Acanceh tour options
Acanceh is a nice add-on to a cenote day, since it sits on the road to Homún and Cuzamá. A private driver can include a coffee stop.
Acanceh is one of the simplest additions we can offer. It sits on the way to Homún and Cuzamá, so a stop adds little driving time and gives a cultural counterpoint to a day of swimming.
On its own, it makes a good late-afternoon excursion from Mérida for travellers who have only a few free hours.
Things you'll see in Acanceh
The Palace of the Stuccos is a Maya building with stucco masks, partly sheltered. Next to it stands the colonial church. Having a Maya structure, a Spanish church and the modern plaza together is the town's charm.
The setting is unusual: a Maya pyramid, a colonial church and a plaza share the same open space. The Palace of the Stuccos, protected by a roof, shows moulded masks and figures from a Maya building, one of the best examples of this type of decoration in the region.
Take a few minutes in the church, then walk the plaza. Local snack vendors and small restaurants offer regional dishes, and the town's name is often translated as the moan or lament of the deer.
- Palace of the Stuccos
- Colonial church
- Central plaza
- Nearby pyramid and museum
Sample Acanceh day trip itinerary
An Acanceh and cenote day.
- 08:30 Pickup in Mérida
- 09:15 Acanceh plaza and pyramid
- 10:30 Homún cenote
- 12:30 Lunch
- 14:00 Cuzamá cenote
- 16:30 Return
Acanceh tour prices
| Format | Typical price |
|---|
| Shared tour with cenotes | USD 55-95 per person |
| Private driver | USD 100-200 per vehicle |
| Entry | Small fee at some sites |
Getting to Acanceh
Acanceh is about 25 km from Mérida, around 35 minutes by car. The road is also used by buses and shared vans that leave from Mérida's terminals.
If you plan a cenote day as well, a private driver can handle the whole loop, including Homún, Cuzamá and lunch.
Best time to visit Acanceh
Mornings are best for photographs and for visiting before the heat. The town is pleasant year-round, and rain showers in summer are usually short.
Check opening hours for the stucco palace before you go, because small sites sometimes close for maintenance.
Combine Acanceh with nearby sites
Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$60Izamal Tours & Day TripsAn Izamal tour takes you to the so-called Yellow City, a Pueblo Mágico about an hour east of Mérida where colonial buildings, painted in warm yellow, stand on top of older Maya pyramids.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$80Izamal & Chichén Itzá TourAn Izamal and Chichén Itzá tour combines the yellow colonial town with the best-known Mayan ruins in one day.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$70Sotuta Tours & Day TripsA Sotuta tour is the way to see a working henequen hacienda and ride a mule-drawn cart to a cenote, in the town that was once the seat of a Maya province.Gulf CoastEl Cuyo Tours & Day TripsAn El Cuyo tour reaches a remote fishing village on the north-east coast, where long empty beaches, shallow turquoise water and constant breeze draw kitesurfers and people who want to switch off.Puuc Hills & the South · from US$70Maní Tours & Day TripsA Maní tour brings you to one of the most historically loaded small towns in the Yucatán, a quiet place in the Puuc hills where a 16th-century Franciscan convent stands on the site of an older Maya centre.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$55Homún Cenote ToursA Homún cenotes tour takes you to the heart of the Yucatán's Cenote Ring, a cluster of underground and semi-open sinkholes about an hour south-east of Mérida.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$50Cuzamá Cenote ToursA Cuzamá cenotes tour is built around a very Yucatecan ride: a horse-drawn cart on narrow rails, called a truk, that carries you through scrubland to underground cenotes.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$55Cenote Santa Bárbara ToursA Cenote Santa Bárbara tour visits one of the best-known stops in the Homún cluster, where several underground pools lie close together near the village.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$70Hacienda Sotuta de Peón ToursHacienda Sotuta de Peón tour packages take you to a working henequen plantation near Tecoh, where you see fibre being stripped, ride a mule-drawn rail cart and finish with a cenote swim. Acanceh tour FAQs
Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$60Izamal Tours & Day TripsAn Izamal tour takes you to the so-called Yellow City, a Pueblo Mágico about an hour east of Mérida where colonial buildings, painted in warm yellow, stand on top of older Maya pyramids.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$80Izamal & Chichén Itzá TourAn Izamal and Chichén Itzá tour combines the yellow colonial town with the best-known Mayan ruins in one day.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$70Sotuta Tours & Day TripsA Sotuta tour is the way to see a working henequen hacienda and ride a mule-drawn cart to a cenote, in the town that was once the seat of a Maya province.Gulf CoastEl Cuyo Tours & Day TripsAn El Cuyo tour reaches a remote fishing village on the north-east coast, where long empty beaches, shallow turquoise water and constant breeze draw kitesurfers and people who want to switch off.Puuc Hills & the South · from US$70Maní Tours & Day TripsA Maní tour brings you to one of the most historically loaded small towns in the Yucatán, a quiet place in the Puuc hills where a 16th-century Franciscan convent stands on the site of an older Maya centre.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$55Homún Cenote ToursA Homún cenotes tour takes you to the heart of the Yucatán's Cenote Ring, a cluster of underground and semi-open sinkholes about an hour south-east of Mérida.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$50Cuzamá Cenote ToursA Cuzamá cenotes tour is built around a very Yucatecan ride: a horse-drawn cart on narrow rails, called a truk, that carries you through scrubland to underground cenotes.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$55Cenote Santa Bárbara ToursA Cenote Santa Bárbara tour visits one of the best-known stops in the Homún cluster, where several underground pools lie close together near the village.Cenote Ring & Izamal · from US$70Hacienda Sotuta de Peón ToursHacienda Sotuta de Peón tour packages take you to a working henequen plantation near Tecoh, where you see fibre being stripped, ride a mule-drawn rail cart and finish with a cenote swim. Want this trip planned for you?
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