xcalak things to do

Things to do in Xcalak
This is an ideal place to do nothing. Luxuriate in that. Lie in a hammock on the beach in the shade of a coconut palm and read a book. Sit outside at night and watch the stars sparkle. Observe the herons, cormorants, pelicans and sea gulls as they fish. Watch the clouds go by. We've heard rumors of Mayan ruins known only by the local community. We have also heard of a small island in the bay side of the peninsula that is a rookery for spoonbills and other exotic birds but have never been there ourselves.

Fishing usually means trolling the waters just inside the reef. Often times you will first catch small (sardina) bait fish by cast net that run up and down the reef. On other occasions, you may opt to use artificial lures. Barracuda is the most frequent catch but you will also see snapper, grouper, trigger, filefish, small wahoo, jacks, and yellow fins. For bigger game in deeper waters, we suggest you go out with Costa de Cocos. Or you may want to try the backwater lagoons fishing for large tarpon and snook.

There is excellent snorkeling right off shore, or try one of the area lagoons or take a day trip to Ambergris Cay in Belize. Between the shore and the barrier reef are lots of small coral heads teeming with miscellaneous reef fish, lobster and conch. A recent visitor told us he saw a spotted eagle ray inside of the reef. Many of the best snorkeling spots begin about 100 yards off shore. Costa de Cocos offers snorkeling tours.

In addition, we can offer the following recommendations on other local diversions:

For diving, we suggest you go out with Costa de Cocos, Xcalak Dive Center. Two-tank morning or afternoon dives and twilight dives are available. Trips to Chinchorro Banks can also be arranged as well as to San Pedro on Ambergris Cay in Belize. Boat ride is about 1.5 hours. Costa de Cocos also offers fishing trips.

While only 40 miles away across the lagoon, a drive to Chetumal, the capital city of the state of Quintana Roo, takes 3-hours to make. If you decide to go, you should take your passport and tourist visa with you as you will pass through an immigration station north of Chetumal set up to stop illegal entry from Belize. Chetumal is a frontier border town and is famous in that part of the world as a shopping center. There is also a very nice museum there tracing the history of the Maya.

You may want to drive across the peninsula past the airport to the ferry pier in Xcalak. This new pier was built to provide ferry service between Xcalak and Chetumal; however, because the bay is so shallow, it probably will never be used. On your drive, keep a look out for interesting birds and other animals. On one such drive, we watched as three monkeys walked across the road.

Along the way to Chetumal, you will pass the resort town of Bacalar, famous for its beautiful blue lagoon.

You can always spend the week just lounging on the beach, or relaxing in a hammock with a good book and a cold drink . . .