Getting to Mérida by air, land, or sea is not an easy task. Especially if you live in the mid-Atlantic coastal region, which despite having the largest naval base in the world and a population approaching two million, is practically backwoods when it comes to air travel. We CAN get to MID from Norfolk, but it takes all day and is quite expensive. On the other hand, we can get to CUN (airport lingo for Cancún) for about half the price and in just over 5 hours from takeoff to landing. Only problem is that we then have to make the four hour trip by land via the toll road to our destination in El Centro. We've tried the ADO shuttle vans, which can make the trip in about 3 1/2 hours but can feel somewhat cramped when taking the full load of 12 passengers. The ADO Platino (luxury bus) is amazingly comfortable and comes with your personal mini DVD screen, but I got a little queasy watching the movie, so I turned it off. Plus, it can be somewhat confusing getting to the correct ADO bus when exiting the airport because everyone points you in a different direction. Then you have to worry about getting back to CUN with sufficient time to catch the flight home. Last trip I had to take the bus to Cancún the night before my flight home. Oy!
So..., this trip we have rented a car and will drive ourselves from CUN to Calle 47. The car rental is not much more than the cost of 2 round trip bus tickets and we can make our own schedule. I think I am comfortable with the toll road; it's a straight shot and has light traffic. Once I get to Mérida I'm not so sure. I've already google-mapped the route from MX-180 and it seems fairly easy, but I'm hoping that late afternoon traffic on a Saturday will be light. We've got to learn to drive there sooner or later.
If anyone out there has some advice on how best to get to El Centro from the toll road, please feel free to comment.
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The solution is just to hurry up and move to Mérida!
(image from free clip-art) |
This is a calculation I have made in my head many times, and I never really considered the stress of the return trip. I go via Houston and cool my heels at Pappadeaux, a pretty cook Big Easy style restaurant in the terminal.
ReplyDeletePlease promise you'll blog your driving experience! I drive in NYC traffic all the time and never think of it, but the idea of driving in Merida is a little scary.
We have had our house for 3 years and have been flying from JFK to CUN and renting a car for the last 2. It is less stressful and not that hard once you do it. It's handy to have a car for shopping and going out to dinner in other neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteThe drive is easy but boring. Stopping at the Valladolid rest stop for homemade tacos breaks up the trip. Once you get to Merida there is an exit for centro. Follow the roundabout and the sign to Calle 65. Keep going, first you will be on Calle 27, then Av. Quetzalcoatl, after you cross Circuito Colonias you'll be on Calle 65. Continue until you get to Calle 52, make a right, avoiding the mercado and plaza grande, you'll be going north. Calle 47 goes east so just go up to Calle 49 and make a left.
good luck, Laurel
We had actually decided to take the Houston route even with the added expense, but I could not make the flight times work to get back home.
ReplyDeleteMy hope is that Continental will add more flights to Mérida in the near future. I definitely will blog the driving experience. Our realtor drove us all around the Centro and never seemed the least bit stressed, but then he has been there several years.
Blogger was down for over 24 hours and some comments were lost. Here is one I recovered from "stylehounds":
ReplyDeleteWe have had our house for 3 years and have been flying from JFK to CUN and renting a car for the last 2. It is less stressful and not that hard once you do it. It's handy to have a car for shopping and going out to dinner in other neighborhoods.
The drive is easy but boring. Stopping at the Valladolid rest stop for homemade tacos breaks up the trip. Once you get to Merida there is an exit for centro. Follow the roundabout and the sign to Calle 65. Keep going, first you will be on Calle 27, then Av. Quetzalcoatl, after you cross Circuito Colonias you'll be on Calle 65. Continue until you get to Calle 52, make a right, avoiding the mercado and plaza grande, you'll be going north. Calle 47 goes east so just go up to Calle 49 and make a left.
good luck, Laurel
Thanks Laurel, this route seems fairly easy to navigate. We'll give it a try.
ReplyDeleteAnother adventure in México.
John
One thing about landing in Merida airport at night. The cab ride to centro up Itzaes and Calle 59 is a feast for the eyes. The open air Brazilian barbecue, the glimpse at the zoo, the old mansions turned into funeral homes) is a wonderful sight after a full day of mind-numbing travel.
ReplyDeleteI'm truly hoping that our next trip will take us to MID and that we can experience the feast for the eyes you describe. I've started looking for tickets in late July with 2 stops going and only 1 stop returning. The trip down will be take about 12 hours and the return about 9. Not so bad.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be redundant but I kept trying to post my comment and nothing happened. So how was your drive from Cancun to Merida? Would you do it again?
ReplyDeleteHi Laurel, sorry about the problem with posting. Not sure what was going on. The drive was actually not bad. Your directions from the exit to the Centro were just great. The traffic was light and we felt like we breezed through. We drove out to Sam's this afternoon in much heavier traffic with no problem. Would we do it again? Yes, if we can get the lowdown on how to rent a car for less than an arm and a leg. More about this in my blog post coming up. Thanks again,
ReplyDeleteJohn