Northeast of Santa Elena, the pleasant town of Ticul is an agricultural zone and a pottery and shoemaking center.

Like Santa Elena, Ticul is a good place to base yourself if you think you’ll want more than one day along the Puuc Route. You’ll avoid the long drive back to Mérida after the first day of ruins and get an earlier start the next day.

Getting There

Ticul has a small bus terminal (tel. 997/972-0162) and large colectivo terminal, almost across the street from each other on Calle 24 behind the church and central plaza. A number of smaller terminals have colectivo service to nearby towns.

The colectivo terminal has the fastest and cheapest service to Mérida (US$3, 1 hour). Vans leave whenever full (usually every half hour); buy a ticket at the counter, where you also select a numbered seat assignment.

The bus terminal also has service to Mérida (US$3.50, 1.5 hours), as well as to Campeche City (US$7, 3 hours), Carrillo Puerto (US$9, 4 hours), and Chetumal (US$14, 6 hours). For Cancún, it’s faster to go to Mérida and catch a direct bus from there.

Colectivos to nearby villages use separate terminals. Colectivos leave whenever they fill up, typically every 30–60 minutes and roughly 7 a.m.–8 p.m.

You can also get from town to town quite affordably by taxi, and that is recommended at night when colectivo service is reduced or nil. A taxi from Ticul to Santa Elena, for example, costs US$7.50.