So the wife and I are planning a little post-winter trip to Mexico (April-ish) and we’re trying to lock down a location. I’d be open to going pretty much anywhere, but she’s a bit picky.
Things she wants:
Clear(ish) water. This rules out Puerto Vallarta, where it’s a bit too murky/brown. She’s reminiscing about our time in Jamaica, where it was easy to see the bottom. It would also need to be warm enough to actually swim in.
Nice, clean beaches.
Not too busy.
Now what I want:
Something to see/do nearby. Generally I prefer nature- or history-oriented stuff.
I’d like some waves to surf.
Not too expensive. We’re not against the idea of doing an all-inclusive thing, but those tend to have pretty busy beaches and whatnot.
Some of those things are probably going to be tough to get together – particularly surfable yet clear water – but I’d like to think there’s some hidden gem out there. I’ve looked at a few B&Bs around Majahual, which seems nice… it doesn’t satisfy my desire for waves, but the water looked decent and there are some ruins nearby.
I did a Mexican pyramids tour back in 1989, and one of our two main hubs was Merida on the Yucatan peninsula (about 250 miles west of Cancun). It was Americanized enough at the time and is probably moreso now. This is going to mean higher cost.
However, about 20 miles north of Merida is a wonderful warm water Gulf of Mexico city named Progreso. My favorite memories of that trip (excluding the ones involving pyramids) were at Progreso. Clearest ocean water I’ve ever seen.
In addition you are day-trips away from some extremely awesome Mayan pyramids (and their natural habitats, etc) such as Chitzen Itza, Uxmal, etc. I don’t know how it is now of course, and about 20 years have passed, but I’d throw it into the hat for a place to look at.
If you & your wife are dead set on a beach vacation, I got nothin’. But if y’all would consider something less tourist-y, I have a couple suggestions:
Guanajato is a really interesting town in the middle of the mountains. It has some amazing views, and some cool Spanish architecture. Also, the people are really nice. (as they are in most non-tourist-y Mexico) It also had a really cool market in some warehouse that was really… I’d never seen anything like it. e.g. there were butchers plying their newly slaughtered wares, for example. And there additional cows behind them in case they sold what they had already cut up.
Guadalajara is a pleasant Mexican city that feels like a small town that goes on & on. Basically, it’s a small town of several million. There aren’t many tourist attractions, per se, but it’s a really nice place to kick back & relax. There’s some cool architecture & places to shop, but the main draw would be the people themselves. Again, most of the people are really friendly.
Baja california has some nice beaches up & down its length, the sunrises & sunsets are truly amazing, and things are really cheap. Unfortunately, the poverty is omnipresent & rather distressing; it’s the poorest Mexican province. (Or was, when I lived in Mexico) It felt safe, though; outside of Tijuana the drug cartels didn’t seem to be around.
In the south are some spectacular Mayan ruins. I haven’t been there yet, but this is prolly my next vacation destination. I’m leaning more towards the area in Guatemala or on the border; the highlands are supposed to be less jungle-y, which is good. I’m not a fan of humidity, and my wife hates snakes.
Go to Oaxaca. Back in 2006 I spent two months in Oaxaca state, about half the time in Oaxaca city the other half on the beach in Puerto Escondido.
Had a great time I’ve spent time in a number of places in central/south america but as far a beach towns go Puerto Escondido is my favorite. Its small and lacks any large resorts, the only downside is the water is not clear (has one of the best surfing beaches in the world) so it doesn’t make a good snorkeling spot.
There is alot to do in Oaxaca city as well, Monte Alban pyramids are right outside the city, and there are alot of cool little towns that you can take day trips to.
I >3 Cancun, the surrounding area is just awesome. The city is completely built up with hotels and stuff, but just plan to sleep there and maybe eat at the little place with the all you can eat buffet.
The fun starts when you rent a car (we rented a 5 speed VW) and drive south of Cancun. There’s a ton of stuff off the main highway, including Akumel and more ruins and a zoo that the locals go to.
And the water is just gorgeous. Unfortunately I have never been to Jamaica so I can’t compare, but I’ll never forget our first landing into Cancun at 5AM…the sun was just rising over the beautiful blue water, it was incredible.
We’ve stayed at both the Omni and the Hyatt, although note that the Hyatt doesn’t have a real beach anymore. They were both great hotels, no problems.
I would highly recommend going to AAA if you are a member and getting a travel book from them. Or going on Amazon and getting a travel book written by Lonely Planet, they write great travel books for people who want to go off the beaten path.
You nailed it; hard to fit in the surfing / Pacific side with the clear and warm water your wife likes.
I would say the Cabo area except there really isn’t anything else do see or do except eat, drink and shop and play golf. The water is very warm and clear and you may find some surf (or drive around to the pacific side).
I liked the recommendation of Progresso. Having been to and loved the Yucatan region (Campeche, Merida, Cancun) and especially the beaches of Cancun and all of the Mayan archeological sites this is probably a great choice for you and your wife sans surfing (unless you get really lucky).
On the Pacific side, from Zihuatenejo/Ixtapa to Acapulco and beyond to Puerto Escondido and the Huatulco resort area or maybe Puerto Angel are all great calls in their own way. Some more built up some more off the beaten path. Good shot at surf but less so for clear water. In the Oaxaca area as noted you have archeological sites to choose from as well.
Cool, thanks for the recommendations. I think that we’d probably go to the area around Playa Del Carmen or even a bit further south. Unfortunately I’d have to get the short end of the deal because of the lack of waves, but I’d rather take a happy wife than surf. Or would I?
Cozumel is perfect for what you want. Ive been there several times.
Lots of clear, perfect water, great for diving/snorkeling.
Relatively inexpensive.
Flights land in-city.
Laid back, smaller town atmosphere (not a party town like Cancun, although there are some bars). Still feels safe compared to most Mexican cities (some of the locals i dived with told me they moved there just to be safe). Walking around the town at night doesn’t = instant murder.
Nearby National Park.
Ferry ride to Playa Del Carmen (a recently exploding party town).
Get a tour and see Chichen Itza (takes about 2/3 of a day round trip). Combine this with a night dive later on for best scheduling efficiency!
There are some Mayan ruins on the Island, but nothing worth taking a trip to see in and of themselves, more like a nice thing to see on an off-diving day.
If you go, i would suggest making it at least a partial diving trip and get certified.
Okay - this isn’t necessarily for everybody, but my best friend in college, his parents had a house there, so you might try Isla Mujeres. It’s on the Atlantic side of Mexico, away from the touristy nastiness of the Yucatan but still in clear water. It’s very authentic, so you’d be going to Mexico to do Mexican things and there’s not going to be a lot of people who can talk anything other than foreign, so if that’s a problem, you might have a bad time. Nonetheless, Jake and everybody in the geography class he TAed for (they went to Mexico every summer as part of some trip and ended up there) raved incessantly about it.
I’m going to Cancun next week for a vacation. First time ever in Mexico.
I’m hearing things are getting kinda tense down there. Violence is leaking in; a police officer was killed in Cancun proper last week, and gunmen attacked the state prosecutor’s office in January.
To top things off, the other day a bunch of asshole American tourists were chanting “Build the Wall” while they were in Cancun. And I’ll expect a ton of college kids on spring break, which should make things rowdy.
Anyways, any thoughts on safety and what to do? I’m looking at getting some kind of travel wallet, but the one that hangs around your neck seems like it’s better-suited for climates where you wear more layers. Maybe the one that tucks inside your shorts? Or does that make you a big fat target?
I also plan on bringing my Canon 5D Mark II, but I’ll only bring it out on tours or something like that. And I plan on locking up my laptop in the room safe. Maybe I need to get insurance on those, just in case?
Stay out of Senor Frog’s. Super rowdy tourist trap. Unless you like that sort of thing. You can get a belt wallet. On our last cruise the wife got a purse with metal mesh lining and steel cable in the strap. Essentially cut proof. The hotel may have a safe in the main office that will store valuables for you if you don’t have an in room safe. Get a cheap disposable camera for areas that are shady. When I was there, since I speak some Spanish, I got a cab driver to bring us to an out of the way restaurant that had truly wonderful seafood. I don’t think that would be wise these days.
More usefully you might book a trip to Chichen Itza. There’s almost certainly going to be a ton of tour buses running over there but even when I went 15 years ago it was down roads cut straight through the jungle and we had to stop at a “checkpoint” by armed “guards” which were 18 year olds with Kalashnikovs, whatever that was about I never found out. It’s still probably safe-ish still. Maybe stop in Valladolid on the way, neat very Yucatan town that looks like at any moment the jungle is going to step forward and overwhelm it entirely.
If not there, go swimming in a cenote. Natural wells throughout the Yucatan which have recently formed by karst erosion of natural limestones with little surface soils and throught to perhaps be related to the meteor strike there 65m years ago. Very much like a Disney set, a 120’ deep hole with vines stringing down from above and flowing water out of the rock beneath.
It’s pretty surreal driving down the Calle de Quintana Roo or whatever it was called, the coastal interstate, and be like the only car for miles and miles, down this perfectly maintained road. Gives me more of a creepy feeling than a shady bar in Cancun honestly. There are some very minor Mayan ruins along the coastal highway - I mean very, very minor, to the point there not actually maintained, just left for the jungle to reoccupy; little overlooks, one or two story buildings, ect. Doing that by yourself though seems the most dangerous of all imo, right now.
I’m not sure what it’s like now but back when the Mayan rebel groups were active it was actually safer because they tended to drive out the cartels, having their own agendas and crosses to bear.
