Having lived in the state of Yucatán through fifteen spring breaks, from college student to parent, I can definitely say there is something here for everyone’s perfect spring break vacation! Whether you’re one of the hoard of spring breakers looking for a party or an adventure, a couple looking for a relaxing retreat, or a family looking for a memorable adventure, you can (and will) find it all on your spring break in Yucatán. 

Best Things to do on Your Spring Break in Yucatán 

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How to Get to Yucatán

✈️ Air Travel

The Yucatán Peninsula is home to Cancun airport and Mérida airport, both international airports offering easy access to most of the peninsula.

Handily, both cities make a wonderful home base for an unforgettable stay, but they lend themselves to distinctly different options. If you’re mainly looking for the party zone, all-inclusive resorts, big adventure parks, and the best Caribbean beaches, then book your flight to Cancun. If you’re looking for quieter beaches, connection to culture, unique adventures, and a more reserved social scene, then Mérida might be a better place to start.

If you’re already in Mexico, there are direct flights to Cancun from most airports and to Mérida from the big destinations such as Mexico City, Tuxtla, Oaxaca, Monterrey.

✈️ Check flight prices for Spring Break now

🚗 By Road – Car or Bus

The two cities are only four hours apart by road, so it’s easy enough to travel between the two wherever you fly into. If you feel confident to drive around the peninsula you could take advantage of the cheaper flights in and out of Cancún and drive yourself to Yucatán.

🚗 Check rental car options now

🚌 Check bus prices and timetables in English and Spanish

🚕 Learn more about airport transfers

🚂 Train Travel

In early 2024, the long awaited Maya Train began moving visitors around the Yucatán Peninsula. It runs between all the major cities and tourist spots on the peninsula and even into Chiapas to include the famous Maya ruins of Palenque.

Why Take Your Spring Break in Yucatán – Climate

🔆 It’s always summer in Yucatán, and just that fact alone – the idea of palm trees and gentle sunny beaches – is convincing enough for anyone to pack up winter and book a flight to the tropics.

🔆 Spring Break falls in March / early April, making Yucatán one of the best spring break destinations you can imagine thanks to its incredible climate at this time of year.  

🔆 Expect average temperatures of around 31℃ (87℉), sunny days, no rainfall and a perfect ocean temperature. 

Why Take Your Spring Break in Yucatán – Safety

✅ While the U.S State department doesn’t have any particular warnings for Quintana Roo vacations except for reminding people to be smart and not take drugs, Yucatán, as the safest state in Mexico, is a great option if you’re worrying about your safety in Mexico or have never been to Mexico before. 

Where to Stay in Yucatán

➡️ Wherever you choose to stay, be sure that it A.C and either a pool or easy access to the beach or a cenote. After a long day of exploring in the sun, you will definitely want the option of cooling down in something fresh.

➡️ In Yucatán you won’t find enormous all inclusive hotel complexes like in Cancun or Puerto Vallarta. Instead, choose between regular hotels, small beach resorts, jungle lodges, campsites and hacienda hotels (for those looking for serious luxury).

Spring Break in Yucatán: City Breaks

The state of Yucatán has two main inland cities, the state capital of Mérida and the second city, Valladolid.

Mérida

📌 Located just 30 minutes from the coast, this gorgeous colonial city is a perfect place for anyone interested in history, great food and in taking a multitude of day trips & scheduling numerous activities and classes. It is a popular tourist destination all year round  and is something of an ideal spring break destination. 

How Does Mérida Party?

The effort to maintain the cultural integrity of the Yucatán’s state capital results in a uniquely magical atmosphere. Every night of the week you’ll find something free going on in the historic center, from dance demonstrations to video mapping shows, there’s always something to enjoy in Mérida.

Walk through the charming neighborhoods and discover lively salsa and cuban bands, open-air dancing, artisanal mezcal, and of course tequila and margaritas. You’ll savor the food and drinks, get caught up in the music, and be enamored by the rich, colorful surroundings. The venues here cater not only to a steady stream of tourists, but also to the fun-loving locals. And by morning, the city will have returned to its role as cultural capital, waiting for you to explore. 

🍹 In contrast to Cancun’s glaring party zone, Mérida’s fiestas tend to be discreet, hidden in cantinas and speakeasys behind colonial pastel façades.

🍽 In late 2023, Calle 47, at the base of the famous Paseo de Montejo was converted into a culinary corridor, and is now home to some of the very best restaurants in the region. Even the street food and market food is excellent in Mérida.

🍦 Top ice cream tip: Join the locals at Dulcería y Sorbeteria Colón at dusk for incredible traditional ice cream and people watching (two branches worth visiting: Plaza Grande or on Paseo de Montejo).

What to do in Mérida

When you aren’t exploring the heady Mérida nights, what can you expect from Mérida? Well, it’s a city full of culture, museums and history. There are more than twenty museums in Mérida, multiple art galleries, artisan markets, traditional food markets, churches to visit and parks and plazas to enjoy.

Where to Stay in Mérida

⭐️ Did you know that I wrote the definitive family guide book for exploring Yucatán? It’s available in both English and Spanish. ⭐️

Valladolid

📌 Located in the centre of the Yucatán Peninsula, this small city (also a pueblo magico) really is one of the best places to visit. It’s easily accessible from both Mérida and Cancun and it a great place to stay if you’re interested in colonial history, great food, visiting the ruins of Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam and taking day trips to nearby beaches, cenotes and maybe even jungle tours. 

How Does Valladolid Party?

Valladolid is less used to tourists and even foreigners than Mérida but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t put on a mean show from dusk to late. Don’t miss the plaza grande at dusk for impromptu shows and music and then head over to the former convent for a fabulous sound and light show.

🍹 Picture yourself drinking craft beers and trendy cocktails in courtyards, and on balmy roof terraces.

🍽 Valladolid has a thriving restaurant scene that focuses on Calzada de los Frailes.

🍦 Top Ice Cream Tip: Choose your delicious ice cream from Wabi Gelato (Calle 39) and go sit on the Parque Principal to people watch and relax.

What to do in Valladolid

Valladolid, in the center of Yucatán is a great spot for visiting ruins, cenotes, some of Yucatan’s harder to reach beaches and exploring the culture and gastronomy of the region.

Where to Stay in Valladolid

Other Awesome City Options in Yucatán

Progreso

📌If you still long for that beach nightlife vibe, try Progreso. It may not be as epic as the beach clubs in Riviera Maya, but you can still find some spring break-worthy fun.

There are a lot of great beaches beyond the Riviera Maya including Progreso, the main beach town in Yucatán. Any beach, in itself, is enough to keep everyone happy for a week, but the coastal town of Progreso stands out as a family friendly place to be.

It may be crowded with local families during spring break as they will also be celebrating Semana Santa (Holy Week, the name given to the week leading up to Easter) , but if you and or the kids like action and entertainment there is a lot to do here. 

➡️ Read more about exploring Progreso

Izamal

Yucatán’s famous yellow city and pueblo magico, Izamal, is a great option for a few days while in Yucatán.

🌼 It is said that Izamal is a city of three cultures: Maya, Colonial, and modern-day Mexican. Strolling around Izamal you’ll definitely feel that you’re in a colonial city and it’s obviously it was built over an ancient Maya town. As a bonus you’re even likely to hear Mayan being spoken by locals.

🌼 Quite apart from being a yellow city, Izamal is a small city that is known for its friendly, authentic vibe. You won’t see hoards of tourists here but you will find plenty of Mexican culture to imbibe.

🌼 Izamal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered to be a first-rate archaeological site for the whole of Mexico.

➡️ Visit five Maya structures including one of the biggest pyramids in all of Mexico and the colonial yellow convent.

➡️ Read more about exploring Izamal while you’re in Yucatán for Spring Break

Spring Break in Yucatan: Beaches

🏝 In Yucatán you’ll find a sparkling coastline that boasts beautiful beaches, some remote and pristine, others packed with activity.

🏝 The Yucatán coast is more gentle than the Quintana Roo Coast and it is sometimes referred to as the “Costa Esmeralda” thanks to the gorgeous green color of the Gulf of Mexico waters. The sand is fine and the waters are gentle.

🏝 Spring Break Beach Solitude in Yucatán

If your idea of the perfect spring break is just getting away for a few days to enjoy some wholesome beach day fun, or just to relax and recharge, then try one of the lesser known beaches of Yucatan like El Cuyo , San Felipe, Rio Lagartos or Las Coloradas, home to the famous pink salt lakes (you’ve probably seen these on social media). 

Here you’ll find small fishing villages with very few hotel options, but with delightful coasts, some laid back activities and chilled out beach restaurants.

📍 For absolute solitude: Dzilam de Bravo beach

🏝 Spring Break Beach Fun in Yucatán

For something in-between – if you don’t want to be in the middle of party central yet also worry about being bored, you might enjoy the lively coastal towns of Progreso, Sisal, and Telchac Puerto (check out the new Playaviva beach club).

These small towns are where locals tend to go for their spring break. Here you can find plenty of water activities, adventure tours, restaurants, accommodation, and nightlife to make for a fun-filled week without the full-on party scene. But mostly, people will be chilling on the beaches with their families, a few beers and some music.

Spring Break in Yucatan: Cenotes

Wherever you are in Yucatan or Quintana Roo, you’re likely to want to visit a cenote or three. The beauty of Yucatecan cenotes is that they’re cheaper and less busy than those on the Caribbean Coast.

Cenotes near Mérida

The cenotes near Mérida tend to be either fully wild and open out in the jungle or are located around the small town of Homun (the famous Homun Cenote Circle).

⭐️ If you’re nervous about visiting wild cenotes then Yucatán also offers more “sanitised cenotes” at Mucuyche and Santa Barbara.

➡️ Read about the best cenotes to visit from Mérida

➡️ Read about the best cenote tours from Mérida

➡️ Read more about the best cenotes to visit in Homun & Cuzama

➡️ Read more about the best cenotes for kids and nervous swimmers in Yucatán

Cenotes near Valladolid

The cenotes near Valladolid are really, very impressive and large. There are dozens to choose from whether you visit as part of a tour or alone. 

➡️ Read more about cenotes around Chichén Itzá and Valladolid

Spring Break in Yucatán: Mayan Ruins

There are, of course, ancient Mayan ruins across all three states of the Yucatán Peninsula but the majority of them are in Yucatán state including the UNESCO World Heritage Site and modern wonder of the world, Chichen Itza. Most people visiting the peninsula will take a day trip to this incredible ruin (and it’s absolutely worth doing so) but did you know that there are dozens of ruins to explore in Yucatán? 

From Mérida, it’s possible to explore Uxmal, Mayapan, Xcambo, Ake, Dzibilchaltun and more.

From Valladolid, people tend to visit Chichen Itza and Ek Balam.

➡️ Read more about Mayan ruins in Yucatan 

(and in Campeche and Quintana Roo)

If you’re interested in visiting Palenque in Chiapas, it’s also possible, either with the Maya train or a road trip into southern Mexico. 

Spring Break in Yucatán: Road Trips Options

Thanks to its excellent road network and great safety record, Yucatán is an excellent option for anyone considering a spring break road trip.

➡️ For the first time visitor try this awesome 10 day road trip option that takes in the primary sites of the state of Yucatán including Chichén Itzá, Valladolid, Progreso and Uxmal.

➡️ For the seasoned visitor who wants to get off the beaten track, we can suggest this more ‘rugged’ 10 day road trip that dives right into the interior of the state, visiting small towns, barely touched ruins and gorgeously wild cenotes.