Fun things to do in Estado de Quintana Roo

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Xel Ha is an eco tourist snorkel park. This was a great place to take the kids when visiting the Quintana Roo Region. Many resorts/cruises offer half day excursions but this is really a full day park so get there early.

When you get there immediately rent your snorkel gear and take the train up to the head of the river. Get a locker close to where you rent the gear. There you can float down the river until it opens up to the lagoon. The water is crystal clear and there are lots of fish. If you are expecting coral reefs with a wide diversity of fish you will be disappointed. This is not the great barrier reef. However, I did see jacks, grunts, sea turtles, grouper, permit/pompano and other fish. The geology is quite interesting with cut out rocks and caves to explore in. There are cliff jumping areas as well as rope swings and trails throughout the whole park. It is a great place to explore.

There are signs that say one must wear a snorkeling flotation device when swimming. Apparantly this is a guideline as most gringos were ignoring the sign. This is good because if one cannot swim underwater the park would not be the same.

For extra money they have the dolphin swim, snuba, and sea trek.

The Kohunlich Mayan Ruin are in Quintana Roo in a secluded jungle near the Belize border. Here you can see Mayan ruins housing the Temple of the Large Masks, the Plaza of the Acropolis, and the Plaza of the Estelas. Many areas are still unexcavated so more discoveries may be found in the future.

Car and passenger ferries depart Punta Sam for Isla Mujeres. The car ferry takes about 45 minutes to cross and is apparently more stable than the passenger ferries!

The ferries leave Punta Sam at 8am, 11am, 2:45pm, 5:30pm & 8:15pm
From Isla Mujeres 6:30am, 9:30am, 12:45pm, 4:15pm & 7:15pm.

In 1999 tickets for the ferry were US$1.50 for a passenger & between US$6 to US$8.
If you are taking your car you need to be there 1 hour before sailing and buy your ticket early. We were the only tourists using the ferry. The rest of the passengers seemed to be cab drivers, with whole families crammed into their cars!

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Sian Ka'an "where the sky begins" - 5000sq km of tropical jungle, marsh, mangrove and islands that the Mexican government has sectioned as a huge bioshpere reserve. In 1987 the UN appointed the entire area as a World Hertiage Site and described it as "an irreplaceable natural treasure.

It is possible to visit Sian Ka'an; non-touristy trips with small groups (there were 6 of us) are organised from their office in Cancun but pick-up is 8:30am in Tulum.

It is possible to see a variety of flora, thousands of butterlies, howler monkeys, foxes, ocelots, pumas, vultures, caimans, eagles, raccoons, giant land crabs & jaguars. But don't count on it! We saw many butterflies, a few fish, an eagle and a pelican. My husband did, however, find a little, white frog which got the ecologist VERY excited... what with nobody having ever seen a frog in any part of the reserve before!!!

The reserve is beautiful and we were given a lot of information about it from our tour guide, who was an ecologist. We were also taken to a learning centre which, running the risk of sounding like an ignorant, was a nice break from the sun!

Lunch was included on the trip which we are on a small boat which took us around the mangroves to the only place in the world where the rainforest meets the swamp which meets the mangroves (see picture).

After lunch we were taken to a waterway where we were instructed to get in - it was possible to float and be carried by the current to the next stop (which was quite a way away) to where out little boat was waiting for us. It was so relaxing. I had my snorkle mask with me but there was nothing to see... save the places along the banks that may have or may not have housed the odd crocodile!

There are plenty of Mayan ruins within the reserve but they tend to be small and generally rather unimpressive.

It was a wonderful day. We were all a little disappointed that we hadn't seen more wildlife but... a great day none the less.

In 1999 it cost US$116 for 2 people.

Coba is located approximately half way between Tulum and Valladolid. The site is located in the town of Coba and the enterance is right by the lake, pretty hard to miss.
The site opens at 7:00am, if you get there at that time you will have the place pretty much to yourself. The site is spread out over quiet a large area but everything is within walking distance. Tour guides arrive at around 8:00am. Bicycles are available for rent (from 8:00am) which I would have prefered to do had I not been there at 7:00am. You can climb a large pyramid and get an excellent view above the tree tops.

El Ray ruins are in Cancun, just follow the main road through the hotel belt and a short distance past the Hilton hotel you will see a sign that says El Ray. There are lizards in the bushes around the ruins, they dont attack people but if you have some bread you can feed them.

Cozumel Island is a divers island, the reefs have taken a bit of a beating from the hurricane but are in remarkably good condition and getting better. Day trips for snorkling or a ride in a submarine can be organised. The nightlife varies a bit there, largly depending on whether the criuse ships are doing a stopover or not. Carlos and Charlies and Senior Frogs can be kicking on and then there is a mass exodus of the crise ship crowd going back to their ship due for next port leaving the place all but empty. There is free entertainment in the town square most evenings, usually music or dance performance, it is a very family orientated event wh seating provided. The French Quater is a bar where a lot of expats go on a thursday night (I think it's Thursdays) to watch the football on cable tv. A passenger ferry runs from Playa Del Carmen to Cozumel town from around 4:00am to around 10:00pm most hours. There is also a vehicle ferry which runs from Puerto Morelos.

A little further south of the Tulum ruins is some small ruins going by a couple of names, Muyil and Chanyaxche. There's not much to them but if you're doing a tour taking in lots of ruins throughout Quntana Roo and the Yucatan Peninsula then it's worth adding on to a trip to Tulum being so close by.