(see the shopping page for grocery, liquor, etc.)

Money:

Only a few places in Puerto Morelos take credit cards. Martins' (the grocery store) now accepts cards.  Getting cash from cash machines has always worked well for us, and gives the best exchange rate. There is a cash machine at the airport, on the right just after you go through customs. There is also a cash machine in front of the grocery store in town. The cash machines next door at Ojo de Agua and the one in front of the "mall" on the square have a $20 peso service charge. There is another one out on the highway at the 7-11. Many of the gas stations now have stand alone ones. The banks in Cancun and Playa del Carmen have them too. There is no longer any place in Puerto Morelos that accepts travelers checks.

It is always a good idea to let your credit card company know that you are going to be in Mexico so they will not assume your card is stolen and freeze it. This has happened to us a few times, but only with large purchases.  The same goes for your ATM card. Check your limit for withdrawals at the same time. 

Health tips:

Be sure to use only bottled water for ice, and brushing teeth. You can get more drinking water, from Gabino or Cece for $30 pesos per bottle. The water is located behind the villa on the North side - one in from the beach.

We wash produce that we don't peal in a solution of water and microbiceda drops (supplied in our unit).

All the restaurants in town use purified drinking water and ice. They wash the veggies in purified water.

Be sure to drink plenty of water and use lots of sunscreen. The tropical sun can burn quite easily, even in the shade or on an overcast day. Ease into the sun.

Best local Snorkeling:

The best free snorkeling inside the reef, is straight off Playa Sol along the buoy line near the white resting buoy. The other area is south near the other white resting buoys. Boats are not allowed inside the buoy line other than to beach, so be sure to stay inside them. You might want to locate Ojo de Aqua (eye of the water). It is the exit of an underground stream probably about 6' in diameter. To find it, line up with the radio tower and the block wall to the north of Villas Latinas, at the point where the wall is adjacent to the building. It might be 100 yds out. Say hi to the giant Jew fish that lives in there. He is a little skittish, but wanders out from time to time.

Then go out further 25-50 yards and slightly to the south. there are large coral heads there - some are very close to the surface. They are slightly inland between the two big white resting buoys. If you look closely you will find Moray Eels in some corals. The barracuda are pretty big, but don't bother you. I have seen turtles and rays in this area before.

We noticed a huge number of old conch shells dumped on the sea floor straight out from Playasol along the swim buoy line. Probably from the old days when they were over-harvested.

Internet

The wireless for Playasol is new and the bugs are still being worked out.  Some guests have said it works great. I think it depends on your computer. Our son's Macbook worked well. If you are having trouble, try it from the palapa just beachside of the pool The internet cafes in town are a fun, local activity and inexpensive as well.

Yucatan Food:

Here are some links on Yucatan food. It is quite different than what you might think of as Mexican food. The best places in PM for authentic Yucatan food is Tios, around the corner from Martin's market.    http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgyucatanindex.html

Here is a link for food names translated.  http://www.backyardnature.net/m/food/menuword.htm