Qunitana Roo

Where can we get a good road map of the area? We want to find all the cenotes so we can snorkel w/the fresh water fishes. Is it worth going to Xel-ha? Where's the spider monkey reserve? What about snorkeling in Yalku. (first time visitors to the area) Thank you!!! Julie S.

I picked up a couple of maps at the airport, you may find one at the bus station as well. It had all the info on the cenotes. My boyfriend and I went to Cancun in November and did Xel-Ha, we loved it (but we are like fishes). We did the all inclusive package, the food and drinks were quite good. Definitely spend see Tulum. We also did a snorkel trip to Isla Mujeres. You don't have to do it with a big tour operator, we made our way down to the ferry dock and found a tour for $25pp, small boats nothing fancy, but it included lunch and it was great!

A good road map of the Yucantan peninsula can be found at www.itmb.com. If you are looking for combination maps/travel guides check out Can-Do Maps.

I bought a very good map before leaving home... either at a big book store (Borders?) or some int'l travel store in a mall... wish I could recall accurately; but it is published by a Canadian firm called (!) International Travel Maps and is well marked with ruins, cenotes & lakes, minor roads, etc. Hope that helps...

I bought a good map at a small store in Tulum. There are a lot of free booklets and maps in Cancun in all the tour shops. I found an excellent map ($12) at Agua Azul for sale. I think all of the cenotes and all other tourist sites have signs along the main highway where you turn off to get to them.

We enjoyed Yal-ku. We stayed two nights at an inn very nearby, Que Onda.
Yal-Ku is a small sheltered limestone inlet off Akumal Bay. There is a modest admission charge.
It has interesting art pieces, statues, along the walkways in a park like setting, a restroom, and places to get into the water and out and to relax. Low key.
Pretty decent fish population in water about six to eight feet deep. It is a good place to take someone who is not comfortable with open water snorkeling.
Snorkeling off the beach at Akumal, or at Half Moon Bay halfway between Akumal Beach and Yal-Ku, it is likely that you will see turtles