Uxmal ruins tour question

[SpringBreakMom]

On the AutoProgreso website they say this excursion is 5 hours long. On the Carnival website it says 6.5 hours. I thought I read that Carnival uses AutoProgreso so why the big difference in tour length? Is this incorrect? Are the tours different? Thanks!

[wantocruisemore]

Actually the tours are different. We went last November and did the Carnival excursion. It was not run by Autoprogresso. I can't remember the name of the company but we were very pleased.

 

Our Carnival excursion left from the docks within 15 min. of disembarking. We were the 2nd bus to get to Uxmal. We had a great tour and then had about 1 1/2 hours free to climb the pyramid or do anything else we wanted such as watch a tortilla making demonstration at the restaurant. We chose to climb.

 

As we were heading back to the bus we ran into some members from our roll call who had taken the Autoprogresso tour. They had not been at Uxmal long. They had seperated from their tour guide because they wanted to climb and did not have time for both the complete guided tour and being able to climb. They arrived at the site over 2 hours after us. It was my understanding that they had taken the public transport from the port to the town, waited and toured around the town for about 1 1/2 hours and then boarded the bus for the Autoprogresso tour. They got less time at Uxmal.

 

Both tours have their upsides and downsides. The Carnival excursion runs about $20 or so more per person but you get more time at the ruins, are picked up at the port to go straight there and get to the site early.

 

The Autoprogresso is cheaper and you get some time to tour around the town first before boarding the bus, but you have less time at the site. Both tours drop off at the port on the return.

 

I hope that explains the time difference. Just pick the one that works best for you. For us, the ruins were all important and with a special needs daughter the pick-up and simpler version at the port were more convenient and worth the extra money.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the ruins, much better than our visit to Chichen Itza years ago.

[SpringBreakMom]

Thanks for all the details!! When you returned to port did you have any extra time you could have used for shopping in town, or did you need to return right to the ship?

I am not sure if DH and I will be climbing, so free time after the tour will probably not be a deal breaker. I have heard the shopping in Progreso is much better than Cozumel so I am really hoping I can fit it all in!

[wantocruisemore]

Thanks for all the details!! When you returned to port did you have any extra time you could have used for shopping in town, or did you need to return right to the ship?

I am not sure if DH and I will be climbing, so free time after the tour will probably not be a deal breaker. I have heard the shopping in Progreso is much better than Cozumel so I am really hoping I can fit it all in!

 

We had almost a couple of hours for shopping but it was at the shops at the port area. There's a lot of little touristy type shops where you can get some cheap souvineers, which is what we did. You also have to walk through the duty free shop to get on the pier to board the ship. They had some great liquor buys that we took advantage of.

 

If shopping is more important than climbing, you may just want to do the Autoprogresso tour. That way you can shop some in town prior to going on the tour and then have some time at the end of the tour when they drop you at the pier too. For us, the climbing was important for my DD.

[SpringBreakMom]

I think I may need to wait and see those steps before I decide if I want to climb, they look awfully steep :eek:

[Hope4MeToo]

Is it safe to leave items on the bus? I am thinking about what my nine year old will want to do on the almost 2 hour ride there and back and I think it will be play his DS, but I am concerned about leaving it on the bus. Should I worry about him (very active little boy) being bored on the trip there and back? I could get a puzzle book - but would it be okay to leave a bag on the bus while we climb?

 

Also is there a cost to take a camera in? I saw video cameras cost $5.

I also read that bug spray was a good idea.

[DebJ14]

They said you had to leave bags on the bus and could only take in water and a camera. I wouldn't leave anything of value on the bus. My $$$, 1 credit card photo ID and Sail and Sign Card will be all I take ashore and it will be safe in my pocket while at the ruins.

[wantocruisemore]

For our tour we didn't leave anything on the bus, but we could have. I know others did.

 

We had a couple of cameras at the site, no charge for them. I understood if we had the video, there would have been the charge. We also had small shoulder purses and my daughter had a basic backpack. We had no problem taking them into the site.

 

While we also took in water we really didn't need extras. The tour co. gave us a bottle of water with the simple lunch. We had some bug spray with us but did not need it.

 

But keep in mind that we were there in Nov. I'm sure it would be hotter in the summer and the water more important. I'm not sure about bugs for summer. But there is more shade at Uxmal than at some other sites, such as Chichen Itza. My husband is a mosquito magnet. He was not bothered at all at Uxmal in Nov. We visited Chichen Itza years ago in June. He wasn't bothered with bugs then either.

[rrgator]

We did the progresso tour to uxmal last year. It was great. We had plenty of time at the ruins. Stayed with the tour guide, who was very knowledgeable and gave great information. We then had plenty of time to tour on our own. Had lunch at the restaurant there which was very good. It was a very small group, only 8 people, including 2 kids. Also, we stopped in a little town before the ruins to use the bathroom and take the opportunity to purchase items for sale. Typical mexican stuff, but no pressure to buy anything.

 

I'm not sure about the time difference, but we got back to the dock in time to do some shopping in the little stores there and made it back to the boat in plenty of time.

[SpringBreakMom]

Did you tour with Auto Progreso, Carnival, or a private guide? Thanks so much!

[progresofriend]

hello

all reviews are fine but the point here is you...

if you want to save money and visit uxmal you can do it and having time for shopping but depend of how fast you get in land I mean progreso

you can do privately depend how many you are could be a van

or contact a private tour guide..write to playasanbenito dot com and get free information for it

I highly recomend it, certified and personalized service