If you love your pets and you’re asking yourself the question, “is Mérida pet friendly?” then you will be delighted to know that yes, Mérida is pet friendly in many ways. There is still a lot of work to be done but the city is rising to the challenge. 

This article is for you if you are:
 
🐶 A pet owner who loves to travel with your dog and are seeking out pet friendly cities to visit

🐶 Moving to Mérida and wondering about how your pup will fare

🐶 Already living in Mérida and looking for an incredible day out in Mérida or further afield with your buddy, who just happens to be the best dog in the world

I live in Mérida with my beautiful adopted Mexican dog. I take him out to eat with me at restaurants, I appreciate being able to go shopping at the mall with him, and I just love spending time playing with him in the parks and squares of the city. In this article, I will share everything I know about what makes Mérida a pet friendly city, how Mérida is rapidly improving its pet friendly policies and services, and most of all, how best to enjoy Mérida with your dog.

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How is Mérida pet friendly?

Mexico is a dog loving nation: over half of Mexican households have a dog. Businesses in Mérida were the first to recognise the market for people with pets and as a result, you will find many pet friendly restaurants, cafes, shops, and events in the city.

Policy makers are following this trend, and dog owners are seeing positive changes that are making the city friendlier to pets in other ways.

🐶 So, what exactly makes a city pet friendly?

Modern pet friendly cities include pet owners and their needs in the development of policy, infrastructure planning, facilities and services such as:
 

• Parks and recreational areas for pet owners
• Animal welfare programs
• Pet friendly activities
• Community education about responsible pet care
• Pet friendly transportation
• Pet friendly accommodation

In this article you’ll see how Mérida lives up to these needs.

Pet friendly cities can only exist if pet carers are responsible and considerate. When enjoying a pet friendly city like Mérida, be conscious of the rules, never allow your pet to become a nuisance to others, and always pick up after your pet.

Pet friendly dining in Mérida – cafes, bars and restaurants

☕️ Mérida really is a beautiful city to explore. For many, sitting in a café on Paseo de Montejo, drinking a coffee and people watching is one of the most pleasant activities. Of course, pet lovers may want to share the experience with their companion dog.

☕️ The accepted rule for dining in Mérida is that restaurants bars and cafes with streetside tables and outdoor patios allow customers to bring their well behaved pets.

🐶 There are even restaurants that pride themselves on their pet friendly policies, providing iced water for dogs and others offering menus especially for dogs.

🐶 If you want to eat out with your dog at one of the many pet friendly restaurants or cafes in Mérida, make sure to contact them first find out about their pet policies and to make a reservation. They can ensure you are well accommodated and get a table in an area best suited to pets.

🎧 As some restaurants do have entertainment, ask about live music, as many dogs will find this stressful.

Pet friendly options in Mérida

The following are some of the best known pet friendly cafes, restaurants and bars in Mérida.

🐶 The dedicated website, petfriendlyyucatan offers a more complete list of restaurants and bars in Mérida that will welcome your best friend.

Shopping in Mérida with your dog

🛍 Shopping is generally easy with dogs in Mérida, particularly in the modern malls. It’s important to note, though, that not all the shops within the mall will welcome your dog even if the mall itself does. Each store will have its own policy. So, if you are planning to do more than window shopping, bring a friend along to look after your dog. 

🐶 Some of the more modern malls such as The Harbour, and La Isla Mérida, welcome furry family members. Even some of the smaller shopping centres promote surprisingly positive policies for pets. Plaza Akropolis, has an entire team devoted to making their services as pet friendly as possible. They even organise and host regular spay and neuter clinics in their parking lot.

📌 Supermarkets are off limits except to service dogs.

Pet friendly recreation in Mérida – Parks and Beaches

🐕‍🦺 Dog walkers in Mérida are celebrating the development of new parks like Parque La Plancha, which is a huge outdoor recreational area that is great for on lead dog walking.

Best Dog Friendly Parks in Mérida

📍 Parque La Plancha

Mérida’s newest park (opened in late 2023) has 2 dog areas, one for bigger dogs and one for smaller dogs.

📍 Peek Park

Located in Parque Paseo Verde in Fracc Juan Pablo II, this dog friendly park even has a city run veterinary module on site where subsidised veterinary services are often available. There are separate sections for large and small dogs

Peek, by the way, means dog in Maya.

📍 Parque Tabentha

Near Altabrisa mall, this is a small park with a designated dog park.

📍 Aquaparque

This park in the south of Mérida has a huge lake in the middle and is a great place to feel free with your pupper.

➕ There is also a Pet Park in Cabo Norte Privada if you’re lucky enough to know someone living there.

Where else can you enjoy with your dog in Mérida and Yucatán?

If you want to enjoy Mérida and Yucatán as a tourist with your dog, there are even some pet friendly tours available outside of the city. For more freedom, you could rent a car and drive yourself around the area.

Visiting the beach with dogs

Mérida is so delightfully close to the incredible beaches of the north Yucatán coast that of course you’re wondering if you can take your dog to the beach in Yucatán. An early morning stroll on the beach with your dog is always one of the pleasures of having a pet. If you do have transportation, there are some wonderful beaches for dog walking.

I recommend staying away from the areas close to the towns as you will be less likely to be bothered by stray dogs.

Avoid going in the afternoon as it is much too hot for dogs and always busy with families.

⭐️ Recommendation for an awesome dog walking beach is Telchac Puerto. It is very quiet in the mornings, and, if you love a sunset walk, they can be stunning here. Also consider Chuburna Puerto to the west of Progreso.

Visiting the ruins of Yucatán with dogs

Many people come to Yucatán specifically to explore the incredible history of the region. There are dozens of Mayan ruins to visit in Yucatán but sadly, most archaeological sites do not allow dogs.

🐶 If you really want to experience some archaeology with your dog, there is one pet friendly, small site in Mérida called Chen Ho, which has some ancient Maya structures. 

💀 If you’re thinking of coming to Mérida for Hanal Pixan (Day of the Dead) with your pet, know that attending events with a dog in tow would be difficult.

Visiting the cenotes with dogs in Yucatán

Cenotes, like the Mayan ruins, are one of the highlights of a visit to Yucatán but most cenotes do not allow the doggos to swim.

📍 Cenote Secreto Maya just outside Valladolid allows dogs in the cenote

📍 Buuts’ Ha’ Cenote Club just outside Tulum in Quintana Roo is an adult only cenote club that also allows dogs.

📍 Pet Friendly Cenotes – a cenote near Akumal in Quintana Roo that allows dogs

📍 Yokdzonot, near Chichén Itzá allows dogs on the platform but not in the water

Pet Friendly Tours from Mérida

As yet, the only pet friendly tour we’ve found is an eco tour on a boat through the mangroves at Sayachaltun.

Finding pet friendly accommodation in Mérida

🐶 As a visitor to Mérida, you may surprised by the number of pet friendly hotels and rentals in the city. It is advisable to make sure you ask for detailed information on their policies and exact pricing, as some hotels have a size limitation and extra charges for pets.

📍 Well-known brands such as Marriott Hotels and the Fiesta Americana have pet friendly policies in Mérida.

📍Smaller local hotels such as Downtown Merida Hotel and boutique hotels such as Wayam Mundo Imperial also have pet friendly policies.

Pet friendly transportation in Mérida

Mérida may be a progressively pet friendly city, but there is one area that still needs work. There is no pet friendly public transportation in Mérida.

❌ Dogs are not allowed on the buses in Mérida.

🐾 The new Tren Maya, currently allows service animals with documentation, certified emotional support dogs and dogs and cats under 10kg (56cm x 30 cm – measuring as if they’re a suitcase!).

The lack of public transportation that allows animals makes it difficult for dog guardians to access veterinary services for their dogs and means that travelling away from home is restricted for pet owners who do not have private transportation.

✅ A few services, such as Pet Móvil Mérida have become available to fill that gap and provide pet transportation but are always booked in advance and very difficult to access at short notice. 

✅ Smaller dogs may be welcome in some taxis and rideshares, but may occasionally be required to be kept in a carrier by drivers. Some of the private drivers with larger vehicles will accept dogs. You can find them by asking around or searching for them on social media platforms. (I have a big dog and despite not wanting to, we have had to purchase a car just to transport our dog.)

✅ Most car rental companies do allow pets in their vehicles but have specific clauses about cleanliness.

Volunteer programs working with stray animals in Mérida

📌 Stray dogs, zoonotic disease, noise and other disturbances are frequent problems in all cities with a pet overpopulation problem. Mexico, with over 18 million stray dogs, suffers from these issues and Mérida is no exception.

Visitors and residents try to care for stray dogs and cats by feeding them and sterilising them. So much effort is now being made in communities and schools to help educate people about more responsible pet care.

Local government has initiated a pet registration scheme and conducts free rabies vaccine clinics, where they also offer free worming tablets.  Programmes like this take time and money and Mérida is tackling this head on, having recently opened a brand new, modern and very nice municipal animal shelter and veterinary clinic. This is a huge improvement on the old city dog pound. 

Better animal welfare programmes, such as spay and neuter clinics, community outreach and education along with rabies and parasite prevention services ensure that the negative impacts of dogs in the community are addressed and minimised. 

Please know that all dog photographs in this article were taken by the award winning photographer, Conch Creative, and they are all used with permission.