to sxmnov08, We have been going to mexico off and on for about five years. We discovered Tulum as our favorite place. The old mexico feel and THE PEOPLE were the best weve seen. The people are humble and polite. Don Cafetos IS THE PLACE TO EAT DOWNTOWN. Best Mex we ever had. Open at seven am everyday, best waiters in town, and an extensive menue. CLUE,WHEN IN MEX EAT MEX. Ask for leche ( milk ) with your cafe for it is very strong. Just next door is a small locally owned liquor shop where Ricardo will sell you a great bottle of Honduran Rum that wont cause a hangover. $ 16 us. I can testify!!!Soverign Bank in town will do the currency exchange right and they speak english if your not bi-lingual. As for the beaches, sevan c/o in total. I will try to get it right but some I can only give directions. From north to south then west,i'll try my best. Hidden beach, playa natural, cabanas copal and the beach to the north(half as long as Orient),azulik, playa son risa to the south, zipolite on the west, the entire preserve south of the DARK ZONE, and yet one to the north shore I have naver been to. Your options are many. As anywhere common sense is important. THESE PLACES ARE EITHER LEGAL OR ACCEPTED C/O. Dark at 17:00. Grocery stores open seven days. Beer , food ,gas ,cheap. Crime is not a major issue. Watch the speed limits. police are agressive. Its not St Martin, its mexico and it has its own charm. All are alive but few really live, SLIM.
During our October visit to Happy Bay there was a vendor there selling food that he cooked and drink, but I did not see any chairs. I didn't purchase anything or speak to the gentleman, so I don't know if he was Danny or not.
I agree that there are other places to appeciate naturism. That being said, there are certain non-naturistic comforts we enjoy, one is electricity.
Cabanas Copal had no electricity to the units. They even took away the few hours of generator use in the evenings. I don't consider electricity a creature comfort.
The units are beautiful and the nightly rate outstanding. However, not to be able to bring any food into the into your unit. If I want to go camping, I could even do that for cheaper.
Club O is rustic, but I can still enjoy a naturistic feeling without depriving myself of some the not-so-modern conveniences that elecricity provides.
You mention Hidden Beach. The CO part of this resort has an unswimmable beach due to the coral and extremely expensive. The beach that is swimmable is at their sister location next door - but not clothing optional.
Anything in the Tulum region is without power. One place, Son Risa is a great place, rates, etc, but is a 6.5 hour drive from Cancun (2.5 hour drive if you fly somewhere closer.) Playa Natural is beach only, the resort has been bought and no longer CO.
Is there any place on the Mayan Riviera that has electricity and provides a CO atmosphere, without having to put your house in mortgage.
Great questions. I will try to answer. First and foremost nothing in Mexico weve seen is the SAME AS ST MARTIN. Its different. An affordable option. what can compare with the view of orient bay from pic paradise? Or Grand Case dining? Tiko Tiko at Tintamarre? Le Crossantierre for breakfast in Marigot? At the same time nothing in St Martin can compare to the Cenotes. The Mayan Ruins. The humble people and their respectful attitude towards others. With all that said, A. Food/coolers may not be allowed in the cabanas but we and others did it and the staff knew it and this policy was not enforced. The locals dont care what the argentine bosses think. B. Hidden beach rates are now coming down . Way down. C. 6.5 hours to playa sonrisa. NOT. We made Tulum in One Hour and it is advertised as 1.5 hours from Cancun. D. Not all beach resorts in Tulum are without electric. You need to check. Regarding electric.... Its my business and I personally know how much people need it. However, Batteries are electric. They provide light. Cabanas Copal is rustic. When we came back from town around 1900 hrs we drank wine under a million stars and went to be early. We woke at daylight, five am, and went for a long beach walk. Went for Breakfast and was on the beach roasting by 7:30. Days semed to last forever. I stray. E. There is a nude cruise they say, I was told by locals, like Tiko but I dont have info. Next time.F. I do know of two ther places where nude is legal around Tulum but I will do some research and post later. I hope this answers most questions. Slim
Thank you for your response, yet I feel there are still some areas that are disputable.
A. Food/Coolers in your unit - maybe overlooked, but who is gonna want have to deal with the risk that this would be the time that they do enforce their rules. Furthermore, who wants to make provisions on a vaca to have a cooler.
B. The rates may be going down, but when are they gonna do something so anti-ecological as to escavate the coral by their resort and provide a swimmable beach. Furthermore, an all-inclusive ain't for this gal.
C. So, if it isn't 6.5 hours to Playa Son Risa, it's 4 hours hours (based on common ratio math). By your own words, "Watch the speed limits. police are agressive."
D. With electricity being your business, you still don't have all the answers for everybody. We spent a week on SXM, after a hurricane, without electricity. You mention roasting on the beach, well, roasting in your unit is another place to get cooked without the use of even a ceiling fan. As far as other places in Tulum that do provide electricity, please point them out to me. I have done a fair amount of research and found that they have gone the eco-route and electricity is out. There are other ways of providing power that are still eco, but are expensive alternatives. IMHO, eco is an excuse for not providing an acceptable and expected convenience.
I want so much to find an alternative to SXM and specifically Club O. I am not really trying to be argumentative about the issue and really want to think I have an alternative. My needs are simple: CO resort that provides at least electricity. We love Club O as it was - no phone, no TV no anything but nature. However, I want the freedom to provide the ability to feel at home to. Feeling at home means being able to feed myself and ah, vanity emerges, being able to blow dry my hair to feel I look nice to go out to dinner (or breakfast) - no matter where that might be.
O.K O.K. I understand. My wife has some of the same issues. I want to escape the modern world , she wants to bring it along. Perhaps your best bet would be to get a hotel in Tulum, about five minutes away, and have the accomidations you want and drive to the beach of your choice. The hotels are plenty and average $90 PER NIGHT. Most are bilingual, clean, have air, restaurant and bar, and most comforts of home. You can park at most resorts for free and use their beach.( I am speaking of the dark zone )Just buy a few beers and they will be happy. Very laid back. We met some real nice people that were staying at all inclusives and came to Copals beach every day.In their words, " the best of both worlds." I understand your valid points and I hope these ideas help. Slim
Pretty far away from where I started this thread, but who cares? If I had the bucks, I would buy a huge chunk of land on Happy Bay and make it an alternative to Club O. Not that it matters, but is that parcel of land still for sale? BTW, we are "luxury nudists" ourselves but can't justify the price tag that comes with it.
We have gone and are going back to HBR this June. For us, and I realize everyone is different and have different wants and desires, but for us, HBR is great! Someone stated that it is too expensive to go to HBR. If you factor in Air (half the cost), food, etc. you will find the difference minimal. The beach swimming is not there, but the pool is beachside and I prefer it anyway. So, for many, us included, this is a very acceptable option. We would be back to SXM, but we loved ES and CoCo, and with the changes, we have decided to go to HBR. So why do I come back here to read, etc.? With the hope that things will revert to earlier times on OB. I do know that there are a couple of Tiko type excersions that are available in Mex. One is through Lomas travel and another through a local couple named Mike and Chrissy. SXM is/was incredible and for many it is still where they want to go. I hope everyone has their best vacation still ahead of them. Enjoy wherever you go!
TSPM, I hear ya!. Happy Bay is most excellent and we plan to make it at least a annual trip. For me, I would much rather spend my hard earned money in St. Martin than in Mexico, whether it goes further or not. Just personal preference and besides, I can get great Mexican food any where here in Florida, but good French cuisine - Grand Case baby!
I spoke recently with the Chamber of Commerce in Marigot, with whom we do business, and was informed that the closed resort at Happy Bay has recently been sold. They did not know the plans, if any, the new owner has for the land or the old resort buildings.
I'm looking forward to working on my "no tan" lines very soon at Happy Bay.
Nudity crackdown on Happy Bay now?
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 20:49:41
