Cozumel
The town, San Miguel de Cozumel, is a seedy, overpriced version ofPlaya del Carmen. C Daily tour groups arrive on cruises from Miami and Cancun, and the towns’ services seem geared towards this type of tourist. But Cozumel is a mecca for scuba divers, with many beautiful offshore reefs to explore, as well as much interesting wildlife and bird life. Travellers looking for a beach holiday with some nightlife will find the island disap¬pointing compared to Playa del Carmen. There is only one nice beach, on the west side, and the eastern, Atlantic coast is far too rugged and choppy for swimming.
Six dead as Wilma batters Mexico
At least six people have died as Hurricane Wilma lingers over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, Reuters reports.
Two deaths been reported on the island on the island of Cozumel, and one person died in Cancun when a gust of wind blew out a window.
In the resort town of Playa del Carmen, two people died when a gas tank exploded, while to the west of the Yucatan Peninsula, a large tree branch crushed a man to death.
The slow-moving storm has sent waves as high as the third storey of some hotels in the resort of
Mexico resorts getting back in the swim
Tourism officials in the hurricane-battered Mexican state of Quintana Roo hope to have 80 percent of the accommodations and amenities in the affected Caribbean coast resorts fully operational by February.
The Yucatan Peninsula state, home to tourism magnets Cancun, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya, accounts for about 36 percent of Mexico's nearly $11 billion tourism industry, according to Quintana Roo tourism secretary Gabriela Rodriguez.
Hurricane Wilma hit Cancun the hardest in late October, closing most of its hotel rooms. Between 8,000 and 10,000 of the city's approximately 25,000 hotel rooms are now open, and officials expect
Frontier Continues March Through Mexico With Launch of Acapulco and Cozumel Service
Post-Hurricane Wilma, Cozumel is 'Open for Business'; Frontier is First and Only Airline to Offer Non-Stop Service From Denver
The past weekend was busy for Denver-based Frontier Airlines (Nasdaq: FRNT - News) as the airline launched its latest two Mexican resort destinations -- Cozumel and Acapulco on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18 respectively. The two cities are Frontier's sixth and seventh destinations in Mexico, complementing its existing non-stop Denver service to Cancun, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. Both Cozumel and Acapulco will utilize Frontier's new 132
Hurricane Wilma slams into mainland Mexico
Ocean waves surged over the narrow strip of land that holds Cancun's resort hotels as Hurricane Wilma slammed into Mexican mainland, where some 30,000 tourists huddled in hotels and shelters amid shrieking winds and shattering glass.
The eye of the category 3 storm, which had already killed 13 people, first slammed into Cozumel Island _ the worst-hit, and now cut off _ and then headed north-northwest onto the mainland near the beach town of Playa de Carmen, south of Cancun.
The howling winds caused severe damage in Playa de Carmen, flattening dozens of wood-and-tarpaper
Local Couples Stranded In Hurricane-Ravaged Mexico
Hurricane Wilma has caused the deaths of at least seven people on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
The storm is expected to pick up speed and strength on Sunday before it sideswipes Cuba on its way to Florida.
And some Tri-state families are feeling the effects of Hurricane Wilma, too.
They have loved ones stranded in the hardest hit areas.
It's been the honeymoon from hell for several local couples in Cozumel which has been battered the island for two days.
Eight people from the Florence area include the bride and groom as well as their matron
Mexico's Cozumel, storm survivor, awaits tourists
At first glance, Mexico's Cozumel island -- a Caribbean jewel ringed with coral reefs -- looks like the site of a nuclear explosion.
Chunks of concrete pier have been swept away, palm-thatched beachside bars are stripped to skeletons, lush forest has turned into dry brown kindling and huge bites have been taken out of concrete buildings.
Yet unlike nearby Cancun, whose high-rise resorts are nearly all shut for repairs after their beaches were sucked away by Hurricane Wilma last month, many of Cozumel's hotels are open. Its best white sand beaches -- which are natural rather than
Holbox Island
Also north of Valladolid, but in the neighbouring state of Quintana Roo, turn off the
road to Puerto Juarez after Nuevo Xcan (seepage 566), to Holbox Island. Buses to
Chiquila for boats, three times a day, also direct from Tizimi'n at 1130, connecting
Holbox 0600 and 1430, one hour, returning to Chiquila at 0500 and 1300. A bus to Merida connects with the 0500 ferry. If you miss the ferry a fisherman will probably take you (for about US$14).
You can leave your car in the care of the harbour master for a small charge; his house
is east
Tulum
The Tulum ruins, Maya-Toltec, are 131 km south of Cancun, 1 km off the main road. They are 12th century, with city walls of white stone atop coastal cliffs. The temples were dedicated to the worship of the Falling God, or the Setting Sun, represented as a falling character over nearly all the west-facing doors (Cozumel was the home of the Rising Sun). The same idea is reflected in the buildings, which are wider at the top than at the bottom.
The main structure is the Castillo, which commands a view of both the sea and the forested Quintana Roo lowlands
Xcaret
Back on the mainland, there are some Maya ruins at Xcaret, a turn-off left on Route 307 to Tulum, after Playa del Carmen. The Maya site, an ancient port called Pole, was the departure point for voyages to Cozumel. It has now been turned into an overpriced and very tacky theme park catering exclusively for day-trippers. â– US$37 (children under five years free). This entry fee entitles you to visit the small ruins, the aviary, the -, K beach, lagoon and inlet, to take an underground river trip (life vest included) and to use all chairs, hammocks and palapas.
Hurricane Emily's winds start battering Mexico
Hurricane Emily started lashing the beaches of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula late Sunday.
The Category 4 storm blew down signs and trees, leaving Isla Mujeres and parts of the island of Cozumel and Cancun without electricity.
Emily's eye would pass over Cozumel early Monday, authorities predicted.
The hurricane did slightly weaken as it approached Mexico, with speeds dropping from 235 kilometres per hour to 220 km/h.
Earlier Sunday, chaos ruled at Cancun, Mexico's airport as tourists waited for flights to escape hurricane Emily.
At Toronto's Pearson Airport, Dave Job arrived on one flight -- but without his son.
While concerned, "I'm a
