VacationSelector
Sint Servaasbrug over the Maas, Maastricht
MaastrichtSint Servaasbrug over the Maas
The yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo, Merida
MeridaThe yellow Palacio Canton on Paseo de Montejo

Photos: Maastricht by Michielverbeek, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Merida by Mariposa2723, CC BY 4.0, cropped.

Maastricht or Merida?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Maastricht for

  • getting around
  • wellness
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Maastricht’s own page.

Choose Merida for

  • beaches
  • prices
  • food and drink

What lies behind each score is written up on Merida’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Maastricht 8, Merida 50: Merida leads by 42 points.
Food & drink. Maastricht 58, Merida 72: Merida leads by 14 points.
Culture & sights. Maastricht 60, Merida 64: Merida leads by 4 points.
Nightlife. Maastricht and Merida are level on 42.
Nature & outdoors. Maastricht 58, Merida 48: Maastricht leads by 10 points.
Day trips. Maastricht 77, Merida 80: Merida leads by 3 points.
Good for families. Maastricht 55, Merida 50: Maastricht leads by 5 points.
Getting around. Maastricht 74, Merida 45: Maastricht leads by 29 points.
Shopping & style. Maastricht 60, Merida 50: Maastricht leads by 10 points.
Affordability. Maastricht 38, Merida 75: Merida leads by 37 points.
Live music & performing arts. Maastricht 40, Merida 52: Merida leads by 12 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Maastricht 52, Merida 40: Maastricht leads by 12 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Maastricht and Merida.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Maastricht
52match

Wins on getting around and wellness with your weighting.

Merida
Best match
56match

Wins on beaches and prices with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Maastricht in July

24 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
73 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
No seasea
16 hdaylight a day

Merida in July

35 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
148 mmrain in the month
9 hsunshine a day
27 °Csea
13 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200250JFMAMJJASOND
MaastrichtMerida

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Maastricht: 1991-2020 normals, Maastricht Airport Zuid Limburg (10 km from centre). Merida: 1991-2020 normals, Merida / lic Manuel Crecencio (5.1 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureMaastrichtMerida
Official languageDutchSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Mexican Peso (MXN)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzAB127 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-6
Emergency number112911
Elevation49 m12 m
Main airportMaastricht Aachen Airport (MST)9 km from centre5 non-stop destinationsManuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport (MID)5 km from centre22 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days9 days

By the numbers

MeasureMaastrichtMerida
City population120,227892,363
People per km²2,0001,010
Museums within 10 km215
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km50
Swim season, months above 21 °C-12 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Maastricht or Merida somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.