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The city of Progreso is located on the North side of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.
In this video, we’ll show you how to travel from your cruise ship to Progreso’s public
beach on your own, free of charge.
Cruise ships visiting Progreso dock at what is touted as the longest pier in the world;
a 4-mile stretch of road that was built to accommodate the arrival of larger ships.
After you exit your ship and walk a short distance along the pier, you’ll quickly
find a large gift shop and the nearby gathering location for cruise passengers taking ship-sponsored
excursions.
Several excursions are available, including visits to the nearby Mayan ruins, adventure
sports, food tours, and all-inclusive beach experiences.
To begin your do-it-yourself beach adventure, walk through the large gift shop that is the
anchor store for the pier’s sizeable shopping area.
The area beyond the gift shop features a large bar and several shops.
Public restrooms are available if you want to stop before heading to the beach.
The pathway through the shopping area is easy to navigate and a number of posted signs help
direct you to the pickup area for the free shuttle service, which is provided by the
local shore excursion company, Autoprogreso Tours.
There are a good number of shuttles that make the trip from the cruise port center into
town and back again.
Shuttles run every 20 minutes, so if a shuttle just left, you might have a bit of a wait.
Take note of the last shuttle time, so you can plan your beach time accordingly.
For our cruise, it was one hour before our ship’s departure time.
As the shuttle makes the roughly 15-minute drive along the pier, you won’t have much
of a view due to the large stacks of concrete blocks located on the side of the road.
However, as the shuttle crosses the bridge and approaches the shore, you will be able
to see the public beach on the left side and we suggest taking a look to help you get your
bearings as the shuttle heads into town.
The free shuttle trip ends at one of two drop-off locations.
Our shuttle dropped off at a terminal three blocks from the beach, but some of the shuttles
drop off at a market located closer to the beach.
When you arrive at the shuttle drop-off, an Autoprogreso Tours representative will provide
an overview of the tours the company offers.
Among them was a tour of the city of Progreso which -- at the time of our sailing in the
Summer of 2018 -- cost $9 per person.
The shuttle terminal we were dropped off at has a sizeable market adjacent to the terminal
and -- just outside -- a double decker bus which also provides tours of the city of Progreso
for a fare of $5 per person.
After exiting your shuttle drop-off location, head toward the beach you saw from the shuttle
on the way into town.
You’ll find plenty of shopping opportunities along the way and around the beach area.
The Progreso beach itself features white sand and water that stays relatively shallow for
a long distance from the shore, which is why the pier is so long.
There are numerous vendors selling blow-up pool toys, fresh fruit, ice cream, hats, clothes,
souvenir trinkets, and more.
Additionally, during our visit, several vendors offered 45-minute massages on the beach for $10.
Thatched-roof restaurants and bars are also located nearby.
It should be noted that Progreso is an economically depressed area and many vendors will relentlessly
promote the items they have for sale.
Though they were generally friendly and politely accepted a stern “No, thank you,” the
sheer number of times we were approached by vendors exceeded anything we’ve ever experienced.