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The Best Beach Vacations
Cancún: Despite extensive damage from Hurricane Wilma in late 2005, relief came quickly, and by 2007 most of this city resort had been rebuilt to look even better than before. In terms of sheer beauty, Cancún has always been the site of Mexico's most alluring beaches. The powdery, white-sand beaches boast water the color of a Technicolor dream; it's so clear that you can see through to the coral reefs below. Cancún offers the widest assortment of luxury beachfront hotels, with more restaurants, nightlife, and activities than any other resort destination in the country.
Isla Mujeres: If laid-back is what you're after, this idyllic island affords peaceful, small-town beach life at its best. Most accommodations are smaller, inexpensive inns, with a few unique, luxurious places tossed in. Bike -- or take a golf cart -- around the island to explore rocky coves and sandy beaches, or focus your tanning efforts on the wide beachfront of Playa Norte. Here you'll find calm waters and palapa restaurants, where you can have fresh-caught fish for lunch. You're close to great diving and snorkeling just offshore, as well as Isla Contoy National Park, which features great bird life and its own dramatic, uninhabited beach. If all that tranquillity starts to get to you, you're only a ferry ride away from the action in Cancún.
Cozumel: It may not have lots of big, sandy beaches, but Cozumel has something the mainland doesn't: the calm, flat waters of the sheltered western shore. It's so easy that it's like swimming in an aquarium. Cozumel also has lots to see under the water.
Playa del Carmen: This is one of our absolute favorite Mexican beach vacations. Stylish and hip, Playa del Carmen has a beautiful beach and an eclectic assortment of small hotels, inns, and cabañas. The social scene focuses on the beach by day and the pedestrian-only Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue) by night, with its fun assortment of restaurants, clubs, sidewalk cafes, and shops. You're also close to the coast's major attractions, including nature parks, ruins, and cenotes (sinkholes or natural wells). Cozumel Island is just a quick ferry trip away. Enjoy it while it's still a manageable size.
Tulum: Fronting some of the best beaches on the entire coast, Tulum's small palapa hotels offer guests a little slice of paradise far from the crowds and megaresorts. The bustling town lies inland; at the coast, things are quiet and will remain so because all these hotels are small and must generate their own electricity. If you can pull yourself away from the beach, nearby are ruins to explore and a vast nature preserve.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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