If you are headed out to Uxmal it may turn into the longest day of your life as there are so many things to see and do in that direction.  Get out early and your first stop should be Yaxcopoil a barely restored and glorious property where you can wander around for an hour or two and get a pretty good idea what life was like 120 years ago.  Then you can go for a little snack at the hacienda Ochil a parador that is part of the Fundacion Haciendas del Mundo Maya there are craft workshops and the James Turrell amphitheater.  On the road again you could just cross over the highway and head for the cenote Yaal-Utzil between Abala and Mucuyche and head back to Merida on the back road via Uyalceh, Sotuta de Peon and Tekit de Regil and you would know quiet a bit about the history of the haciendas and swim in a couple of cenotes to boot.  But you are pushing on to Uxmal.  You can visit the little colonial town of Muna with a nice church and market or bypass it and you´ll be in Uxmal in half an hour.  Once there you can visit the Choco-History Museum of Cacao and Chocolate if your with kids or just across the street head into the most beautiful ruins in Yucatan.

From Uxmal you are very close to Kabah, Xlapak,Labna & Sayil if you are a fiend for the ruins these little visited sites are worth while.  Lonely Planet approaches from the other direction but I recommend seeing Uxmal first.  There are good dining options in the charming little town of Santa Elena but my favorite Maya restaurant in the entire region is in the important colonial convent town of Mani.