After a very hot visit to the Uxmal ruins in Mexico, we decided to go just up the road to Choco-Story, a museum about the history of cocoa in Mexico.

Getting there is easy. We drove there from the large city of Mérida, about 40 minutes away. We drove our rental car from Avante Car Rental and used Google Maps.

In addition to Google Maps, there are many road signs for Uxmal and Choco-Story, and it is hard to miss, as there aren’t a lot of other attractions in this area.

I believe this is a newer addition to the area, as it was not there when we visited about 20 years ago.

There was plenty of parking, and it was a short walk to the main building.

There are bathrooms right along the parking lot, as well as within the grounds of the museum.

The main building is a replica of Hacienda Uxmal, which was originally built in the 16th century on the sugar plantation of the Peón family.

We paid for tickets at the reception area. It was $165 MX Pesos for adults, so about $9 USD.

The reception area was very nice, with a pond and sculptures, as well as a shop to explore.

The whole museum is outdoors, with open-air huts throughout.

It was a hot day, but most of the museum can be enjoyed in the shade, from covered areas to walkways shrouded by trees.

Cocoa played a large part in the history of Mexico. The Mayans were among the first to discover how to consume cacao. Over 4,000 years ago, they created a drink that became a tradition.

The different exhibits walk you through everything related to cocoa, including the origin, distribution and uses around the world.

Each building has a different theme, from harvesting cocoa to history of use.

Most of the museum is self-guided, however there is one building where you can watch a demonstration of the ancient Mayan form of preparation. Here, there was a guide speaking in both English and Spanish, and prepared a Chokoj Ha drink for the audience.

There is also a Mayan Ceremony, but we have seen the ceremony at other tourist sites, so we did not go to this one.

I enjoyed the different areas to explore, from botanical gardens to a meliponario (beehives).

There was also wildlife to view and even interact with. There was food for the monkeys, which were so gentle as they took food from our hands.

We learned about different trees and plants around the property.

There were bathrooms on the property, which was convenient.

There is a gift shop at the end of the museum, where they sell chocolate and other souveniers.

We enjoyed our time at Choco Story. Some of the museum exhibits were boring for the kids, but overall it was a nice mix of activities.

Visit the Choco Story website at https://choco-storymexico.com/es/

Check out our other Mexico blog posts.

Marysa

About the Author: Marysa

Busy blogger and mom of two girls! We love traveling and the great outdoors, and are always looking for our next adventure!