glil Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I think it was Ralph who posted (a while ago) about snorkeling with whale sharks off Isla Holbox, Mexico. Was wondering what tour guide you went with and if you'd recommend them. Does Posada Mawimbi sound familiar? Also, any thoughts on the reefs around Tulum for snorkeling? Thanks, Gay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaila_27 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Hi Gay I visited Holbox in 2000 and stayed at an eco-resort called Chimay http://www.holbox.com.mx . It was a small walk from the center of the tiny village but it is unique, eco-friendly, secluded and beautiful. The woman who owns it is Swiss so she speaks numerous languages so she is a nice reference if your spanish is rusty. If you are going during the whale shark season, it will be warm. I am sure that this place doesn't have air conditioning so that may be a drawback. I haven't been back since (sadly!) so I have not seen the place since Hurricane Wilma hit it a couple of years ago. I know that the rebuilding happened pretty fast, though so it should be better than ever. As far as reefs near Tulum... I know there is a biosphere reserve South of Tulum and you can go on boat tours of the reserve and reefs. I can't really speak to the quality of the reefs though. Right off of Cozumel is the Great Maya Reef - the second largest in the world next to the Great Barrier reef. This reef was hit hard with Hurricane Wilma as well, but reefs tend to come alive fairly quickly and it has been a few years. The really cool aspects of this reef can be far down, so snorkeling would be neat, but scuba would be ideal. Otherwise Cozumel isn't the best place in the area. The oceanside of the island is secluded, has beautiful beaches (but scary undercurrent) and has a couple of places to get a bite of food and drinks. I was in Tulum a couple of years ago (also on the warmer side during Whale shark high season) and I stayed at another eco-friendly resort/spa place. Beautiful huts over looking the carribean paired with the charm of no electricity and a clothing optional beach (?!) made for a wonderful and relaxing couple of days. This place is a couple miles south of Tulum and is called Cabanas Copal http://www.ecotulum.com/. Good luck and sorry for the book. Feel free to contact me if you need any info - I lived in the Yucatan for half a year. I wish I could join you for the Whale sharks... Shaila Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcohn Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I think it was Ralph who posted (a while ago) about snorkeling with whale sharks off Isla Holbox, Mexico. Was wondering what tour guide you went with and if you'd recommend them. Does Posada Mawimbi sound familiar? Also, any thoughts on the reefs around Tulum for snorkeling? Thanks, Gay Gay, The trip was set up by Jonathan Bird, so I'm not sure of the operator. http://www.jonathanbird.net/holbox_trip.htm. I know the trip was done through Jose, who also works for the Villas Paraiso del Mar, so you could call the hotel and ask for Jose. Note we were on a noncommercial "friends and family" trip, so the rates were a bit lower. If you're interested, Jonathan always runs good trips. Sorry, I don't know anything about Tulum. There are cenotes in that area, many are really spectacular, I want to do that someday. There are some which are not overhead environments and can be snorkeled. Ralph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glil Posted December 5, 2007 Author Share Posted December 5, 2007 Hi Gay I visited Holbox in 2000 and stayed at an eco-resort called Chimay http://www.holbox.com.mx . It was a small walk from the center of the tiny village but it is unique, eco-friendly, secluded and beautiful. The woman who owns it is Swiss so she speaks numerous languages so she is a nice reference if your spanish is rusty. If you are going during the whale shark season, it will be warm. I am sure that this place doesn't have air conditioning so that may be a drawback. I haven't been back since (sadly!) so I have not seen the place since Hurricane Wilma hit it a couple of years ago. I know that the rebuilding happened pretty fast, though so it should be better than ever. As far as reefs near Tulum... I know there is a biosphere reserve South of Tulum and you can go on boat tours of the reserve and reefs. I can't really speak to the quality of the reefs though. Right off of Cozumel is the Great Maya Reef - the second largest in the world next to the Great Barrier reef. This reef was hit hard with Hurricane Wilma as well, but reefs tend to come alive fairly quickly and it has been a few years. The really cool aspects of this reef can be far down, so snorkeling would be neat, but scuba would be ideal. Otherwise Cozumel isn't the best place in the area. The oceanside of the island is secluded, has beautiful beaches (but scary undercurrent) and has a couple of places to get a bite of food and drinks. I was in Tulum a couple of years ago (also on the warmer side during Whale shark high season) and I stayed at another eco-friendly resort/spa place. Beautiful huts over looking the carribean paired with the charm of no electricity and a clothing optional beach (?!) made for a wonderful and relaxing couple of days. This place is a couple miles south of Tulum and is called Cabanas Copal http://www.ecotulum.com/. Good luck and sorry for the book. Feel free to contact me if you need any info - I lived in the Yucatan for half a year. I wish I could join you for the Whale sharks... Shaila Thanks for the info Ralph and Shaila. Shaila, I'm sure I'll have more questions for you since you probably know the area pretty well. I would be going during the hotter whale shark season so figured it would be best to stick to the coastal areas and do mainly water activites. I plan to avoid the Cancun and Cozumel type scenes, so after going several hours north to Holbox for a few days, will be heading south. Need to figure out how far south I need to go to avoid the large tourist crowds while not spending more time than necessary traveling between places and also find great snorkeling areas-both reefs and cenotes. If you have any thoughts on that, please let me know. Will probably see you on the water or at some event to be able to chat about "what not to miss in the Yucatan." Thanks, Gay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaila_27 Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 I would be more than happy to talk about Mexico - you may not be able to get me to shut up! I am definitely an "off the beaten path" type of person... and there is a lot of information that tourists don't know about that are safe and will save them a lot of money (ie. taking $4 clean, air conditioned busses up and down the coast vs. a $70 taxi). Shaila sbgent@gmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glil Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 I would be more than happy to talk about Mexico - you may not be able to get me to shut up! I am definitely an "off the beaten path" type of person... and there is a lot of information that tourists don't know about that are safe and will save them a lot of money (ie. taking $4 clean, air conditioned busses up and down the coast vs. a $70 taxi). Shaila sbgent@gmail.com Great, I'll e-mail you. Sounds like our travel styles are similar. Already been planning around the bus/ferry schedules. Gay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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