Beach Day

Going to Progresso in June on the Triumph. Thinking about making this a beach day. Sleep in, eat breakfast on ship, go to beach, have some drinks on beach, maybe a snack or lunch, have some more drinks barter for a cheap massage, nap on the beach, make way back to ship.

Trying to use this day to relax and not spend alot of cash, as we are going to cozumel the following day.

So if this was your plan, give me some suggestions on where to spend the day. Thanks

We've been to Progreso twice, and on both occasions..after looking around town and the market area And after taking the double decker bus ride, we ended up at the beach for the rest of the day. Its only a short walk to the beach from where the bus from the boat drops you off ( and also where the double decker bus drops you off). You cant miss it, and along the beach there are chairs and umbrellas..owned by the bars across the street..they will bring your drinks and snacks to you...and you can get a cheap massage for $15-$20. If you want a better sit down type meal, just cross the street to one of the restraunts. We like taking the double decker bus ride, as it shows some of the town and is fun. The beach chairs are free, but they will expect you to buy drinks. Drinks are cheap compared to back home. Last time we were there..at Buddys...they had music and a everyone was having a good time. There will be vendors trying to sell you stuff, but we just say no thanks. We always like to shop first at the outdoor market area by the bus dropoff..some folks say the prices are better on things there than Cozumel. We will be back in December, and plan on another beach day..so far, we've been blessed with great beach weather there...and even in December, the sun is hot there!!

I second Buddy's sitting out front on the beach, the waiters are right there to help you with what ever you want. could have gotten a massage for 20 bucks, but i was too sunburned to be touched!!! we meet up with some of our dinner mates and there was 8 of us, having drinks and laughing our butts off!!!!

How safe is it on the beach with small children? How far is it to the bus stop from the pier? Can you take a taxi to the pier and how safe is it? First time there and want to make sure it's safe for the kids. I would hate to enterr a port and keep them on the boat.

Thanks:confused:

How safe is it on the beach with small children? How far is it to the bus stop from the pier? Can you take a taxi to the pier and how safe is it? First time there and want to make sure it's safe for the kids. I would hate to enterr a port and keep them on the boat.

 

Thanks:confused:

You have to take the shuttle bus from the pier to the plaza and back. The pier is a 5 mile long industrial pier. The beach is 2 blocks from the plaza where the shuttle bus drops you off in town. It is very safe to walk around Progreso and the people are lovely.

We usually sit on the beach in front of Le Saint Bonnet - their food is amazing. We're taking our 4 and 6 year old grandchildren in August.

You have to take the shuttle bus from the pier to the plaza and back. The pier is a 5 mile long industrial pier. The beach is 2 blocks from the plaza where the shuttle bus drops you off in town. It is very safe to walk around Progreso and the people are lovely.

We usually sit on the beach in front of Le Saint Bonnet - their food is amazing. We're taking our 4 and 6 year old grandchildren in August.

This puts at ease thank you. Will the kids have to walk 5 miles and what is the cost to take the bus to the plaza.

This puts at ease thank you. Will the kids have to walk 5 miles and what is the cost to take the bus to the plaza.

The bus into Progreso is free and you are not allowed to walk.

As already stated, the bus is free. They will , of course have a tip basket by the driver for those who want to tip a buck or two..we usually give a small tip...the way I see it, I wouldnt want to walk the 5 miles or so to town, even if it was allowed..which, thankfully, its not. It leaves every so often to go back to the boat. :)

The whole town is very safe and the beach area is very safe. I have 2 disabled children, now young adults, and never felt afraid at all. We met an American living there who also has a disabled teenager and he talked to us at length about the safety of the town. We also saw the police around the beach area patrolling on foot and they parked their car there also. The vendors did not harass us to buy their wares, but it was nice talking to them and we did buy a few very cheap things. If you just say no thank you, they are very polite and go on their way. We sat near Buddy's and the waiters were awesome and the drinks were very cheap .... margaritas were two for $5.00. My DH got a massage for $20.00 that lasted a whole hour! Best $20.00 he ever spent. The water was warm and it is very shallow for a long way out. You can also rent jet skis nearby.

Progreso was a trouble free stop for us last time and easy to get around in. Take the double decker bus tour-it is a hoot-just remember to duck for some of the wires and tree branches. ;) My only little complaint was that at the beach we couldn't just relax and close our eyes because we were constantly being approached by vendors selling everythng from massages to musical instruments. A polite "No thanks" was all that was needed and no one was aggressive. We are going back to Progreso next week.

We wanted a quiet place to hang out for our day at Progresso and also ended up having a nice vow renewal ceremony. Long story short, we found Diane and have since been referring her to others who are looking for a relaxing day. She has a beautiful beach front "bed and breakfast" and was willing to let us rent the house for the day, including picking us up. We had a group of 8 so we were able to split the cost, which helped, but I still found it to be reasonable. She arranged for us to have snacks, etc. while we were there. It was very quiet at her place, and no vendors. It's also not a bar atmosphere.

Her email is : dmprewett@yahoo.com

I also noticed she is on the boards here somewhere now, but I can't remember her screen name :confused:

We wanted a quiet place to hang out for our day at Progresso and also ended up having a nice vow renewal ceremony. Long story short, we found Diane and have since been referring her to others who are looking for a relaxing day. She has a beautiful beach front "bed and breakfast" and was willing to let us rent the house for the day, including picking us up. We had a group of 8 so we were able to split the cost, which helped, but I still found it to be reasonable. She arranged for us to have snacks, etc. while we were there. It was very quiet at her place, and no vendors. It's also not a bar atmosphere.

 

Her email is : dmprewett@yahoo.com

 

I also noticed she is on the boards here somewhere now, but I can't remember her screen name :confused:

sounds like a special lady to deal with. Please post some pictures if possible of the Bed and Breakfast.

We are going to be in Progreso in a little over a week (sailing on Elation 4/23/11). We were planning on riding the double decker bus and chilling out on the beach. I'm glad that y'all had fun doing that, it really puts my mind at ease.

I can't wait to get there and enjoy the caribbean sun!!!

Not the Caribbean.

Diane's:

This shows us walking in to the front of the house:

Here is the inside. This is the main room and there are bedrooms and bathrooms on both the left and the right. They are all very roomy and comfortable. My grandma took a very restful nap in one of the bedrooms while we were there:

This is our whole group standing on the back porch. Out here there is plenty of room, a table, and a hammock, and just step off onto the the sand:

Here are my girls on the beach:

Sorry it took so long, I haven't been on the boards lately!

enjoyed the pictures,thanks

Thanks for the pictures! Did you tell us the cost for Diane's house for the day? I must have missed it, if so.

If you do sign up for an Autoprogresso tour, can you pay by credit card?

When people on this thread are talking about going to town from the ship, on the free 5 mile bus ride on the pier, I assume they mean the town of Progresso and not all the way to Merida, right?

Where does one catch the $3 bus to Merida? and will they take dollars? Is that the double decker bus you are talking about, or is that just in Progresso? Thanks.

Thanks for the pictures! Did you tell us the cost for Diane's house for the day? I must have missed it, if so.

 

If you do sign up for an Autoprogresso tour, can you pay by credit card?

 

When people on this thread are talking about going to town from the ship, on the free 5 mile bus ride on the pier, I assume they mean the town of Progresso and not all the way to Merida, right?

 

Where does one catch the $3 bus to Merida? and will they take dollars? Is that the double decker bus you are talking about, or is that just in Progresso? Thanks.

We booked an Auto Progreso tour and had to pay cash.

The free ride from the pier is into Progreso. They explain all your options before you get off the shuttle bus, such as where to catch the bus to Merida or where to wait for the tour departures and where to catch the shuttle back to the ship.

The double decker bus tour is in Progreso and departs from the same place the shuttle drops you off. They take US dollars. They use nice air conditioned buses for the tours and for the ride to Merida.

Going to Progresso in June on the Triumph. Thinking about making this a beach day. Sleep in, eat breakfast on ship, go to beach, have some drinks on beach, maybe a snack or lunch, have some more drinks barter for a cheap massage, nap on the beach, make way back to ship.

 

Trying to use this day to relax and not spend alot of cash, as we are going to cozumel the following day.

 

So if this was your plan, give me some suggestions on where to spend the day. Thanks

We just arrived home from our cruise. We enjoyed a very low key day in Progresso.

We slept in and then had an omlet before leaving the ship. We took the free shuttle via autoprogresso from the ship to Progresso.

When we arrived to the area where the shuttle lets you off, we could clearly see the open air double decker bus for the tour of Progresso. We paid our $3 and took a seat on the top deck.

The tour was brief, but you get a nice view of the town, and a lay of the land.

We shopped the downtown area for a bit and picked a few things. It was quite hot even though it was prior to 10 a.m. ship time, Ecstasy from Galveston.

As soon as rounded the corner and were on the street by the beach there was an awesome breeze. We walked up and down the area and decided to hang out at Le Saint Bonnet. We didn't want to go out onto the beach so we choose to hang out in the restaurant and had a seat at the front. The restaurant is elevated which makes the view awesome and also catches a great breeze.

I had lunch here, but DH declined due to all the food he ate while on ship. I had the chicken quesidillias. They were awesome. We also had margaritas and bottled water.

We sat here for around 3 hours enjoying the view and the local color!

After lunch and enjoying the breeze, we caught the shuttle back to the ship.

If we go to a part of the beach near the pier and/or one of the restaurants, is it packed with people and hard to find chairs? There will be between 4 to 10 of us going. Thanks!

Diane's:

 

This shows us walking in to the front of the house:

[ATTACH]192498[/ATTACH]

 

Here is the inside. This is the main room and there are bedrooms and bathrooms on both the left and the right. They are all very roomy and comfortable. My grandma took a very restful nap in one of the bedrooms while we were there:

[ATTACH]192499[/ATTACH]

 

This is our whole group standing on the back porch. Out here there is plenty of room, a table, and a hammock, and just step off onto the the sand:

[ATTACH]192500[/ATTACH]

 

Here are my girls on the beach:

[ATTACH]192501[/ATTACH]

Nice looking place. I think I will contact them about a day trip as well.

Thanks,

Again, big gap since I've been on the boards!

Not sure on Diane's rates, we booked for our vow renewal and paid a group price. Anyone contacted her lately for rates?

I still keep in contact with Diane on facebook, she is really great! If you end up contacting her, you can tell her Amanda sent you.

I think most people have already cruised since they asked their questions, but in case readers are wondering, you take the free bus to 'town' - yes, that's Progresso. It is a small fee for the bus into Merida. Our experience was that you could wait until you got onto the free bus and then they shared all the information with you about the tours they had available and you could choose one as soon as you got off in Progresso (at the open-air market).

Diane's is not in Merida, but down the beach a bit from "Progresso". It's in a residential area. For us, she arranged to meet us and pick us up and then take us back.

FYI - I am quite OCD, so I actually looked up Progresso on google earth and you can get great street views. I even "walked" down the street from the market to the corner where we were to meet Diane. It was so awesome that when we finally got there in person, I knew exactly what to look for!!

July and August are the typical vacations for residents of Mexico and they do go to the beach. Good opportunity for interactions.

Whew!!! We are heading there next week and were planning on doing some beach buggy tour deal and when it was sold out, yes I waited to the last minute to book it, I was afraid we would be stuck on the ship. As it turns out it looks like that place is pretty cool if we just want to take the double decker bus tour and then hang out at a beach with some cold ones?

Correct me if I am wrong but from what I understand is that we can get off the ship and there will be an area where there will be a free shuttle in to Pregreso. During this free shuttle they will inform us of different activities that they offer. Once we get off the shuttle there will be an obvious place to catch a ride on the double decker. From there we will see areas in which to shop or head to a beach for some drinks. Do I have it right? THANKS for any additional info. My wife is also bilingual which should come in handy.

Thanks again.