Mérida Travel Forum

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