Questions we are asked all of the time (after and before choosing Merida as our home base): How is the Weather in Merida? and How do you deal with the heat? No one is under any illusion who visits or lives here that it is not hot, and it can range from hot to extremely hot. With average temperatures of a high of 92.8 F and a low of 69.2 F throughout the year, it never reaches a temperature that someone visiting from a wintry area would define as cold. Scorching temperatures in Merida hit in the hot season, which starts in April and continues until September.
So what do you do in the hot season other than hibernating in your air-conditioned house and hide from the world? In this article, we discuss ways of experiencing the heatwave that will affect how you live and here full time.
Highs and Lows
As discussed above the temperatures on average are very hot. Check out the chart below of the highs and lows of each month.
January | 87’/63’ | 70% | Dry Season |
February | 90’/64’ | 68% | Dry Season |
March | 94’/67’ | 63% | Dry Season |
April | 97’/70’ | 64% | Dry Season |
May | 99’/73’ | 63% | Start of the Wet Season |
June | 96’/74’ | 71% | Wet Season |
July | 95’/73’ | 72% | Wet Season |
August | 95’/73’ | 73% | Wet Season |
September | 94’/73’ | 76% | Wet Season |
October | 91’/70’ | 75% | Wet Season |
November | 89’/67’ | 75% | Dry Season |
December | 87’/64’ | 73% | Dry Season |
What it feels like
In short, it feels hot whenever you visit here from cooler climates. As you spend more time in this climate, however, your body acclimates to the average temperatures. You will know when you have acclimated when 70 F degrees start feeling cold. We used to look around Merida and see people wearing sweatshirts and long pants when we would be sweating in our loosest summer clothes and wondered if they were crazy. Now we have become those people in the winter months.
What summer feels like
When we get asked (and we get asked a lot) what it feels like in the summer I describe the weather in Merida to people in one unique way. I describe the feeling of going in and out of an air-conditioned environment like this –
“Go home today but before you get home to pick up some ingredients for some cookies and when you get home to make a nice batch of cookies. When your timer goes off and the cookie smell is overwhelming your kitchen pop the oven open and feel the heat pour over your body. Instead of taking the cookies out of the oven hop in the oven and close the door behind you. That is what summer in Merida feels like.”
Obviously this is said in humor and an oven that bakes cookies is physically much hotter and dangerous. But sometimes when you are transitioning from a climate-controlled area into the dead of summer heat that is one constant memory I have about what it feels like in Merida.
Solutions: Tips for dealing with the humid and hot Weather in Merida
Snow Birds
Snowbirds are tourists or residents that want the best weather in the world and they migrate accordingly. For North Americans in the USA and Canada for example, they spend the summer months in their hometown when the weather is decent and when the winter or rainy season starts to rear its ugly head they take off south for warmer weather.
In a location independent lifestyle, this model of living is entirely possible and can be a great way to see the world while living in a consistent summer or spring-like atmosphere. Hate pulling out your snow boots, sweaters, and heavy jackets? Well, fear no more. Snowbirding is becoming more and more accessible for people who aren’t only retired.
Leaving during the hot months
We tried this last year with booking a trip to Asia to work on a film project in Bali. Unfortunately, our trip was cut short by an outbreak of Dengue Fever in Thailand before the film project even began. But we were still able to spend our summer with family in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest which is an amazing, temperate place to be during the summer.
Due to the schedule of our cat sitter, who had committed to spending 3 summer months in our apartment in Merida, we chose to go home to the States. It also gave us the impetus to decide to bring our car from the States all the way down to Merida.
Because of Merida’s proximity to a decent international airport, you have the ability to fly anywhere in the world to escape the heat. We are going to come up with the best destinations to escape the heat from Merida soon.
Importance of a pool or body of water
It is not uncommon in Merida to see a swimming pool in the side or backyard of a person’s house. Down here due to the weather of Merida a swimming or dipping pool is not a luxury; it is a necessity. If you do not have a pool there are many options you can explore to make sure you stay cool in the middle of the day.
Hotels
We explored this option when we first arrived and had our place in Centro. Two of the best options are Fiesta Americana and the Hyatt Hotel in Centro. Both are near the Convention Center and Paseo de Montejo. Both of these places have passes that you can purchase where you pay month to month in order to use their pool and fitness facilities. We loved Fiesta Americano and for several months used their pool a few times a week.
Friends
Everybody needs a friend with a truck and a friend with a pool. In Merida the friend with a pool is more convenient in the summer months than the friend with the truck. Due to the hot weather in Merida the smallest amount of physical activity can be enough exertion and physical activity for the day.
The Beach
For 22 pesos you can take the bus to Progreso beach, about 45 minutes away from Merida. We found the bus by accident one summer afternoon when we were talking about how we were going to survive the heat and were headed to the main bus station downtown to try and find the bus out to Progreso.
Two seconds after stepping out of our then-apartment which was located on Calle 64, we saw a bus that said “Progreso” written on the windshield barreling down our road headed north. I jokingly tossed out my thumb. To our amazement, it stopped and we hopped on.
Luckily we had remembered to bring our swimsuits. We were amazed at the affordability and cleanliness of the bus as we were shuttled to the cooler beach town of Progreso. We have continued to love our time at this beach town and have loved swimming in the Gulf of Mexico along with some cervezas and food on the beach.
There are many other wonderful, smaller beach towns and villages to explore in the vicinity of Merida and along the emerald Gulf Coast including the palm groves of San Crisanto, the sleep pretty town of Sisal, the flamingos of Celestun and the small town of Chelem, nearby Progreso to name a few. We stayed at Casa Rosa, an airbnb in Chelem for a few nights on one particularly hot summer weekend and that saved us.
Cenotes
If you do any research on the area you will undoubtedly see information about the largest underground freshwater system in the world. Known in this area as Cenotes, these sources of freshwater dot the peninsula and are readily available in the hot summer months for a cool dip in the most refreshing water we have ever felt. The cenotes are so numerous down here that there is a cenote in the middle of the Costco Parking lot. Check out our favorite day trips post for a list of our favorite cenotes in the magical Mayan village of Homun.
Find a Climate Controlled indoor environment
If you are drenched and pruned from swimming in pools all day and are looking for a cool climate-controlled environment we have some great suggestions that will take up some time in the hottest part of the day.
Head to an Early Movie
Lay back in a reclining lazy boy style chair and relax while it is baking outside for a couple of hours. Order your food and beverages from a great range of sandwiches, salads, pizzas, nachos and more right from your lazy boy seat with the push of a button. Request a fresh blanket too because you might actually get cold in the theater, we do!
The price is so reasonable in Merida that if you walk outside after the movie and the weather in Merida is still too hot turnaround and see what is playing next. Cost? Around $6 USD OR $120 Pesos per ticket.
The Mall
Pretend like it is the mid nineties and become a mall rat for a couple of hours. There are dozens of mega modern malls in Merida. They are full of everything you would find anywhere else in the world but the great benefit is that they are climate controlled. If you get hungry the malls also have some commercial non-local food options and if you are lucky one of those options is an ice cream shop. You can also go to Galerias Mall in Merida and ice skate on their state of the art ice skating rink!
Plan your outdoor time and limit activity mid-day
If you are here during the hottest time of the year, planning is key if you want to stay active.
Our biggest tip is to look at what the local residents are doing at the hottest time of the day. People who have lived here for generations, obviously through the hottest weather in Merida, still don’t challenge themselves to fight the weather.
You will find people sleeping under trees in the many parks dotting the city, laying in hammocks in their homes or at their worksites, or sitting and having a coca-cola or limonada con agua mineral in a restaurant. They use this break as a chance to have a much needed social break in the middle of the day. Recharging their batteries also allows them to continue work after the heat has subsided.
Avoid walking around a lot in the early afternoon
On our first day in Merida, we made this mistake and ended up walking 18,000 steps in the hottest of the hot heat. This was not our best moment and we want our experience to be a lesson to all of you to not make the same mistake. Long story short we passed out in the first available park we found, drank what felt like a bucket of Gatorade and felt the effects for a couple of days.
In many parts of the city, there is little to no shade on the streets. If you walk around enough you will see people migrating to one side of the street. That is because they are using the shade of the buildings to provide some shade in their commute. Again – DO AS THE LOCALS DO!
Merida Comes Alive At Night
Once the heat of the day starts to retreat and the temperatures start to cool down in the evening the people who have hibernated start to emerge from their climate controlled environments. Entire families come out into the streets and sidewalks and start enjoying their time in the comfortable weather of Merida. It is honestly one of our favorite experiences being here in Merida. Just people-watching while strolling around a plaza, seeing people dance, play music, laugh, eat at the local food carts and just enjoy life is one of our greatest pleasures living here.
Food to Help Deal With the Heat
You are what you eat as they say. There are some food items that we highly recommend in the heat of the day, other than a beer or a margarita which we recommend too.
Agua refrescas: is the Spanish name for the light, refreshing fruit, or floral drink that is heaven on a hot day. Most restaurants here offer them in pineapple, watermelon, Chaya (a green spinach type plant), Limonada, hibiscus (aka Jaimaca), horchata, etc.
Drinking-Water: So important to drink water and stay hydrated on hot days. If you start overheating this can lead to heat stroke and severe dehydration which can be deadly. One thing to keep in mind is to make sure you have some electrolytes in your water to help move the salts and minerals that you sweat out back on the other side of the cellular wall. There are many different options from Gatorade to tablets that we love to use that keep us hydrated on hot days.
Spicy Food: Counterintuitively, spicy foods eaten on a hot day will actually make you feel cooler by making you sweat and raising your body temperature. This makes the difference between your body and air smaller which will lessen the effects of the heat.
Ayurvedic Foods: Ayurveda is a sister science and art to Yoga for healthy living and eating, born out of India. To read more in-depth check this article, but here are a few of our favorite tips and foods from Ayurveda to battle with the heat.
Generally, to keep pitta (inner fire) in balance, we should favor sweet, bitter and astringent foods and choose wet foods over dry foods.
Eat naturally sweet foods like fruit:
- Mangoes
- Pineapple
- Watermelon
- Melons
- Bananas
Eat bitter vegetables like:
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Leafy vegetables like spinach, arugula, and kale
- Green Beans
Eat astringent foods like:
- Apples
- Artichoke
- Cranberries
- Avocado
- Cauliflower
- Grains like quinoa and rye
- Legumes like kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils.
- Pomegranate
You can easily find most of these fresh items at the local markets around Merida for a very inexpensive price. Check out our post about shopping local here.
Stay Cool and Enjoy Merida
No matter when you visit Merida you will be sure to enjoy all of the many sights, wonders, and kind people here. From walking around and seeing art, historical buildings, live music, dancing, delicious gastronomical experiences and adventures to the beach, cenotes and Mayan Ruins, your time will be well spent. As long as you follow these simple tips, stay well hydrated and do as the locals do, you will be able to enjoy all that this amazing place has to offer you!
If you have any other questions or tips to share please be sure to write in the comments. Thanks for following!
Fabulous information!
Thanks so much for the kind comment!
Great post! Brings back memories of when I studied abroad in Merida in 2005 and had to learn Mexican folk music as part of my Spanish classes. Back then you could go to the top of Chichen Itza pyramid. I have to say, I miss the discotecas there also.
Carry a white or light umbrella. Or a parasol as our grandmother’s called them.
That is a great idea!!!
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