Caribbean Beach Towns in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula

November 30, 2009 2 Comments

This post was originally posted by WildJunket @ Wild Junket.
> Read the original post here

Subscribe to the RSS Feed for WildJunket

Entering the last leg of our trip through Latin America, we’d been looking forward to some long overdue bumming. Enough of the heavy backpacks and volcano-climbing, it’s time to play tourist. Crossing over from Corozal, Belize, we headed into Mexico, rented a car and hit the coastline.

Enroute to our final destination, Cancún, where we would be catching our flight back to Spain, we meandered along the stunning Caribbean coastline slowly, taking our time to explore one beach town at a time.

Peace and Tranquility – Tulum

A hippy magnet these days, Tulum is the only patch of the peninsula miraculously free of large-scale hotels and hordes of tourists. With wide stretches of white sand and huge emerald surfs, you’ll only find basic beach huts and small resorts here. Those in search of privacy and tranquility will surely find this a dream come true. At least I did.

Definitely one of the best beaches in Mexico, Tulum not only has clear waters and perfect natural settings, it’s got rich ancient history that goes thousands of years back. Even the Mayans wanted a piece of the sea – a huge fortified city was built on the edge of the sea cliffs to ward against attacks. With a backdrop as such, palaces and temples must have been ravishing in those days.

Party Town – Playa del Carmen

With loud pumping music, American franchises and giant hotel chains, Playa del Carmen is where the tourists flood to. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, 2 days there were almost enough to suffocate me. But if you’re looking to party till dawn, feast on American ribs and meet other young holidaymakers, then this should be the place for you.

Holidaymakers’ Playground - Cancún

It’s got a reputation as a spring break destination, with wild foam parties and a crowd looking to let down their hair and go crazy.

Most holidaymakers come here to enjoy the facilities of world-class resorts and barely step out of their hotels. Who could blame them? All-inclusive resorts have got it all – from shops to restaurants and a private beach at your doorstep.

As I’d discussed in my previous post, an all-inclusive vacation had cost us half the price of a one-way ticket back to Madrid – so off we went, to a 4-star hotel (for the first time in the entire trip!) for endless drinks and exquisite food.

After four months on the road, we were ready to bum around in the hotel and practically do nothing. We did just that: lazing by the pool, sipping up cocktails at the pool bar and playing with waves. By the third day, we were already getting bored of bumming, and had to drive out to Chichen Itza (3 hours away) for some action – guess the traveler in us took over.

The ancient Mayan temple of Chichen Itza proved to be impressive and immaculately preserved. The entire area was big and took us quite a few hours to explore everything. Although it doesn’t come close to the sheer majesty and spendour of Tikal in Guatemala, it contributed significantly to the archaeological and historical world.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Asia, English, General Travel

BusinessWeek on Augmented Reality – “GPS technology is not yet good enough for AR to be useful”

OTAs vs. Hotels: With the Recession Comes a Major Reset

2 Responses to “Caribbean Beach Towns in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula”

cheritonyhead December 13, 2009 at 10:44 am

We're sorry you experienced Playa del Carmen only as a “party town.” Playa has much, much more to offer than loud partying. While you can certainly find that here, you can also find quaint restaurants and shops, quiet stretches of beach, beautiful natural outdoor activities and fabulous food. There certainly is a party zone in central Playa, but it's a shame if that's all you saw. The “north beach” section of Playa is known for being quiet, having European style cafes, and huge stretches of beautiful beach. We'd like to urge you to try Playa again and this time avoid the clubs and bars and spend more time with the locals and on, in and near the water.
caribbean workout May 20, 2010 at 11:39 pm

Those are some amazing photos. I can only imagine what it must be like to see those sceneries in person. I’m with you as far as Tulum, I would love to visit an area that is less populated and more peaceful. That’s my cup of tea.