Puerto Morelos
July - September 2022
After being in Mexico just over one week we did wonder why it had taken us so long to travel to this side of the world!
We were staying in the very laid-back town of Puerto Morelos on the Caribbean coast just south of Cancun.
Puerto Morelos has managed to retain its village feel well away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Cancún and Playa del Carmen. This seaside town lies on the Carribbean coastline where visitors can enjoy a more relaxing atmosphere, beautiful beaches and excellent snorkelling.
Our accommodation was located on Niños Heroes and just a few minutes stroll to the beach of white, powdery sand with amazing snorkelling right from the shore over coral rocks and the most species of soft coral we have ever seen.
We have enjoyed some of the best snorkels ever, in what could only be described as like floating in a crowded aquarium.
One good thing about snorkelling from the shore is that boats going to and from the reef are directed well away from the shore through roped off buoy lines so don’t cause problems for swimmers in the bay. Jet Skis are also banned at Puerto Morelos so you don’t suffer from noise pollution – or dangerous drivers!
On most days we had lunch at one of the several beach restaurants and now have a favourite, the beach club at Ojo de Agua Hotel. The restaurants usually charge an amount for sun loungers but allow you to offset part of that against food & drink.
You do get get many beach sellers trying to sell anything
from snacks to clothes to toys to hair braiding to massages, etc. But, unlike
some countries we have visited, a simple “No thank you” is enough and off they
go. They are licensed and are told not to hassle people and they don’t.
As we are mostly self-catering, it’s good to have the large, well-stocked Chaudrai supermarket only 10 minutes walk away. Obviously, there are some items we can’t get, but it’s good to try one or two different things and shopping like a local can be fun!
We have a fruit & veg shop directly opposite our apartment which also sells fresh fruit juices and rotisserie chicken and a couple of doors away from there, a laundry where our clothes can be washed, dried & neatly folded and ready the next day.
The unusual symbol of Puerto Morelos is the leaning lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1946 . .
. .. . but in 1967, Hurricane Beulah hit the coast here and it was almost completely destroyed. However it resisted and has bravely withstood other major storms ever since to become the town’s landmark
This town really does tick all our boxes for a comfortable, relaxing holiday. We had plans to stay here for a month and then maybe move on to another Central American country but why would we? Puerto Morelos provides everything we had hoped for . . . and much more.
The Mesoamerican Coral Reef is located just 400 metres offshore and stretches for about 700 miles along the coast of four countries. It is the Western Hemisphere’s largest barrier & fringing reef & the World's second largest and is closest to the shore here at Puerto Morelos at around 400 metres.
To protect the reef it is now illegal to swim out to it from the beach. It’s necessary to go out on a licenced boat from Puerto Morelos jetty, the cost of which includes a contribution to the marine conservation organisation.
We went with Bliss Diving Adventures, Javier Rojo Gomez, 5.
Our snorkelling guide was Fernando, the owner of Bliss and a great guy. We snorkelled at two separate locations on the reef. It was a great few hours which we wouldn't have wanted to miss and considered ourselves very fortunate to explore such a wonderful underwater world. Here are two of Fernando's photos taken on the day:
During our three-month stay in Puerto Morelos, we organised a three-night stay on Isla Mujeres, one of the smaller Caribbean islands. Read about our trip here.
We have discovered a part of the world that is certainly our kind of paradise.
Visas: Entry requirements at Cancun Airport have been simplified since August 2022 for visitors from a number of countries including the UK. It is no longer necessary to complete an Immigration form online or on arrival.
Passports are now stamped with the date of entry, a handwritten date indicating the final day the visitor is allowed to stay, and "180" - the total number of days you are allowed to stay.
It doesn't matter how long you plan to stay, almost everyone gets 180 days.
There are currently no COVID-19 specific entry requirements regardless of vaccination status.
Travel requirements can be subject to change at very short notice. You should check and observe all health and entry requirements applicable to your journey and the latest travel guidance of the relevant authorities of your destination.
Currency: Mexican Peso ($ or Mex$)
Transfers from Airport:. We booked our return transfers with USA Transfers, following many recommendations. They offer online bookings for safe reliable journeys. There are many other options, of course, including taxis which may be slightly cheaper but we chose USA for reliability.
Restaurants: It's always difficult recommending restaurants as tastes and expectations vary so much, but these are just a few we enjoyed on several occasions during our three month stay - in no particular order!
Mangata, Av. Tulum
El Nicho, now at their new premises on Av.Javier Rojo Gómez
La Sirena, Calle Jose Maria Morelos. Website.
Local Coffee + Shop, Av. Niños Heroes
Lola y Moya, Rafael E. Melgar. Website.
Panna y Cioccolato, Av. Javier Rojo Gómez, for yummy cakes & pastries, coffee & soft drinks. They also have a large selection of ice creams.
and not forgetting, Ojo de Agua Beach Club where we enjoyed lunch most weekdays; the beach could often be quite busy at weekends.
Shopping: Chedraui is a large well-stocked supermarket. There are also a couple of branches of small Oxxo mini-markets and many other small shops with a vast selection of souvenirs around the town square.
Sargassum: It is important to mention that from April to September or October, the Caribbean coast suffers from the arrival of Sargassum, a type of seaweed.
This is a natural part of the ocean ecosystem and provides an important habitat for a variety of marine life. But it can be an unwelcome surprise for some visitors.
Fortunately, Puerto Morelos is better at keeping it under control
than other resorts such as Puerto del Carmen and Tulum. A $120,000 barrier has
been installed off shore to help protect its 1,900-foot stretch of beach. It does reach the shore line but most of it
is removed daily.
As a result, the sea is not always crystal clear, especially close to the shore but on most days when snorkelling out in the bay, the water clarity is excellent. And as you will have seen from our beach photographs the sea views from the shore are spectacular.
A Tale of Two Towns: There are two distinct and separate districts of Puerto Morelos which you need to be aware of when booking accommodation.
The Beach (or Port) side where most visitors stay and
Colonia the older section of the town where most of the locals live. The two areas are separated by Highway 307 and
connected by the 2km Calle Jose Maria Morelos road.
Accommodation is less expensive in La Colonia and may offer a more local Mexican atmosphere, but you are further away from the beach. Wherever you stay on the beach side of town, you are only a few minutes walk from the sea.
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