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Best In Puerto Morelos Survey Results

23. March 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog · Tags: Beach Reads, Best In Puerto Morelos Survey Results, burger, happy hour, pizza, restaurant, where to stay

2018 Annual The Best In Puerto Morelos Survey Results

Many thanks to those who took part in our annual “Best In Puerto Morelos” survey. We started the survey years ago when we owned Alma Libre Bookstore so that visitors could share their favourite things about Puerto Morelos with other visitors. As residents, we also wanted to make sure we weren’t missing out on anything. Over the years, our most popular category has been favourite restaurant. So without further ado, here is the list:

2018 Best In Puerto Morelos Survey Winners

What is your favourite restaurant in Puerto Morelos?
1. La Sirena
2. El Campanario
3. El Nicho
4. Taninos
5. El Pirata
6. Cantina Habanero
7. Los Gauchos
8. Al Chimichurri / Spaghettino
9. John Gray’s Kitchen
10. Blue Morelos / Chilpayas / El Pesquero

Congrats to Anthony and his staff at La Sirena for taking the number one position this year! They were also high up in the ranks for the best place to have a drink on their new rooftop patio. With honorable mentions going to DK and Caribelos that were bubbling under with a tie for 11th place. Congratulations to all the restaurants in town. And a special shout out to Blue Morelos which is the new kid on the block and Chilpayas which was the only restaurant in the colonia to make it into the top 10.

The restaurants were chosen by our readers who were asked to rank their three favourite restaurants. Their first pick was awarded three points. Their second choice was given two points and their third choice was awarded one point. In all, more than 43 (previously 28) restaurants were chosen as readers’ favourites. Very impressive for a town our size. If you are wondering how many resturants there are in town, check out our restaurant guide here. You will be surprised!

2. What is your favourite place to have a drink? (Does not have to be alcoholic)

My Paradise Beach Club By a long shot! We would like to say that there was a close non-alcoholic second… but there wasn’t. Also mentioned were La Sirena and Cancun Billy’s.

3. Best pizza in town?

I Wanna Pizza Marco, Paco and the team at I Wanna Pizza had more votes than all of the other pizza places in town combined. Way to go!

4. Best vegetarian?

Aarom came out on top! Big congrats to Louise and her crew since this is their first year in business.

5. Best burger in town?

Cantina Habanero With honourable mentions going to Burger Underground, La Sirena and Fonda Americana. This was a close race.

6. Favourite “local dish”. (This can be anything that is best to enjoy in Puerto Morelos)

Most people mentioned shrimp or fish tacos, empanadas followed by guac and chips. We have lots of restaurant choices for all of these foods. Have fun exploring to find out who has the best in your opinion.

7. Where is your favourite Happy Hour?

My Paradise Beach Club By a long shot again! Puerto Morelos loves a good happy hour and theirs is the happiest by far. Other favourites were Unico and La Sirena.

8. Where is your favourite place to stay in Puerto Morelos?

An overwhelming number of you stay in vacation rentals rather than hotels. Many of our readers suggested that people rent a local house or condo and stay in town. “Forget the resorts–you can have a wonderful time without being in a total bubble, because it is so easy to be here as a tourist!”

9. What is your favourite inexpensive or free thing to do in Puerto Morelos?

Most people said “walk the beach” or “watch the sunrise”. Visiting the square at night was also very popular.

10. What topics would you like to see more blog posts on? Or do you even read blog posts?

People told us they are reading the blog and find it a good source of factual information. You also told us you would like to see more features on local resturants, day trips (which we have here) and features on local people. We look forward to writing and researching all of these. Especially the resturants (YUM)!

11. Complete this sentence: Whatever you do, do not miss (BLANK) in Puerto Morelos!

“The friendly people”, “the square at night”, “the reef” for snorkeling and “the cenotes” where the most popular answers. One person even said, “whatever you do, do not miss a chance to go underwater and see the amazing ocean life!” Followed by “wander aimlessly, discovering as I go along”, “bike around”, “don’t miss the Wednesday morning market (by the church)”.

12. Where do you currently get your news/information about Puerto Morelos?

By far the majority of you get your information from the FaceBook group Friends of Puerto Morelos or our blog InPuertoMorelos.com.

13. Where would you prefer to get your information on Puerto Morelos from?

Given the choice of a book, an app, a website or a FaceBook group most people prefer to get their information from InPuertoMorelos.com or Facebook.

14. What is your best tip or hint to give to a new visitor to Puerto Morelos?

“Come!” “Relax” “Don’t try to change things” and “Tip big” were the most popular responses. Followed by “don’t miss the Marquesitas in the square at night” and “check out all the restaurants including those in the Colonia”.

15. Where are you from?

Most of you are from Canada or the USA.

Thank you again to everyone who took part in the survey. We hope you enjoyed the results and we look forward to doing it again next year. Make sure you subscribe to our blog (top right hand side of the page) so that you don’t miss out on everything going on In Puerto Morelos.

Cash Exchange Rates in Puerto Morelos for March 12, 2018 (updated)

12. March 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog

Here are the cash exchange rates for March 12, 2018 at CI Banco in Puerto Morelos. I post these rates on occasion so that you can compare these rates with the rate your bank or the ATM may offer. To see where the rates have been in the last couple of years, search “exchange rates” on our page at InPuertoMorelos.com

Restaurant Survey

12. March 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog · Tags: Restaurant Survey

2018 Annual The Best In Puerto Morelos Survey

Back by popular demand! Here on our new Beach Reads Blog we wanted to continue on with an old tradition, the annual Best In Puerto Morelos Restaurant Survey. Tell us what you think! What is your favourite place to eat, drink or be merry In Puerto Morelos!

We encourage you to take part. We want to know what you think, what your favourite places are in town, and a few other questions thrown so that we can make your InPuertoMorelos experience better.

You have one week to complete the survey. Polling will close at midnight on Monday, March 18, 2018. Then watch for results to be published on InPuertoMorelos.com.

Please note: One survey per person, please. No stuffing the ballot box!

<a href="https://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.aspx?id=def45dd8-53c0-4c4b-ae8e-484562eb11a1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click here to take the survey now</a>. The survey was created with eSurveysPro.com <a href="https://www.eSurveysPro.com" target="_blank" title="Online survey software" rel="noopener noreferrer">survey software</a>.lease note: One vote per person please. No stuffing the ballot box!

A Trip South

08. March 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Day Trips · Tags: Puerto Morelos, south beach

If you take a trip south in Puerto Morelos, you will find “South Beach”, as the locals call it, an area you may not know. It is a long strip of wide, white sand beach, scattered with shells and strong waves that break on the shore.

There are a couple of different ways to get to South Beach. The easiest would be to take a cab to Marina El Cid and then just head straight to the beach and walk south. But if you do this, you will miss out on the sights along the way. We recommend that you either take a bike or walk. If you take a bike, which we recently did, it takes about 30 minutes to get out to the furthest point, Punta Brava. If you were to walk you are looking at over an hour. The total length of the trip is about 6 km (3.7 miles) each way.

If you are biking you can follow this google map, it will get you most of the way there. We have filled in the rest of the missing path.

To bike or walk, you take Ninos Heroes as far south as you can, then turn right and then left as the road dead ends. Continue to walk or bike south until you come to a gate/guard house on the road, the guard will wave you past. If you are walking, at this point you want to turn left and take the road on the right side of the cement wall. The road will take you toward the beach where you will see a small path. Take the path to reach the beach. *Update 2020: The walking instructions may not work anymore. Last time I tried to ride my bike on the shortcut to the beach, the guards followed me on a motorbike and made sure I found my way out.*

You can stop there and enjoy the beach. or you can head south and walk along the sand to Punta Brava.

If you are biking, you continue south at the guard house. To your right you will pass by a natural area that is a great place to see birds in the early morning. But also, keep you eyes open for crocodiles. We recently spotted this guy. You will pass by Hotel El Cid and then you will ride through the middle of the Grand Residences. After this the road quality will go down, but you should still keep going. When you pass the last building, Hotel Los Angeles, the road will end. At this point you can push your bike a few hundred meters to Punta Brava.

Chances are you will find yourself alone out on the point with nothing but the sun, sand, shells and surf. So take a picnic lunch, some water, sunscreen, a big floppy hat and enjoy your stay. It’s a great way to spend a day InPuertoMorelos.

The Other Lighthouse

05. March 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Day Trips · Tags: lighthouse, mexico, Puerto Morelos, Punta Brava

Did you know that besides our famous leaning lighthouse and the new lighthouse beside it, there is a third lighthouse in Puerto Morelos? There is! It’s called Punta Brava and most people have never been there. It may take a bit of a walk or a bike ride to find it, but it is worth the trek. We recently took a bike ride out there…. and at the end of the road, after about 30 minutes…. you will find this!

As you venture further south, you will find a beautiful beach that is much different from the beach in the center of town. Once you get past the hotels, there are only a few houses, then nothing but beautiful, white, deep sand! And very few people.

The reef is much further from the shore here, so you will find the beach scattered with shells. The shoreline is a little rocky in places, but it makes for a great place to watch tiny crabs jump in and out of the tide pools.

Further up the beach you will find leafy green plants that help keep the sand in place. The plants are dotted with theses pretty purple flowers.

The white sand with the rugged, rocky coastline are a sharp contrast from the tranquil beach in Puerto Morelos. Punta Brava is beautifully natural with the waves crashing against the rocks.

So when you want to get away from the “crowds” of Puerto Morelos, head to Punta Brava. We’ll show you how we get there on our next blog post. Be sure to subscribe to InPuertoMorelos.com so you don’t miss any new news about the town we all love.

Cash Exchange Rates in Puerto Morelos for March 3, 2018

03. March 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog, Photo Post

Here are the cash exchange rates for March 3, 2018 at CI Banco in Puerto Morelos. I post these rates on occasion so that you can compare these rates with the rate your bank or the ATM may offer. To see where the rates have been in the last couple of years, search “exchange rates” on our page at InPuertoMorelos.com

Cash Exchange Rates in Puerto Morelos (Feb 23, 2018)

23. February 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Beach Reads The Blog, Photo Post

Here are the cash exchange rates for February 23, 2018 at CI Banco in Puerto Morelos. I post these rates on occasion so that you can compare these rates with the rate your bank or the ATM may offer. To see where the rates have been in the last couple of years, search “exchange rates” on our page at InPuertoMorelos.com

Exchange rates

Puerto Morelos On Location

23. February 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Our Favourite Things · Tags: filming, on location, Puerto Morelos

Did you know that Puerto Morelos has been used as a location for many films, TV shows, commercials, and music videos. Everything from Mexican telenovelas to Spanish music videos have been shot here. One of the most recent videos featured American country superstar Dierks Bentley. His follow up song to the hit “I’m Getting Drunk on a Plane”, was titled “Somewhere on a Beach”, and Puerto Morelos played the part of the beach. You will likely recognize Unico and Que Hora Es in the video.

And HGTV is no stranger to Puerto Morelos. They have taped many episodes of their popular series House Hunters International as well as Mexico Life here. They featured real estate agents Amber Pierce and Kim Temple.

Before the tragic death of their lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan, Irish rock band The Cranberries shot their last album cover here in Puerto Morelos. In this picture you can see our local crew from Mayan Riviera Grip.

Popular Spanish pop band La Oreja de Van Gogh (Van Gogh’s Ear) did a walkabout around Puerto Morelos and the Ruta de Cenotes for their video featuring the song “Las Noches Que No Mueren” (“The Nights That Do Not Die”). If you don’t blink you will see a quick shot of the iconic Alma Libre Bookstore in the video.

And supermodel Heidi Klum created quite a stir when she visited our little fishing village to film a perfume ad. She really did “Shine” when she took over the dock at Pelicanos.

Puerto Morelos is such a beautiful and diverse location that we make a great backdrop for filmmakers. These are just a few of the more popular pieces that have been shot on location in Puerto Morelos. Our beautiful little town makes a great location and a great backdrop for your next vacation.

Packing Tips

13. February 2018 · Comments Off · Categories: Our Favourite Things · Tags: electronics, gadget, packing cubes, packing tips, travel

We love to travel and we do it as often as we can. Usually our journeys are within Mexico, but we recently completed an 11 week trip through Europe, which had us staying at 16 different vacation homes and renting four cars (which turned into 6 cars after 2 broke down on us) and taking a variety of trains, planes and ships for transport. Moving around this much, we found a few items that came in extremely handy and we thought we would share them with you.

When you travel to several locations, we cannot say enough about the humble little packing cube. These zippered bags kept our luggage organized, our clothes wrinkle free and allowed us to unpack and repack in seconds, saving precious vacation minutes. We bought ours in the family section of Ikea. But you can get similar ones here on Amazon.
 I went even one step further with my cubes and used some liquid paint to tell me what is inside each cube, so that I don’t have to go looking through them when I am in a hurry.

Another thing that I found invaluable, is this little travel blow dryer. My husband actually laughed out loud when he opened the box that this came in. It is so small that it looks like a toy, but it isn’t. It is a really powerful travel dryer. A lot of hotels in Mexico do not offer blow dryers, so this one comes in really handy. And you can switch it from 120v to 220v for travel abroad.

We seem to travel with more and more electronic devices that need constant recharging. When overseas, we like this one. It converts 220v to our 120v. It has four USB plugs, and it comes with enough adapters to plug in anywhere from from Albania to Zimbabwe. It works when plugged into 120v as well, so you can use it anywhere. It’s compact, but has lots of places to plug in, because there are never enough outlets in most hotel rooms or vacation rentals.

In Mexico we use one like this that has a built-in surge protector for the sometimes unsteady current we get in Mexico. This has saved our gadgets on many occasions, plus the USB connections come in really handy.

Good idea to have a two-prong adapter as well, as you will see two prong outlets in older Mexican hotels and even some vacation rentals.

And one last item. If you are renting a car, most of the cars in Mexico are very basic and don’t come with USB chargers. We highly recommend bringing a USB lighter/adapter to keep your phones/GPS charged while you are enjoying that driving trip to Chichen Itza.
 
If you have any travel gadgets your can’t live without, drop us a line, we would like to hear about them.