Motul

Motul is a small coastal town of just over 20,000 people (2005) in northern Yucatán.

Get in

By bus

Motul is served by direct second-class buses leaving Merida every hour. It's just over a 1-hour ride and the fare is M$50 (May 2023) on Autobuses Noreste Yucatán.

• 1 Terminal de Autobuses de Noreste, Calle 28 No. 300, San Juan, Motul, ☏ +529919150161. Small bus depot with destinations in northeast region of Yucatan as well as Merida. (updated May 2023)

Get around

Walk. The town is compact, laid out on a grid, and has easy rules of navigation:

• Every street in Motul is numbered.
• Every street is a calle. There are no "rutas", "avenidas" or "vias".
• Even numbered calles run north-south.
• Odd numbered calles run east-west.
• Low numbers are in the north and the east.
• Higher numbers are in the south and the west.

See

Templo de San Juan Bautista

• 1 Plaza Central. Small zocalo across two city blocks. Lots of shade trees and benches for quiet relaxation. Next to main market where you can have breakfast or shop for handmade artesanias. 

• 2 Cenote Sambula, C. 43 296, Sambulá, Motul. Small cenote with public swimming. Actually in the town, so can be walked to. Entry is timed and you're only given a limited amount of time in the water. Water depth varies seasonally. There is a mostly submerged cavern between two caverns that is not for the claustrophobic. Good on-site restaurant. Can get very crowded. M$40. 
• 3 Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, Calle 26 542, Centro, Motul. Very stark and austere church with none of the ostentatious ornamentation that stereotypes old Mexican churches. (updated May 2023)
• 4 Museo Biblioteca Felipe Portillo Carillo, Calle 29 No. 302B, San Juan, Motul. 08:00-14:00, 17:00-19:00. Local history museum and library in the former home of a Yucatan governor. Free. (updated May 2023)

Eat

If you're spending the night in Motul, be sure to order the Huevos Motuleños for breakfast...it's the town's most famous dish and a cornerstone of regional cuisine throughout the Yucatán peninsula. It starts with a fresh corn tortilla, hot off the comal. Spread mashed black beans (or use refried beans if you're a gringo) on the tortillas and then a freshly fried egg. Top with chiltomate salsa (a red salsa flavored with habañero). Sprinkle with queso fresco and chopped ham. Local often sprinkle some sweet peas on top. It's the Yucatan, so of course it's usually served with fried plantains. Buen provecho!

• 1 Doña Evelia Huevos Motuleños, Mercado Municipal 20 de Noviembre, Calle 26A s/n, Centro, Motul, ☏ +529919590061. 08:00-13:30. Huevos Motuleños is the Yucatan's iconic breakfast and Doña Evelia makes it her specialty, serving up breakfast 7 days a week in Motul's central marketplace. It's cash only. There's no menu and service is super fast. The only question will be "Un huevo o dos?" (one egg or two) 

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Motul, Calle 27, San Juan, Motul (across the street from Plaza Central), ☏ +529983716882. Barebones budget hotel. (updated May 2023)
• 2 Hotel Maria Jose, 26 x 25 y 27 #299B, Centro, Motul, ☏ +529919150828. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Very nice traditional hotel with updated amenities. Cold A/C, king beds, hot showers. On-site restaurant with delicious regional cuisines (open 8:30am til 5pm). (updated May 2023)