Costa Maya & Southern Caribbean Coast
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Costa Maya & Southern Caribbean Coast Why Go? Felipe Carrillo The Southern Caribbean Coast, or the Costa Maya if you Puerto . 128. will, is the latest region to get hit by the development boom. Mahahual . .129 . But if you’re looking for a quiet escape on the Mexican Caribbean, it’s still the best place to be. Xcalak . 131 For those looking to get away from it all, Laguna Bacalar, Laguna Bacalar . .132 aka the ‘lake of seven colors,’ provides mesmerizing scenery Chetumal . .133 thanks to the water’s intense shades of blue and aqua-green. Corredor East of Bacalar, the tranquil fishing towns of Mahahual and Arqueológico . .136 . Xcalak offer great beach-bumming, birding and diving op- South to Belize & portunities along a relatively pristine stretch of coast. Guatemala . .138 . In the interior, the seldom-visited ruins of Dzibanché and Kohunlich seem all the more mysterious without the tour vans. For both the ruins and trips down south to Belize, Quintana Roo’s state capital Chetumal is a great jumping- off point. Off the Beaten Track ¨ Xcalak (p131) When to Go ¨ ¨ Corozal (p138) Don’t miss the Caribbean-flavored Carnaval (p134) street festival in February in the Quintana Roo state capital, ¨ Dzibanché (p136) Chetumal. It’s definitely one of the best fiestas of the year on ¨ Kohunlich (p138) the southern coast. ¨ Kinich-Ná (p138) ¨ Featuring pre-Hispanic music, dance and culinary events, the Jats’a Já (p130) has emerged as one of the region’s most interesting annual festivals; it’s held on the third weekend of Best Places to August in the fishing town of Mahahual. Eat ¨ A visit between mid-November and mid-December has several advantages: hurricane season has passed, the ¨ Leaky Palapa (p131) weather has cooled considerably and many great hotel deals ¨ Los Aluxes (p133) can be found ahead of the holiday season. ¨ Fernando’s 100% Agave (p130) ¨ Tacos de Cochinita Chepe’s (p133) ¨ Sulumar (p130) C 127 #\ Chemuyil Tankah #\ Tulum #\ #÷ Parque Nacional YU CA TÁ N Tulum Tihosuco \# #\ Tepich Muyil Archaeological Site ä# #\ Boca Paila Laguna Laguna de 66Muyil Boca6Paila #\ Peto Laguna <Ã295 Chunyaxché <Ã307 Punta Allen #\ Laguna Santa Rosa Chicnancanab #\ Dzuiché 666 Bahía de la José María Ascención #\ Morelos <Ã184 #\ Felipe #÷ Carrillo #\ Polyuc Reserva de Laguna Laguna Puerto la Biosfera #\ Kaná Ocom66Sian Ka'an 6 Bahía del <Ã307 Espíritu Santo Punta Pájaros <Ã293 Laguna Xpaitoro Punta Pulticub 66 Nohbec #\666 Laguna Nohbec #\ Limones C O O s s ta ta #\ Río Indio M M 66 Reserva de laya a Biosfera Banco Laguna de ##\3 Mahahual Chinchorroaya San Felipe & Banco Sout #1 Chinchorro QUIN TA NA & RO O Laguna #\ Bacalar #\ Xahuayxol he Dzibanché Bacalar #2 Sout #5 Xul-Ha rn #\ #\ #– #\ Calderita Morocoy C #\ ari 66 Santa Elena ^# he Francisco Chetumal #\ Consejo bbe Villa ZonaLibre #\ rn #\ Corozal an <Ã186 o Bahía de C #5 d #\ 4 ari n Chetumal #Xcalak C Kohunlich o oa H CA RI BBEA NS EA bbe o s í T R C 66 osta ä#Nohmul 0 50an km e# 0 25 miles C M oa aya s & S & T outhern Costa Maya & Southern Caribbean Coast Highlights 661 Dive at (p132), one of the most 4 Escape to the remote Banco Chinchorro (p129), the largest coral atoll beautiful lakes that you’ll ever beach village of Xcalak (p131) in the northern hemisphere set your eyes on for quality beach-bumming, C and a fascinating ship 3 Go snorkeling, fishing or diving and fishing aribbean graveyard birding in Mahahual (p129), or 5 Beat your own path to the 2 Take a refreshing dip in simply chill at a boardwalk bar remote ruins at Dzibanché the 90m-deep Cenote Azul, or restaurant in this laid-back (p136) and Kohunlich (p138), C then bask on Laguna Bacalar coastal town west of Chetumal . oast H ighlights.