Before our recent trip to Merida, Mexico, my wife spent a lot of time on the Trip Advisor forums asking questions. Once of the questions she asked concerned the use of my mobility scooter. While none of the response to that question were mean per se, they all pretty much boiled down to "It's going to be too difficult, why don't you take a cruise instead?"
We've been on cruises. They're ok, but we want more than what a cruise can offer. We're also both very practical, not to mention stubborn. Since I do have some mobility and the scooter wasn't too heavy, we were confident that we could overcome any obstacle.
We flew from Atlanta to Cancun on Southwest. Southwest is very good when it comes to mobility scooters, and I just rode it down the jetway to the plane and they then gate checked it. When we fly domestically, the scooter is brought up to the plane at the jet way, so that's what we expected. However, when we arrived, we were informed that they couldn't bring the scooter up to the plane. They did provide a wheelchair and a very nice gentleman to push it, with the added bonus that he took us right past the long line at immigration and customs at the Cancun airport.
After clearing customs, we went to baggage claim to await the arrival of our luggage and the wheelchair attendant went to find my scooter. Our plan was to take the ADO bus from the airport into Cancun Centro and from there, get tickets for the ADO bus to Merida. Southwest flies into the newly opened Terminal 4 at Cancun International, and for some reason, there are no ATMs in Terminal 4 and the ADO desk in Terminal 4 is cash only. As we didn't have any Pesos yet, and we didn't know that ADO would take US Dollars, we took the shuttle bus from Terminal 4 to Terminal 2, where we were told there was an ATM. We did have one slight problem with the shuttle bus -- while the driver noticed that I needed the ramp/lift to board, they weren't paying attention that I need it to leave the bus, and the drivers compartment is isolated from the passenger compartment, so it was hard to get their attention. We made it to Terminal 2, found the ATM, got Peso's and then had a bit of an adventure getting to the busses from the side of the terminal that we were on, but we managed to find the area, buy the tickets and get on the bus. In the future, we'll know to bring some Pesos with us so we don't have to go to Terminal 2. We've got enough left over from the trip, that won't be a problem next time we travel to Mexico :)
There was no problem with the scooter and the ADO bus to Cancun. It's a modern tour bus with luggage storage underneath, and the scooter fit just fine. The ADO employee did tell us it was too heavy and he needed a tip for loading it, but that was fine. We planned to tip extra for help with the scooter, and he seemed happy with the 50 peso tip. Arrival at Cancun Centro was just as easy, and there was plenty of help getting the scooter out of the luggage compartment. We purchased the tickets for the ADO GL bus to Merida, got some lunch and headed to the special lounge for GL and Plantino customers. If you're going to take the bus from Cancun Centro to anywhere in Mexico, I recommend the GL or Plantino bus if it's available. It was only 60 pesos more per person (about $4), but we got checked bags, a bottle of water or a drink, earbuds for the movies and the special lounge with free, clean bathrooms, free coffee, cell phone charging and cool air conditioning! It turns out that it's cheaper to take the shuttle from the airport into Cancun Centro and then take the bus from there than directly from the airport. Plus, from the airport, you can only get the first class bus which doesn't have the free drink and you have to listen to the movies.
Arrival in Merida was just as easy -- claim the bags and lots of help to get the scooter out of the luggage compartment. We flagged down a taxi and headed to our hotel, the Hotel Santa Anna which is very near Merida's historic centro and Plaza Santa Anna. The staff at Hotel Santa Anna were terrific. They had a handicap entrance and a ramp up into the main courtyard that while a bit steep was doable. While our first floor room wasn't a handicap accessible room, there was only a small step up, and it was easy to get the scooter into the room.
We started exploring Merida the next day, and I have to tell you, the Trip Advisor people were wrong about Merida. I'm not saying that it ADA compliant or as handicap friendly as say, Atlanta, but with a little ingenuity, a calm head and a willingness to hop off the scooter to clear an obstacle, it was very doable. Most, but not all intersections had at least one curb cut of various conditions, and if there wasn't a matching curb cut on the other side, there was usually a nearby driveway or low spot in the curb that I was able to "pop the curb". Every public park and plaza we visited had ramps, the Government Palace had an elevator so I could see all of the murals and artwork and the people of Merida themselves were so helpful! One store we wanted to go into had 2 tall steps, and two strapping young men lifted the scooter up into the store and back down. When we went to this little seafood restaurant that only had something like 8 tables and a counter, again, a couple of waiters lifted the scooter up and down. Anytime it even looked like I was struggling with an obstacle, there was a random stranger or two willing to help me manuver the scooter over or around it. The only real complaint that I had about accessibility in Merida was with the tour guide for the "Walking Tour of Merida" offered by the Tourist Bureau. My wife and I showed up for the tour, the guide was aware of me, as he tried to find a way for me to get up to the 2nd level of the building the Tourist Bureau was in, but after that, he pretty much ignored me, taking the tour across streets in the middle of the block and doing other things that made it difficult for me to keep up.
So if you're thinking about going to Merida and you use a scooter or a wheelchair, go! With a little effort and ingenuity, it's very doable, and the people of Merida are very friendly and helpful.
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