Some people cannot resist the call of the sea wherever they are and the good news is that the Gulf Coast is a short drive away from Mérida. Palm-lined beaches, lagoons and salt flats rich in bird life and rustic fishing villages where the emphasis is definitely on the word “relaxed”, await the visitor. 

The port of Progreso is a good place to start exploring the Gulf Coast and sample some of the fresh seafood for which the area is famous. During the summer, the inhabitants of Mérida migrate en masse to local beaches to escape the baking heat of the city.

You can take the coast road west from Progreso to Yucalpeten, Chelem and Chuburna or east to Telchac Puerto and Dzilám de Bravo. As you travel east look out for flamingos, flocks of these hot pink birds feed in the coastal lagoons before flying back to Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve to roost at sunset.

On the west coast of the Yucatán, you can also visit Sisal, the port from where henequen was first shipped to international markets, hence its name, and the Celestún Biosphere Reserve.