Here's a small list of stuff to do there & distances 0 minutes Hang by the pool, esp. in the afternoon Chill in one of the hammocks Beach walks, sunsets – the beach curves away in a perfect half-moon in both directions. If you walk to the left past the last house on the beach and cut across the neck of land there (basically cut inland after the last house) you will be at the next bay, which is also very pretty Snorkel (tons of coral, fish, sometimes rays, turtles, octopi) -- Most people take the kayaks out to one of the buoys in the middle of the bay (head out and leftish) close to the barrier reef. Tie up and snorkel around the reef there. Be sure to wear life jackets. If the weather is calm and the in-shore water is clear, you can also snorkel directly out from the house if you are comfortable snorkeling in shallow water (2-3 ft deep). Lots of tiny fish that you see up close, and if you get lucky, eels, rays, octopi etc. If you are snorkeling or swimming without fins, we recommend water shoes for entry since the water directly in front of the house is shallow and has a coral bottom and some seagrass. Or if you walk to the left a few 100 yards, the bay gets deeper and sandier. For little kids there are "ojos", little pools of soft sand right at the shore. There is one just 100 yds to the left. Kayak -- it's fun to just take the kayaks out, and with some practice you can kayak surf the waves close to shore. 10mins Cenotes (limestone caves) -- explore, swim, dive. The cenotes are a unique Yucatan experience, well worth seeing. There are 2 cenotes very close by, across the highway from Soliman Bay. Dos Ojos is a place you can pay about $8 to just snorkel around an open cenote, and if you can find the connection, snorkel into an almost fully enclosed artificially lit underground cavern. Works for kids too. Gran Cenote off the Tulum-Coba road is similar. Hidden Worlds is a more expensive ($60pp?) tour with lots of different activities under & over ground. Fun, but getting a bit touristy.
Aktun-chen is a dry cavern, if you want to explore a cavern w/o getting wet. It is quite nice with a great underground lake/pool too. Plus they have added a menagerie of random local animals. Don't expect AZA-standard enclosures, but it's fun to see the critters. It's kind of pricey, though for what you get.
Xcacel is a great totally undeveloped beach, with a classic curve of sand, nice sized waves, good walks in either direction, but NO SHADE! As you drive north on the highway, just past Xelha but before the next hotel/development/overpass to the north, look for a "Beach Access" sign pointing to a tiny dirt road. If the sign is gone, ask around.
Xelha underwater park -- we have never been there, it's kind of touristy. A lot of people like it, though.
Akumal (10-15mins)
Yalku lagoon -- highly recommended -- this is a great place to go to see huge tame fish, great for folks not comfortable snorkeling in the bay. You don't even need to get wet. Just look at the fish from the rocks/shore!
Diving -- There is a good dive shop in Akumal
While in Akumal, lunch at Lol-ha on the beach, and don't miss Lucy's homemade ice cream. A day at Akumal starting with the morning at Yalku, a long lunch at Lol-ha with kids playing in the waves in front, girls shopping for great cheap, locally made jewelry at the little stalls close by, and topped off by a great ice-cream at Lucy's is a day well spent! At Yalku look for a dude selling local candy -- esp. the guava & coconut-based sweets. Yum.
Tulum (5 - 10 mins) Tulum ruins -- great seaside location. Try to hit it maybe an hour before closing time? During the day it is mobbed by bus loads from Cancun. Can take swimsuits & hit the beach inside the ruins complex. But watch for HUGE dangerous waves.
Tulum pueblo -- cute town to walk around. Great fresh fruit & veg stalls. The grocery store at the traffic light is you default grocery store. Cheaper than Akumal.
Tulum beach strip -- lots of low-key bars & restaurants. Our favorite is La Zebra, about 10mins along the road to Punta Allen. Great beach for swimming & there is a kiteboarding school. Also look for flyers advertising live music, dancing etc.
30mins Coba ruins -- Still in the jungle, kind of cool. One of the few places you are still allowed to climb a pyramid. Head inland from Tulum at the traffic light (yes, there is just one) Muyil ruins -- totally unknown, in the jungle -- stay on 307 south of Tulum for 20 mins Playa del Carmen nightlife/shopping -- Av 5 is a nice pedestrian zone at night. Music, restaurants. Not much to say for the town by day. Some good shopping. Mix of real “Art” and tourist kitsch. Xcaret theme park -- awful Disneyland crowds and prices 2hrs
Chichen Itza ruins -- the signature Mayan ruins. Really worth the trip, but go *early*. Leave at 630am, arrive at 830. You will get 3 hrs before the busloads from Cancun hit. On the way there or back, the little town of Valladolid is a niceish colonial town, with a central square, church, etc. Shopping at Chichen Itza, Valladolid etc is pretty good. Cheaper than along the coast. Ek Balam ruins (brand new excavations -- spectacularly good condition, still undiscovered). Close to Valladolid, so you can hit both Chichen Itza & Ek Balam in one day, but if you can stand the heat (hanging by the beach, one forgets it gets pretty hot inland, though perhaps not so bad in winter). The drive south thru the Sian Kaan reserve to Punta Allen is really cool. Mile after mile of wild coastal landscape, beaches, lagoons, totally undeveloped. There's nothing at Punta Allen as such. It's just the drive. If you don't want to take the time to drive that far, a trip to the first bridge past the entrance to the reserve is a worth it to get a flavor. Stop at the bridge & look for birds & fish etc.
4hrs
2 hrs past Chichen Itza is the town of Merida, is a great colonial town -- markets, street life etc. You need to stay overnight to do it justice. It comes alive on Saturdays and Sundays, with street music, dances, a handicraft market etc.
Maid & Chef service Olivia (the caretaker) can cook for you. She is a *great* cook, and can make Guatemalan and Mexican food. Her Guatemalan pork tamales (made in banana leaves, not corn husk) are to die for. Plus lots more. Her cooking is not part of the rental, so you pay here directly for her work, typically about 50 pesos per meal per person. This is way cheaper (and better) way to do dinner than a restaurant. What you do is discuss what you want with her in the morning, and then take her into Tulum with you to do the shopping for ingredients. If you plan ahead you can get the fixings for 2-3 days worth of dinners in one trip, combining it with doing your own groceries at the same time. The housekeepers, Olivia & Cristobal, live on site (in a detached ‘casita’) and clean the house & garden daily, but they do have Sunday off. Maid service is included in the rental, but we do ask our guests to tip the staff at the end of the week. They will be doing everything to make sure you have a great stay, so please tip them generously when you leave. Most guests tip about $10-15/day.
Health and Safety Notes The house has separate supplies for drinking water and bath/tap water. There is a drinking water dispenser in the kitchen and Olivia will refill carafes in all the bathrooms with drinking water. You should use this drinking water for drinking, brushing teeth, rinsing tooth brushes etc. Also if you buy fresh fruits & veggies at the markets, give them to Olivia who will disinfect and wash them in drinking water. We have never had tummy problems. All the water (including bath water) comes in by truck, so efforts to conserve by taking shorter showers etc are much appreciated :-) The bay in front of the house is typically calm & protected by the reef, but this can give a false sense of security. Please respect the ocean. *Always* use the provided life jackets when going out in the kayaks.
Cell coverage and Internet Cell coverage is good, both GSM and CDMA (AT&t/Tmobile or Verizon) at least for voice. We fall within the range of a big new tower they put in for Xelha. I've never used cellular data access from there, but I assume it's good too. The Internet access is a Wimax hotspot, so pretty decent broadband bandwidth, but not as fast as a cable modem at home. If you have trouble ask Olivia to help. Her son Weinert lives just down the road and is our “tech support”.
Car rental For renting a car, one of our recent guests just got gouged on LDW/CDW/insurance from Thrifty, so here are some suggestions: I’ve had good luck with www.acerentacar.com. They are right in the airport, next door to Hertz, and lines are shorter & rates are better. Whoever you rent from, you will need to pay for 3rd-party liability insurance which is $11-$14/day extra. If you have CDW/LDW coverage through your credit card, you do not need to buy this from the agency, however they do take an imprint of your card on a blank credit card receipt, and/or put a credit card hold for some large amount like $4000. This is pretty normal and I’ve never had any issue with this, so don’t be alarmed!