Beach Destination with Kids

We are getting ready to book a cruise through Carnival on August 22nd. We will be bringing adults and children. This will only be the second cruise for my wife and I and the first for everyone else.

We would like to find a good place to go to the beach in Progreso without necessarily going through Carnival and paying them extra for the same thing. We're debating between an all-inclusive or just a pay as you go place.

Any suggestions on places to go of either AI or pay as you go?

You can take the free shuttle into the city of Progreso. The beach is two blocks from where the bus lets you off. Once you reach the beach walk about two or three blocks east, away from the pier. There are a number of restaurants that have beach service. If you pay for drinks and food you can use their shade, chairs and rest rooms. Our favorite is Flamingos, about 4 blocks east. The city cleans the beach on the morning of cruise ship arrivals. In August there will be lots of locals coming to the beach for the day, because it is so hot in Merida. We take our grandkids (ages 8,9,11 and 13) to the Progreso beach and they have a blast. If you want an AI, you will spend 45 minutes to an hour each way on a bus and the food and drinks will not be as good. I will confess that my evaluation of the quality of AI's is not based on personal experience, but based on listening to other cruisers.

You can take the free shuttle into the city of Progreso. The beach is two blocks from where the bus lets you off. Once you reach the beach walk about two or three blocks east, away from the pier. There are a number of restaurants that have beach service. If you pay for drinks and food you can use their shade, chairs and rest rooms. Our favorite is Flamingos, about 4 blocks east. The city cleans the beach on the morning of cruise ship arrivals. In August there will be lots of locals coming to the beach for the day, because it is so hot in Merida. We take our grandkids (ages 8,9,11 and 13) to the Progreso beach and they have a blast. If you want an AI, you will spend 45 minutes to an hour each way on a bus and the food and drinks will not be as good. I will confess that my evaluation of the quality of AI's is not based on personal experience, but based on listening to other cruisers.

Thanks for the tips John. We've only cruised once, but it was just my wife and I and we just went over the Merida and walked around for the day. The kids won't be big on walking around all day in Merida though, lol.

When you get off the ship they will have several vendors offering an all inclusive beach resort for $35. I'm not sure what they charge for kids. I did not take the offer because I wanted to walk around and see the area. Several people on my cruise did go to the all inclusive and loved it. Next time I'm there I will definitely go to the resort.

We've done the all-inclusive resort twice. It is about a 30 minute shuttle ride, and the guide tells you all about town. the beach area was nice and had a large pool.

Check with Auto-Progreso tours. They have a store in the Progreso pier on the left as you walk through from the ship. We have used them 8 times and never had a problem. It is not necessary to book ahead of time but we always deal with Guadalupe and get great service.