple of the smaller towns along the way to Izamal, giving us a look at local life off the beaten tourist track. Like this butcher shop across from a town plaza…

We even had a vendor hop onto the bus in between a couple of stops selling snacks – including bags of chips and chicharrones.

Things to Do in Izamal Mexico

Izamal’s historic center isn’t very big, and so it’s very easy to get around by foot. The bus station is located only 500 feet from the famed Convent, adding to the ease of this day trip (click here for the location.)

Wander the Streets

Undoubtedly, the first thing you will notice as you drive into the center of Izamal is all the yellow buildings. And for me, simply wandering the scenic streets was one of my favorite things to do in Izamal Mexico. Especially since I love taking photos. Izamal is very photogenic indeed.

Check Out The Convent

As I mentioned earlier, the Convent was the focal point for our initial stop in Izamal – on the organized Chichén Itzá day tour. Its exterior is quite impressive, and not only includes the main buildings, but also its Atrium. This is an arched passageway that surrounds the Convent’s huge courtyard in its entirety. It’s the second largest Atrium in the world – behind only the Atrium at the Vatican City.

You can enter the Convent’s chapel and inner courtyards too.

And on a more practical day trip note, there is a bathroom in the far corner of the Atrium as pictured above. You will be charged a few pesos to enter, but that means they are clean.

Climb a Mayan Pyramid

For me personally, the best structures to see in Izamal Mexico are its Mayan ruins. I already mentioned the pyramid named Kinich Kak Moo. It’s the big one and was built around 400 AD. But you’ll come across a couple of other smaller pyramids in Izamal too – if you know where to look. And I think this is the very best thing about Izamal. Multiple Mayan pyramids spread throughout a fully functioning and very scenic colonial Mexican town.

Kinich Kak Moo in its entirety takes up a whole city block. And if you walk around that city block, you can see the stone walls of its base platform. But to ascend the pyramid to the very top, you will need to find the entrance (which I’ve marked on the map here), and ascend a set of stairs up to next highest platform.

Here you can really appreciate the huge stones used by the Mayans to construct this pyramid. Given their size, it’s considered a Megalithic pyramid.

After ascending this second platform, you’ll see “the topper” in the distance – an smaller 9 tiered pyramid.

You can continue climbing to the very top of this pyramid. Note that about half way up, the ruins are much more ruined. And it does become more difficult to climb.

But once you reach the top, what a unique experience it is to stand on top of a 1600 year old Mayan pyramid, while looking out across Izamal Mexico and its surroundings!

Going down is a bit more of challenge than going up. I included a picture below that Mrs TT took of me working my way along the uneven surface. So be careful!

Climb A Second Mayan Pyramid

A few blocks away from Kinich Kak Moo, you can find Izamal’s second largest remaining pyramid named Itzamatul. It was built around 700 AD. And it’s just sitting in the middle of a local neighborhood (so cool!)

If you follow a wooded trail around its right side, you can climb the top of this pyramid too. The view isn’t quite as impressive as the one atop Kinich Kak Moo. But anytime you can climb to the top of Mayan pyramid, I think you should do it.

Visit A Museum

Izamal Mexico also has a third pyramid within the boundaries of its historic center. But in order to see it, you will need to enter a museum. Good news though! It’s a cool little museum and the admission is only around $1 USD

The museum is called Centro Cultural Y Artesanal and it’s located across the street from the Convent. The museum features a small collection of Yucatan folk art. It will only take you about 15-20 minutes to see everything inside, and it’s all very interesting.

And if you look across the courtyard in back of the museum, you can spot Izamal’s third Mayan pyramid named Kabul. In post-Mayan times, this pyramid was ultimately fully enclosed by buildings on this city block – further accentuating how absolutely unique Izamal Mexico is.

Explore The Market

If you are anything like me, then exploring local markets is always an essential thing to do on any day trip. And the Mercado Municipal is most certainly worth a walkthrough on your day trip from Merida to Izamal.

We visited on a Sunday, and the place was hopping. It’s clearly a favorite place for locals to eat lunch. Tables filled most large open areas inside the market, and the many tiny market restaurants were serving their customers Yucatan food favorites.

You can also wander around and check out the meat and fresh produce offerings throughout the market too. And no surprise, yellow is the dominant color in the market as well.

Hang Out In Izamal’s Two Central Plazas

Izamal Mexico also has two large town plazas on adjacent sides of the Convent. These plazas are nice places to hang out if you need a break. One of them features colorful letters spelling out Izamal (you can find the same thing in towns of all sizes in the Yucatan.)

You also may find vendors selling local handicrafts…

As well as street vendors selling various treats including Marquesitas – the Yucatan’s favorite snack. It’s a crispy crepe most popularly filled with Nutella and shredded cheese (you can read more about this unusual snack in my post on The Food Of Merida).

Eating in Izamal

And speaking of food, what about lunch in Izamal Mexico? Eating typical local cuisine is always an essential part of any day trip we take. And I strongly recommend that you consider eating at Kinich on your day trip from Merida to Izamal. It’s the #1 rated restaurant in Izamal on Tripadvisor. And after eating there ourselves, I’m not surprised.

We ate our lunch in a relaxed outdoor setting under a thatched roof without walls. The service was very professional and very friendly.

The menu at Kinich includes many typical Yucatan cuisine favorites. I ordered Chaya con Pina, Sikil Pak, and this “plate” of Cochinita Pollo.

I talk about all of those items in detail in that aforementioned Food Post. They were among the best versions we had during our month in the Yucatan. Note that reservations are highly recommended at Kinich, since it is very popular with locals and tourists alike. Kinich is on Open Table, so making a reservation is easy.

Returning to Merida

We spent about 4 hours in town on this day trip from Merida to Izamal. However, we didn’t spend any time at the Convent this go around. So you might need a little longer if you want to see and do everything I’ve outlined in this post.

Here’s an important note for your return bus journey. We arrived at the Izamal bus station about 20 minutes prior to our departure. We found a line of bags and backpacks wrapping around the terminal from the door.

A nice kid who was manning the bathroom warned me in English that the backpacks were actually the bus line…our future co-riders saving their spot. And suggested we consider either doing the same or getting in “line” ourselves. I was glad he told me. The bus was much more crowded on the way back to Merida (be sure to purchase your tickets when you first arrive in town). And Mrs TT and I would not have been able to sit together had we not grabbed a place in “line”.

Final Thoughts

I’m so glad that we took the opportunity to return and truly explore Izamal. Though the travel time and hassle were indeed more than I typically will consider for day trips, the payoff was undoubtedly worth it.

Izamal Mexico is such a unique place. Mayan pyramids scattered throughout a scenic Mexican colonial town. Plus all that town’s own inherent charms. Don’t miss it!

If you would like to learn even more about traveling in and around Merida, then be sure to check out these posts:

Is Merida Worth Visiting? 10 Practical Points to Consider

A Quest for The Best Tacos in Merida Mexico

And if you would like to read about some other great day trips we’ve taking around the world, then check out these posts:

Why A Palenque Tour Is The Best Day Trip From Cartagena Colombia

A Great Day Trip From Madrid To Chincon Spain