Progresso Excursions. I cant decide between Uxmal or Merida.

[arkansasboy]

For those of you who have been to Merida or Uxmal I need some help/advice please. I want to do both but obviously cant so I am torn. I understand Merida has a population of 1,000,000 so it seems it would be very crowded. How is it around the square? I want to see the cathedral and do some looking around and maybe some shopping along with some lunch.

 

On the other hand I want to see the ruins too and Uxmal sounds like a nice excursion from what I have read. I dont know if anyone else in our group would want to walk around looking at ruins with me so I might have to it alone.

 

So in your opinion which excursion do you prefer, and why? Thanks ahead of time!

[janisutx]

We did both on a private tour in late 2010. We did the ruins first and then the driver took us to Merida around the square. It is a busy place but not congested. You might check on the ports board for recent information. I loved both places. Just keep your group small so you don't spend your day waiting on people who can't tell time.

Edited May 12, 2013 by janisutx

[arkansasboy]

I suppose I should have posted this where it goes. Sorry. Admin, please move if you dont mind. Thanks.

[skittl1321]

We LOVED Uxmal. It was a beautiful site.

 

We did the excursion through Carnival. Usually we book independently, but it seemed to be pretty much the exact same thing as what AutoProgresso offered. IIRC, we got to the ruins about 15 minutes before the independent excursions did. I don't know if they stayed longer, my precruise research said that Carnival's excursion did, but wasn't able to verify, but we felt the time there was sufficient, and had enough time for a leisurely snack at the end.

 

http://skittl1321.blogspot.com/2012/05/carnival-triumph-cruise-day-3-april-16.html

Edited May 13, 2013 by skittl1321

[firefly333]

Merida is a cheap tour, and now I hear there is a bus you can take once you are in port pretty cheap.

 

I dont think by itself it warrants a all day excursion but I enjoyed seeing it. I had some kind of corn thing that had more like cut cabbage inside, not really cole slaw, more like the cabbage without the sauce. It was good and crunchy. Got it from a street vender which I hear people say not to do, but I enjoyed it when i was hungry.

[Rudyard]

We LOVED Uxmal. It was a beautiful site.

 

We did the excursion through Carnival. Usually we book independently, but it seemed to be pretty much the exact same thing as what AutoProgresso offered. IIRC, we got to the ruins about 15 minutes before the independent excursions did. I don't know if they stayed longer, my precruise research said that Carnival's excursion did, but wasn't able to verify, but we felt the time there was sufficient, and had enough time for a leisurely snack at the end.

 

http://skittl1321.blogspot.com/2012/05/carnival-triumph-cruise-day-3-april-16.html

 

Great pics on your blog :)

 

We're on Triumph this coming November, specifically for the Uxmal excursion.

[CatlinSTJ]

We did Uxmal and booked it at the pier independently. LOVED IT! Great ruins, very nice tour guide, and a good balance of guided tour and time to explore the ruins on our own. It you want to be able to climb any of the ruins, do Uxmal! Awesome, amazing experience.

[03FXDWG]

This will be our second trip to Progreso. The first trip was just after a hurricane had wiped out the pier at Costa Maya which was where we were supposed to go. Carnival hurriedly switched us to Progreso. Since it was a last minute switch, there wasn't all the tourist trap stuff like there is now. We wandered around Progeso for 90 minutes or so & argued about taking the local bus to Merida or hiring a van. The van won out & we had a pleasant trip around some of the sites in Merida with a wonderful native guide.

 

This time, we will have our 16 year old son and nephew with us so we'll again hire a van and guide--probably Auto Progreso or Bill Lawson Tours. We currently plan to do the Dzibilchaltun ruins and a tour of Merida.

 

We can't wait to see how much has changed in Progreso since we were there in 2007. We know Carnival has had plenty of time to put up all their tourist traps but hope the locals have also managed to squeeze in more local stuff, too. Now, to just make sure we have time to see it all.

[JimAOk1945]

Uxmal definitely! We loved it. Well worth the time.

Edited June 12, 2013 by JimAOk1945

[Kellie in Texas]

Uxmal definitely! We loved it. Well worth the time.

 

Jim, we are doing the Uxmal bus tour through Carnival on July 3 (on the Triumph). Myself, DH age 53, two sons ages 20 and 11. I think I've read that the bus ride is about an hour and a half, one way; is that what you recall? Once at Uxmal, are there restrooms available? And is there anything we should take other than hats, sunscreen, cameras . . . I'm thinking we should all take a bottle of water too.

 

Any other details?

[PacificMountain2012]

Jim, we are doing the Uxmal bus tour through Carnival on July 3 (on the Triumph). Myself, DH age 53, two sons ages 20 and 11. I think I've read that the bus ride is about an hour and a half, one way; is that what you recall? Once at Uxmal, are there restrooms available? And is there anything we should take other than hats, sunscreen, cameras . . . I'm thinking we should all take a bottle of water too.

 

Any other details?

 

We did AutoProgreso, but it's the same bus ride and as I recall it was about 75 minutes there and around the same coming back; traffic plays a roll in the exact time. The ride is a great time for a nap both ways! They have restrooms there and they are ultra clean. You will definitely need hats and sunscreen, as its going to be hot hot. Also there is plenty of shade there. Do bring water, although there is a restaurant and stores there; generally speaking the welcome/information center is modern with plenty of amenities. Have a great trip!

[JimAOk1945]

Jim, we are doing the Uxmal bus tour through Carnival on July 3 (on the Triumph). Myself, DH age 53, two sons ages 20 and 11. I think I've read that the bus ride is about an hour and a half, one way; is that what you recall? Once at Uxmal, are there restrooms available? And is there anything we should take other than hats, sunscreen, cameras . . . I'm thinking we should all take a bottle of water too.

 

Any other details?

 

Hi Kellie,

Yes, the bus ride is about that length both going to and coming from the Ruins.

It was extremely hot when we were there in December so hats, sunscreen, and a bottle of water for each of you is highly recommended.

You also might want to spray yourselves with bug repellant before you get off the ship. There are lots of mosquitoes there.

Uxmal is a wonderful place to take pictures. You might want to pack an extra camera battery in case you need it.

It will be a long day, but I think it is well worth the effort and expense.

Happy cruising to you and your family. It's a wonderful way to explore the world together!

Edited June 12, 2013 by JimAOk1945

[PacificMountain2012]

For those of you who have been to Merida or Uxmal I need some help/advice please. I want to do both but obviously cant so I am torn. I understand Merida has a population of 1,000,000 so it seems it would be very crowded. How is it around the square? I want to see the cathedral and do some looking around and maybe some shopping along with some lunch.

 

On the other hand I want to see the ruins too and Uxmal sounds like a nice excursion from what I have read. I dont know if anyone else in our group would want to walk around looking at ruins with me so I might have to it alone.

 

So in your opinion which excursion do you prefer, and why? Thanks ahead of time!

 

We have done both.

 

If you want to see ruins, it does not get any better than Uxmal. You'll see everything up close, you'll walk on them, and climb on them if you want. The tours are very informative and well worth it. Its a fairly long bus ride there and back and it can be hot there.....its still worth it!

 

Merida is a big city. However the city center park area is a relatively small area and worth the visit. There are plenty of restaurants and shopping right there, not to mention the cathedral and other buildings to see. There is great shopping a block off the square. Also the ice cream at Helados Colon, on the square, is worth a visit. Take the city bus there or get a cab there.

 

Uxmal:

 

 

Merida:

 

 

Merida Map:

 

[Kellie in Texas]

Thanks, Pacific and Jim. I will add some mosquito repellant to my list!

[jenwrendorset]

I agree with the previous comments, Uxmal would be a great choice, we visited the site in January 2013. It takes about 1.5 hrs to get there, the road was as good as any UK motorway, however, nothing to see en-route except for scrub trees and bushes. The site itself is excellent and was well worth the visit. Our tour included a stop at a Hacienda for lunch - unfortunately the food was dreadful! We took the ships excursion which cost us £48 each but you could do it cheaper by taxi (there was a board advertising this as soon as you left the ship) prices were US$ 160 for 4 and even cheaper in a minibus - US$ 180 if you managed to get 8 people together. The town although very poor has a nice long beach right at the end of the pier but the sea was murky from the sand. From all reports the town was quite nice and clean. The ship is berthed at the end of a 6 mile pier (well it is a man made dual carriageway jutting out into the sea) the sea being too shallow for ships to get any nearer. If I remember correctly, the shops located where the ships berth, were all closed when we returned from our trip.....unbelievable!!

[Rudyard]

I'm glad I came back to this thread. I'm about to book our Uxmal excursion, and was going to start a new thread to ask some specific questions that I couldn't find the answers to, but they have been answered here by others since the last time I posted in this thread :)

 

One last question. Didn't see this so I may have missed it, but how long do you get to spend on site at Uxmal?

Edited August 11, 2013 by Rudyard

[jenwrendorset]

I'm glad I came back to this thread. I'm about to book our Uxmal excursion, and was going to start a new thread to ask some specific questions that I couldn't find the answers to, but they have been answered here by others since the last time I posted in this thread :)

 

One last question. Didn't see this so I may have missed it, but how long do you get to spend on site at Uxmal?

 

If I remember correctly we were there for about 1.5hrs which gave us plenty of time to wander round independantly - we parted company with our allocated guide as soon as we got into the site, those who stayed with him ended up with ear-ache and just 20 minutes of independent sight-seeing. Most of the excavated areas have details of what was there originally and so it is easy to get a feel of the place. Enjoy your trip.

[Rudyard]

If I remember correctly we were there for about 1.5hrs which gave us plenty of time to wander round independantly - we parted company with our allocated guide as soon as we got into the site, those who stayed with him ended up with ear-ache and just 20 minutes of independent sight-seeing. Most of the excavated areas have details of what was there originally and so it is easy to get a feel of the place. Enjoy your trip.

 

Thanks. With just an hour and a half it sounds like I might want to explore for myself. I don't mind guided tours, but will want more than twenty minutes at the end of it.

[JimAOk1945]

We also had about 1.5 hours at the site. Several of our group decided to explore the area by ourselves after letting our guide know about our intentions and asking where to meet up to walk back to the bus.

The site is fantastic and well worth it in my opinion. We hope to go back again someday.

[dna1990]

Uxmal, take a small umbrella. If you keep the sun off you while walking in the open areas...the heat won't seem anywhere near as bad.

[lablover61]

Of the many excursions we have done on our cruises the guided Merida city tour through Auto progresso was one of our favorites! Remember this is the Capitol city of the Yucatan sate. 1,000,000 people makes it larger than all but 8 or 9 American cities ! It is a vibrant , artsy , friendly area filled with cultural and history. Great, food, shopping and people. The city square is not too be missed.

[fairfiledCT]

Hello, would you please share with me the price of the tour you took to Uxmal? and if you remember the name of he tour company. We are due back at the ship in Progreso at 3 p.m. - would that give us enough time? Thank you