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The Beach: The beaches belong to the people of Mexico and they don't mind if you use it, so go ahead. There are no private beaches in Mexico. The only stopping point in our area is the Federal Dock (where the ferries are). You can't walk across it, but you can go around it. Our sand is clean and white and stretches forever. We do get sea grass on our beach, it's a by-product of a healthy reef. The good news is that the reef calms the big waves so our beach is easy to swim.
Drinking Water & Ice: All the restaurants in town use purified drinking water and ice. They wash the veggies in purified water. There is no reason to worry. Bottled water is inexpensive and available everywhere. You can brush your teeth with the tap water. If you open your mouth in the shower you will not die. You are more likely to get sick from too much sun or tequila than the water.
Staying Healthy: While we're on the topic, to stay healthy be sure to pace
yourself and keep your hands clean, especially before you eat. Hand gel is a
great thing to carry. Be careful of taking too much sun. It is very powerful
Restaurants: Long, lingering, lazy meals will be one of the highlights of your visit to Puerto Morelos. We have some great restaurants here, ranging from cheap local places to world-class cuisine. Please note that your waiter will not bring you your bill until you ask for it. Bringing the bill before you request it is considered rude, and simply not done here. Your bill will will include tax (IVA) but will not include service (propina). The exception is Playa del Carmen, where a 10% tip will often be included on the tab. Watch for it in Playa, so you are not tipping twice.
Bus: Forget the "chicken bus" imagery in Mexico. Buses are great here, much better than in the US or Canada. Always buy the best class ticket you possibly can to get the most direct and best service. To take a bus to Playa or Cancun, you must get up to the highway using a cab or collectivo or your feet (2kms). There are two bus stations to choose from on the highway, depending on which way you are going, North or South. Buses to Cancun or Playa depart every 10 minutes and cost a mere 17 pesos. From Cancun or Playa's bus stations, you can literally go anywhere in Mexico. The best way to get to Cozumel is to take a bus to Playa del Carmen and catch the "people ferry" there. The ferry in PM is just for freight. It is not worth it to try to bring your car to Coz. It is expensive and chances are your car rental company won't allow it anyway.
Collectivos:
Mexico could simply not run without
collectivos. These are w There
are other collectivos t Taxi: Puerto Morelos may be a small town but we have more than 100 taxis. Rates are set, not metered. Agree on a price before you get in. There should be a rate card in the taxi. You are not expected to tip, but we always do. Driving: Yes you can drive in Mexico. Renting a car is not necessary as the bus system is excellent here, but it does give you the most flexibility and freedom. Rates tend to be best if you rent for a week or more and book a week or more in advance and pick up at the airport. To rent for a short period of time, you can get a car in town. Your credit card car rental insurance will likely not cover you in Mexico, check with your company. Whatever insurance route you choose, make sure there is a toll-free number you can call if you have problems. In case of an accident, police can throw all parties in jail until they determine who is at fault. You will want to be able to call someone to help you. When you get your car, go over it with a fine-tooth comb and point out any scratch, dent, defect, chip or blemish to the rental guy. They will charge you for any new dings. Check your tires and spare for air and tread. Driving is relatively easy here. Roads are good and the whole peninsula is flat as a tortilla, so you don't have to deal with hills. The toll road to Chichen Itza/Merida is freakishly expensive, but worth it. See DAYTRIPS for more information. The free road to Chichen is narrow, slow and laden with topes (speed bumps) but is perfectly safe. The Cancun/Puerto Morelos/Playa del Carmen road is very fast and very good. Playa to Tulum is a little more challenging as it is two-lane, but they will often treat it as three...sending another vehicle up the middle. Stay alert and don't drive this section at night. Cancun has traffic circles and aggressive drivers. Give the taxis (there are a million of them) and the buses a wide berth and you will be fine. Use your turn signal when you turn and know that you and I are the only ones using them. Your car rental agreement will likely state that you can't take the car to Cozumel or Belize. Don't speed and you won't have to worry about the police. If you do get stopped, be calm, cool and dumb. If you decide to settle things by the side of the road, talk the price down like you are bargaining for a blanket in the market. No more than 200 pesos should do it. Please note that traffic around the Puerto Morelos square is one-way (clockwise).
Money and Banking: There are two bank machines in Puerto Morelos. One is on the square in front of the supermarket and another is on the highway. The machines work well, but occasionally run out of money, especially on weekends. There are no banks in town. There is an exchange booth right on the square to exchange your cash dollars (US or Canadian) or Euros. We recommend changing your money and using Pesos in Mexico. US dollars are usually accepted, but you will likely not get an attractive exchange rate. Credit cards are NOT accepted at most businesses and restaurants in Puerto Morelos. Post Office & Stamps: We now have a small post office on the other side of the highway, but it is much more convenient to get stamps at the supermarket. The only post office box in town is on the north-west corner of the square, on the wall between the gift shop and El Pirata Restaurant. The Mexican postal system is improving, but is still quite undependable and slow. You will likely beat your postcards home, but they are still fun to send. Alma Libre has the only postcards in town that feature Puerto Morelos. We also have blank all-occasion cards.
Phoning Home: This has improved greatly in the last few years in Mexico, but you still need to be careful. The easiest way to phone home is to get a "Telmex/Ladatel" phone card at the pharmacy. They come in three sizes, 30 peso, 50 peso or 100 peso. Calling the US or Canada will cost 5 pesos a minute, so you are getting 6, 10 or 20 minutes depending on which you buy. Local calls (including Cancun) are about 1 peso a minute. Calls to Playa del Carmen and beyond cost more. To call a Mexican mobile phone, you need to dial 044 + area code + number. Insert your phone card with the computer chip facing up and towards the phone, then hit the "abc" button. This changes all the instructions to English and makes things so much easier...assuming you speak English...which you must if you are reading this. To dial Canada or USA dial 001 + area code + number. The card will count down your time and mercilessly cut you off when your time is up. If you have time left over, keep your card for your next call or next trip to Mexico, they don't expire. We do not recommend using your credit card to call. Charges can be outrageous. Also calling from your resort or hotel room can be an orgy of overcharging, check their rates first. There are other calling cards you can buy locally, but we have never had any luck with them, except to jimmy open doors. Don't call collect, unless you really don't care for the person...they will likely get nailed big time. A recent collect call from Puerto Morelos cost us $50 for eight minutes! If you must call collect, dial 090 to get the operator. You can also make a VOIP call from the Pixan gift shop, next to Dive Puerto Morelos. It's excellent quality...better than the payphones.
Internet: The cheap and easy way to stay in touch. Available at four different locations in town, one with WI-FI. Prices are around 20 pesos an hour. Bugs: Mosquitoes don't tend to be a big problem in town, the breeze keeps them down. If they do come out, it will be at dusk. Avoid being out at that time or use a little repellent. You'll need bug spray if you go to the Botanical Garden. Bano: There is now a public bathroom at the dock open during daylight hours only. One of our sage pieces of advice for travel in Mexico is, never turn down an opportunity to go to the bathroom...so if you are in a restaurant or bar, take advantage of the facilities! Massage: There are a few places in town that can rub your troubles away. The best deal by far is the Wednesday Jungle Spa, where all treatments are available from professionally trained Mayan women for less pesos. If you miss the Wednesday Spa, you can contact them to book an appointment for another day. Call Sandra (998) 208-9148. Gasoline: A Pemex is located on the highway at the Puerto Morelos turnoff. Pemex is the only gas station in Mexico, and all the prices in the state are the same (prices are slightly higher in neighbouring states). They don't post their prices on the sign. There are a billion stories of people getting ripped off at the gas station. Get out of your car after you pull up and keep an eye on everything and it won't happen to you. Most of our fuelling experiences have been positive, including the occasional Pemex that cleans your windows and (gasp) vacuums your interior as you get gas. Church: Everyone is welcome at the big Catholic church on the square "Iglesia de San Jose". Services are at 7:30PM on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Time Zone: We are in the Central Time Zone. We do go on Daylight Savings Time, but not on the same date as the US and Canada. This is our current time and date (in 24 hour format) Have we missed anything? Write us and let us know if we have left a gap in your knowledge. Remember to support this website by visiting our bookstore! Gracias. |
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The Reef: In short, the Reef rocks.
It's our pride and joy and we protect it like our child. Therefore, you can't go
out to the Reef without a guide. You must also wear a life vest. These
precautions protect you and the Reef. Our over protectiveness means the Reef is
very healthy and you will see a good variety of sea life. We can't recommend a
trip out to the Reef enough (picture jumping into an aquarium.) You can go with
one of the dive shops in town, or to go in a hurry, go out with the next boat
going out from the dock. The price will be $200 pesos plus a $20 peso park
admission fee. (The admission fee goes directly to Reef protection) They will
take you to two different locations for about two hours. The guides are trained
and certified.
Fish:
This is a fishing town, so if fish is your wish, you cannot....mish. Fishermen
go out every day except Sunday. Their catches will show up at the fish
co-operative (the building with the big gates between the supermarket and El Pirata restaurant.) Prices are good.
You can also go fishing. Trips are usually half-day and can be arranged
on the dock, at one of the dive shops, or ask us and we'll hook you up.
Dress Code: In Puerto Morelos? Uh...no. We're a very casual town. Shirts and
shoes in restaurants of course and proper attire is expected if you are entering
the church, but you won't need your jacket and tie here, (though wandering about
town in your Speedo will not make you popular.)
Traffic: 
Where to Stay: 
Laundry: 
Electricity: