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Just got back from Isla Mujeres

wood

By wood
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troph
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Few pics and thoughts about holbox.   Great place, we loved it. We had some stellar guacamole, street tacos, ceviche, octopus ala Mexicana, etc. The beach is white sand, clear water, the water te

Damor
Damor

Like the thread title says, just got back.  This was our second trip and we had a great time again.  Stayed at Ixchel this time (thanks to @wood for the contact info for rental) for convenience and th

BillyGoatHill
BillyGoatHill

Not Isla, but just got in today after spending a week at the Andaz Mayakoba just north of Playa Del Carmen. Really nice resort, especially if you like to golf as they have a PGA course there. We wen

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Grimas

Grimas 669

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WTF with the speed limits on 307? Left Isla for a week in Akumal and made the drive down.  Damn speed limit signs jump from 100 to 80 to 60 and back every kilometer.  Not wanting to get pulled over as the car has rental stickers on it, I'm following the speed limits as all the other cars go flying by me... What a racket...  SMH...

oh - tropical wave hitting down here.  Had 9 days of sun but looks like next few will be wet...

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wood

wood 11225

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13 minutes ago, Grimas said:

WTF with the speed limits on 307? Left Isla for a week in Akumal and made the drive down.  Damn speed limit signs jump from 100 to 80 to 60 and back every kilometer.  Not wanting to get pulled over as the car has rental stickers on it, I'm following the speed limits as all the other cars go flying by me... What a racket...  SMH...

oh - tropical wave hitting down here.  Had 9 days of sun but looks like next few will be wet...

Pull those stickers off that car.

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Grimas

Grimas 669

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Totally different scene than Isla...  Wife liked the "shopping", walking to bars and resturants and people bringing her drinks on the beach on Isla while in Akumel, we had a condo 40' from the water and snorkeling out the door but it was more of a "do it your self" sort of place (like a beach or lake house). You had to drive to resturants/bars down here which kinda sucked for me as I waited to imbibe beverages when we got home... if you were single and looking for chicks, Isla is your place, not Akumal...

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NeverMarryAStripper

NeverMarryAStripper 21874

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Akumal is more of a place for hanging out on the beach and chilling. It’s good if you get a condo with a kitchen and can do breakfast in and snacks and stuff. You definitely need a car to get places and not really a place for night life. It’s a good base for driving to activities in the area Tulum for a beach club and the ruins and Xel-ha. There’s quite a bit to do in the area. We even drove to Chichen Itza one day. It was just the kids and I and after a day of activities we would just eat dinner, swim a little, and then crash.

 

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Akumal is more of a place for hanging out on the beach and chilling. It’s good if you get a condo with a kitchen and can do breakfast in and snacks and stuff. You definitely need a car to get places and not really a place for night life. It’s a good base for driving to activities in the area Tulum for a beach club and the ruins and Xel-ha. There’s quite a bit to do in the area. We even drove to Chichen Itza one day. It was just the kids and I and after a day of activities we would just eat dinner, swim a little, and then crash.
 

I love Akumal. Love that it’s quiet, small and central. We’ve sat on the beach at a restaurant and ate lunch and drank right into dinner laughing and chilling with only a few others around. Was just perfect. Playa’s too much now and Cancun is terribad.
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Tailgate

Tailgate 3021

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On 6/10/2018 at 5:53 PM, Buzzrock said:

Anyone have a dive shop they like?

Casa Del Buceo

Great people and know exactly where to go. Seemed more local than commercial outfits you see in playa Norte. And they have great reviews. Nice boat only had four of us on it...two divers and two snorkelers. Multiple dive options there. Visibility was really good when I was there for spring break. Have fun! 

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Grimas

Grimas 669

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Enjoy Isla! After fighting the rain to get to the airport yesterday, we returned to Houston.  The wife and kids liked Isla better than Akumal - mainly because "there was stuff to do"... Nevermind the sweltering afternoon heat and not leaving the a/c condo in the afternoon...  While the condo we had on Half-Moon bay in Akumal was on the water and all you had to do was to step out the door to snorkel, the rest of the family (wife and 12 year old twins) liked Isla last better because of the vibe...  I had originally booked 9 nights at Isla but then cut it down to 5 as I thought the kids would be bored, in the end, we could have spent the whole time at Isla and everyone would have been ok...  that being said, whenever we go back, it will be at/near North Beach and within walking distance of Hildago street mainly for the reasons above.  If you are in the middle or southern part of the island, you need to take a taxi or get a cart to go anywhere and might as well be somewhere else rather than Isla...  North beach was more of the vibe that we had in Hui Hin, Phuket, Penang, or Hoi An (minus the hookers)...  Will definitely go back! We really liked Hotel Secreto and Ixchel and would probably stay at one of those next time... ( Nautibeach condos were fine and the Mayan beach club for dinner was probably had the best food we ate besides Bastos but the community Wifi sucked there...)

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VABuckeye

VABuckeye 2472

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On 6/16/2018 at 12:59 AM, Grimas said:

Enjoy Isla! After fighting the rain to get to the airport yesterday, we returned to Houston.  The wife and kids liked Isla better than Akumal - mainly because "there was stuff to do"... Nevermind the sweltering afternoon heat and not leaving the a/c condo in the afternoon...  While the condo we had on Half-Moon bay in Akumal was on the water and all you had to do was to step out the door to snorkel, the rest of the family (wife and 12 year old twins) liked Isla last better because of the vibe...  I had originally booked 9 nights at Isla but then cut it down to 5 as I thought the kids would be bored, in the end, we could have spent the whole time at Isla and everyone would have been ok...  that being said, whenever we go back, it will be at/near North Beach and within walking distance of Hildago street mainly for the reasons above.  If you are in the middle or southern part of the island, you need to take a taxi or get a cart to go anywhere and might as well be somewhere else rather than Isla...  North beach was more of the vibe that we had in Hui Hin, Phuket, Penang, or Hoi An (minus the hookers)...  Will definitely go back! We really liked Hotel Secreto and Ixchel and would probably stay at one of those next time... ( Nautibeach condos were fine and the Mayan beach club for dinner was probably had the best food we ate besides Bastos but the community Wifi sucked there...)

We always stay up north now for the same reasons.  In a 10 day stay we'll rent a golf cart once or twice.

 

Secreto is awesome.  They'll be closing down later in the year while they finish the expansion.  I won't stay anywhere else on Isla as I love that location.  Peace and quiet during the day if you want it and Hidalgo and Playa Norte are a short stroll away.

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14903

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Nash's on Hildago but get a table near a fan as it was hotter than hell in there...


That’s where we ended up and yeah, we commandeered a couple of fans. Nice kid named Shay from Charlotte NC was working the bar. Decent brown liquor selection if you’re tired of beach drinks. Standard bar food but lots of TVs and an ice cream stand next door for the kiddos.
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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14903

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Oscar’s for dinner two nights ago. The kids were happy for pizza.

Got in a two tank dive with Carey’s dive shop yesterday. Good folks and a good couple dives. The crew is back with them for whale sharks today but I had to pass because of some work stuff.

After the dives we were hungry and found out that Minino’s is gone, which is a shame. But our boat captain works at La Playita so we hit that up.

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Slammed.

Last night we tried a place right by our Airbnb called Fuego de Mar. It’s owned by this great Argentinian couple (he’s the chef) and it did not disappoint. A couple different beef dishes and lobster and shrimp pasta were all really good.

This morning after I dropped off the crew I hit Rooster’s for breakfast. Not bad but they were out of steak and lobster so no fancy Benedict for me. Settled for hash brown Benedict with chorizo which was pretty good for $9.

The restaurant in our building is called Topaz and it has a cool open air bar facing the windward side ocean. The bartender there, Annie, is cool and makes good drinks. I was housed off a couple double margs and a couple Sol’s.

We also found the brewery. The beer is ok but stepping inside the beer cooler for a minute is heaven. It’s fucking hot.

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Cart parade from our condo:

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Also checked out the beach at the north end by Buho’s. That’s definitely where the scenery is. It was blazing hot. No topless action I’m afraid.

Our view:

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14903

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Should also add that the big grocery store is pretty kickass. Huge bakery, decent produce, lots of booze. Our place has a rooftop outdoor kitchen with grill and flat top, but we may not use it since there are so many good places to eat for cheap.

Also: this where we're staying. Huge two-story 4BR/4BA with two more half baths. Private rooftop pool. Less than $700 per night.

http://www.isla33.com/

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wood

wood 11225

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2 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Should also add that the big grocery store is pretty kickass. Huge bakery, decent produce, lots of booze. Our place has a rooftop outdoor kitchen with grill and flat top, but we may not use it since there are so many good places to eat for cheap.

Also: this where we're staying. Huge two-story 4BR/4BA with two more half baths. Private rooftop pool. Less than $700 per night.

http://www.isla33.com/

Chedraui? Yeah, love the bakery...esp these with pineapple or strawberry.

Rieles_de_Pina_y_Fresa_IMG_6377_200.jpg

Nomnomnomnom...

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14903

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Hit up Mango this morning. So good.

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Everyone who went snorkeling with the whale sharks said it was incredible. It’s over an hour ride and couple of folks got sick, including my eight year old. But he rallied and jumped in with the sharks twice.

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I’ll have to go next time. We went down to Punta Sur this morning and walked on the leeward side path and checked out some caves and iguanas. It’s hot af now so we’re having some quiet time in the a/c. Might go hit up the cheap massage crew later (there are some right behind La Playita now, $30 for an hour).

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rage-a-holic

rage-a-holic 4381

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2 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

 


If that’s your video and you used a GoPro, get a red filter for it. It really helps the colors pop past about 15’.

Yeah, I would have if it had been an option. It's a Yi 4K, not a GoPro and I looked into filters before I left. The internet consensus was that GoPro filters don't fit on the Yi 4K case and the cheap ones made for the Yi 4K are garbage and just make your video all red.

Since I got back, I've aggy rigged a Backscatter Flip 6 three filter/macro system on to it and added a tray mount with two 2000 lumen video lights. Hopefully my videos will look a lot better when I go to Baja in February. This is the kind of cool shit you can see there:

 

 

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14903

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Badass. Lights make such a huge difference but are a commitment for sure.

 

Low key day today. After Mango’s we pretty much hid in the a/c at the condo. But this afternoon the weather came around nicely and we headed up to playa norte for dinner.

 

Mayan Beach Club delivered big time. Drinks and more fresh seafood than four people could eat was $125 with tip.

 

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Nice views

 

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14903

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Spent all afternoon at Parque de Los Suenos. That place is awesome. No entry fee, three pools, swim up bar and restaurant, plenty of chairs and umbrellas, free snorkeling/SUP/kayak gear, lots of fish to see under the pier, rope swing and rock climbing wall for the kids, plenty of TVs for World Cup action (lol Argentina), steady stream of scenery for Dad...easily beats out Zama and Playa Lancheros for me. Ate and drank all afternoon for about $150 for four of us.

 

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Ran into our bartender Annie from Topaz and her friends on her day off. She was feeling no pain.

 

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I like Annie’s Brazilian fashion sensibilities.

 

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