Costa Esmeralda (Yucatán)

Map

Places to visit in Costa Esmeralda (Yucatán) 43

43 places with their own page, grouped by kind.

Villages · 27 Landmarks and museums · 4 Towns · 4 Islands · 2 Nature reserves · 2 Beaches · 1 Cities · 1 Lagoons · 1 Archaeological sites · 1

Villages

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  Cansahcab · Village · Yucatán
  Henequen-country town east of Motul with a 17th-century Franciscan church, a Santa Cruz chapel and lively September and October fiestas.
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  Chabihau · Village · Yucatán
  Small fishing port on Yucatán's north coast, the seaside village of Yobaín, with a quiet beach, mangroves behind it and a minor Maya site nearby.
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  Chelem · Village · Yucatán
  A low-key fishing village just west of Progreso, with a free white-sand beach, seafood shacks and boat trips on the lagoon behind it.
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  Chenché de las Torres · Village · Yucatán
  Hacienda village near Temax whose main house was remodelled as a mock medieval castle with two towers; seen from the road, as the house is private.
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  Chicxulub Pueblo · Village · Yucatán
  Henequen-country town 20 km north-east of Mérida that gave its name to the dinosaur-killing crater, with a 17th-century church of Santiago.
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  Chicxulub Puerto · Village · Yucatán
  A beach village just east of Progreso that sits near the centre of the crater left by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
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  Chuburná Puerto · Village · Yucatán
  A small fishing and beach village west of Progreso, with shallow calm water, dunes and boat trips into the lagoon and mangroves to Isla Columpios.
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  Chucmichén · Village · Yucatán
  Former Cámara family henequen hacienda north of Temax, where Maya statues were found in the 1920s; the restored casco is now a private estate.
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  Dzemul · Village · Yucatán
  Henequen town between Motul and the coast, known for its twin-towered 17th-century parish and the December feast of the Virgen de la Expectación.
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  Dzilam de Bravo · Village · Yucatán
  Fishing port at the end of the coast road, base for boat trips to the springs, mangroves and empty beaches of the Dzilam reserve, and Lafitte's supposed grave.
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  Dzoncauich · Village · Yucatán
  A quiet farming town southeast of Temax with a 17th-century church of San Juan Bautista and a lively vaquería at its yearly fiesta.
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  Ixil · Village · Yucatán
  A farming town northeast of Mérida known for its small onions and the Chilam Balam de Ixil, with a 17th-century church to San Bernabé.
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  Kancabchén Ucí · Village · Yucatán
  A tiny former henequen hacienda north of Motul, later a lime plantation, reached by a 4 km walk or bike ride from the road to Telchac Pueblo.
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  Kiní · Village · Yucatán
  Motul's largest comisaría, a farming village northwest of Motul whose church of San Mateo hosts a big procession for the Assumption every 15 August.
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  Komchén Martínez · Village · Yucatán
  A hamlet of about a hundred people north of Motul, gathered around the church, park and buildings of an old hacienda named after its owner.
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  Sacapuc · Village · Yucatán
  A quiet farming village northwest of Motul with a main church, a small park and the remains of its old hacienda.
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  San Antonio Cámara · Village · Yucatán
  Village between Temax and Buctzotz built around a henequen hacienda of the Cámara family, with its old casco, chapel and chimney still standing.
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  San Ignacio · Village · Yucatán
  A former henequen hacienda off the Mérida–Progreso highway, with a red neo-Gothic church, the old machine house and a main house used in the film Casta Divina.
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  San José Hilí · Village · Yucatán
  A small hacienda village west of Motul whose arcaded henequen-era buildings still frame the settlement of about 300 people.
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  San Pedro Chacabal · Village · Yucatán
  A growing farming village east of Motul, with its main church and the stone walls and buildings of its former hacienda.
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  Sinanché · Village · Yucatán
  Henequen-belt village near the north coast with a 17th-century church of San Buenaventura and a July fiesta with bullfights and vaquerías.
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  Telchac Pueblo · Village · Yucatán
  Inland farming town on the road from Motul to the coast, with a late 17th-century church and a big fiesta for Saint Francis each October.
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  Timul · Village · Yucatán
  A former henequen hacienda village in the far northwest of Motul municipality, where the estate's chimney and stone walls still stand.
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  Toó · Village · Yucatán
  A tiny former henequen hacienda village between Ixil and Mocochá, where the old stone walls, gate and chimney of the estate still stand.
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  Ucí · Village · Yucatán
  A village just north of Motul built beside an ancient Maya city, where an 18 km stone causeway once set out east toward Cansahcab.
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  Xbec · Village · Yucatán
  Former henequen hacienda turned farming village near Buctzotz, with a small church and plaza on the way to the Dzilam coast.
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  Yobaín · Village · Yucatán
  Quiet north-coast village between Sinanché and Dzidzantún, with a colonial church of San Lorenzo and its own beach village, Chabihau.

Landmarks and museums

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  Malecón de Progreso · Landmark · Yucatán
  Progreso's car-free seafront on Calle 19: a kilometer of beach, seafood restaurants, the Meteorite Museum and evening music by the Gulf.
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  Muelle de Progreso · Landmark · Yucatán
  Progreso's arched concrete pier runs about 8 km out into the shallow Gulf, certified by Guinness in 2023 as the longest pier in the world.
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  Museo del Meteorito · Landmark · Yucatán
  A museum on Progreso's malecón about the Chicxulub asteroid impact and Earth's five mass extinctions, with fossils, projections and moving dinosaurs.
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  Yucalpetén · Landmark · Yucatán
  Progreso's sheltered harbour, opened in 1968: fishing fleets, shipyards and some 36 marinas between the port and Chelem.

Towns

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  Buctzotz · Town · Yucatán
  Cattle town in northeastern Yucatán with an orange-red church of San Isidro Labrador, a big January fiesta and over a hundred cenotes in its municipality.
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  Dzidzantún · Town · Yucatán
  North-coast town whose 16th-century Franciscan church of Santa Clara is the longest single-nave colonial church in Mexico, with restored murals.
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  Dzilam González · Town · Yucatán
  Farming town on the road to Dzilam de Bravo with a large Maya mound right in town and a June fiesta for San Antonio de Padua.
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  Temax · Town · Yucatán
  Old henequen town east of Motul with a twin-towered parish and former convent of San Miguel Arcángel and four colonial chapels.

Islands

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  Isla Columpios · Island · Yucatán
  A sandbank in the lagoon behind Chuburná Puerto with swings and hammocks over knee-deep turquoise water, reached by cooperative boats.
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  Isla Pájaros · Island · Yucatán
  A sandy seabird islet in the Arrecife Alacranes reef, far out in the Gulf; it is closed to tourists, who can only land on nearby Isla Pérez.

Nature reserves

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  Arrecife Alacranes · Nature reserve · Yucatán
  The biggest coral reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico, a national park far off Progreso with five sandy islets, a lighthouse and diving on a remote reef.
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  El Corchito · Nature reserve · Yucatán
  A small mangrove reserve on the edge of Progreso, reached by a five-minute boat ride, with three clear freshwater pools to swim in and tame raccoons.

Beaches

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  Santa Clara · Beach · Yucatán
  Tiny fishing and salt-making port of Dzidzantún with a quiet beach, pink salt ponds and a July boat procession for Saint Clare.

Cities

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  Progreso · City · Yucatán
  Mérida's seaside port, with a record-long pier, a pedestrian malecón, a 19th-century lighthouse and a wide Gulf beach 35 km from the capital.

Lagoons

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  Xtampú · Lagoon · Yucatán
  Pink salt ponds on the coast near Telchac where salt is still harvested by hand, with flamingos often feeding in the background.

Archaeological sites

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  Xcambó · Archaeological site · Motul
  A Maya salt-trading port near the coast, with a small colonial chapel on its plaza and flamingos often in nearby lagoons.

Top tours in Costa Esmeralda (Yucatán)

Kancabchén Ucí From Merida: Chichen Itza Tour, Izamal, Cenote Ik Kil and Food ★ 4.9 (578) 12 h From US$74

Kancabchén Ucí Merida Walking Food Tour. Authentic & Local Cuisine ★ 4.9 (533) 3 h From US$71

Kancabchén Ucí Merida Street Food Walking Tour ★ 4.9 (443) 3 h 30 min From US$80

Kancabchén Ucí Chichen Itza, Private Cenote/Food Experience & the magic Izamal ★ 4.9 (416) 10 h From US$83

Timul Learn Paddle Board and Explore the Mangroves of Progreso ★ 5.0 (356) 2 h From US$80

Kancabchén Ucí Taste of the Yucatan: Merida Cooking Class and Market Visit ★ 4.9 (332) 5 h From US$108

Dzoncauich Guided Tour to Chichén Itzá and Cenote and Valladolid with Lunch ★ 4.5 (239) 12 h From US$20

Timul Sergio’s 5 in 1 Tour, All Included ★ 4.7 (210) 5 h From US$114

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