Progreso/Merida with a 4 year old

[clansac]

My son will be almost 5 and is used to us dragging him all around the world. We're wondering about doing the autoprogreso tour of Dzibichaltun and going on to Merida. Can anybody give me an idea how long the bus ride is from the port to the ruins, then the ruins to Merida and Merida back to Progreso? We may take him back to the kids club and do Merida on our own, depending on transit times.

[CanadianTwosome]

Progreso's pier is reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaally long. You have to take a bus from the ship to get to the town because the water is so shallow for so long. So, getting from and to the ship takes a few minutes either way. If you take your son back to the ship, it will likely cost you an hour, all told, with the busses and getting him to the Kid's Club and all the rest. That being said, if you have time before the tour, it might not be a bad idea. We did not take the tour, but you know your child, so if you're considering this, maybe you should go with your instincts.

 

In Progreso itself, you can take a tour of the town for $2 on a double decker bus and your son would probably love it. It's short and sweet and there's a great view from the top of the bus. You catch it by the entrance to the market area, which you can't miss after you get off the bus.

 

Have fun!

[clansac]

Thanks for the info! He's excited about the ruins and would totally love a double decker bus. Maybe we'll have to skip Merida. He's not looking forward to riding on a bus while the guy talks for an hour unless there's something interesting at the end. Sounds like we may just do the ruins and Progreso!

[CanadianTwosome]

I'm glad I could help. We didn't do the ruins, but we considered the closest ones that you mentioned also. They've got a museum there that is the most comprehensive one in the area, but it's closed on Mondays, I think it is... whatever it was, it was the day we were going to be in port!! In any case, we decided to give it a pass and just headed into the market. The $2 bus tour isn't terribly long and it's not terribly exciting, but it is definitely fun, and it gives you an opportunity to see a real Mexican town, complete with dogs and cats sleeping together in the sun!

 

Enjoy!

[lucigo]

Post back and let us know what you end up doing. I'm taking my 4yo in December and I think we are going to make Progreso a sea day. We did it in Nassau last month and it was SO NICE, the best mom/kid bonding day we have had in a LONG time.

[adamsmom]

The bus ride into Merida is about 30-45 minutes each way. As long as you take something for him to do (coloring, mp3 player, etc) I don't think you'd have a problem. If he's like my kids, he may sleep. Now walking around Merida may be a problem as it could be boring for him to see a bunch of big, old buildings, unless you can find something interesting to do with him. Check out the Progreso/Merida board.