I just wanted to share with you this nice video I took on my last Cancun Beach Sunday trip! A steady (well, almost, hehe) shot of the beautiful sea in Cancun, so you can visualize yourself here! Spend a minute in paradise! And of course, we’d love to have you here for real soon!

Worried about how safe is travel to Cancun & Mexico in general? Then please checkout this article with lots of info and testimonials to help you be more relaxed about your Mexico vacation!

Wanna see more cool Cancun videos? Checkout our YouTube Channel!

And last but not least, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter & Facebook to stay updated on the latest news & updates about Cancun & Riviera Maya!

Cheers from paradise!

Dear Friends:

Hola from Cancun!

Hola from Cancun!

As a result of the recent travel warnings issued by the US State Department, once again many of you are worried about your safety when traveling to Mexico. This is understandable, and I’d like to help you be relaxed about your upcoming Mexico vacation by showing you how a Sunday at the beautiful beaches of Cancun is like!

The beautiful beach of Cancun!

It is true, we are not perfect (as no country is) and there do is crime and violence in Mexico, but you have to keep in mind that the drug related violence is currently happening in border towns such as Tijuana or Ciudad Juarez, where the violence is at the worst; not in places such as Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and any other beach resort in Mexico.

The Mexican government takes good care of its top tourist destinations obviously, as it is in their best interests to keep the tourism flow coming. Taking a few general safety tips can help you be more relaxed and have a fun & safe holiday!

I hope you enjoy the trip report!

It had been a while since I had visited my beloved beach, so I decided this was a perfect day for doing it!

Now that the Cancun Beach Recovery Project is finished, this is also a great opportunity to show you how the beaches of Cancun are looking right now: Long strips of pure, powder-like white sand next to the turqouise blue warm waters of the Caribbean sea! Paradise!

Beautiful brand new beaches!

This time I went to my favorite beach to start a beach walk in Cancun: Gaviota Azul Beach! You can find the public access to the beach located just beside Plaza Forum Mall and Cocobongo Nightclub.

Big blue "Playa Gaviota Azul" sign marking the entrance =)

I arrived around mid-day, so there were many people already at the beach! There was some kind of spring break event going on hosted by Corona Beer. They had a sound system, a dj, MC, dancing girls on stage, and they were giving away prizes such as a free bottle of wine for dinner, t-shirts, etc to the crowd.

The Corona event beach hut!

The Corona girls at stage!

The day was perfect, sunny and blue skies! The beaches are really looking great, take a look!

Beautiful beach of Cancun!

The day was beautiful!

Though wave activity in Cancun is no match to other places in Mexico or the world, there do is a surfer-bodyboarder state association here, and you can find surfers/bodyboarders at any day on the beach, like these guys!

I had a chance to talk to Cleofas, a friend who works as a lifeguard for a hotel, and he informs me that all public beaches in Cancun have lifeguards on duty daily from 9am to 6pm. You can easily spot them by their red trunks and/or tshirts with the red cross logo!

Lifeguard post on the beach in Cancun!

Cleofas, my lifeguard pal in Cancun!

And last but not least, heres a short video of this beautiful day at the beautiful beach of Cancun! Enjoy!

Wanna see more cool Cancun videos? Checkout our YouTube Channel!

You can see the full photo gallery for the day at our Flickr page!

Don’t forget to Follow us at twitter & Facebook to have access to the best tips for this Spring Break Cancun 2010!

Hi friends! Its your pal Camilo again, bringing you another great Cancun Beach Sunday!

This time, I had the pleasure of having my good buddy Jorge come visit me straight from Cuernavaca!

Jorge is the founder, producer, and CEO of Chai Tassajara , his recent tea startup; specializing in making fresh, organic, 100% natural and sugar free, not to mention DELICIOUS Chai! I’m a fan of his chai!

You can follow Chai Tassajara at Twitter and Facebook

Jorge hadn’t been to cancun in years! Around 10, to be precise. So, you can imagine his surprise when he saw the city has changed quite a bit!

I decided to take him to the beach straight away, what else is one to do with a Cancun visitor? lol

I took Jorge to my personal favorite Beach in Cancun: Gaviota Azul Beach!

Gaviota Azul (Blue Seagull) Beach, Cancun!

Located right behind Coco Bongo / Plaza Forum Shopping Mall, Gaviota Azul Beach has been my favorite Cancun Beach for quite some time. Why? Because I personally like some wave activity, to play around in the waves, either with or without a board Gaviota Azul Beach has some medium wave activity, sometimes when the weather is bad, waves can get bigger, and you can see the local surfers enjoying them.

Gaviota Azul Beach is also a family beach, where lots of locals go, though only a couple of them dive into the sea when there is wave activity…

Locals enjoying Gaviota Azul Beach!

Cancun Is Safe Tip: BEWARE OF THE UNDERTOW! The sea of Cancun, although BEAUTIFUL, can also be DANGEROUS, if you dont take PROPER CAUTION. ALWAYS pay attention to the flags at the beach! If you see red flags, better to stay away from the sea that day! The Undertow current CAN GET REALLY STRONG, and FATAL ACCIDENTS CAN/WILL HAPPEN. Even if there are lifeguards always on duty (except at night), even if you know how to swim, always respect the sea!

Getting to Gaviota Azul Beach is really easy: Just take any bus going to the Cancun Hotel Zone, and ask the driver to let you know when you are at the “Party Center”, or “Plaza Forum”. Once you get off the bus, just ask anybody for directions to Plaza Forum or Cocobongo, those are 2 really well known spots in Cancun, and literally anybody can easily give you directions. The entrance to Gaviota Azul Beach is right between Coco Bongo and The City Beach Club. Can’t miss it!

Gaviota Azul Beach is highlighted in red in this Cancun Beach Map!

Big blue "Playa Gaviota Azul" sign marking the entrance =)

Both Jorge and I were surprised when we arrived! I hadn’t visited the beach for a couple of weeks, and it was amazing and really great to see the Cancun Beach Recovery Project coming along! I don’t remember having beaches this BIG! I guess I saw them in the “old” Cancun, around 20 years earlier, or more! It’s been a while, and its really nice to see we have big & beautiful beaches back again!

The new, big & beautiful beaches of Cancun!

Beach club at Gaviota Azul Beach,Cancun

Gaviota Azul Beach, Cancun! Cheers!

Couple enjoying a walk at Gaviota Azul Beach, Cancun!

We walked for a while, looking for a place to sit down and relax, and we finally chose one.

Jorge making himself comfortable at Gaviota Azul Beach,Cancun

Weather was strange! At moments, gray clouds would cover the sun, and then, the sun would shine for a while, and then it would get covered by clouds again. lol! This continued all day.

Cancun Is Safe Tip: CAUTION! Even if clouds obstruct the sun, YOU ARE GETTING UV RAYS. Do not think that because the sun is not “burning” you, you are not getting sunburnt! You have to ALWAYS use sunblock! Cloudy or not, the sun rays will harm your skin if you don’t protect it!

Unlike Playa Tortugas, there arent that many street vendors at Gaviota Azul Beach. The ocassional one, but thats it. Like this one pictured here, a street vendor of cotton candy! I loved the colors!

Street vendor selling Cotton Candy

Jorge chose to take a nap at the beach, while I went for my usual swim! I love to get into the sea, swim and play around with the waves! I used to do Windsurfing back in the day, now I only use my body as a board! lol

After a while, we decided to call it quits. Jorge still wanted to see other parts of the city, since its changed so much since the last time he visited, and I gladly went into my “tourist guide mode” for a friend, once again

Just another Cancun Beach Sunday! Stay tuned for the next!

Warm wishes from Cancun!

Links:

Cancun Beach Sunday – Gaviota Azul Beach – Full Photogallery!

Cancun Beach Sunday – Gaviota Azul Beach – More videos!

Woke up to blue skies, warm weather, and sunshine… another great day for a Cancun Beach Sunday!

Mexican Caribbean Paradise: Cancun!

Beaches of Cancun!

I spent this great Cancun Beach Sunday visiting some family & relatives that came from Mexico City to enjoy this Paradise; yes, even us Mexicans know the jewel we have and we enjoy it just as much! They stayed at a hotel in Cancun’s Hotel Zone, where we first met and lounged for a while at the pool area. The Jacuzzis seemed really inviting, so I indulged and relaxed away at the warm, bubbly water…

Pool Area! Nice!

We stayed there for a while, enjoyed some nice family time with our relatives, took up some sunshine at the beach, and finally I ordered a delicious grilled hamburger for lunch, as I hadn’t had anything but a glass of orange juice after waking up earlier in the day; I was starving! Maybe that’s why the burger tasted so delicious, lol! Or maybe it was a real good burger, too!

Restaurant at the Pool / Beach!

Suddenly, the sky turned a little dark & cloudy…

gloomy skies!

… and a little rain started falling! It quickly turned into downright heavy rain, but as its always the case, it only lasted a couple of minutes and then just as quickly as it began, it was over, and the sun was shining again!

Cancun Is Safe Tip: These kind of “flash rains” are very common in Cancun, and they are nothing to worry about. They just form seemingly out of nowhere, and as quickly as they start, they usually pass over, and the sun shines again; its only a matter of waiting for a while!

There was this really cool & nice bar at the beach!

Cancun Beach Bar

So after a while there, we decided to move to another spot. My family and I went now to Playa Tortugas, or Turtle Beach, one of the favorite beach of the Cancun locals, as well as the rest of the world!

Sea of Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Playa Tortugas is at Km 6.5 of the Cancun Hotel Zone, right in front of a now closed place called “Pepe Tigers”, and also infront of a big local tour operator offices. Getting there is really easy: Just hop into any bus going to the Hotel Zone, they all stop there! Just kindly ask your driver to let you know when you are in Playa Tortugas and they’ll gladly do it!

Entrance to Playa Tortugas

As we already said, Playa Tortugas is a local favorite. Many local families go there on Sundays to unwind and have a good family time & fun at the beach. They pack ice coolers with beverages and lunch, and they make their own beach pic-nic in Cancun! You can also find people from just about any part of the world getting a healthy dose of sunshine & sea at Playa Tortugas any day!

Chilling out at Playa Tortugas!

Playa Tortugas, Cancun, Mexico

Beautiful Playa Tortugas!

Cancun Is Safe Tip: We’d like to remind you again that its a good idea to rest well and sleep early the night before going to the beach, in order to be able to get up as early as you can and arrive to the beach in the first hours of the morning. Why? A variety of reasons, actually! In the early morning and until past mid-day, the sun rays are not so hot and the weather is more fresh & breezy; you can also pick the perfect spot to lie down, as not many people are gonna be crowding the beach! Also, have you ever watched the sun rise at the beach? You have to do it!

Playa Tortugas is also home to a Little pier; you can both take a ferry or other boats to Isla Mujeres, or you can also shop around for souvenirs, as they recently are doing some work on the pier and more little shops selling handcrafts, clothing, & souvenirs are opening.

Pier of Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Local handcrafts sold at the Pier of Playa Tortugas, Cancun

While taking a walk at the pier we came across these amazing animals: 2 “Barracudas” just fished out of the water! Look at the size of these things! And the teeth! Yikes! Can you imagine getting a bite from one of these cuties? Well, it happens sometimes, and let us tell you, it is definitely not pretty! Don’t have to worry much though, barracudas usually don’t come near the shore, you only may come across them if you dive or snorkel a little deeper, and even so, if you don’t get too close to them, they won’t see you as a threat and they’ll leave you alone.

Barracudas @ Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Look at the teeth!

Barracudas are usually cleaned up, cut and prepared right away, to make a delicious fresh ceviche

There are a lot of empty beach chairs waiting for you , as you can see!

Beach chairs & beds at Playa Tortugas

Cancun Is Safe Tip: Most beaches in Cancun have beach chairs/beds available. Most of the times they belong to a restaurant or business that will either rent them to you for a price for the day, or ask you to order something to drink or eat in order to use them. It’s always best to ask before using one and then having somebody come to tell you that you cant use it without paying. Plus, prices aren’t high: a normal beach bed / chair rent fee for a day is between 8 to 10 USD.

You can also order something to drink or eat and have it delivered right at your spot by a waiter!

Waiters @ Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Cancun Is Safe Tip: You can also find this service at most Cancun beaches. The waiters are normally working for a restaurant or bar and will approach you to offer their services. It is not obligatory to order anything to be on the beach, though. You only need to order anything if you want to use the chairs or beds, if you don’t plan in doing so, you can be at the beach as long as you want without a problem.

As in most beaches in Cancun, you can find restaurants & bars right at the beach in Playa Tortugas. Prices always vary, so the best is to scout around a little first; compare prices & promotions, or as we like to say in Mexico “If the place is crowded its probably good!” lol, some common Mexican folk culture for you! =) You can also always ask the locals: we are more than happy to help!

Beach Restaurant @ Playa Tortugas, Cancun

The sea was warm & delicious, as you can tell by the many people enjoying it!

Sea of Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Sea of Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Sea of Playa Tortugas, Cancun

After a great day with my family & relatives at Playa Tortugas, we decided to call it a day, since we were pretty worn out by all the sun! We hugged & said good bye, and off I went again to my place, for a much needed & relaxing bath, refreshment, and some time to chill out and write about the great Cancun Beach Sunday I had!

Until next Cancun Beach Sunday, we’re sending much sunshine & warm wishes from Cancun to you!

Remember, Cancun is Safe & a beautiful place to visit! Come see for yourself!

For watching our complete Flickr photo gallery for this Cancun Beach Sunday, please click here.

Posted by: Camilo Olea

¡Un día perfecto para ir a las paradisiacas playas de Cancun!

Las paradisiacas playas de Cancun!

Este domingo disfruté de un delicioso día en la playa de Cancun en compañía de mi familia. Primero, pasamos un tiempo agradable disfrutando las instalaciones de un conocido hotel de la zona hotelera de Cancún. Un poco de jacuzzi super relajante, rayos de sol, y una deliciosa hamburguesa a la parrilla recién preparada a la orilla del mar… ¡perfecto!

Relax en la Alberca!

De repente, se comenzó a nublar un poco… ¡y en poco tiempo ya teníamos una fuerte lluvia encima!

Cielo nublado...

Cancun Is Safe Tip: Lo bueno de este tipo de lluvias en cancun es que asi como comienzan, terminan: ¡rapidamente! No duran mas de unos minutos; después se van y ¡el sol regresa con toda su fuerza!

¡Un moderno y fresco bar en la playa!

Bar en la playa en Cancun

Después de que pasó la lluvia, decidimos movernos y fuimos a la famosa Playa Tortugas; preferida de los locales y turismo nacional , aunque visitada por turismo de todo el mundo.

Playa Tortugas, Cancun, Mexico

Playa Tortugas se encuentra en el Kilometro 6.5 de la Zona Hotelera de Cancún, frente al ahora cerrado “Pepe Tigers”, y también como referencia frente a oficias de una agencia de tours acuaticos; Playa Tortugas es una playa favorita no solo del turismo internacional, sino también de los Cancuneses y en general todos los Mexicanos que nos visitan. Es una playa muy familiar, con un ambiente siempre alegre, llena de cosas que ver, y por supuesto, con unas de las mejores playas y mares de todo el mundo: ¡Cancún, el caribe mexicano!

La entrada a Playa Tortugas

Diversión familiar en Playa Tortugas

La hermosa Playa Tortugas!

Llegar a Playa Tortugas es muy fácil: todo lo que tienes que hacer es tomar cualquier autobús que vaya a la zona hotelera saliendo del centr0; todas las rutas de autobus tienen paredero justo frente a Playa Tortugas, simplemente avisa al conductor del autobús que por favor te indique cuando esten en Playa Tortugas y listo.

Cancun Is Safe Tip: De nuevo queremos mencionar que recomendamos ampliamente el hacer un esfuerzo la noche anterior, acostarse temprano y descansar bien para poder llegar a la playa lo más temprano posible, de ser posible 8 o 9 am; ¿por que? por que mientras más temprano sea, los rayos del sol aun no serán tan fuertes, el clima se sentirá mas fresco y menos bochornoso, aparte que por supuesto la playa es casi toda para tí, y ¡puedes elegir el mejor lugar a tu gusto! Otra parte positiva de hacer esto es que si llegas realmente temprano, antes de que amanezca, puedes ver personalmente un hermoso amanecer en una de las playas mas hermosas del mundo, el caribe mexicano…

Playa Tortugas es hogar de un pequeño muelle embarcadero desde donde se pueden tomar ferrys y embarcaciones a Isla Mujeres. Actualmente se encuentra en desarrollo una ampliación de otro pequeño muelle donde pudimos ver que se piensa dar un giro mas comercial, con tiendas de ventas de ropa, artesanías, recuerdos de la región, etc.

Muelle de Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Artesanías locales en Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Cancun Is Safe Tip: Los camastros en las playas tienen distintas modalidades: o bien pueden ser parte de las instalaciones de el hotel y en casos como ese su uso solo es exclusivo para huespedes del hotel; como también pueden ser de uso de algún restaurante o comercio, que normalmente exige algún consumo mínimo o incluso cobra una cuota de pago por su uso durante todo el día. Lo recomendable es siempre preguntar antes de dar por hecho cualquier cosa.

Camastros en Playa Tortugas,Cancun

Cancun Is Safe Tip: En Playa Tortugas y en algunas otras playas de Cancun, existen meseros dispuestos a brindar servicio de comida y bebida a la carta; los precios varían completamente de acuerdo al negocio o comercio, aunque siempre se encuentran buenas ofertas y promociones, lo mejor es preguntar siempre al mesero si tiene alguna promocion para turismo nacional o locales, generalmente así es.

Servicio de Meseros en Playa Tortugas, Cancun

En la mayoría de las playas de Cancún existen restaurantes justo a la orilla de la playa; los precios siempre varían y la calidad de alimentos y servicio también, así que lo aconsejable es tratar de averiguar un poco con la gente local. Preguntar amablemente y sin miedo por sus opiniones, generalmente la gente local es bastante tranquila y te da sus opiniones sin problemas.

Restaurante en Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Como podrán ver el mar estaba delicioso… ¡mucha gente estaba nadando!

Mar de Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Mar de Playa Tortugas, Cancun

2 barracudas gigantes recién pescadas! Solo miren esos dientes! Se imaginan ser atacados por una de estas amiguitas? No debe ser nada bonito! jaja Normalmente las barracudas se utilizan para hacer ceviche; recién pescadas se proceden a limpiar, cortar y preparar, e inmediatamente se usan para preparar un delicioso ceviche tan fresco como es posible, con pescado recién salido del mar!

Barracudas recién pescadas en Playa Tortugas, Cancun

Barracudas recién pescadas en Playa Tortugas, Cancun

¡Saludos calurosos y llenos de buena vibra desde Cancun! ¡Hasta el próximo Domingo de Playa en Cancún!

Foto galería completa de nuestro Domingo en Playa Tortugas, Cancun AQUÍ

UPDATE NOV 24 2009

The city council of Cancún has provided us with some great official info & numbers on the project!

The project consists on the installation of longitudinal support structures and the usage of 6.2 MILLION cubic meters of sand to cover what has been taken away by hurricanes, currents, etc.

The sand will be distributed in the following way:

City / Cubic meters of sand that will be used

Cancun                            5,200,000

Playa del Carmen        800,000

Cozumel                          200,000

Cancun , being the most affected city, requires 5,200,000 cubic meters of sand to be distributed along the 12Km long beach strip, as well as the installation of longitidunal structures to prevent the sand to be taken away again.

The project’s full cost will be $230,000,000.00 MXN Pesos! Wow!

Thank you, Cancun’s City Council!

Update Nov 22 2009:

Today (Sunday, Nov 22, 2009) I decided to visit the beach at Cancun to see how the Cancun Beach Recovery project is going on. The beach entrance next to plaza forum is closed, and I was informed that the access has been restricted only to guests of hotels that are in the part of the beach strip that is being currently recovered.

These photos were taken from the rooftop terrace of Plaza Forum:

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

These are the boats that are being used to transport the sand:

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

These were taken at a walk at the beach:

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

These were taken from Playa Chac-Mool‘s observatory:

Cancun Beach Recovery

Entrance is forbidden at the parts of the beach that are under recovery:

Cancun Beach Recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery

Danger! Quicksand!

Cancun Beach Recovery

To see the full Flickr photostream please click here!

Some nice videos to see how the Cancun Beach Recovery project is coming along! More at our YouTube Channel!

]]> http://www.cancunissafe.com/cancun-news/cancun-beach-recovery/feed/ 5 http://www.cancunissafe.com/travel-blog/just-another-cancun-beach-sunday/ http://www.cancunissafe.com/travel-blog/just-another-cancun-beach-sunday/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:08:19 +0000 admin http://www.cancunissafe.com/?p=210 Just another sunday at paradise…

I woke up early, around 7 am, to be on time to pickup Oscar & Camila, my friends that came to visit Cancun for their very first time all the way from Brazil! I picked them up at their hotel at 8:15 am, and from there we took off to the hotel zone.

This is the first time they came to Cancun, so I decided to take them to my favorite beach in Cancun, just at the end of the hallway between Cocobongo and The City. I love to always begin my visits to the beach there, and from there just walk and walk until I get tired and then comeback to the starting point!

We got there fast and quickly found a spot we liked!

Then we took our clothes off (we had bathing suits under ready lol) and voilá! Ready for a Cancun beach sunday!

Oscar & Camila, our Brazilian friends, ready for a hard day ahead!

Tip: Its a good idea to arrive early in the morning to the beach, since in that way the beaches are almost empty, very calm, and the sun is still not that hard on you. So, I recommend to make that extra effort, sleep early the night before, and wake up at 7:00 am to get to the beach at 8:00am, if not earlier! You won’t regret it!

We immediately proceeded to take pictures of this beautiful paradise!

Turqouise-blue Cancun ocean!

Blue skies, blue sea! Cancun!

Cancun Beach!

Checkout this beautiful paradise! Don’t you want to come?

Beach Club

Theres also a beach club at the beach, very cozy & relaxing as you can see!

Love in Cancun!

Ah, Love in Cancun! Inevitable!

A local Cancun family enjoying paradise!

Like every sunday, local (and non local too) families come to enjoy this paradise!

Mother & daughter at paradise!

Mother & child enjoying paradise!

Tables & Sunshades at Cancun beach

You can rent these tables & sunshades for 100 MXN pesos (approx 9 USD) for the whole day!

Hard day at the office!

A hard day at the office!

Father & Son @ Cancun!

Father & son enjoying Cancun!

After a 4 hour (Aprox) stay at the beach, we decided It was time to go, sadly! Oscar & Camila had to be on time at their hotel for the checkout, and we still had to have some lunch. So, after a nice trip downtown, I decided to take them for lunch at another personal favorite spot in Cancun: a delicious and not-so-expensive seafood restaurant in Market 28 (Mercado 28), the “Pescado con limón”! (Fish with lemon). (Hi Mariana! =) )

The heat was now on and feeling really strong, so , wisely, first thing we did was order the company of 2 beautiful and ice cold brunettes and a blonde! lol

2 ice cold brunnettes and a blonde! Need anything else?

We began lunch with an entree for the 3 of us, a delicious mixed ceviche. The ceviche had shrimp, fish, and shellfish! Absolutely delicious! We wolfed it down pretty fast! lol

Mixed Ceviche! So delicious!

The ceviche was joined by a side order of delicious, fresh guacamole!

Fresh Guacamole!

After this, we ordered fish fillet smothered in grounded bread and fried, “Filete Empanizado”, as we call it in Mexico. Delicious as well! The order comes with a side order of french fries and a little salad… This time there were no pictures! No time to take pictures! lol

After resting for a while, we went walking around Mercado 28, looking for a Corona Tshirt for Oscar. We found one pretty quickly, and after a little bargaining with the shop clerk, Oscar walked away happy with 2 Corona Tshirts!

Shortly after we left Mercado 28 and I proceeded to bolt to their hotel, as time was a little tight. After an emotive good bye and promises to see each other again soon (hopefully) They were off to finish packing, and I was off to my appartment, to take a bath to remove all the sand and salt water, and chill for the rest of the sunday!

Just another hard Sunday at paradise for you!

Cheers!

To view the full photo session of the lovely day please click here to be taken to our Flickr account. Thanks!