Yucatán’s northern coastline borders Mexico’s blue-green bay, where coastal communities provide tranquil escapes the city’s infamous humidity, soft sand, soft waves, soft tides and blazing sunsets are the norm. Prepare for your own bone white coastline, toe-like restaurants, creamy turquoise waters, and neon lights of thousands of flamingos living in the biosphere reserves to help keep this protection in Mexico.
Puerto Rico
There is a reason Puerto Rico Progreso has become the most famous beach town near Merida. Kissing the sugary coast of the Caribbean from the Gulf of Mexico and the turquoise water is absolutely idyllic.
Just 40 minutes north of Puerto Rico, it is located on the northern coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula. This is a destination where travelers can be active (or inactive) as they wish. Two boardwalks run along the coastline, including 1.5 miles of international boardwalk, equipped with rotary and Ferris wheels. Sandy space has been dissected into beach soccer and volleyball, while kitesurfs and windsurfing waves cruise on the water.
Puerto Rico Progreso is a popular port town, but is much lower than destinations like Playa del Carmen and Cancun. It is also a gateway to some other great destinations in the Yucatan Peninsula, such as the Mayan archaeological sites in Dzibilchaltun and Xcambo.
Celestun
Celestun has all the visuals of Puerto Progreso, only a small number of people. This sleepy fishing village with sandy streets and pictures of the Gulf of Mexico attracts beach lovers with sun-revealed sand and calm turquoise water. Barefoot, sun-drenched swimmers camping on plastic tables under the giant Palapas, snacking on colorful ceviche, salted fish and ice cold beer.
But perhaps Celeste’s biggest attraction is the Ría Celestún Biosphere Reserve, a net of mangrove wetlands rich in birds, especially flamingos. Travelers can rent sputtered launchers that leave directly from the shoreline and then enter the biosphere in search of magnetic pink birds. You can find them in hundreds of lagoons that gather together, their vibrant blush feathers pop up sharply on the turquoise sea.
For adventures on dry lands, Celestun is home to a petrified forest with over 200 mammals such as Ocelots, Jaguars and Spider Monkeys.
Sword numb
Sneaked between Progreso and Celestun, Sisal is another fantastic palette with white, turquoise and light greens coming to life. Although Sisal’s history began in the port towns of Spain, today’s coastal lifestyle is more laid back. From the old lighthouse to the fortress, visitors can explore the remnants of the past, but bringing most visitors to this fishing village is the tranquility of the beach, the beauty of nature.
Sisal, like Celstun, is part of the Ría Celestún Biosphere Reserve, buzzes like wildlife. The mangroves and lagoons are a bunch of flamingos, turtles and migratory birds. Sisal as a community has cemented its commitment to conservation and sustainable tourism to ensure that wildlife remains part of the experience here.
Nature lovers who crave can take a guided kayak tour through nearby reserves. Birdwatching and mangrove tours also have opportunities. Forget the noisy beach bar and do anything in sisal after get off work.
El Cuyo
EL cuts on spots on powdered sand ribbons separated from the mainland by swamp lagoon. This small fishing village is more isolated than other communities, three hours’ drive from Merida and offers much-needed escape, its wide soft sand, turquoise and swinging palms. There are no major hotel chains in El Cuyo, which is exactly how locals like it.
The reserve is famous for its rose flamingos, with color bursting in the vegetables and blues of mangroves and lagoons.
Isla Columpios
The area between Sisal and Progreso is a collage of spots scattered by green lagoons, with clusters of mangroves scattered. Until recently, the chimneys with white sand radiated on this swamp were mostly ignored by locals and tourists. Slowly, it gained a reputation in clear water and sugary soft sand reservoirs, and travelers began to acquire it in this coastal secret north of Merida.
The swing (Columpios) rising from shallow water is an outstanding figure in Isla Columpios. Visitors come to the iconic photo OP swings over crystal water.
Chelm
Chelem is close to Puerto Progreso, but it feels like the whole world. The laid-back atmosphere and undeveloped beaches create an idyllic, abandoned experience that is perfect for disconnecting from a good book and a slow swinging hammock.
Chelem’s shallow water is perfect for swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding, while the small fishing village has a handful of restaurants that offer fresh ceviche, fish tortillas and plump grilled shrimp. The original coastline allows for uninterrupted landscape to the horizon.
Puerto Rico Telchac
A long white sand frame is the creamy turquoise water of the Gulf of Mexico in this small fishing village. Telchac Puerto east of Puerto Rico is a quiet community with only a few thousand people. Locals and expats ride bicycles on the empty coastline or walk along sandy streets or stroll along the quiet Malecon.
The town has a few small attractions, such as the Museo del Mar, which showcases exhibitions about the regional marine life. The archaeological site of Xcambó is only 15 minutes away. Visitors to Telchac Puerto also love to visit the nearby Xtampú, known for its bubble gum-pink Laguna Rosada.
