Xcalak - out of this world

[Jagular007]

My husband and I just took a vacation to Mexico - landed in Cancun but didn't stop there. Went about as far south as we could get, and ended up in Xcalak. What an incredible place!

We stayed at Sandwood Villas - 2 B/2B with full kitchen, right on an incredible snorkeling beach. Lots of corals, the 2nd largest reef is just 450 meters offshore. It was only $69 a day. You can cook for yourself, or you can eat at their restaurant.

There's a great dive shop, XTC Divers, where they go out of their way to make you happy. They'll take you to a fabulous atoll-type reef, Chinchorro Reef; or to Belize; or a lot of other places.

I can't wait to go back!

Here are some URLs

http://www.sandwood.com/

www.xcalak.com

 

[nen]

We spent a few weeks in Xcalak with XTC and agree it is heaven--we intended to stay five days but just couldn't leave. On another trip we stayed a bit further north, at Maya Ha, which is more convenient to Chinchorro, a truly unbelievable spot. A stunning part of the world!!

 

[mediakzar]

nen once bubbled...
We spent a few weeks in Xcalak with XTC and agree it is heaven--we intended to stay five days but just couldn't leave. On another trip we stayed a bit further north, at Maya Ha, which is more convenient to Chinchorro, a truly unbelievable spot. A stunning part of the world!!

If you do a search on the archives of this board, you should be able to find several threads on Xcalak and Chinchorro.

XTC is definitely a good shop.

I was just down there in late October and have never seen the roads in better condition. Both the newly resurfaced paved road between Cafatel and Xcalak and the beach road heading north out of Xcalak were vastly improved. We made it from our house, which is about 11 km north of town to the ferry pier in Playa Del Carmen in 4:20.

Joel
http://www.mxtravel.com/xcalak.html
http://www.mxtravel.com/xcalak/Cielosazules/

 

[crispos]

Sounds great, always wanted to do Chinchorro Banks. A couple of summers ago, I drove from Playa to Mahahual, on the Belize border. I found a road to the beach and, after a snorkel dive and dinner, camped out for the night.

When I woke up the next morning, this Mayan had used his machete to cut downl the palms on the path, blocking my exit. He seemed pretty agitated. I had to push the palms out of the way, start packing up, and back out of there pronto. I guess he didn't want me on his beach. Would have gone to Chinchorro but the cost was prohibitive.

 

[nen]

I should also add that if you play your cards right, you can get in some excellent cavern diving on the way there or back from cancun--e.g., dos ojos, and others.

 

[DocVikingo]

(nt)

 

[Augustus]

There is also a PEMEX station just outside of Mahjual, about 100 meters past the military reten.