Tinkerhell’s Best and Worst of Mexico, Numero Quattro
Best Beach [EVER]: Tulum: Perfect, powdery sand; clear, turquoise water; just-right waves for body surfing; totally empty — these are the perfect beach cliches. And, even with explosive development, Tulum still delivers. We could even hear the waves breaking at night through the open window. Paradise.
Disneyland o Mexico? Award: Tie Xcaret and Tulum Ruins. WTF is going on in the “Riviera Maya?” Twenty years of rapid development I suppose. The beach south of the Tulum ruins, a deserted paradise 20 years ago, is now wall-to-wall with 80 small hotels. That’s EIGHTY hotels in the space of about five miles. Luckily Tulum forces each and every one of those to generate their own electricity, so the development is low-rise and the beach still feels like your very own. But the ruins north to Cancun… ZOMG. We counted at least four major amusement attractions including Xcaret, Xel-ha, Hidden Worlds and Xplore. The Tulum Zona Archaeologica has been lanscaped, roped off and cleaned up to attract the tourist swarms from the nearby hotels. Good for you, Mexico, it does look gorgeous. Just REALLY different from the dusty, deserted, beachside paradise I remember from the 1990s.
