How Does Puerto Morelos Compare with Cancun, Mexico

Cancun is one of the most-visited cities in the world right now. But have you heard of Puerto Morelos, just a few miles to the south? If you’re planning a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in the near future, you might want to consider this beautiful fishing village as a better alternative.

The next big city to the south of Cancun is Playa del Carmen. Puerto Morelos is a village between the two. Well, technically Puerto Morelos is now classified as a city too since the population just passed 15,000. But that’s still a far cry from Cancun’s 900,000 denizens, or the 330,000 in Playa del Carmen. Perfect if you don’t like crowds.

Puerto Morelos has grown exponentially in the past few years. For decades, it was just a small fishing village, and also where you could get the ferry to Cozumel. Until 2005, it had under 1,000 people. If you looked 10 years ago on Google Earth, you’d mostly just see jungle where now there is extensive urban development.

But it’s not too busy. Instead of hundreds of hotels and thousands of restaurants such as in Cancun, Puerto Morelos has dozens of each. Unfortunately, finding them can be a challenge, as they are changing all the time, and Google maps rarely puts them in the right location or has the right opening times. Several of the restaurants are for delivery only. Cooking restaurant food from home is just a way of life in Mexico, and it can be damn good.

So far, the beach in Puerto Morelos is my favorite along the Mexican Riviera. Tulum and Cancun are wildly overpriced, and the seaweed seems to be much thicker in Playa del Carmen. Granted, the water is far more vivid in Cancun, but it’s still clear and beautiful in Puerto.

If you’re on a budget, Cancun has a wider range of hotels and hostels to choose from, including more budget options. In fact, there are currently only a couple of hostels in Puerto Morelos, but I’m sure dozens more will open up in the very new future. In the meantime, you can find some really nice Airbnbs in the area, although the beachside is considerably more expensive. And there are all-inclusive resorts just beyond the town borders.

Oh, I should probably describe the layout of Puerto Morelos. It’s divided into two halves – the beachside, properly called “Puerto Morelos” and Joaquin Zatina Gazca, known as “La Colonia”. The beachside is more developed with far more restaurants and fancier hotels. La Colonia, located a little over a mile away on the other side of the highway, is sprawling with various neighborhoods replacing the dense vegetation of the jungle. A mangrove swamp filled with crocodiles separates the two halves.

Both sides have a large supermarket (two in Colonia), but restaurant food is about 50% cheaper in the Colonia, and there are some very expensive places along the beach. To get from one side to the other, you can take a minivan called a colectivo for 10 pesos ($0.50).

When you’re in Puerto Morelos, there are two excursions you absolutely have to do. One is the cenotes, and the other is snorkeling. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef – the second-largest coral reef in the world – is only about 300 feet off the coast, and absolutely teaming with sea life. The cenotes are a geological formation you’ll only find in this region of the world, but you’ll have to wait for my next post to learn more about them.

I’ve just spent a month in Puerto Morelos myself, and I completely fell in love with the small community. Sure, I miss some of the activities and infrastructure only available in a big city, but I’d highly recommend spending some time in Puerto Morelos yourself if you’re planning to fly down to Cancun to explore the Mexican Riviera for yourself.