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"Fodor's Cancun gets high marks." --Denver Post The best guide to the area, updated every year Great walks and drives, plus visits to nature reserves, beaches, lighthouses, markets, and Maya ruins Where to snorkel and scuba dive, swim with dolphins and windsurf, go deep-sea fishing, play golf, and see bullfights Dance clubs, live reggae, mariachi music, and jazz Local handicrafts, jewelry, and contemporary artworks Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budget Hotels, resorts, condos, bungalows, and fishing lodges Smart restaurants and cafes, traditionaltaquerias Fresh, thorough, practical -- from writers you can trust Costs, hours, descriptions, and tips by the thousands All reviews based on visits by savvy writer-residents 21 pages of maps, 9 vacation itineraries, and more Important contacts, smart travel tips Fodor's Choice What's Where Pleasures Pastimes, don't-miss activities New & Noteworthy Festivals Essay on Yucatecan culture Spanish vocabulary Comprehensive index

About Our Writers Each year the Gold Guides are written and updated by more than 500 resident writers
New This Year Keeps you up to the minute on recent changes
How to Use This Book Describes organization, icons, and other key information
Please Write to Us Tells you how to get in touch with our editors
The Gold Guide: Smart Travel Tips A to Z An easy-to-use section divided alphabetically by topic
Under each listing you'll find tips and information that will help you accomplish what you need to in the Yucatán
You'll also find addresses and telephone numbers of organizations and companies that offer destination-related services and detailed information and publications
Destination: Cancún, Cozumel, Yucatún Peninsula Helps get you in the mood for your trip
New and Noteworthy Cues you in on trends and happenings
What's Where Gets you oriented
Pleasures and Pastimes Describes the activities and sights that make the Yucatún unique
Fodor's Choice Showcases our top picks from special restaurants and one-of-a-kind accommodations to out-of-the-ordinary sights and activities...
Let them inspire you! Festivals and Seasonal Events Each of the following destination chapters begins with an Exploring section, and goes on to cover dining, lodging, nightlife, recreation and travel practicalities
Cancún Isla Mujeres Cozumel Mexico's Caribbean Coast Mérida and the State of Yucatán Campeche Portraits of the Yucatán Peninsula Chronology of the Maya and History of Yucatán, "The Three Faces of the Yucatán," by Richard Harris Spanish Vocabulary
Index Maps
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Pleasures and Pastimes

Beaches

Cancun and the rest of Yucatan offer a wonderful variety of beaches: There are white sands, rocky coves and promontories, curvaceous bays, and murky lagoons. Those who thrive on the resort atmosphere will probably enjoy Playa Chac Mool and Playa Tortugas on the bay side of Cancun, which is calmer if less beautiful than the windward side. On the north end of Isla Mujeres, Playa Cocoteros and Playa Norte offer handsome sunset vistas. Beaches on the east coast of Cozumel -- once frequented by buccaneers -- are rocky, and the swimming is treacherous, but they offer privacy. On the relatively sheltered leeward side are the widest and best sand beaches. The Caribbean coast abounds with hidden and not-so-hidden beaches (at Xcaret, Paamul, Chemuyil, Xcacel, Punta Bete, south of Tulum, and along the Boca Paila peninsula). There are also long stretches of white sand, usually filled with sunbathers, at Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, and especially Akumal.

Travelers to Campeche and Progreso will find the waters of the Gulf of Mexico deep green, shallow, and tranquil. Such beaches as Payucán, Sabancuy, Isla del Carmen, and Yucalpetén are less visited by North Americans; facilities are minimal, but some prefer it that way.

Bird-Watching

The Yucatán Peninsula is one of the finest areas for birding in Mexico. Habitats range from wildlife and bird sanctuaries to unmarked lagoons, estuaries, and mangrove swamps. Frigates, tanagers, warblers, and macaws inhabit Isla Contoy (off Isla Mujeres) and the Laguna Colombia on Cozumel; an even greater variety of species are to be found in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on the Boca Paila peninsula south of Tulum. Along the north and west coasts of Yucatán -- at Río Lagartos, Laguna Rosada, and Celestún -- flamingos, herons, ibis, cormorants, pelicans, and peregrine falcons thrive.

Dining

The mystique of Yucatecan cooking has a lot to do with the generous doses of local spices and herbs, although generally the food tends not to be too spicy. Among the specialties are cochinita píbil and pollo píbil (succulent pork or chicken baked in banana leaves with a spicy, pumpkin-seed-and-chili sauce); poc chuc (Yucatecan pork marinated in a sour-orange sauce with pickled onions); tikinchic (fried fish prepared with sour orange); panuchos (fried tortillas filled with black beans and topped with turkey, chicken, or pork, pickled onions, and avocado); papadzules (tortillas piled high with hard-boiled eggs and drenched in a sauce of pumpkin seed and fried tomato); and codzitos (rolled tortillas in pumpkin-seed sauce). Achiote (annatto), cilantro (coriander), and the fiery chile habanero are highly favored condiments.

Yucatecans are renowned for -- among other things -- their love of idiosyncratic beverages. Xtabentún, a liqueur made of fermented honey and anise, dates back to the ancient Maya; like straight tequila, it's best drunk in small sips between bites of fresh lime. Local brews, such as the dark bock León Negra and the light Montejo, are excellent. On the healthier side, chaya is the bright-green juice of a local plant resembling spinach. Yucatecan horchata, a favorite all over Mexico, is made from milled rice and water flavored with vanilla. Also try the licuados, either milk- or water-based smoothies, made from the tropical fruits of the region (but avoid outdoor stands, because they often use unpasteurized milk and unpurified water).

Fishing

Sportfishing is popular in Cozumel and throughout the Caribbean coast. The rich waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico support hundreds of species of tropical fish, making the Yucatán coastline and the outlying islands a paradise for deep-sea fishing, fly-fishing, and bone-fishing. Particularly between the months of April and July, the waters off Cancún, Cozumel, and Isla Mujeres teem with sailfish, marlin, red snapper, tuna, barracuda, and wahoo, among other denizens of the deep. Bill fishing is so rich around Cozumel and Puerto Aventuras that each holds an annual tournament.

Farther south, along the Boca Paila peninsula, banana fish, bonefish, mojarra, shad, permit, and sea bass provide great sport for flat fishing and fly-fishing, while oysters, shrimp, and conch lie on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico near Campeche and Isla del Carmen. At Progreso, on the north coast, sportfishing for grouper, dogfish, and pompano is quite popular.

Ruins

Amateur archaeologists will find heaven in the Yucatán, where the ancient Maya most abundantly left their mark. Pick your period and your preference, whether for well-excavated sites or overgrown, out-of-the-way ruins barely touched by a scholar's shovel. The major Maya sites are Cobá and Tulum and Chichén Itzá and Uxmal (Chapter 6), but smaller ruins scattered throughout the peninsula are often equally fascinating.

Oxkintok, just off the main road between Mérida and Campeche, is one of the more rewarding "unrestored" Maya sites in the Yucatán; at press time (spring 1998) it was being restored. Only a few structures have been excavated at this rarely visited spot, but the magnitude of overgrown ruins is impressive, and the presence of sculptures, pottery shards, and other on-site artifacts lets adventurous sightseers experience a more direct link with the ancient past.

Scuba Diving and Snorkeling

Underwater enthusiasts come to Cozumel, Akumal, Xcalak, Xel-Há, and other parts of Mexico's Caribbean coast for the clear turquoise waters, the colorful and assorted tropical fish, and the exquisite coral formations along the Belize reef system. Currents allow for drift diving, and both reefs and offshore wrecks lend themselves to dives, many of which are safe enough for neophytes. The peninsula's cenotes, or natural sinkholes, provide an unusual dive experience. Individual chapters will direct you to the dive sites that will best suit you.

Excerpted from Cancun, Cozumel, Yucatan Peninsula '99: The Complete Guide with Beaches, Water Sports, Markets, and Maya Ruins by Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc. Staff
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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Fodor's 1999 Cancun, Cozumel, Yucatan Peninsula

Fodor's 1999 Cancun, Cozumel, Yucatan Peninsula

0679001220

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