PROGRESO- YUCATAN'S Biggest Tourist Trap? (Mexico Travel)

We're taking a day trip to Progreso, the closest beach to Merida in the Yucatan region of Mexico ! Join us, as we take an amazingly efficient bus, and get dropped off on the Gulf of Mexico for a day at the beach. We then head to Eladio's for some botanas, Mexico's answer to Spanish tapas and boy do we find an incredible deal! Find out my thoughts on Progreso and if it is a tourist trap or not. Be sure to subscribe, for more honest episodes from the Yucatan in Mexico and beyond.

Offers for Members of the Barrio:

(Support this channel, by buying through these affiliate links)

CONNECT-

[HereBeBarr]

UPDATE on 11/20: After seeing some negative comments on here, I have to say that my experience was only indicative of a cruise ship day. I gave an honest assesment of my experience after visiting many other places in Mexico. I would give Progreso another chance on a non-cruise ship day . I'm not anti-visiting Progreso, just a heads up on a cruise ship day it will feel a bit more "touristy" and you will be approached more aggressively by locals. It is what it is. You may actually be more comfortable with English menus and English speakers all around, it's just my perspective. Give it a shot to see what you think.

[azdeb]

My husband and I have lived in Merida now for over 7 years. For your purposes, you unfortunately visited on a cruise ship day. Other days are very quiet and why we love Progreso and other Yucatan beaches. Most mornings we visit, we have the beach to ourselves. Great for us but the cruise ships are great for the towns. Being a perm resident I appreciate the business it brings to the people who live there. Ummm as a tourist you need to be be respectful that it is an opportunity for the locals to live a better life not just for you to have a cheap beer (and yes Eladios is amazing.. all of them.. even the ones in Merida operate the same way)

[alextate]

My husband and I have a great house in Progreso and love the people and the beach. Your comments on a quick day trip down to Progreso does not do it justice! It is a beautiful place and we are from Canada and Love it... so if you don't think it's so hot maybe you should go somewhere else.

[Vika-semc]

Tourism is an important factor for the local economy and those people are trying to make a living by appealing to their costumers. What is wrong with that?

[zenaborn]

My husband, 11 year old son, and I spent last December in Progreso. At first we had the same thoughts as you as far as it being a tourist trap, but after living there for a month we learned the days that the cruise ships didn't come in with the crowds of tourists. Those were the days we'd go explore and it was much more peaceful. While there we also explored Chelem and Chuburna which are sleepy beach towns. The water there is much nicer than in Progreso. We now live in Merida and enjoy the occasional day trips to the beach. Though not as nice as on the Caribbean side, there are still some pretty beaches to be explored on the Gulf. Check out the small town of Sisal. We went there several weeks ago and enjoyed our dinner under the palapa on the beach at Muelle de Sisal.

[coachrivera]

Stumbled upon this video and what a waste of 2 minutes. This is exactly what happens when anyone has access to a camera. We have been visiting Progresso MX for over 10 years and absolutely love the fact that its off the grid and the people are very humble! This guy has no clue

[sonofman]

you got 8 plates of food for free ... I wouldn't call that a tourist trap ... the street people are desperate to earn a living, that's another story

[rezinrussell]

Progreso is a very different town when the cruise ships are there. We would always check the ship schedules, and go to Progreso when there weren't any cruise ships there.

[arielperez]

Progreso is not that bad! you have to remembered that you visited the beach in November (fall-winter) water is choppy and turbulent. very few natives will swim in fall/winter. High season in Progreso is in spring/summer, you will find thousands of visitors and the water is clear and calm then. f you want to find a better beach on these days, go to telchac, san crisanto or chabihua. in Telchac you might find tons of Canadians/American retirees (very quiet villages) few restaurants, limited public beaches. west side of Merida you will find Celestun and Sisal beach (few hours away) that are more tranquil and quiet beaches and the water is more clear in the winter. In Celestun they have more options for restaurants and you can visit La ria where you will find hundreds of flamencos. Keep having fun and go back to Eladios in Merida they have half dozen of those restaurants! Super jealous man!

[gperez]

i’m from progreso, have a beach house a few blocks away from this beach area, it’s so fun when your not a tourist

[mariapolett]

Progreso is such a lovely place. I totally desgree with both opinions.

[ellijay]

I lived in Progreso 1 & 1/2 years, cruise ship days are Tuesdays and Thursdays unless a diversion for some reason. Eladio's is your tourist trap, so many more good restaurants on up the Malecon, Crabster is good but expensive, the new seafood bar and grill {sorry i forget the name}, good food and expensive. The top of my list is "The Milk Bar", excellent food and good prices. 2nd, is "Antigua" at the end of the malecon, good food & good prices, . If you go in the market that you and your girl walked by, they have cochinita that is fantastic and very cheap.
Also, another really cool place to go is El Corchito, it's a park, you can swim in the cenotes. Taxi ride there is no more than 50 pesos, entrance to the park [if I remember right] is 40 pesos.
Good video, but explore more. LOL
thanks

[dme]

It is a tourist trap because first of all Progreso is the main port in the state of Yucatan, and second after Chichen Itza was recognize as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, tourism has grown a lot....now with the color of the water that is because of all the Hurricanes which have been in that zone, it takes a while for the water to get its color back, all the turmoil in the waters has to settle down...I have been there myself in the months of July and August and the water is just beautiful....sorry you got dissapointed, but I'm glad you got to enjoy the food.

[janets]

You so missed it -- If Progreso is a "tourist" destination, it is mostly for locals, with the exception of a couple of boat days each week -- which the economy here desperately relies on. I am surprised you didn't mention how friendly the folks are in Progreso, or the fact the food is amazing. You also didnt notice the incredible work ethic of the folks in Progreso - -I hope you noticed that EVERYONE here works --- perhaps you caught Felix's act -- he is the very talented singer/guitar player in the wheel chair? You also missed your "anthony bourdain" moment -- so many great "hole in the wall" restaurants. You apparently stayed only on the Malecon (boardwalk) for the entire day on a boat day -- You reporting that this is a "tourist trap" is akin to writing a movie review after you only saw one frame -- You totally missed this one kiddo.

[sqnhunter]

Australian living in mexico 14 years now. Moving to live in Progreso soon. All I can say is, welcome to mexico. All mexico is a tourist trap, lol. That is the charm of Mexico. That will happen no matter where you go. The port waters are never good in Mexico. Or anywhere in the world for that matter. Ten minutes to 15 minutes out to Chuburna, there is a beautiful large beach you can drive onto and river mouth for fishing and boating. The water is as good if not better than Cancun. Its all about who tells you where to go...much like when we are at home also. :) It is also that much of the population in Merida and Progresso is Canadian or Canadian influenced. Plenty of English for the people who cant speak Spanish. Tip...after 14 years in mexico and speaking 4 different languages....Spanish is not one of them....my whole Mexican family speaks english, as do most I deal with. Mexico does have plenty to be negative about bro, if we are being honest, however, it has a lot of old and new charm and wonderful people. Take a trip to Chuburna and the beach there. You wont regret it. There are vids on youtube to prepare.

[mcdonjtube]

After you get off the bus walk to the Super Aki and take a collectivo bus to Chelem (45 pesos). Walk down any road to the beach and it will be yours without vendors. There are many good restaurants and several are ex-pat owned.

[TravelTourTaste]

Hello John hope you are well bro and having a great weekend so far. Just found you today and really pleased we have your videos are awesome bro. Fantastic editing skills and great footage bro. Thought we would pop over and show you some love huge thumbs up. Stay safe and catch up again real soon God bless both 🛳️❤️🙏

[logicc]

Hi this remind me of D.R (my dad was born so I come daily) it’s so beautiful but watch out with pesos cause I went one day and got a bottle of water for 80 PESOS!!

[TravelTrivia]

I love Mexico! It's one of the most beautiful country in America! Great video!

[piyle]

I’ve been there and dear god I got asked like a million times “Please buy this” lmao