DZ ruins on Monday - question/opinion please?

[pammat]

We will be in Progreso on a Monday, arriving at 7am and departing at 4pm. My plan has been to get off the ship, hire a private taxi, have them take us to Dz, wait while we tour, and then return us to Progreso to do a little shopping, and then enjoy the beach for a little while before returning to the ship. We (family of 4) just wanted a relaxing excursion on our own schedule.

 

I now have 2 questions based on what I'm reading here. First, if we arrive at 7am (I believe it's also 7am there?) and get a taxi, will we be arriving at Dz too early? What time do they open?

 

Second, and really probably the bigger concern, it's my understanding that the museum will be closed on Monday. I chose Dz for us to get a "little" taste of ruins, and still have time to do something else. But I also read that the museum is one of the best parts of the Dz ruins excursion. Is this excursion still worthwhile (for a small taste of ruins) without the museum?

 

Thanks so much for any help!

[cyranie]

My Family took the Uxmal Ruins Tour 3 months ago aproximately, how ever my friends did the Dzibi Ruins Tour and it´s only $29 pp. The tour starts at 10 am more or less and you are back at 2:30 ( I guess), but always on time to get the ship.

Mexico´s museums do not open on wednesday, but there´s a spring or cenote in the ruins, and it´s available to swim. You can book the Dzi Ruins sending a message to: autoprogresotours@hotmail.com

Good Luck!!!:p

P.s. Next time I will do the Dzibilchaltun Ruins Tour ( March 2010)

[caribbound]

Wondering how the traveler liked the trip. I believe we'll be there on a Monday also, not sure of the times. I'll be traveling alone with my 2 girls so need a safe tour company like autoprogresso but have yet to decide which site to go to. The girls have studied Mayan ruins in school this year and this is one of their top choices for activities while on the cruise. I have plantar faciatis so not sure how much excessive climbing/walking I can do but will def have a good supply of ibuprofin or better so as to give them the best experience possible, and if there's time perhaps take advantage of the $15 massages w/ emphasis on my legs and low back! :D

 

Thanks to Nola for posting awesome pics on another thread I actually prefer not to bump, if u kwim.

 

Uxmal is stated to be some ppl's fav but I haven't found a post stating why. I think the ceynote would be amazing for the girls if that's what's at DZ. Chi... is one of the 7 wonders of the World, so that must have reason for being noted as such. Any opinions on what would be great for us given the info above are appreciated. Our ship sails in Jan.

[hdawson]

I've been to Chichen Itza once and Uxmal twice. Both are awesome. My favorite by far is Uxmal. More impressive, prettier and way less crowded. Also significantly less travel time. I've never used AutoProgreso but the reports are excellent. I've driven both times to Uxmal. Highways are very good. Take plenty of film or memory.

[caribbound]

Driven by taxi or rental car? I think I need a tour group that can explain things as well as give safety in numbers to a mom w/ 2 girls. Shorter travel time is a definite plus for Uxmal.

[hdawson]

My drives have been by rental car from Merida. You've mentioned safety twice. You'll find the Yucatan state to be very safe. AutoProgreso is probably your best bet.

[caribbound]

My drives have been by rental car from Merida. You've mentioned safety twice. You'll find the Yucatan state to be very safe. AutoProgreso is probably your best bet.

 

thanks hd. I'm sure the Yucatan is great, as is my town, but I'm still uneasy leaving 10 and 13 yr old girls outside the subdivision (by themselves) for Trick or Treat night much less in a foreign country w/ no Spanish abilities where, safe as it may be, boys/men cannot always be trusted even in the schoolyard (unprecidented post-dance gang rape) locally.

That's to say nothing about my history of turning a 40 min drive I've done a few times into 90 min bc I'm talking to dd or thinking my day through... :rolleyes:

[pammat]

I'm the original poster, and we haven't taken our trip yet (we go in December), but I haven't heard any more information about going on Monday. I'll post here if I do.

 

I'd love to hear from someone who's gone to DZ on a Monday... please

[S&JR]

I'm the original poster, and we haven't taken our trip yet (we go in December), but I haven't heard any more information about going on Monday. I'll post here if I do.

 

I'd love to hear from someone who's gone to DZ on a Monday... please

 

 

I am hoping to hear the same.

[hdawson]

I believe I've recently read on a thead here, (I could be wrong of course) that the museum is temporarily closed for renovations. Ordinarily, closed on Mondays. Again, I could be wrong. In fact it could have been on http://www.yucatantoday.com Just not sure.

 

I did find a note on YT that as of March 10th the museum was closed with no mention of when it would reopen.

[S&JR]

You are right. I read it too. Thanks for reminding me!

[Seafor2]

We went to DZ on a Monday in December of 2008. The museum was closed. My understanding was it was normally closed on Monday. We had 11 in our tour, including my then 6 year old daughter and my 60-something father-in-law. We took the Auto-Progreso tour with Ivan as our tour guide. (We also did the city tour.)

 

The prices were good as we bought our passes there in Progreso at the market where Auto-Progreso drops you off from your ride on the longest pier in the world. We were allowed to shop the market for awhile before taking the tour.

 

Once we got to DZ we were allowed to visit the facilities (be sure to bring change to tip the lady in the washroom) and then started our tour. Remember to use video equipment you must pay a tax, but you can take photos. We walked past the outside of the museum and then to some huts like the Myans live in. Ian explained and showed how they sleep in hammock instead of beds because of the heat (we were there in Dec and it was in the 90's). More walking and we were taken to, I believe it was called, the Temple of the Dolls. There Ivan explained about the Myan calendar and how the sun shines through the opening of the temple. Those who wanted to climb to the top were allowed to. Those who wished to stay below were fine as this was a do-it-yourself exploration.

 

Once everyone climbed, explored and took pictures, we headed to the cenote. You could swim in the cenote at that time, if you wished. Short dip was more like it. We put our feet in and the water was COLD! I couldn't imagine swimming in it, but it was refreshing.

 

From there we walked to some other ruin viewing. Ivan took us over to a large area and explained what the artifacts were... the ampitheater, etc. Sorry I can't remember everything and my daughter isn't here to tell me. We were allowed about 30 minutes to explore. From there we walked back towards the entry of the museum while passing one or two more artifacts. We got on the bus and headed to the city tour.

 

The city tour was interesting but not something I personally would feel the need to do it again. It was one of those things of, once I've done it, I've done it and not necessary to do again. Ivan, and most Myans to my understanding, are very proud of their Myan heritage. We toured their government building and some others. We also walked across the square. Oh and we saw their Myan monument to the Myan king (I think that's what it was). One thing I enjoyed was since it was December they had out their Christmas decorations. They were interesting.

 

There was quite a bit of walking, but there were times you could sit and rest if needed. I was 45 at the time was not in the best of shape physically at the time (but not in the worst of shape either) and didn't have a problem doing the walking and climbing. The Temple of the Dolls is quite high and it is a lot of climbing, if you choose to climb. However, I would think young teens would be able to climb alone as you could see them from the bottom. (I understand your concern as a mother of 3 girls.)

 

My daughter LOVED the DZ Myan ruins and talks about it to this day. We will be going back to Progreso in a couple weeks and haven't decided as to whether or not we will take this tour again. This time we are taking my mom and sister with us, so if this is something they would like to see, we may join them again. My daughter remembers a lot of the history of the Myans from this trip. Ivan was an AWESOME tour guide. This will be our third trip to Progreso.... in 19 months. However, we're also contimplating the bird sanctuary as our daughter loves Pink Flamingos. (FYI... I mentioned having three daughters but only our youngest cruises with us. The other two are 19 and 25 and have their own lifes. They got to travel when they were younger but now they want to do their own thing. Someday we do hope to take an entire family cruise...who knows???)

 

The last time we went to Progreso we shopped in the market, took the double decker bus tour (watch out for low hanging lines if you are on the top deck) and walked down by the beach. That trip was just my husband and myself and we just wanted to take it easy. I am hoping that we will once again find the young man who paints with his fingernails. He did some awesome work and I'd like to have a few more pieces.

 

I hope I answered your questions.

[S&JR]

Lori, thank you so much! Your post have been a great help to me! Thanks again!

[car7brg]

We went to DZ last week, it was really cool! My 18yo DD was excited. I forgot the museum was not open, we really didn't need it anyway. A little store where you can buy gifts or water, but they take you on a tour for about 1.5 hours, then you can swim or wander around. We choose to look over the ruins more, they are wonderful. We have not seen any before, so I can't compare, but they were plenty big to kill 2.5 hours or more. We did Autoprogresso for $29 per person.

[ELLIETAM]

We will be in Progreso on a Monday, arriving at 7am and departing at 4pm. My plan has been to get off the ship, hire a private taxi, have them take us to Dz, wait while we tour, and then return us to Progreso to do a little shopping, and then enjoy the beach for a little while before returning to the ship. We (family of 4) just wanted a relaxing excursion on our own schedule.

 

I now have 2 questions based on what I'm reading here. First, if we arrive at 7am (I believe it's also 7am there?) and get a taxi, will we be arriving at Dz too early? What time do they open?

 

Second, and really probably the bigger concern, it's my understanding that the museum will be closed on Monday. I chose Dz for us to get a "little" taste of ruins, and still have time to do something else. But I also read that the museum is one of the best parts of the Dz ruins excursion. Is this excursion still worthwhile (for a small taste of ruins) without the museum?

 

Thanks so much for any help!

 

We just returned from visiting the Dz ruin on the Autoprogreso tour. I see pros and cons of joining a tour: If this your first visit, join a tour, as the guide will provide you with information of the grounds at Dz. However, the drawback of a tour is that it is more restricted, as you can't spend more time in exploring a particular area of interest, or hastily have to take pictures and try to watch up with the group. We kind of feel rushed, and would love to have an hour or so extra to spend there. If we are there again, we would like to do the touring on our own.

 

Sorry that I don't know when Dz open.

[pammat]

I'm the original poster, and I'm actually going to copy and past from my original "review" in another thread, because my memory is starting to fade, but it will answer several questions that people have asked. Sorry I haven't been here for a while... real life has been getting in the way! :)

 

We were off the ship very quickly and onto the shuttle without any problem. We arrived in Progreso about 8am. We arranged our “tour” with Gustavo before we left home. For $60 (plus we added a tip), we were to meet Gustavo, he was going to take us to the school where the kids go (the kids we brought a donation for), to Dzibilchaltun, wait on us, and then return us to the port. We ended up also visiting several other areas, and made a pitstop at a Liquor Store, where Gustavo helped my husband purchase several gifts. Gustavo was an excellent driver, and his English was very good. He explained how he’s working with Sharon in a class where those who speak Spanish are teaching English and those who speak English are teaching those who don’t. I HIGHLY recommend him if you are looking for someone friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the area to drive you around for the day. He has a website: http://www.progressotaxicab.com/ and can be contacted thorugh it. He explained lots about local life and the areas we were passing through. We arrived at Dzibilchaltun before the cruise tours arrived and so mostly had the place to ourselves until we were almost ready to leave. What I’d read before we left wasn’t exactly what we paid to get in. We paid $8 each for my husband, myself, and my 16 year old. My 13 year old (who was then 12, birthday Jan 2nd), was free. Dzibilchaltun was the perfect place to go with the rest of our agenda for the day, and allowed us “a little taste of ruins”. The Temple of the Seven Dolls was really spectacular. We did hire a guide (for $20) to make sure we learned all that we could. I’m so glad that we did, because there were places she took us and things we saw that others might not have. I overheard one little girl say to her dad, “hey, we didn’t go down there, those people went through that door underground”. The museum was not open, we were there on Monday, so I am sorry we missed that. I heard here that it is really impressive. Overall it was a great excursion, and many times we found ourselves saying, wow, they (the Mayans) were really smart…. Anyway, we returned to the port, and there we did almost all of our shopping, you know, to spite Martin. (As a side story, Martin was our “expert shopping guide” who told everyone at the shopping show, “Don’t shop in Progreso, save all your money for Cozumel, that is where you’ll want to spend your money.” - full story in my complete review). It was a great day, we met wonderful people, saw amazing things, saw some heart wrenching things, and learned how very thankful we are to live the life we do.

[hdawson]

Pam. What a great attitude/outlook. Glad you had a great day.

 

Took me a few to type that; had a stroke this week and been in the hosp.

[cantwait4cruise]

So can you give me more info I found the website and the description of the few tours that they offer but how did you book thru them or find any other info, whenever I tried to call I could never get a english speaking person that could help me.

 

HDAWSON I hope you are doing well following your health problems.

 

Any info on autoprogreso would be a great help

[hdawson]

Sorry. My only experience with Autoprogreso is the use of the bus service between Progreso and Merida. Modern, airconditioned city-type busses.

 

The reports of their tours has been excellent. They also are the busses that provide the courtesy trip from the ship into town and back.

[ppeckham]

We took the DZ ruins tour on a Monday through Autoprogreso. They were fantastic. Our tour guide Jerry was very knowledgeable. We had plenty of time to see the ruins and take a dip in the cenote.

 

The museum was not open but we enjoyed the ruins and swim so much that we didn't miss it.

 

I'm taking another group in a couple of months and plan to do the same tour.