Number ten is Bacalar. Bacalar Lagoon, also known as the
Lagoon of Seven Colors, is one of the most beautiful
places I've been to in all of Mexico.
Bacalar is located on the Yucatan Peninsula,
a few hours driving south of Cancun.
This isn't a place where you're going to
come to party, but it is the perfect
place for a healthy, relaxing nature retreat.
While in Bacalar, you can learn some of the history
of the town while visiting the 300 year old fort
from which you'll have awesome view use of the lagoon.
I also recommend going out on the water.
You can do so by renting kayaks, paddleboards or
by taking a sailboat tour in the town.
There are no shortage of places to grab a
fresh juice or smoothie, and you'll notice that a
lot of the restaurants are themed around healthy cuisine,
but don't think that means it's not tasty.
One of the most memorable meals of my
life was had at the restaurant Nixtamal.
I highly recommend that you check it out.
Number nine is Mexico City.
If you want a place where you'll never run
out of interesting things to see and do, mexico
City or Ciudad de Mexico, as it's known here, could
be the perfect option for you.
If you want a unique party atmosphere, I recommend that
you visit the floating gardens of Xochimilco, where a
guide will take you out on a colorful raft called
a trajinera as you float around the canals drinking beers
and dancing to the loud music.
Next you can visit the enormous ancient pyramids at
Teotihuacan or the gorgeous Palacio de Bellas Artes.
In Mexico City, you'll also find countless museums
such as Museo Soumaya, which is free to
enter and features more than 50,000 items, including
famous artwork, gold coins, intricately carved ivory, priceless
artifacts, and much more.
Oh, and by the way, the food in
Mexico City is nothing short of incredible.
Number eight is Isla Mujeres.
Located just a short ferry ride from Cancun, Isla Mujeres or
the Island of Women, as it translates to English, has
one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Mexico.
It's very easy to get to, but at the same time it
offers a nice change of pace from the Cancun hotel zone.
While at Isla Mujeres I recommend taking
a catamaran tour where you'll probably do
some snorkeling at the underwater museum.
You'll also have access to unlimited booze
while you cruise around the calm waters
of the island for a few hours.
I've done these catamaran tours a few times
and they're always a lot of fun.
While at Isla Mujeres I also recommend that you rent a golf
cart at least one of the days that you're there so
you can explore the island at your own pace.
And cruising around the island on a golf
cart is a ton of fun as well.
For number seven, we're heading over to the
west coast of the city of Puerto Vallarta,
which is a gorgeous beach destination with the
best sunsets I've ever seen in my life.
One thing I really like about the city is
that it's built next to these lush green hills,
which makes for great views in every direction regardless
of whether you're facing the mountains or the water.
Something cool about Puerto Vallarta or PV as many
of the foreigners call it, is that you don't
even have to be staying oceanfront to have great
views of the water because many of the homes
are built on the hills around the city and
thanks to those hills, almost everyone has amazing views.
PV gets visitors from all walks of life, but
it has become especially popular with gay males throughout
the city and concentrated in the romantic zone, you'll
find many places that cater to the gay crowd.
PV is an awesome place to visit if you're
a nature lover like me because you have the
gorgeous waters and pretty beaches and amazing sunsets.
But you also have great hiking as well.
Number six is Puerto Escondido.
This is the quintessential beach town
located on the Oaxacan coast.
The beaches here are amazing and because you're on the
west coast, you also get the sunsets over the water.
If you're into surfing, this is the place to be.
It is a world renowned surfing destination that
hosts a major surfing competition every year.
Something else that's great about
Puerto Escondido is the food.
You of course have great seafood since you're right by
the water, but you're also in the Mexican state of
Oaxaca, which is well known for its amazing food.
Number five is Isla Holbox.
This is perhaps the least well known on this list.
Holbox is this pretty little
island on the Yucatan peninsula.
It boasts incredibly clear waters, and something that's really
unique about it is how gradually sloped the beaches
are so you can wade really far out before
the water even comes up to your knees.
While you're at Isla Holbox you can take
a boat ride to see the whale sharks.
You can see the incredible sunsets from Punta Cocos.
You can go visit the flamingos that
call the island home, or you can
go see the incredible bioluminescence at night.
This is probably the most difficult place to get to
on this list because you have to first fly to
Cancun and then you have to wait for your transportation
that will take you to the little town of Kila.
There you might have to wait for another 30
minutes while you wait for another ferry to arrive
and finally it will take you to the island.
After you land in Cancun, it can easily be
another 4 hours before you get to your hotel.
However, it is gorgeous and if you go, I highly
recommend that you rent a golf cart to explore the
island because that's going to improve your experience a lot.
Number four is probably the most hyped up place on this
entire list, but I still think it's worth a visit.
Tulum is located about 2 hours south of Cancun.
This town is some of the
most beautiful beaches in the world.
It's home to the Mayan, so there's some ancient
ruins that you can visit, such as the Tulum
archaeological site that's just outside of town.
This place is really neat because it sits
next to the ocean, so you have amazing
views as you're exploring the ruins.
But my favorite runes are actually located at
Cobá, a little less than an hour away.
Here you can rent bikes and ride them through the
jungle as you explore the many different pyramids there.
There are kind of two sides to Tulum.
You have the super expensive hotel zone
where all the instagrammers go, and then
you have the much more affordable townside.
I really love the townside because you can still visit
the beach, but at the same time, your vacation will
be so much cheaper, and you can experience all the
awesome bars and restaurants that the town has to offer.
And while you're in the area, I highly
recommend that you visit at least one cenote.
If you're not familiar with Cenotes, they're
these really pretty freshwater, underground watering holes
that are definitely worth a visit.
Number three is one of my favorite places
featured in this video, but it's one that
a lot of people are scared to visit.
Acapulco is located in southwestern Mexico, and
it has so much to offer.
First of all, it's easy to get to.
You just fly into the Acapulco
airport and boom, you're there.
Next, it's truly a gorgeous place.
You can go have breakfast next to the beach in
Acapulco Bay, and then you can go up to the
top of the cliff at Hotel Los Flamingos.
Enjoy a coco loco as you watch the whales pass by.
If you don't know what a coco loco
is, it's where they take a coconut and
add some liquor to the coconut water.
They're super tasty.
Next, you can watch the incredibly talented cliff divers
do their thing as they dive into treacherous waters
for more than 100ft in the air.
There are so many cool things to see and
do in Acapulco, plus it's not too expensive, so
I highly recommend it for number two.
We are going inland to Oaxaca city.
Located in the Mexican state by the same name,
Oaxaca is the food and culture capital of Mexico.
The nearby archaeological site of Monte Alban dates back
nearly 2000 years, but the city as we know
it today was founded in the 14 hundreds.
In Wahaka, you'll find street after street of well
preserved facades that are hundreds of years old.
Hardly a day goes by in Oaxaca where
there isn't some kind of parade or celebration
happening in the streets of the city center.
If you love dance and culture and loud music
and bright colors, Oaxaca City is hard to beat.
My personal favorite thing about Wahaka is the
food I love Mexican food in general, but
Oaxacan food is my absolute favorite.
I cannot even describe to you how
amazing the food is in this city.
And for number one, we are going to head
over to the Pacific Coast, where you'll find one
of my favorite cities in all of Mexico.
This is a relatively affordable city, especially
considering it's a really pretty beach destination.
Here you'll find some of the best seafood I've had
in the entire country, amazing sunsets over the water, and
in addition to that, the people here are incredible.
I've traveled all over the country, and nowhere have
people been as welcoming as they are in Mazatlan.
Something I love about Mazatlan versus some of
the other popular Mexico beach destinations is that
you don't have to put up with a
bunch of scammers and hustlers in this city.
For example, when you fly into the Mazatlan airport,
you feel welcomed and you don't have to run
the gauntlet like you do in Cancun.
I also love that you can take a stroll or a
bike ride on the longest boardwalk in all of Mexico while
you enjoy the beautiful views, or you can take a hike
up to the lighthouse where you have incredible views as well.
And you get all of this for about
one third the price of a Cancun vacation.
All things considered, in terms of the prices you
pay compared to what you get, it is really
difficult to beat Mazatlan as a Mexico vacation destination.
Next, watch this video on the reasons
why to visit Mazatlan instead of Cancun.