What's on in Mérida, Mexico through the year

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Mérida Fest

  5–18 Jan · usuallyMajor festival

  Two weeks of free concerts, theatre and serenatas around the city's founding anniversary, opening with the alborada in the Plaza Grande on the night of 5 January. Everything is outdoors and everything is free. Source ↗

Busy — Carnaval de Mérida

• Festival

  Carnaval de Mérida

  5 Feb – 10 Mar · usuallyCarnivalCrowded

  The parades moved out to a purpose-built Ciudad Carnaval at Xmatkuil years ago, so the centre keeps only the opening burning of bad humour and the children's parade. Getting back into town after midnight is the hard part. Source ↗

Busy — Carnaval de Mérida, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Carnaval de Mérida (5 Feb – 10 Mar (usually))

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Pre-rain heat

  1 Apr – 31 May · usuallyExtreme heat

  The weeks before the rains break are the hardest of the Yucatán year, and the city shuts down between one and five. Cenote trips and the ruins are early-morning jobs in this window, not afternoon ones. Source ↗

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Pre-rain heat (1 Apr – 31 May (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Atlantic hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  Mérida sits inland, so the peninsula's storms usually reach it as a day of hard rain and flooded streets rather than a direct hit. September and October are the months worth watching. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Hanal Pixán & Paseo de las Ánimas

• Festival

  Hanal Pixán & Paseo de las Ánimas

  24 Oct – 2 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The Maya Day of the Dead: altars laid for children on 31 October and adults on 1 November, and a costumed procession from the General Cemetery to Parque de San Juan. Local, not staged for visitors. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Hanal Pixán & Paseo de las Ánimas

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Hanal Pixán & Paseo de las Ánimas (24 Oct – 2 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.