Another excellent day to head out. There are interesting haciendas that stretch from out from Merida in all directions. They were once joined by small rail tracks with carts drawn by horse. They are seldom more than 5 miles apart. Some of them are private but a lot of them are open to the public like Sotuta de Peon or my favorite Yaxcopoil. Some are hotels with restaurants. My advice is tread lightly and have drinks or an appetizer. The food is seldom very good but the views are excellent. There´s never a cenote far from a hacienda so it´s easy to combine a tour of haciendas with cenotes.
My favorite day trip would be to stop at 3 or 4 haciendas on the way to Uxmal and Kabah then drive along the high road of Santa Elena to the market town of Oxkutzcab. Head over to Mani for lunch. Then I´d find a cenote and take a nap before having cocktails at a hacienda and watching the sunset. The stars are amazing when you get away from town. It´s no wonder there are observatories at all of the major Maya ruins. The first hacienda were built on Maya sites where there were plenty of stones, cenote waters and a platform. The platform is aligned to the stars and not the poles.
Tuesday Night there´s salsa dancing in the Santiago Park from 8.30. So its a good night to have a dinner at La Reina de Itzlana of Yucatecan market food and watch the people dance.
The Best of Yucatan Guide 