Using Uber In Merida Mexico & Other Tips for Getting Around

Merida Mexico is the capital city of the Yucatan, and an increasingly popular destination for tourists. Visitors to Merida can expect to eat awesome food, learn about Mayan history, appreciate the city’s colonial architecture, and enjoy its general vibe. So how do visitors get around this scenic city? Well, we recently returned from spending a month in Merida, and our #1 form of transportation (other than our feet) was Uber. I read some mixed reviews about using Uber in Merida prior to our arrival. But we had no issues whatsoever. Here’s a look at our experience using Uber in Merida Mexico, along with some other tips for getting around this fantastic Yucatan city.

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Merida is Very Walkable

If you are staying in Merida’s Centro Historico, then odds are that you’ll be using your feet quite a bit for getting around. Merida is a very walkable city, and most of its key sites and best restaurants are located within a mile radius of its central Plaza Grande and Cathedral.

No matter where we travel, one of my favorite activities is simply exploring my surroundings by foot. Consequently, I logged quite a few steps every day checking out Merida’s churches, plazas, and colorful street-side buildings.

Furthermore, Merida is a very safe city – in fact it’s considered one of the safest cities in all the Americas. We walked on quiet Centro Historico streets in the evenings without any fear or need for concern whatsoever.

Plus, it’s when you wander on foot, that you’ll come across gems that aren’t really noticed from inside a car or bus.

Uber in Merida

But sometimes, we needed to go a bit further than we wanted our feet to take us. And in those circumstances, we used Uber. And Uber in Merida is safe, easy, and convenient.

Common examples of times we used Uber in Merida was for trips back and forth to Walmart for our groceries or other supplies. Or to the north part of the city to purchase other necessities at one of Merida’s modern shopping malls. Or to one of Merida’s several bus station for an early morning day trip

You might also find that you would want to use Uber in Merida to go the Mayan World Museum in north Merida (which unfortunately was closed the entire time we were in town). Or to the Tren Maya train station for traveling elsewhere in the Yucatan.

Here’s some helpful details about our experience using Uber in Merida.

Cost

Uber in Merida is very inexpensive. For our rides within Centro Historico, we typically paid an average of $3-4 USD. Rides to the north part of Merida cost around $7 USD. Our least expensive ride cost $1.50 USD.

Response Times

I’d read ahead of our trip that we might wait a while to get an Uber in Merida. We never experienced that problem. Once we ordered our ride, our driver would usually arrive in less than 5 minutes. During busy times of the day our wait would increase a little, but we never waited more than 10 minutes.

Ride Types

Here’s a look at the App interface as I was checking out options to the Airport…

During our first days in Merida, we started out riding UberX. But we found that the car quality was marginal sometimes. UberX cars in Merida were typically very small and sometimes weren’t very clean. But the drivers were always courteous.

Ultimately I switched to ordering Comfort. Comfort cars were always bigger and generally in much better shape – both inside and out. Plus for our typical distances, the cost difference was usually only about $1 USD.

Language

It was rare for an Uber driver in Merida to speak any English. But that’s one of the huge advantages of using Uber to arrange for a ride anyway. Plus, its always a great opportunity to practice a little Spanish (without the pressure of possibly giving misunderstood directions.)

Cash vs Credit

I’d also read ahead of time that it was better to pay with cash when using Uber in Merida – because driver’s prefer cash and are less likely to accept a ride using a card. This was most definitely the case when we used Ride Share apps in Buenos Aires Argentina.

So I started out with the Cash pay option. However, early in our trip, one of our drivers reported me to Uber, stating that I did not pay….even though I did. I couldn’t find any way in the App to dispute it, and so ended up paying a second time by card. Even though the amount was small, I still felt taken advantage of.

From that point, I changed my payment option to Card. And I didn’t notice any difficulty whatsoever getting a car, or even any response time difference.

Safety

We used Uber in Merida a lot, and never felt unsafe. Be aware though that the Uber cars are not marked in any special way. So be sure to pay close attention to the car description and license plate number given to you in the App.

What about the Airport?

What about using Uber to get back and forth from the Airport in Merida. This is the one circumstance where Uber in Merida isn’t ideal.

Arrival

While Uber is legal in Merida, it is not legal for Uber to pick up passengers at the airport. So, some travelers will walk to a street just outside the airport and order an Uber (I indicated the pickup point on Google Maps here). And as we left the airport upon our arrival, I did notice plenty of people headed to that spot. But it could be a hassle if you have a lot of luggage – it’s a 10 minute walk.

Instead, we arranged for a private pickup through Booking.com’s excellent Airport Taxi service. I will use this service when Uber airport pickup isn’t available in the places we travel. A driver is always waiting with my name on a placard. And I don’t have to worry about having local currency yet, because everything including tip is prepaid. Plus the prices are generally less than normal taxi fares.

Departure

The airport departure situation is different. It is legal for Uber in Merida to drop you off at the airport, though I can’t confirm this from personal experience. I had already scheduled a return ride with Booking.com. But I did check prices from our Airbnb in Centro Historico, and the cost was only around $8 USD for Comfort.

Other Ride Share Options

Uber isn’t the only Ride Share company operating in Merida. Another option in Merida is Didi. This is a Chinese Ride Share company popular in Asia, but also Latin America.

I’d read that Didi could be even less expensive than Uber in Merida, and so I downloaded the App to check it out. And here’s what the interface looks like…

Didi offered only one type of car, and also a cheaper ride-on-the-back-of-a motorcycle option. It also gives you the opportunity to try and lower your price – if you can find a driver to accept your offer. (Also, note that the prices in the photo above are in pesos not dollars.)

I checked Didi pricing two times against Uber in Merida. Both times, the price was basically the same. So I didn’t see any advantage of using Didi, and removed it from my phone.

(This is different from my experience using Ride Share in Cartagena Colombia, when I jump back and forth between using Uber and Cabify. Take note though that Cabify isn’t available in Merida.)

Taxis

What about using Taxis in Merida? I don’t see any reason for tourists to use a taxi for three reasons. First, while it is generally considered safe to use taxis in Merida, Ride Share Apps are significantly better from a safety standpoint due to their inherent tracking features. Second, taxis in Merida do not use meters – so you need to negotiate your price at the beginning of your ride. And third, this means that you need to be able to speak some Spanish. So why bother with any of this given that Uber in Merida is convenient and inexpensive?

The Va-y-Ven Bus

Merida does have a public bus system called Va-y-Ven. The system seemed to have lots of routes and lots of stops. I was always needing to watch for buses trundling down the road as I was out wandering about. And Google Maps does include the information you would need in order to get from Point A to Point B on Va-y-Ven. The buses appear to be new and quite nice.

However, once again, I don’t really see any reason for tourists to use this system. Given how convenient and inexpensive Uber in Merida is, why bother with the bus?

Plus, at least during our stay, I couldn’t have ridden the Va-y-Ven Bus even if I had wanted to. Though I did want to try it out for the purposes of this post if nothing else.

Here’s why I couldn’t. Cash is not an accepted form of payment on these buses. Instead, riders use a pre-loaded card that is scanned upon entry. Theoretically these cards are available at various convenience stores and supermarkets around town. And also at a few dispensing machines in Centro Historico.

However, I could never find a card. The dispensing machines were not operating, and the two stores I checked with did not have them.

I did notice, as I wandered about town, frequent long lines of locals slowly approaching tables in a couple different town plazas. And on the tables….stacks of Va-y-Ven cards. I’m guessing that there was a card shortage, at least during our time in Merida. But again, I don’t really see any need for tourists to try and get one. Uber in Merida is much easier.

What About Connections to Other Places?

When it comes to leaving Merida for day trips or to connect elsewhere in the Yucatan, then there are lots of Bus options. And these are easier for tourists to use than the Va-y-ven system. Plus there is a Train now too!

ADO Buses

For connecting between major cities within the Yucatan, Mexico’s premier bus company called ADO is a great choice. ADO buses are considered Mexico’s first class buses, and are reportedly quite comfortable and reliable. We never had the opportunity to ride one, but there are several versions with increasingly nice amenities. The nicest is the ADO Platino pictured below, which is mostly offered on routes from Merida to Cancun. ADO has a couple of different bus terminals around Merida. Departure points, schedules, and pricing can be researched and tickets purchased on BusBud.com.

Oriente and Noreste Buses

These are considered the area’s second class buses and connect to closer locations. We did ride the Oriente bus on a day trip to the nearby town of Izamal – the Yucatan’s Yellow City. It was a 1.5 hour bus ride. (A blog post is still to come about this day trip.)

The bus was a bit rundown on the inside, but adequately comfortable. These buses do make multiple stops along the way, as they are used primarily by local residents going about their daily lives. The schedules for these buses are not posted anywhere online. You have to go the bus station to find them, but they are clearly posted there.

The Progresso Bus

One of the most popular day trips from Merida is to the beach town of Progresso. An entirely separate bus company named AutoProgresso provides transportation back and forth between the two places. These buses leave Merida from their own station very frequently throughout the day. We ultimately decided not to go to Progresso (it’s a cruise port, a small town, and ships are frequent). So I have no personal experience to offer.

Tren Maya

The recently completed Tren Maya is a train line that stretches across the Yucatan, connecting major cities along the way. We did not ride the Tren Maya. I strongly considered using it for our day trip to Chichén Itzá. And in retrospect, I wish we’d taken it. Check out this post on Our Frustrating Day Trip to Chichén Itzá to learn why. Here’s the Tren Maya website if you would like to check the route and schedule.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of which method you use to travel outside of Merida, remember that when it comes to getting around town, Uber (or Didi if you prefer) is the way to go. Uber in Merida is inexpensive, safe, easy, and convenient. So forget about city buses and taxis. Uber is the ideal way to get around the Yucatan’s capital city….when you aren’t exploring by foot of course.

If you would like to read more about traveling in Merida, then be sure to check out my post Typical Food In Merida Mexico You Won’t Want To Miss