The Mayan Local Experience

Mexico is one of the most popular destinations for singles, families, and people of all ages.  It's cheap, the weather is great, and English is commonly spoken.  For those of us tired of spending a week as a prisoner of a resort, however, there are some great ways to experience the real Mexico, and it's a lot safer than you might think.

Casa del Sol

I'm fortunate enough to have a sister who owns a small 2-bedroom villa just outside of Tulum in the Mayan Riviera.  Her house is located in a mini-development consisting of four streets and the majority of their neighbours are Canadian and American ex-pats or holiday-goers looking for a good investment.  Over the last three years, I've had the pleasure of staying there numerous times, with the average holiday being 3 weeks long.  And guess what?  It was totally affordable and I had an amazing time!

I'm suddenly craving Corona...

There's a beach just a 5-minute walk away that is a protected turtle nesting ground, so no big resorts or crowds to bother us.  When we needed to go grocery shopping, we took the collectivo, small vans that zoom up and down the highway and stop for people on the side of the road and cost less than $2 per trip.  There's a quaint town just a couple of blocks away with some of the best local food I've ever had, including some great pizza (who knew!).

Skycycle, a crazy contraption that
lets you pedal among the treetops.

But the best part of all was how friendly all of the local people are.  Try to speak a little Spanish and they appreciate it, but when I exhausted the limits of my vocabulary, let's just say I was great at charades when I got back!  Whenever we went into the larger towns, like Tulum, we were practically harassed by shopkeepers and vendors wanting our business, but venture to explore hidden attractions along the coast highway and we experienced parts of Mexico that made our friends crazy with jealousy!

Driving in Cozumel

Feeling more comfortable on later vacations, we rented bikes and cars, exploring further and avoiding the expensive tourist traps and sucker deals for excursions, instead doing everything ourselves.  We spent one day taking the ferry to Cozumel and rented a car, driving around the entire island, stopping where we wanted along the way, with locals guiding us to the best snorkeling spots where we could use our own gear and swim among groups of people who had just paid over $80 to do what we were doing for free!

Snorkel anyone?

Even though I've spent over 3 months total in this beautiful area of Mexico, I can't wait to go back.  There are ruins I haven't seen, beaches to be explored, and neighbours who make killer margaritas!  The best feeling of all is sitting down on the back patio to eat a meal I just cooked myself, cold beer in hand, and for the moment I can pretend that this is my life.