Handicrafts that reflect creativity, history and beliefs of each town can be found across the Yucatan.

Our Yucatan Shopping Guide is a handy source of information for shopping across the Yucatan. We have listed the contact details for some great Yucatan shops and have also provided details about some of the great things to buy and places to shop in the Yucatan. Whilst browsing through the marketplaces and shopping precincts of the Yucatan, taste some of the tasty Yucatan cuisine.

Yucatan Shopping Guide

All over Yucatan, you see crafts that mirror the culture and traditions of the local people. Some of the carved figurines echo the symbols and engravings that can be seen on the walls of the shrines. Popular motifs include ones with the animals that live in the jungles of the Peninsula. Apart from sculpted wood and stone, you can buy elaborately embellished ternos that Yucatan women wear on festive occasions. Look out for the men's wedding shirt called guayaberas and the blouse which women wear, the huipiles. Both are unusual. Shops in Yucatan also stock ornate hats and intricately tooled shoes. Handicraft stores and the local markets are a good source of souvenirs.

Produce from other parts of Mexico also find their way into the shops in Yucatan. There is coffee and vanilla, black pottery from Oaxaca, unusual furniture, silver jewellery from Taxco, hand woven counterpanes, Talavera ceramics, pewter articles, sculptures and miniatures, masks, Day of the Dead images, Erida Kahlo figures and blown glass. There are also exclusive shops that offer precious items of Mexican and Mayan art. These could be embroidery, textiles, ceramics, spices, pottery or carvings. The discerning buyer would be spoiled for choice here.

Local weavers produce multicoloured swings and hammocks. All along the beaches you can see keepsakes made of shells and even sand. No matter how diverse the taste, there is something for all here.

Merida is the main market for all Yucatan. No place can beat its collection of hammocks, hats, guayaberas and huipile blouses. Such is the array on display no one can return empty handed. Here you also get fine chocolates, gold and silver jewellery in filigree work, the best quality vanilla, anise from Xtabentun, liqueur of honey, fiery habenero chili sauce, baskets woven from henequen, a choice of paintings by Mexican and Yucatan artists, sculptures that echo figures seen in the Chichen Itza shrines, hammocks and Ticul pottery. Whether you wish to browse or to buy, you cannot go wrong if you come to Merida.

Merida is the capital city of Yucatan. Close by is the textile centre of Conkal. Conkal supplies clothing for the whole peninsula. The huipiles and other colourful blouses that the women wear are mass produced by machine. Some of them are painstakingly, but beautifully embroidered by hand. In Conkal you can find wooden trunks and boxes which are cherished by the rural people. Eccentric furniture is also produced here. Ozkutzcab produces stone and clay carvings and the distinctive bead jewellery where gemstones are strung on thread.

Tourists are invariably drawn to the central part of the town where there are a number of small shops where artists display their wares. Some of them also readily demonstrate their craft to visitors. In some of these shops, embroidered dresses are sold by the craftsmen directly.

Those who like to shop in the comfort of large malls need not feel left out since Merida has several shopping arcades.

You can shop in Chichen Itza too. Look out for henequen baskets, jewellery, embroidered clothes, pottery, carved pieces in stone and wood, leather and Mexican paintings. All over Yucatan, art is predominantly Mayan in flavour. The Mayan heritage can be seen in the choice of symbols, figures and artistic treatment. For the Yucatan artists the temples of their ancestors were the main source of inspiration.

Shopping in Mexico is not to be confused with the usual humdrum affair. Apart from a stuffed purse, you need a lot of patience too. Other than expensive pieces of jewellery, most shops stock all the regular items. Before you embark on your shopping expedition, check out the prices in several shops. When you see something you fancy, ask for the lowest price the shop will quote. After comparing prices, offer to pay only less than half of what the shopkeeper has demanded. The serious haggling will start now. Once the hawker brings down the price substantially, honour your part of the bargain.