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Hotel Class: 
3 Stars - 115 Opinions
Calle 49 #516 x 62 y 64 Centro, Merida, Yucatan, 97000, Mexico
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of people enjoy staying here
115 Opinions
Archeological Site
Portico del Peregrino
Cathedral interior
Turtle collector at Chichen Itza
On a previous visit to Mexico my husband spent a day in Merida and really loved it. We have been thinking of going back with our teenagers in December and are looking at renting a house in Progreso on the beach. I was wondering if it is a safe place for a family to stay.
I'm not sure how you define safety. It was never a concern for my wife or myself the past couple of winters that we spent time in Progreso. There is quite a population of Canadians and Americans there already. Most of the Yucataneans (I'm not sure if that is the correct word) we met seemed to be very friendly, and we had no troubles walking the streets after dark, or walking along the beach at 5am if that is what we wanted to do.
The only thing (not safety-related) is that if you are using public transport as we did, the buses stopped running at 10pm, so unless you arranged for a ride or a taxi, your evenings had to end at 10pm. Your teens might be bored though. Not a lot of other teens there. Maybe you are suggesting during Christmas holidays and perhaps others bring kids along at that time. But in Feb. or March, there were no school-aged kids vacationing in Progreso, so there are not a lot of things for them to do.
Safest area in Mexico is Yucatan area.Progreso is safer then your city.....
I have lived in the Yucatan for 19 years now and can tell you that absolutely NOTHING will happen to you here. That said, there have been a few cases of houses being burgled lately - particularly those houses rented by the Canadians mentioned in another reply. THAT said, if you take the precautions you would under normal circumstances ANYwhere, like not leaving your 67 megapixel ultra hardcore digital video hologram camera lying around along with your signed travellers checks and some passports and other such tempting goodies, you will not have a problem.
But, as mentioned in a previous post, and as the father of two teenage daughters, your offspring might become a little bored with only sand, beach, sun and their iPods to keep them entertained. If they are not too cynical and jaded in that modern urban way, you can always send them on errands like buying some fresh meat at the market or something equally eye-opening while you and your better half sip a frozen drink and watch the waves lick the shore.
Hope this helps!
My wife and I just came back from a Dec.-New Year's trip to Merida with no problems. We felt safe everywhere we went, we drove ourselves all over, found the people helpful and city delightful. If you did not yet go and want some suggestions, feel free to e-mail me.
Stan Diamond
travelshow@aol.com
My wife and I just came back from a Dec.-New Year's trip to Merida with no problems. We felt safe everywhere we went, we drove ourselves all over, found the people helpful and city delightful. If you did not yet go and want some suggestions, feel free to e-mail me.
Stan Diamond
travelshow@aol.com
In Portugal we use to say that "one image speaks more than 1000 words". Having that in mind, and more than 1000 pictures to post, I decided to change my behaviour, posting the pictures as soon as they are ready, and adding the comments later.
Don't get mad on me - I'm glad to share my pictures with you, and the comments will be added soon.
From Merida I venture to the small town of Ticul (not Tikal in Guatemala). This town served as my home base for several days. From Ticul I was able to visit both the Ruta Puuc, composed of several Mayan sites with similar architecture, and several interesting small towns.
Eladio's is in a perfect location on the beach near the malicon. It has plenty of floor-to- ceiling windows that slide open letting in the sea breeze. It's very easy to find, in fact, you can't miss it. The food is good, not great, but good. And when we were there on a Saturday afternoon, they had a live band. It was very enjoyable. Many restaurant have delicious little round "homemade" warm chips for salsa dipping.
On Saturday nights at the beginning of Paseo Montejo, Merida has a Mexican Cultural Performance show. The show is a variety show filled with Mexican signing and dancing. Merida offers all sorts of cultural events all week. These events typically showcase the culture of Merida and the Yucatan. Well on Saturday night, the cultural event is all about Meridans being Mexicans.
The night I went, there were several singers who really got the crowd going. But the best act was this Ballet Folklorico group who danced these amazing dances. They were not typical Ballet Folklorico that you typically think of. They did this one dance about the beginning of Mayan Life. Then the women did this dance with whips and the men did this dance with knives. The dancing was amazing.
Although the variety show is the main event, Mexican Night offers other things as well. They have vendors selling crafts and other souvenirs. They also have vendors selling food.
One of the best things is that you can see locals who come weekly. Its great.
Uxmal is the location of Mayan ruins about 75 minutes south of Merida in the Puuc Hills. What a fabulous experience. One, there were no crowds. Two, the ruins are beautifully preserved. I was amazed that we could experience such a fascinating place and practically have it to ourselves.
Uxmal is very different from Chichen Itza - where do I start? Chichen Itza has much more of a Toltec influence. I'm not sure the Uxmal has that influence at all. Uxmal is hillier, Chichen Itza is flat. The large temple- pyramid in Uxmal is completely different from the one in Chichen Itza - rounded in places. Uxmal had many more of the ornate classic Mayan carvings. The ball court in Uxmal is much smaller. We think the ball court in Chichen Itza must have been the Super Bowl of ball courts. Uxmal had these huge iguana-like lizards. So don't think that if you've seen Chichen Itza, you don't need to visit another site. I highly recommend Uxmal.
Buy a guide pamphlet at the entrance. While the Maya still remain a mystery in many ways, the guidebook contained some interesting facts, history and speculation.
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