I found a very helpful blog, Two Expats Mexico, which is chock full of great info. Here’s a video they put out on how to avoid being scammed while visiting Mexico–I thought it gave some very necessary reminders. What do you think about the info Paul presented?
Xcaret Park is one of the most popular destinations in the Riviera Maya with approximately one-third of all vacationers to this area spending at least one day, if not more, visiting its vast 200 acre grounds. Xcaret Park is located just south of Playa del Carmen (a 45-50 min. ride south of the Cancun airport) and has great road signage–you cannot miss the exit off the main road if you are renting a car. I visited the park when I was a guest at Hotel Xcaret Mexico with the resort’s “All Fun Inclusive” plan; in translation, this means that I didn’t have to pay anything extra to enter the park since my hotel stay already included the price of admission. There is even a separate entrance to the park for Hotel Xcaret guests.
Here’s a short video of the environs of Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort and Spa. It is hosted by Christine Turner, a travel agent who has visited the resort a multitude of times and produced many resort videos. The video shows approximately where the gated community of Puerto Aventuras is in relation to Playa del Carmen, as well as how to go about getting from the resort to the stores/restaurants and larger beach area in town.
The Karisma brand will be opening its fourth property within its Villa Collection, part of its esteemed Connoisseur Collection, in the Riviera Maya this June. Villa Casa Del Mar is situated next to Azul Beach Resort Riviera Maya and will consist of the following amenities: Continue reading
There is a pilot project beginning in Mexico City’s airport Terminals 1 and 2 which signals a significant change to the current Customs and Immigration procedure currently in place at Cancun and other Mexican airports. Mexico wants to do away with the Declaration Form and instead have everyone’s bags X-rayed between connecting flights or prior to unloading baggage onto carousels; also, the dreaded red/green light at Customs entry points is also going to be a thing of the past. No more will travelers need to stand in line wondering whether they will get the red light and have their bags randomly searched–I’m all for that! Traveling can be stressful enough without adding a procedure which purposefully induces more stress.
I found a nice link concerning the most recent info about snorkeling in Akumal Bay–it even has a small map so that people can get an idea of where snorkeling is allowed. Just follow this link.
Akumal Bay snorkeling tour groups are once again allowed to enter the water to swim with the turtles under the following conditions: Continue reading
As of March 28, 2017, these are the most up-to-date and concise rules concerning snorkeling in Akumal Bay: Continue reading
Vacationers traveling to Akumal in the next few weeks should be aware that PROFEPA (the Federal Environmental Protection Agency in Mexico) has temporarily suspended tour group snorkeling in Akumal Bay. The agency determined that the original ruling of allowing only a certain number of tour group participants to snorkel had been grossly ignored by tour companies, so PROFEPA is trying to determine how to permanently resolve this issue while protecting the turtles, coral, and other sea life in the bay. At the present time, individual snorkelers, for the most part, are allowed to swim and snorkel in front of Secrets Akumal and ABBWR without being harassed, but snorkeling north of this area may result in being told to get out of the water (the northern end of the bay is where most of the sea grass beds are and where snorkel groups typically have entered the water in the past). There are buoys marking these areas, but there is a lot of confusion right now about who is allowed in the bay and exactly where people are allowed to snorkel. Some reports state that snorkeling is allowed as long as life vests and fins are not used, while others state info to the contrary. If fins and life vests are not allowed, this seems to be a very unsafe snorkeling practice unless it is done immediately offshore.
Apparently there was a fire at Grand Bahia Principe Tulum which started in the evening hours yesterday, Jan. 13 2017. The fire began in the Circle lobby bar area due to an electrical short circuit and has destroyed the bar area. While some initial reports stated the lobby and theater were gone as well, these areas were not greatly affected and the resort has put up a temporary bar in the theater area. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the incident.