Hi here,
Being in Mexico City we decided to organize a trip to the beach because I needed the sea and the sun. At first, I thought of going to Sayulita, but we were researching, and the beaches don’t look very pretty.
Since the Caribbean side is always better, we decided to go to Progreso. We had to take a plane to Mérida, a bus from the airport to the center and finally, a bus from the center to Progreso. Even so, much less traumatic than the displacements in Costa Rica. We left Mexico City early and around 10:30 we were already having breakfast in the central market of Progreso.
Progreso is in the Gulf of Mexico in the northwest of the state, 36 km north of Mérida.
We booked a hotel that was 30 min walk from the bus station and 2 min from the beach. The Jose y Lety Hotel seemed new when we made the reservation. We arrived and there was a crowd at the pool. Here we also made a mental note that we would never book a hotel with a pool again since there are usually going to be children.
We stayed at the reception pressing for them to give us the room before check-in time, we changed and went to find a place to have lunch. The first thing we noticed is that it is much more expensive than Merida and Mexico City. There you can find a regular meal for 50 or 65 pesos. On the other hand, in Progreso there is no “popular menu” and just one plate would cost you more than 100 pesos.
The first day we had lunch in the central market, next to where we had breakfast. It was a plate of 3 portions of fresh fish with a small garnish for 70 pesos.
Leaving the market, we went to buy a cold coconut and in the opposite corner some drunken women who came out of a bar began to fight. People did absolutely nothing and the police did not show up.
We spent that afternoon on the beach sunbathing and relaxing. The idea of this trip was to rest instead of spending all day walking and touring as we normally do.
Progreso’s beach has white sand with shells and crystal-clear water. The entire shore is full of seaweed, as is common in the part of Mexico that touches the Caribbean.
The beach is beautiful, the downside is that, as in many places in Mexico, the beach line is not respected, and people can build their houses and put up a wall to cut off their piece of beach. The restaurants or “beach clubs” do the same and occupy the beach that should be accessible and enjoyed by the public. In addition, it was all full of fishing boats. Therefore, there was little sand space to lie down or walk quietly.
Nor could you walk several kilometers along the beach since on one side the pier blocked your path and on the other, the houses blocked your path.
We wanted to go to the El Corchito reserve, which was a 30-minute walk from our hotel. The entrance costs 90 pesos and includes the transport of the boat. We got there and it was closed because the roads were flooded.
We thought of something else to do near Progreso. We met a man who charged us 200 pesos per person to take us to the Laguna Rosada and the Ruins of Xcambó. We paid for it because any other option was more expensive.
We found a wonderful restaurant on TripAdvisor called “Sol y Mar”, we had lunch and dinner there the rest of the days. It had a lot of variety and for 80 pesos you could eat a huge plate. In addition, the attention and cordiality were wonderful.
We went walking along the beach towards the pier side. There is a giant one that is now private because Fox granted it a concession, right next to it is the “Chocolate Pier” which is a smaller pier that is full of fishermen and seagulls flying everywhere.
We walked along the beach; this part is much better since you don’t have the houses crossed. Here the constructions have been made further back.
The next day we tried to enter the Corchito again, but it was still closed. We had thought about renting a car to go to Las Coloradas and Cancunito, but it took a total of 6 hours to go and return. We decided to spend the whole day on the beach resting.
At night, since we didn’t want to walk so far to the restaurant, we ate some “tortas de pastor” in a street stall.
The last day in Progreso was well spent because at 7AM we were already on the beach. At noon we collected our things and went to Mérida where we had lunch at “Trapiche”, the same restaurant where we ate last year.
Since Diego has been a lover of ice cream pops since he visited Mexico for the first time, after lunch we bought some coconut ones to say goodbye to the city.
Here is the link to my YouTube video: