Logo

Mérida, Yucatán:

MAYAN TASTES & TRACES

HIGHLIGHTS

    • Cooking session with James Beard Award winning Chef Iliana de la Vega at an exclusive hacienda
    • Experience Uxmal archeological site with an anthropologist
    • Historical walking tour of Centro Histórico
    • Mexican wine tasting and class with a sommelier
    • Long lunch at “the most beautiful restaurant in the world” (Prix Versailles ’18)
    • Visiting a natural cenote 
    • Exploring “Pueblos Mágicos”, or Magical Towns
    • Diverse dining, from upscale restaurants to street and market stands

Trip itinerary

¡Bienvenidos a Mérida! Greet our driver at the airport and settle in at our beautiful boutique hotel in the most prestigious boulevard in the city, Paseo Montejo. As the sun sets, we’ll meet in the lobby library for introductions and a little tequila before heading out to dinner. Our destination tonight is a feast for the senses at an intimate 16-seat restaurant where the most influential chef in the region presents modern renditions of his native cuisine. The space is meant to transport us right into the local terrain, as if we were swimming in a cenote. Here, we’ll toast to our first of many unforgettable meals together.

Stay: Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel & Spa
Meals: Dinner
Drinks: Welcome tequila and cocktail with dinner 

Sleep in today and enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before we venture into the beating heart of the city: its historic downtown. Our expert guide will guide us through the landmarks, including the many important buildings of Paseo Montejo, the San Idelfonso Cathedral, the government palace, and some of Mérida’s many squares. After all the walking, a well-deserved lunch in the town of Toxkokob to enjoy dishes like cochinita pibil and relleno negro that are cooked underground in an earth oven, “pib,”in Mayan. Back in Mérida, the afternoon is yours to rest or explore the city at your own pace. We’ll reconvene this evening for a tasting of Mexican wines accompanied with some cheeses, charcuterie, and small plates.

Stay: Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel & Spa
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Drinks: Wine tasting with dinner

Our day will start with breakfast at a morning only market taqueria, where we’ll try dishes like lechón al horno or cochinita pibil served as a polcán, taco, panucho, or a salbute. This will energize us for our visit to the Mayan archeological site of Uxmal, where we’ll be guided by an anthropologist. Once we’ve built our appetite, we’ll make our way to “the most beautiful restaurant in the world” (Prix Versailles ’18) for an incredible tasting menu surrounded by gardens and the second largest collection of tequila bottles in the world. We’ll then return to Mérida and, since lunch is a long affair, the evening is all yours to relax, shop, or explore the city’s culinary landscape on your own.

Stay: Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel & Spa
Meals: Breakfast & long lunch
Drinks: None

One of our trip’s most anticipated days, today will be all about Yucatán’s ingredients, getting to know local produce, herbs, spices, chiles, and how to work with them in your own kitchen. Our morning will begin with breakfast at a local favorite where you can try the most iconic local breakfast dish, huevos motuleños. Then we’ll get our ingredients from the market, which will be an opportunity to do some shopping. The setting for our cooking session with James Beard Award winning chef Iliana de la Vega is one for the books: an exclusive and private hacienda, which we’ll have all to ourselves today to explore the house, gardens, pool, and even a former sisal processing plant. While our lunch is cooking, we’ll get to see the process of making tortillas by hand and perhaps try making one of your own. We’ll also have a melipona (stingless bee) honey tasting and class, an important product in the region. After lunch, we will drive back to Mérida to relax for the rest of the afternoon. We’ll meet again in the evening for street tacos of a very particular kind, tacos árabes, a tradition that started in the 1930s with the arrival of middle eastern immigrants from Iraq and Lebanon in particular.

Stay: Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel & Spa
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Drinks: Beers with dinner

This morning’s breakfast will be at a small restaurant specializing in dishes made with heirloom varieties of corn. Afterwards, we’ll make our way to the yellow city of Izamal, a designated “Pueblo Mágico.” Our first stop will be the garden of our lunch restaurant, a beautiful and sustainable project that provides them with all their produce while simultaneously making use of their waste for composting and more. Then we’ll explore the charming town, admiring all the yellow buildings and houses and the San Antonio de Padua convent, with perhaps some shopping in between. Our lunch will of course include some lovely fresh vegetables from the garden and other traditional dishes, including handmade tortillas, sikil p’ak (a Mayan dip made with pumpkin seeds), and poc chuc (charcoal-roasted pork marinated in sour orange). Back in Mérida and at our hotel, take some time to rest before dinner at one of the newest restaurants in town, from an emerging chef, where we’ll try a variety of small plates that may include a crab chile relleno.

Stay: Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel & Spa
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Drinks: None 

*Note that this day is under revision as we’re looking into an even more amazing experience.

Our final day will start with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Then, we’ll start our drive to visit Yucatán’s second largest city, Valladolid, with some stops along the way, including a cenote (a natural sinkhole). We won’t be swimming, but we want you to see a cenote since it’s an important cultural element here. The historic town of Valladolid is a bit quieter than Mérida, with plenty of shopping and lovely streets to explore, such as the colorful Calzada de los Frailes. Lunch will be at a hidden restaurant that specializes in traditional Mayan cuisine and everything is artisanal. Take a nap on our drive back to Mérida. The afternoon is yours to rest, pack, or explore. For our farewell dinner: a renowned chef’s ode to traditional Yucatán cuisine and ingredients with a creative touch. We’ll enjoy the incredible food and toast to our wonderful week together and the friendships made along the way. 

Stay: Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel & Spa
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Drinks: None 

After a week of exploring and eating your way through Mérida and Yucatán, it’s time to head back home with some new memories and perhaps a couple of Mexican wine bottles. There are no scheduled activities today, so you may depart early in the morning or enjoy breakfast at the hotel before our driver takes you to the airport. 

Meals: Breakfast

* Please keep in mind that this is a sample itinerary and it is subject to change. We expect to do everything listed, but the order may change depending on local conditions and availability.

Upcoming departures

DECEMBER

09 - 15, 2025

(OPEN)

$5,200
per person

No single supplement fee (ask about our inclusivity policy)

Step back into a time of mansion-lined boulevards in Mérida, the capital city of Yucatán state, where colonial grandeur mingles with thousands of years of Mayan history. Walk into a market for morning tacos to find piles of neon chiles and bags of recados (seasoning pastes) filling the air with rich aromas. Outside of Mérida, wander through the gardens of a former sisal hacienda, and admire the women’s embroidered huipiles in Magical Towns, a prestigious government designation for enchanting towns preserving their traditions. Brimming with ecological reserves, white sand beaches, cenotes (freshwater sinkholes), and marvelous archeological sites such as Uxmal and Chichen Itzá, Yucatán is rich in history and beauty. And nowhere is it more tangible than in its cuisine, mixing indigenous ingredients and techniques with those brought in with colonial times, trading ships, and immigration. During our one-week immersion trip, we’ll dive into the cultural and culinary traditions of the state from an insider’s perspective, eating at upscale restaurants, street stands, markets, and even a private hacienda for a deep taste of Yucatán. All guided and accompanied throughout by our celebrated Chef Ambassador of Mexico Iliana de la Vega and cultural journalist and anthropologist Isabel Torrealba (our founding mother-daughter duo). 

Included

  • All meals described in the itinerary
  • Accommodation for 6 nights at Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel & Spa, a luxury design hotel
  • Private transportation throughout
  • Airport to hotel pick-up and drop-off transfers (with a window of two days before and after the trip dates)
  • Mexican wine class & tasting
  • Private, hands on cooking session with James Beard Award winning chef Iliana de la Vega at an exclusive hacienda 
  • Private tours with cultural and historical experts 
  • Admission to all proposed activities & museums
  • All non-alcoholic beverages during group meals and some alcoholic beverages as described in the itinerary
  • Gratuities for all meals described in the itinerary
  • A handmade welcome gift 
  • The guidance and hosting of your two local experts throughout the trip: celebrated Chef Iliana de la Vega and cultural journalist and anthropologist Isabel Torrealba

Excluded

  • Food & beverages not described in the itinerary
  • Airfare or transportation to and from Mérida, Yucatán
  • Travel insurance (recommended)
  • Hotel incidentals, including room service 
  • Laundry service, spa services, or hotel bar tabs 
  • Tips for excluded alcoholic drinks 
  • Gratuities for drivers, guides, and trip leaders

Group size

Limited to 14 guests as we believe a smaller group allows for a more personalized experience

Testimonials

Tim and Connie Tempel

The range of restaurant venues chosen, the quality of the food and the uniqueness of each location was outstanding. The meal we helped prepare was a delight. We also visited some beautiful towns and archeological areas near to Merida. The accommodations were also great. We have travelled a lot in Mexico and on this trip we discovered a lot, food especially, that we never have tasted before such as chaya and lima.Trip is highly recommended.

Judith Kundl

In January I took the Mexican Culinary Traditions (MCT) tour to Mérida. It was my third trip with Iliana and Isabel, having also been to Oaxaca and Morelia. Half of our group were repeat customers, some on their third trip like me and others on their second. On my trip to Morelia there was even a couple on their second MCT tour to that same city. The MCT tours are a wonderful blend of local history, culture, and food, which always includes both high end, innovative restaurants and longtime local favorites. Isabel and Iliana continually update their selections by trying new places and revisiting old so that the tours are always fresh.  Each tour includes a day shopping at a market and helping Iliana prepare a meal in a lovely setting they have found. When we get home, they send us a booklet of recipes from that meal. I have even tried a few! My memories of the congenial trips with MCT warm my days in frigid, snowy Massachusetts.

Jim Elliott and John Behal 

We just finished our Mexican Culinary Traditions trip to Merida, our third trip with Chef Iliana and her daughter Isabel. It has been a great education of regional foods, cultures and history of some of Mexico’s lesser known destinations with such knowledgeable and capable leaders.

Meredith Abston

We have travelled with Mexican Culinary Traditions twice, this last time to Merida, and had no prior idea about the diversity of food and experiences we were to experience. Traveling with Iliana and Isabel is perfect, as the accommodations are vetted and the meals are out of this world. We visited locations we would not have known about if we had gone alone, and we met others which enhanced the trip. The food and the experiences of meals prepared and presented by talented chefs are unique in every way. Travelling with a group, we had lively conversation.

Paula and Steve Sansom

We visited Merida with MCT the first week of Dec, 2024, when the city was decked with holiday lights. We found many flavors different from our previous trips with MCT (CDMX, Oaxaca), including use of charred ingredients and a dip/spread called sikil pak, made from pumpkin seeds. Huevos motuelenos for breakfast, queso relleno for lunch, conchinita pibil for dinner. Touring the Mayan site of Uxmal. Up close look at a cenote. The always wonderful cooking class, this time at Hacienda Tamchen. And oh, yes: the "kissing chairs!" This was a wonderful, fun trip.

Kent Rude

We recently spent a wonderful week in Merida, Yucatan with Mexican Culinary Traditions experiencing real Mexican hospitality, Mayan culture, and exquisite food. The tour was very intimate (12 people including the two leaders), so interactions were warm, friendly and informative as group members were from all over the US with some participants from Mexico. Highlights are almost too numerous to mention, but nonetheless...Iliana is a James Beard Award winning chef so her selection of restaurants was amazing. Every meal was outstanding and each seemed better than the preceding one, although that is likely a product of my over-worked taste buds! I particularly enjoyed seeing where our food came from so I loved the visit to the farm/garden where the biologist/botanist in charge spoke of his crops and then joined us for lunch at the restaurant where his herbs and produce were served. Another highlight was visiting the market with Iliana (we were like kindergarteners on a field trip,) where she selected the food for the meal we prepared, under her close supervision, at a beautiful hacienda. Food was delicioso and the setting on the veranda was bucolic. Merida is a magnificent colonial city and felt like 'real' Mexico and was easily accessible from Miami via American Airlines, from Houston via United, and from Mexico City via Aeromexico. Weather was warm and sunny and much appreciated as it was single digits back in Boston. Oh, and did I mention we had amazing food!