Our first port was Progreso. Have been there three times. Usually just go into town on our own. However, after three visits there we have done all there is to do in Progreso. Interesting place, but definitely not one of my favorite ports. Best shopping is right on the pier. We chose to take an excursion through the ship (we hardly ever do this). We went on the Merida Shopping and Mexican Buffet tour. Thought it was priced a little too high. But very glad we chose this. Merida was very nice. The architecture on the homes along the Avenue was incredible. Went to the oldest Cathedral in American. Awesome. The Mexican Buffet was good; not great, but good. The people who served us were very nice. The Ranch where we ate was very nice. The horse show was interesting. Our tour guide was very good. She had us call her "Mama". Very informative, very polite. The only down side of this tour was that the shopping was not very good. They only took us to one shop for a limited time and it wasn't very big and didn't have much to offer. Would recommend this tour. Would I do it again? Probably not. Once was enough.
In Cozumel we hired a driver for the day. We hired him through Island Marketing. There were ten of us in an air conditioned van. Our driver "Tico" was very nice and very helpful. He picked us up right at the pier. He took us shopping in an out of the way area. We got some great deals. Then we drove to the other side of the island. Very nice!!! We stopped at several bars along the way for drinks and chips and dip. The beaches on that side are great. Scenery - beautiful. There is no electricity on that side of the island. We had to have cash. Tico took us to the Cozumel Club for lunch. Wonderful place for lunch. The view from our table on the patio was simply beautiful. The food was great. Probably the best food we had all week. Would highly recommend hiring a driver. We had him for six hours. We paid approximately $40.00 per person. He got us back to the ship in plenty of time. Cozumel is great for shopping. But if you are tired of shopping I would strongly suggest going to the other side of the island. We could have rented jeeps and driven ourselves. However, since everyone was drinking we thought it was better to have our own driver. Besides, it was cheaper than renting jeeps.
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