Our Adventure Along The Mayan Riviera

So, my boyfriend and I decided we needed to go for an adventure filled vacay somewhere we had both not yet been to, somewhere that’s not too far away, but still super gorgeous! It didn’t take us long to both decide that we’ve gotta go check out the Mayan Riveria.
After packing a couple bags, off we went –leaving our biz’s behind with the intention of Livin La Vida LOCA!

We landed in Cancun mid-day which was spectacular! I have flown hundreds of times and have not yet had the pleasure of flying into a sunny city during that has the same BEAUTIFUL turquoise & white contrasting shorelines. Absolutely breath-taking!

We stayed at a really fabulous brand new boutique hotel that had just opened a month prior, situated outside of the Cancun hotel zone. We’re both are not into staying at resorts (we have both done it only 1 time –many years ago, before we knew one another and both agree that it’s not the best way to travel. The travel experience is far more in-authentic and you don’t get to immerse yourself in the culture as much)

Even when I’ve travelled alone, I always chose to stay in a boutique or pension hotel, a hostel, or a bungelo. That way you get to know the locals and find out about their favorite places to go that are not filled with tourists–now that’s a travel experience! 🙂

The next day we took the ferry over to Isla Muheres. It’s just a short trip with amazing views the whole way. Oh! AND a mariachi band playing!

We both had the best fish entree ever at the small Mom&Pop style beach restaurant called Velazquez Restaurant on Isla Muheres. Be sure to go there for super fresh outta the water dinner!

Next we rented golf carts for the day. It’s $30 per day (gas included) and we had a blast visiting all the local hot spots. There are NO cars allowed, only golf carts. YAY! So fun!

We spent time in Playa Del Carmen…a cool place, but it’s a very Americanized. Which is surprising considering it was once a quiet fishing village! The locals were so much fun and we did some fantastic shopping along the extremely long (and seemingly never-ending) 5th Avenue (Avenida 5) Playa’s main street.

It’s pretty, there’s a lot of unique shops and it’s totally safe, but the people working in the shops are pushy and borderline aggressive and everything is over priced compared to being in other parts of Mexico. It’s like the Robson Street of Vancouver.

We also spent another couple days in Cozumel. We rented scooters for the day and swam in the beautiful warm waters. Also had a yummy picnic on the beach.

We did a VERY long (ended up being 20 hours :O) “day tour” of the X-Cajum Cenote and of Chitzen Itza, the famous complex of Mayan ruins on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Both of these destinations are a MUST SEE!

Tulum was the last place to visit on our Mayan Riveria adventure tour –to check out their annual Mayan Madness Electronic Music Festival on the beach. Such an awesome festival! We danced for hours on the epic sandy beaches to the best EDM music = Fun! Fun! Fun!

Then we headed back up to Cancun and spent our last couple days there.

I really needed to go scuba diving and wanted Marcin to go for his first scuba diving experience. So we went out together on a boat with 8 others. Turned out that diving is not for Marcin (or 7 of the other people on our boat!) they were all suffering –either very sea-sick, couldn’t equalize or they didn’t enjoy diving. 🙁

On a lighter note, here are some pics of our Mayan Riviera Vacation (extra fun with our 2 travel companions “Isla & Playa”, they enjoy travelling with us and love a good adventure! 😉