Activities

Well, first of all, there's the pool. Sometimes, it's enough
to just float or play in the pool all day. Our pool is lovely,
cool and deep, and surrounded by old stone walls, citrus and
palm trees. It doesn't get much better than this!

But when it's time to get out and see the sights, Hacienda
Santa Cruz is centrally located so that nothing you came
to see on the Yucatan Peninsula is very far away.

Merida
Hacienda Santa Cruz is a mere 20 minutes from the Centro
Historico of Merida. When the peace and tranquility become
too much to bear, hop in your rental car (you will need one
to stay here). There you can enjoy Domingo en Merida, the
lively Sunday market that takes over the Zocalo and Calle
60. You can go in for any evening to enjoy a myriad of
restaurants on Paseo Montejo, Merida's new world version
of the Champs Elysees. Or you can go in any day to visit
churches, museums, the zoo and stroll the colonial streets.

Mayan Archaeological Zones
In every direction from Hacienda Santa Cruz there are Mayan
ruins of beauty and historical import that can easily be visited
as a day trip. Uxmal is only 1 hour away, 40 minutes will take you to Dzabilchaltun and in an hour and a half you'll be in Chichen Itza. In addition, smaller sites such as Mayapan, Acanceh, Edzna, Kobah, Sayil, Labna, Xlapak, Oxkintok and others are all within an hour's drive.

Colonial Cities and Mayan Villages
Perhaps what is most unique about touring the Yucatan
Peninsula is the ability to visit colonial towns and Mayan villages
that you never knew existed. For many of these, the only
intimation that you are still in the 21st Century might be a
young man talking on a cell phone, or the packaged food at
the little tendejon on the corner. The architecture, the markets,
the costumes and the otherwordly small-town atmosphere of
places like Oxcutzcab, Mamá, Izamal, Santa Elena, Uman, and
what seems like a million more are a pleasure to discover.

Beaches and the Gulf of Mexico
About 30 minutes north of Merida is Progreso, the largest of
the not-very-large beach towns that dot the southern coast
of the Gulf of Mexico. One of life's greatest pleasures could
be sitting under a palapa on one of those beaches, sipping a
cold local beer and dipping fresh chips into a big bowl of just-
made guacamole. Or maybe it's rising early and taking a little
boat out of Celestun to see the flocks of flamingos. All these
beach experiences and more are just a few minutes away
from Hacienda Santa Cruz.

Cenotes
Unique to the Yucatan Peninsula are cenotes, those ubiquitous
holes in the limestone shelf that are filled with fresh, clear,
clean and cool water. Some are above ground, like the Xlacah cenote at Dzabilchaltun, and some are underground, like the Dzitnup cenote in Valladolid. These are just the most famous.
Don't miss a chance to take a swim in these refreshing natural
pools while you are visiting here.

Other Haciendas
Though we think Santa Cruz is the best, t here are many other restored haciendas that you may want to visit. Hacienda
Yaxcopoil, for instance, has been preserved as a museum
that can give you a real feel for what life was like during the
boom days of henequen production. Hacienda Ochil is a
great place to stop for lunch. Every hacienda is different
and each one has it's own unique charm.