Born in Mérida, Sofia delights in preparing local Yucatecan and Mayan dishes that showcase the cultural heritage of the Yucatán Peninsula. An accomplished home-cook, Sofia learned to cook from her mother and grandmother. She loves having guests in her home and gets great pleasure by sharing her Yucatecan culture through food and a pleasant conversation. - Discover Merida with our excursions from the port to a local home, for a private Yucatecan cooking class - Roll up your sleeves and help prepare a Mexican meal in a local's home - Enjoy a home cooked Yucatecan meal served with local beer and dessert - Experience a taste of true Mexican cuisine and dive into the country's wonderful culture with this welcoming local! - Vegetarian options available, on request - Port transfers are included in your Merida Shore Excursion
Prices are per person when two book together; a solo traveller pays $175.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 3.
Sofia will pick you up from this shuttle terminal - Shuttle Terminal Progreso (Auto Progreso Shuttle Station at the door on Calle 82) and drive you to her home in Chelem. Sofia will drop you off at the shuttle terminal at the end of your culinary experience. In Progreso, there is a long stretch from where your ship docks to the terminal building (approximately 3 miles). Please be advised that all passengers must use the shuttle bus located ship-side in order to exit the port area to meet the local tour representative. There will be two shuttle buses as you debark from the ship. Only the white "AUTOPROGRESO" shuttle buses will take you to where the local tour representative is waiting. Upon debarkation, please take the shuttle bus that goes straight to the terminal; please verify that you are boarding the white shuttle bus with "AUTOPROGRESO" written on the side. It is important that this is the only shuttle bus you board, as the other shuttle does NOT go to the terminal building. After boarding the "AUTOPROGRESO" shuttle, you will be driven approximately 3 miles before reaching the terminal building. The shuttle from the cruise port to the mainland makes two stops, one at Mercado (market station) and the other at the Auto Progreso terminal. Do NOT get off at the market station stop. Get off at the Auto Progreso terminal stop. Once you exit the shuttle bus, you will walk through the terminal (about 5 or 6 steps), and exit the terminal building onto the main street/road. You will meet your host, Sofia, at this exit where she will organize you with your transportation and from here she will pick you up and together you will drive approximately 40 minutes to her home. Sofia will drop you off upon return at the shuttle terminal after your excursion. If you encounter any difficulties on the day of the tour, please contact Sofia directly, her number is in your voucher.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Excurgo comparison of 380 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Merida Shore Excursion- Mexican Cooking Class with Port Transfers lasts about 4 hours.
Prices start at $135 per person for this Merida experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. That is the per-person price when two book together; a solo traveller pays $175. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, starting at 10:30 AM.
Children aged 5–11 pay from $85, adults from $135.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. Sofia will pick you up from this shuttle terminal - Shuttle Terminal Progreso (Auto Progreso Shuttle Station at the door on Calle 82) and drive you to her home in Chelem. Sofia will drop you off at the shuttle terminal at the end of your culinary experience. In Progreso, there is a long stretch from where your ship docks to the terminal building (approximately 3 miles). Please be advised that all passengers must use the shuttle bus located ship-side in order to exit the port area to meet the local tour representative. There will be two shuttle buses as you debark from the ship. Only the white "AUTOPROGRESO" shuttle buses will take you to where the local tour representative is waiting. Upon debarkation, please take the shuttle bus that goes straight to the terminal; please verify that you are boarding the white shuttle bus with "AUTOPROGRESO" written on the side. It is important that this is the only shuttle bus you board, as the other shuttle does NOT go to the terminal building. After boarding the "AUTOPROGRESO" shuttle, you will be driven approximately 3 miles before reaching the terminal building. The shuttle from the cruise port to the mainland makes two stops, one at Mercado (market station) and the other at the Auto Progreso terminal. Do NOT get off at the market station stop. Get off at the Auto Progreso terminal stop. Once you exit the shuttle bus, you will walk through the terminal (about 5 or 6 steps), and exit the terminal building onto the main street/road. You will meet your host, Sofia, at this exit where she will organize you with your transportation and from here she will pick you up and together you will drive approximately 40 minutes to her home. Sofia will drop you off upon return at the shuttle terminal after your excursion. If you encounter any difficulties on the day of the tour, please contact Sofia directly, her number is in your voucher.
The experience is available in EN, ES.
It is a private experience: only your party takes part. Up to 4 travellers can book together.
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Confirmation is sent by the operator within 24 hours of booking.
Travellers rate it 5.0 out of 5 across 8 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Traveling Spoon.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Ismael is incredibly personable and knowledgeable. The three of us had a wonderful day visiting the market, learning about food and cooking in Ismael’s home. The dishes we helped prepare were delicious. We try to take a cooking class when we travel internationally. This experience did not disappoint.
This was a wonderful experience for us! Ismael is a knowledgeable and fun guide to the city and its food. Some highlights for us included tasting fruits we had never seen before at the market, understanding the progression of making a delicious soup, and learning more about the history of the city. As first-time visitors to Mexico City, we found this to be a great way to begin our stay. Thanks, Ismael!
We enjoyed the authentic experiences of the market and cooking in his home including the wonderful fresh food. Thank you!
I like to do cooking classes when I travel these days. I found the Traveling Spoon website on Trip Advisor and it had a few options for México City. I booked the market tour and cooking class combination and was soon in touch with our host Farid Estrada. He cooks a meal in his apartment in Colonia Napoles, close to our apartment in Roma Sur so he suggested that the market tour be at Mercado Medellin. This was perfect for us as it was in walking distance. We met up at the market around 9:00 am. I appreciate having a guide in a market where the food offerings include many things that are new to me or that I just haven’t tried yet. The best item in this category is huitelcoche, the bluish fungus that forms on the corn and is used in many dishes with its delicate, earthy flavour. Farid made this a central part of his tortilla offering back in the apartment. We also enjoyed making some of the dishes under his supervision. A tour like this involves many things that make it so worthwhile doing. The food is, of course, the main purpose of the tour but there is a lot of cultural learning layered onto the visit to the market, for example. As we left the market Farid wanted to show us a unique community garden nearby. He explained how a vacant construction site was turned into a productive community centre with gardens, workshops, performance spaces and meeting places by locals acting collectively. The garden is called Huerto Roma Verde if you are visiting Mexico City. Check it out.
Lucia was the perfect host for us! She was a delight and a treat to explore the markets, and learn how to cook delish Mexican cuisines. We could not have asked for anything better, as we cooked in her fabulous home. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a first hand experience. No doubt a highlight of our trip.
Lucia treated our group of four to a truly rewarding culinary experience! She put a great deal of forethought into planning our menu, emailing back and forth to make certain we would learn something new and interesting. Our market tour was illuminating and FUN, as was cooking in her beautiful home. We learned so much about Mexican cuisine and culture. The atmosphere was relaxed, yet organized, and Lucia emanated warmth and kindness. We made a real connection! Definitely a highlight of our trip to Mexico City and an experience I will not soon forget.
As an industry professional, I was looking on Traveling Spoon for a historian of Mexican cuisine and the variables from region to region. Lucia was an exemplary wealth of knowledge about the history of Mexico city, as a native of the San Angel neighborhood, Lucia is a chef working in Mexico and exemplifying Mexican cuisine internationally. She took myself and my two friends, to the Mercado Melchior Muzquiz, answering all of our eager questions and teaching us about the market culture she had grown up and sharing our excitement to try the regional ingredients Mexico has to offer. I very much appreciated Lucia's translations in purchasing and conversing about regional legumes, specially some heritage ones I was seeking. We learned that guava, purslane, among other vegetables, were in season at that moment. For our actual cooking lesson, Lucia invited us over to her beautiful house and taught us how to make many variations on a theme--mole, tacos, chili rellenos-- and planned a fantastic three course meal for us. She shared the cookbooks she had about regional plants and vegetables (we cooked cuitlacoche, corn fungus, a tender fennel like front that tasted of asparagus, vegetarian mole) and taught us the extensive genre of chili rellenos. For our appetizer we prepared cuitlacoche and salsa verde tacos as well as mole with local grass, nopales and potato. For our main course, we prepared a duo of chili rellenos--an ancho chili, rehydrated in cane syrup, stuffed with refried black beans and chorizo and a charred poblano chili stuffed with Queso Chihuahua and corn, slowly fried in an aerated egg batter, rice (!!! the star), and guava gel with cheese. It is clear that Lucia has a voracious passion and drive for cooking, learning, and sharing. We had an unforgettable time learning from her and her sous, a charming older woman who compared arms with me and found all the same burn marks. I learned so much from the day spent with Lucia and gained a deeper understanding of Mexican cuisine and language surrounding cooking, before, and after the Spaniards. Lucia will tailor your experience to your interests, may it be fish or vegan cooking, and thoughtfully prepare a menu accordingly. Do not hesitate to book an experience with Lucia; if you are a novice, or a professional. Her enthusiasm is infectious and inspiring and you will come away from this day inspired from the market, the food, and stimulating conversation. We love Martina and Rita, thank you so much, again, Lucia!!
What a stellar experience! Ismael started off with an incredible tour of the local market that only someone truly connected with all the vendors could provide and then took us back to his home in a wonderful quiet neighborhood close to the city center and we cooked an awesome traditional Mexican meal together. Everything we made was delicious, but also simple enough to make at home (we've already made some of the dishes back home). Ismael spoke great English and shared his love of Mexican food and culture with us. This experience was easily one of the highlights of our time in Mexico City.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merida Shore Excursion- Mexican Cooking Class with Port Transfers | 4 hours | 5.0 (8) | $135 | |
 Taste of the Yucatan: Merida Cooking Class and Market Visit | 5 hours | 4.9 (330) | $108 | View |
 4hr Cooking Class in Merida with Bottomless Drinks | 4 hours | 4.9 (15) | $85 | View |
 Handmade Tortillas, Salsas & Picaditas Cooking Class | 2h 30min | 5.0 (4) | $155 | View |
 Vanilla Cooking Class and Tasting Experience | 3 hours | — | $107 | View |
 Merida: Mexican Embroidery Workshop | 2 hours | 4.7 (33) | $53 | View |
 From Merida: Chichen Itza Tour, Izamal, Cenote Ik Kil and Food | 12 hours | 4.8 (537) | $75 | View |