Driving rental car to Chichen Itza?

[Frank Burns]

We're going to Progreso on the Dream 10/7/06. We're hoping to rent a car and drive to Chichen Itza. I speak spanish which should help with directions etc. Has anyone out there done this? Is it feasible. We have a party of 4 so it would really save us a lot of money. We're docked from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. I'm a little nervous to travel 75 miles away from the port. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you:) :)

[wrp96]

You may want to go to the Progreso board and ask this question. There is a poster that frequently posts to that board, hdawson, who is very knowledgeable about the area.

[billie5]

It is a very easy drive. What we did was even a little more daring. We disembarked at Cozumel, rented a car at Playa, and overnighted at Chichen Itza (in the hotel which is actually on or adjacent to the ruins). The next day we drove on to Merida, returned the car there, and embarked again in Progresso. The overnight at Chichen Itza was unforgettable.

 

Incidentally, the NCL purser did all he could to dissuade us, telling us for example that we would have to completely pack our cabin in case we missed the ship. They were, of course, concerned what would happen if the water was too rough and they could not dock in Progresso, which does happen on occasion, and that would have indeed been a disaster. But we carefully checked the weather on the Internet before we disembarked, and we certainly did not pack our cabin. We are experienced travelers, so we were quite confident of what we were doing.

 

As far as the drive goes, from Merida to Chichen Itza to nearly Cancun it is an empty divided highway, very easy to drive. If you wish to do this from Progresso only, by all means rent a car in Merida and you will have a very easy drive in both directions. We went from Merida to Progresso by taxi (after we returned the car)

 

Here is a link to a photo I took on that trip:

 

http://www.math.vt.edu/people/greenber/hobbies.html/k1.html

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Bill