Sports Equipment–Rent or Bring, part 1, Golf
First off, I need to say I’m not a golfer. But having spoken to golfers, I’ve been told that they choose their clubs specifically for their strengths, gender, and even height. It’s definitely NOT a one size fits all here. Even though all the courses have pro shops and rentals available, avid golfers probably plan on bringing their own clubs. I did some searching to find out the various costs of getting a bag, clubs and shoes to your vacation location.
At all the Mayan resorts, golf is a BIG draw. For instance Read more »
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Xcaret (pronounced ísh-kah-rette) is a beautiful eco-park about 30 minutes south of the Grand Mayan Riviera Maya, just a little bit past Playa Del Carmen. We did this park in 2005 when my kids were 5 and 6, and also visited Xel-Ha/Tulum on this trip too. (More on that in another post.) Because we knew we were going to do water activities at Xel-Ha, we didn’t do any swimming at Xcaret. There’s so much to see above ground that we didn’t want to miss out. If you’re not going to Xel-Ha, seriously consider the 2-day packages for Xcaret especially since the 2nd day doesn’t have to be consecutive. You’re going on vacation to slow down, right?
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Do you know that the Meso-American reef, which hugs the coast of the Caribbean side of the Yucatan peninsula, is the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world? It’s beaten only by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Cool, huh? It’s closer to the shore of Puerto Morelos than at most other points along the Riviera Maya and a really easy day trip for snorkeling!
view in Google Maps here
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Ah, the mysterious water park in Riviera Maya. First, we all thought it was going to be in the Grand Mayan area. Then I heard the Grand Mayan was just going to have a nice intimate pool area with no lazy river etc. In fact that is true and that area is finished and is VERY nice.
The latest word is that they are buiding a Nuevo style water park on the north side of the Mayan Palace buildings close to the beach. We were not able to get into the construction area to get a visual confirmation of this. No idea when it might actually be finished. If anyone has heard anything from anyone other than a salesman, please post a comment to this entry.
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This is one of the many upper level restaurants above 5th avenue. Ask for a table with a view of the street. They do a nice job with upscale dishes here. I had the Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon and my wife had shrimp in tamarind sauce. Both were excellent. The sides aren’t mentioned on the menu, but both came with a baked potato. You can get grilled vegetables for an extra 50 pesos ($4) and they make a fabulous addition to an already good meal. Located on 5th avenue and the Calle 14.
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There are actually 2 unrelated restaurants with the name Café Luna. The one on 5th avenue between 8th and 10th is called also called Media Luna doesn’t seem to show up several of the guidebooks. Other books call it “the place to eat in Playa”. We discovered it years ago. It was the place I first tasted one of my favorite drinks. A Kahlua Colada. The menu has a variety of funky, yuppie fare that is very well prepared and presented. They have great vegetarian dishes, fresh fish, wonderful pastas and huge delicious salads Last time we were there, the Kahlua colada wasn’t even on the menu any more, but we asked and they made one anyway. Still one of my favorites!
Café Luna is a reasonably priced, tasty alternative when you tire of the Mexican and Italian standard options.
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Remember that the cruise ships drop people off near Jaurez on 5th avenue. That means that closer you get to Juarez, the higher the density of the t shirt and trinket shops. As you walk north on 5th avenue, the scenery gets better, the restaurants get more interesting and the shopping goes from trinkets to silver. So actually, men you might be have a smaller credit card bill if you stay down with the droves of cruisers.
I have read that you can’t negotiate in the nicer shops in Mexico, but I have not found that to be the case. We seem strangely drawn (well, my wife is drawn and she draws me) to a silver shop just where the tiny Calle Corazon (alleyway) goes off 5th ave. My wife circles 3 times , finds what she wants and then calls me in as “the closer”.
There are also some very interesting art shops, clothing shops etc in this same area. This is not the Miami Beach style shops of Cancun, but that is a good thing in my mind.
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glendale web designYaxche Restaurant – Playa del Carmen
It is a little bit pricey, but the Yaxche restaurant in Playa del Carmen is worth a few extra pesos. Expecially now that you can 14 for a dollar instead of 10.5. This is a restaurant that specializes in Mayan cuisine. This is similar to Mexican food, but with flavors and spices you have never before tasted. Finding an orange slice, complete with rind in your tomato based sauce will seem weird. But it is delicious. So, get off the darn reservation and try something that you cannot experience very many places in the world. It is in a beautiful decor and features the ubiquitous friendly service style of Playa.
You can find the restaurant on Calle 8 just west (away from the beach) from 5th Avenue.
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You will have guessed by now we love to snorkel. I will get to other activities in a few posts, I promise.
It is easiest to have a car to do snorkelling in Akumal. You head south of Playa del Carmen. A few miles down the road, you can’t miss the main entrance to the small resort town of Akumal. As soon as you go through the archway that marks the entrance, there is a parking lot with a small parking fee. If you walk to the beach fro here, you will be in the southern bay of Akumal that is grassy and has no coral, but you are much more likely to see sea turtles. Our preference is to follow the road left (north) along the beach. you will see the Buena Vida (Good Life ) restaurant and immediately following that a dive shop. This is the place you are looking for. Park on the street. You are now about 100 feet from a beach paradise. Rent some equipment at the dive shop , if they aren’t out on a dive. Walk onto the beach and you are looking at the middle of the bay.
This snorkel trip is not for the beginner. You can start by paddling about 100 yards or so straight out to the reef. Then you can follow the reef either to the left to the edge of the bay or right to the edge of the bay. The water gets clearer as you get closer to the edges. You will have to swim around the occasional shallow spots or you will find yourself trapped and scraped up. There are not huge schools of fish anywhere, but there is a large variety of fish after you have explored a few patches of reef. When I did this sno
rkel, I was lucky enough to interrupt a sea turtle’s nap. He didn’t hang around long for an inspection, but it was a nice end to a beautiful free snorkel trip.
The Buena Vida restaurant is a great place to sit in Paradise for a while and and get some very acceptable Mexican standards. Try the guacamole.
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We decided to take the Riviera Maya Mayan Resort snorkel trip, simply because it was so convenient. We walked down to the beach and hopped into a snorkel boat. A short ride to the south and we were doing some pretty darn good snorkelling. We snorkelled from patch reef to patch reef, but there was a nice mixture of beautiful caribbean fish. Trigger fish, parrot fish, damsel fish and the ever present seargent majors. Well worth a couple hours out of your day.