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 Fire Dancers by lisaballetgirlLeave a Comment
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We enjoyed our trip to Coba with Alltournative last year very much so we decided to try a different trip with them this year, the Jungle Crossing trip. We booked through our hotel for $98 per person, on their website it is $99 but you can get a 10% discount if you book in advance on the website.
I really like this company, the tours are professionally run, visit interesting places, seem to be safe and have great guides plus you get to visit Mayan villages and support the local people.
This trip started off at our resort where our excellent guide, Giovanni, picked us up in an all terrain vehicle. After stopping briefly for coffee and snacks, we headed down what could loosely be called a road and after about 15 minutes of being bounced around, we arrived at the first cenote, Heaven's Gate, where we snorkeled inside the cenote, checking out the stalactites (formed on the ceiling) and stalagmites (formed on the ground) and the entrances to the underground river system. We then walked to the 2nd cenote, Nohoch, where you get to snorkel inside the start of one of the caves. It's pretty awesome when they turn out the lights for a minute and you are surrounded by complete darkness! The water is pretty cold but they do have wetsuits if you need one.
We then stopped for an awesome lunch of mole chicken, beef tacos, and rice at the Mayan ranch and then we were back in the all terrain vehicle for a ride over to Soliman Bay where we jumped in kayaks to get out to the reef. At first I was a bit disappointed in this part as the fresh and salt water mix in the bay making visibility poor especially if you are snorkeling near someone. But then my husband spotted a sea turtle that I was able to follow for a long time, really cool to see in their natural environment.
The final stop was at their headquarters where we ended the day with a shot of tequila and then back to the resorts, the whole trip was about 8 hours. Leave a Comment
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 by Maria_75Leave a Comment
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 Can Heaven be more beautiful? by dietzdrummerLeave a Comment
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 Snorkelling by Maria_75
But you could just as well rent a scooter and make your own trip. There are many places where you can just snorkel straight from the beach, and with a scooter you can go where you want to and stay as long as you like. Or you can just go walking around in the town if you prefer that. There are also some beaches on the east side of the island that are perfect for surfing.
The ferry dock is located south on 5ta Avenida, and ferries run almost every hour. Leave a Comment
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I haven't seen anyone else write a tip on this and I stumbled on it by accident, but it was simply AWESOME fun.
The proposition is simple - they give you an ATV (a 4-wheeled motorbike) and then take you hooning through the jungle on rough dirt tracks. Along the way, you stop for a swim at a crystal clear cenote and visit an underground cavern full of water, bats, stalactites and, courtesty of some comedians in my group, Gollum.
There were a lot of ladies and a couple of kids in our group, so pretty much anyone can do it, although there are no helmets so be careful and stay at the back if you're not confident.
However, if you want to go as fast as humanly possible with your screaming girlfriend clinging on to you for dear life, be quick and claim an ATV at the front of the line when they get assigned. Otherwise you may spend the tour behind some deadbeat, lamenting the lack of built in weaponry.
It's about $48 if you want your own ATV, or $38 each to share one between two. The cool yellow dust goggles come with the ticket.
You can book through a travel agent - we used Mayalum, on the corner of Calle 6 and 10th Ave.
The place itself is on the main highway just on the South side of town. You can take a cab there from 5th Ave in about 10 minutes for US$10 (probably less if you can be bothered to haggle). Just show the taxi driver the brochure and he'll know where to go. There are cabs waiting at the end of the trip too - be smart like the Conspirator and Agent 78 and grab one while everyone else from your tour is gawking over the for sale personalized photos that you're not going to buy anyway.
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 Wife Pam on her way down by dietzdrummerLeave a Comment Directions: I'm sure this tour can be booked thru any tour agent working at your hotel.Website: www.alltournative.com
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 Akumal Lagoon by trvlrtom
We earlier had spent a day at Cozumel, and were quite disappointed. There are a lot of guys when you get off the ferry trying to get you to go, but the guide and captain we got happened to be grumpy. They took us to three sites south of the town, but the coral reef is nothing to see, and it is pretty deep, between 20 to 30 feet. But what bothered us the most was that the guides lure the fish in with food. The fish come swarming around when the food is out, but there are also a lot of other tourists swarming around these feeding frenzies. At Puerto Morelos, feeding is not allowed and the setting is much more natural. There were more fish too. In Cozumel I asked about going to better sites further south, but that has to be arranged by hooking up with a diving excursion, which takes more time and money.
Another day we went to the lagoon at Akumal, between Playa and Tulum. This is also a preserve, and you can swim out to the coral at the mouth to the lagoon. It was impressive and fun, if not as brilliant as Puerto Morelos. Akumal, however, is further from Cancun.
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This is an awesome daytrip to take from Playa del Carmen. It's a full day excursion starting around 7am and finishing up around 7 pm. We had a great guide, Hugo, who stayed with us for the entire day and coached us through the various activities.
The day started off with a visit to the Mayan ruins at Coba, the sight is largely unexcavated so it's not as impressive as Chichen Itza but it is still interesting to see. I'll post some more about Coba on my Coba page. Wear good shoes as you will be bicycling and climbing a large pyramid.
After visiting Coba, we drove to the Mayan village of Pac Chen, a self sufficient community of around 100 indigeneous people. The guide took us on a jungle walk pointing out some of the native flora and fauna, and then our first adventure, a trip over the Cayman cenote via zipline which you can do tandem or solo.
The next adventure is rappeling 45 feet into the jaguar cenote, an underground cenote named for the the resemblance to the jaguar coat that the light makes on the ceiling on the cave. For those not brave enough to rappel, there is the Mayan elevator, a rope that they lower you down on. I was a bit hesitant about rappeling, lacking arm strength and having a minor fear of heights, but it really was a cinch and it was cool floating around in an underwater cave.
The final stop was to canoe around the lagoon, we had hoped to see/hear some howler monkeys but all we saw were a couple of turtles.
Finally around 3 pm we had lunch, my only complaint about this tour was that there was nothing to eat in between although they did give us some water after visiting Coba. So bring a light snack.
Like most tours there are also a couple of stops for shopping but nothing high pressure. They also take several photos of you throughout the day which you have the option to buy for about $9US per photo.
We booked the tour once we got to PDC with a travel agency and paid in cash, if you book online you can save 10% and also pay by credit card. Leave a Comment
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Xel-Ha is a water theme park (not an aqua-park in its traditional meaning). This is a real great place both for families and individuals. You can do lots of interesting things here:
- snorkeling;
- swimming;
- visiting cenotes;
- walking in the jungle;
- swimming with dolphins;
- feeding fish;
- kayaking, etc.
There's a LOT to do and see. Despite the great amount of visitors, you'll see lots of wild birds, lizards and fish. I even saw a ray there, but that's a rarity, I guess.
The general idea is you will not be bored there.
You can see the prices in the site:
http://www.xel-ha.com/buy-your-ticket.php
I paid about USD80, which included a transfer from/to my hotel (Barcelo Maya Caribe), entrance ticket to Xel-Ha and any drinks/food inside (all inclusive).
All water sports equipment (like snorkels, masks and fins) is provided by the park, but you have ta leave a deposit.
Important: it is forbidden to use regular sunscreen at Xel-Ha, because it badly affects the water flora and fauna. You can buy a biodegradable sunscreen at Xel-Ha. You can also deposit your regular sunscreen in exchange for a couple of free small packages of biodegradable sunscreen. Leave a Comment Address: Between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, close to TulumPhone: +52 (998) 883-3293Directions: KM 240 CARR. CHETUMAL – PUERTO JUÁREZ LOCALES 1 Y 2 MOD. B XEL-HA, Q. ROO CP 77780Website: http://www.xel-ha.com/
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