Sisal

Sisal is a small-town port on the Gulf of Mexico in northwest Yucatán. It is a very small town (really just a village) of about 1,800 persons (2020) but with a location close to the state capital, draws large weekend and day-trip crowds. Most visitors come for the eco-tourism, visiting nearby coastal wetlands and jungles. Local beaches are ideal for quiet relaxation with miles of deserted white sand.

The town square is called Parque Principal

Understand

Before the Spanish colonized Mexico, the area around Sisal was lightly occupied by the Maya who are thought to have used it as a minor port although they never established a permanent settlement. During the colonial period, all trade with Spain from the Yucatan Peninsula went through Campeche, until 1810 when Spain granted the state of Yucatan the right to operate a port at Sisal. Piracy was a problem for Spain at that time, so they built a fort at Sisal to protect the port against piracy. It was the last fort Spain would build in Mexico.

Sisal developed slowly and never became a very large port, mostly because it was an unimportant town and access to it was difficult with bad roads that crossed through swamps. Campeche continued to be the preferred port city for the region, although the importance of Yucatan's henequen fiber industry and the development of new haciendas for growing sugar cane kept Sisal in business.

Get in

By bus

From the Merida Noreste bus terminal, Autobuses Oriente has two buses per day to Sisal (usually combis), departing around 12:00 and around 17:00. These are second-class buses (or combis) that make frequent stops and the 50-km trip will take about 90 minutes. The price is M$20 (2023).

• 1 Terminal Sisal (Bus terminal), Carr. Hunuctma-Sisal #23. Buses and combis arrive and depart at this terminal. Check schedules locally as there are usually only 2 arrivals or departures per day with last departure around 18:00, and if you get it wrong, it can be a very long wait for the next ride. 

By car

You can rent a car in Merida and drive to Sisal. To do this, drive northwest from Merida on federal highway MEX-281. When you get to the town of Hunuctma, the road turns to the north. It is about a 45-minute drive.

Get around

The town is very small and you can walk anywhere you want to go, but why walk when you can ride a bike. Bike rentals are available and the streets have very little traffic so it's easy to navigate through town. There are also moto-taxis if even the bike sounds like too much work for you.

You can hire a boat at the Puerto de Abrigo Sisal for fishing trips or sightseeing.

See

• 1 Muelle Sisal, Calle 20 (terminus). You can take a short walk on the long pier that was once used for handling cargo ships. Its now mostly used as a picturesque pedestrian walkway. 
• 2 Fuerte de Santiago, Calle 2 Poniente. Last colonial Spanish fort, built to defend the port from pirates. Lighthouse on site. 
• 3 Mirador de Charcas (Cienegas) de Sisal (Observation deck of lagoons (pools)), Carr. Hunucmá - Sisal (on the road leading out of town, right on the edge of town). Junky parking spot to pull off the road and walk a short trail to see the saltwater marshes where flocks of flamingoes can be seen in the winter months. Several local tour guides offer different ways into swamps, some using kayaks, some using pangas that they use poles to quietly glide through the waters. 

Do

• Fishing the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico
• Sunbathing on the long, sandy beach
• Birdwatching
• Swamp tours
• Kitesurfing

• 1 Puerto De Abrigo Sisal (Harbor). The small sheltered harbor provides docks and marinas for small boats. You can hire a fishing boat here. 

• Reserva Ecologico El Palmar. State-protected wetlands and coastal beaches that provide habitat for more than 200 bird species. It is a large area that extends all the way to the Celestún Biosphere Reserve, famous for its large colonies of pink flamingoes (which you may also see in the lagoons and mangrove swamps near Sisal). 

Festivals

Procession of boats with black Christ figure

• Pilgrimage of the Black Christ (Celebracion del Cristo Negro), August 5 - Every August for more than 90 years, a venerated black statue of Christ has been carried from its home in the Church of St Francis of Asisi in the town of Hunucmá to the port of Sisal, where it is placed in a boat that leads a veritable armada of small fishing craft on an aquatic procession as locals throw flowers in the water. For the next three weeks, the statue of the black Christ will remain in Sisal where pilgrims come to thank Christ for the annual harvest.

Buy

Henequen fibers come from a type of maguey (agave) grown throughout the Yucatan region. Historically, haciendas grew the plants and extracted the fibers for use in making rope and other products. The word "sisal" was often used for any kind of natural fiber rope. The town is not named after the rope, but rather the rope was named for the town. In the 19th century, henequen fibers were a big business, but with the advent of steamships, demand for henequen plummeted. Some henequen is still harvested, and local craftspeople continue to produce handmade artesanal products from the fibers. Woven goods are common, including baskets and hammocks, and the fibers can be tightly woven into cloth that is used for making huipiles and similar garments.

• 1 Mercado Municipal Sisal, Calle 3 Ote. 23. 08:00 - 13:00. Small traditional marketplace with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and stalls selling fresh meat and seafood. 

Eat

• 1 Restaurante Muelle de Sisal, Calle 8 Oriente, ☏ +52 999 451 0037. W-M 11:30 - 18:00 (closed Tu). Popular seaside restaurant with palapas on the beach and an air-conditioned dining room in the main building. Typical Mexican seafood dishes including shrimp, octopus, and lobster. M$250. 
• 2 Palapa de Soco, Calle 3 (aka, Calle 23), ☏ +52 999 447 8965. Daily 12:00 - 19:00. Best seafood in a town full of seafood restaurants. Yucatecan traditional recipes meet innvovative fusions, so the menu has dishes like shrimp curry alongside perennial Mexican favorites like coconut shrimp. Fresh ceviche full of octopus, shrimp, and chunks of white fish. 
• 3 El Amigo Chivero, Calle 21 #6, ☏ +52 999 152 1480. Daily 12:00 - 20:00. Traditional Mexican seafood restaurant with a spacious family-friendly dining room. 
• 4 Palapa de Don Mauro, Calle 17 esq. Calle 10, ☏ +52 999 993 1507. 10:00 - 18:00. Popular seafood restaurant that also serves pasta, meats and other dishes (though the seafood is unquestionably their specialty). Large portions, elegant presentation, and reasonable prices. 

Sleep

Several houses in Sisal can be rented for short stays (mostly through Airbnb). There are also small hotels that might better suit your needs. There are no big hotels and no chain properties.

• 1 La Casona de Sisal, Calle 17 esq. Calle 18, ☏ +52 562 054 1965. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Nice hotel, clean, comfortable with swimming pool and on-site restaurant. Rooms have air conditioning and good WiFi. M$1400. 
• 2 Casa Kinich, Calle 12 #307, ☏ +52 554 940 1728. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Quiet property with 4 bungalows and an outdoor swimming pool. Rooms are spacious, clean, and comfortable. 

Connect

4G cell service is fairly good in town but weak to no signal if you head to the beaches along the east side of town. Service drops to 3G as you head south on MEX-281. No 5G service as of 2023. Free WiFi is offered by some of the beachside restaurants.

Go next

• Celestún
• Progreso
• Motul