Ticul

Northeast of Santa Elena [1], the pleasant town of Ticul is an agricultural zone and a pottery and shoemaking center.

Like Santa Elena, Ticul is a good place to base yourself if you think you’ll want more than one day along the Puuc Route [2]. You’ll avoid the long drive back to Mérida [3] after the first day of ruins and get an earlier start the next day.

Getting There

Ticul has a small bus terminal (tel. 997/972-0162) and large colectivo terminal, almost across the street from each other on Calle 24 behind the church and central plaza. A number of smaller terminals have colectivo service to nearby towns.

The colectivo terminal has the fastest and cheapest service to Mérida (US$3, 1 hour). Vans leave whenever full (usually every half hour); buy a ticket at the counter, where you also select a numbered seat assignment.

The bus terminal also has service to Mérida (US$3.50, 1.5 hours), as well as to Campeche City [4] (US$7, 3 hours), Carrillo Puerto [5] (US$9, 4 hours), and Chetumal [6] (US$14, 6 hours). For Cancún [7], it’s faster to go to Mérida and catch a direct bus from there.

Colectivos to nearby villages use separate terminals. Colectivos leave whenever they fill up, typically every 30–60 minutes and roughly 7 a.m.–8 p.m.

You can also get from town to town quite affordably by taxi, and that is recommended at night when colectivo service is reduced or nil. A taxi from Ticul to Santa Elena, for example, costs US$7.50.