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Cancún & Nearby Towns

by Caitlin

I loved staying in Cancún and I’m glad I booked nine nights at this wonderful party hostel. The owners, Mama and Papa, were the best and made everyone feel like we were a family. This was the most social hostel I have ever been to and the owners make sure everyone is having the time of their life. The party always got started around dinner time when the whole hostel got together for dinner and a shot of tequila.

 

 

 

 

 

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The front of my hostel, Hostel Queztal

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The very green view I had from my dorm bed, in the middle of winter it was great waking up to this!

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I really loved going to this little park near my hostel, on the other side was a long strip of cheap (but oh-so-delicious) food vendors.

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Coco Bong – most definitely the wildest club I had ever been to.

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A performer on the top stage at Coco Bongo

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The beautiful beach in Cancun


 Tulum

On a day trip, a friend from Hostel Queztal and I went a few hours south to visit these beautiful seaside ruins. There were an abundance of iguanas (and people) everywhere! We also visited Dos Ojos, one of the best cenotes in all of Mexico.  Unfortunately, the GoPro we took with us did not produce any great pictures! But there I went snorkeling and swimming in the cool waters of the limestone sinkhole.

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The Ruins of Tulum! – Quite possibly my favorite picture from the trip

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Isla Mujeres

Christmas Day was spent at this little island off the coast of Cancún that was just a short ferry ride away.  This island was incredible and it was by far the best Christmas I’ve ever had!  The north end of the island was beautiful, white beaches and colorful fishing boats. My traveling group and I got eventually rented a golf-cart and a few bikes to head south (lucky for them I got to drive us). The south point was the most eastern point of Mexico (the sun rises there first!) and featured very, very ruined ruins as well as rocky shores.

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I love me some bright fishing boats and white sands

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A great capture of the northern beaches of Isla Mujeres

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Don’t selfie and drive!! Unless you’re in Mexico

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The southern part, and the most eastern point of Mexico

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Very different from the other side of the island

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In the southern part looking towards Cancún (those little dots are the resorts)


Puerto Morelos

Some traveling friends and I took a quick day trip to this tiny fishing town roughly an hour south of Cancún. This area was not touristy at all, which I always love. It was a very nice escape from the hustle and bustle of life in Cancún.

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Beautiful Caribbean waters

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A lot of the children were hanging out on docks fishing. What were they using to fish? Water bottles! And they would roll the bottle quickly to reel in their catch.

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Beach chilling! We must have sat here for hours, doing nothing but chatting, drinking, and eating.

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The sun is starting to go down, time to head back home!

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 Playa del Carmen

Towards the end of my stay in Cancún most of our traveling group left to go to Playa del Carmen (a beach town about two hours south). My friend, Nate and I bought a bus ticket left for Playa the next day. We were easily convinced by the rest of the group to come join them. We booked one night in some random hostel and met up with the rest of the group.  This city was amazing. It is a smaller, more intimate Cancún.  It still had touristy stuff, big clubs, and beautiful beaches but everything was closer together and nicer looking. I really wish I had booked way more time here!

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A huge statue on the main beach that was set as our meeting point

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A cute little church in the middle of this lovely beach town

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Killing piña colada after piña colada beachfront on the last day altogether.

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