Last Updated
For years, Tulum has stolen the highlight because the trendiest place to take an unforgettable trip within the Riviera Maya, as a result of its shut proximity to sandy seashores and iconic Mayan sights. However, having suffered from overcrowding and unsustainable tourism within the final decade, all eyes are actually on Bacalar, a trendier, way more quaint city simply two hours south.
There’s no denying the Mexican Caribbean is America’s favorite vacation spot. Being a brief two to four-hour flight from a number of U.S. cities, and relatively safer than different sunny retreats in different elements of the nation, its recognition has saved rising despite the well being disaster and may very well be reaching a new peak this winter.
The solely draw back to this outstanding success? In some locations, it hardly seems like Mexico anymore, which leads some to query:
Has Overtourism Ruined Tulum?
Overtourism has change into a critical challenge the world over’s prime locations, pushing up rental costs amid an inflow of international funding and slowly erasing their id. Serving as a gateway to the Mayan World, Tulum is actually no exception: as different senior Americans who’ve been touring to Mexico for many years will have the ability to verify, it was as soon as an off-path village not that many vacationers had been even conscious existed.
In the 90’s, previous to being ‘discovered’, Tulum had a inhabitants of simply over 2,000 inhabitants. These had been principally native fishermen, artisans, and land employees who led a peaceable life, shielded from the hustle and bustle of close by Cancun and its overwhelming internationalization.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!
Travel Off Path Recommends These 5 Fast and Easy Travel Insurance Plans To Sign up For Now
Plans beginning at solely $10 per week
By the yr 2000, they’d already jumped from a two thousand people-strong tight knit group to 12,000. An irreversible transformation had been set into point out, and within the years that adopted, amid the surge in high-caliber lodge improvement and the fading demand for finances journeys, Tulum’s small, Mayan city magic was misplaced.
Others weren’t so ‘lucky’:
Is Bacalar The New Cool?
Located solely a two and a half hour drive south of Tulum, or alternatively, a shorter 23 miles northwest of Chetumal Airport, a Southern Mayan airport that hosted its first-ever direct flights from the U.S. this year, there’s a sleepy, largely neglected city that continues to be one in every of Mexico’s greatest hidden secrets and techniques – no less than for now.
A Pueblo Mágico straddling the Lake of the Seven Colors, Bacalar dates again to the colonial interval of Mexico Featuring an 18th century army fort, an enthralling downtown space the place heritage buildings will be discovered, and most significantly, natives dwell in to at the present time, it’s the ‘quintessential Mexico’ we thought had been misplaced endlessly.
Visiting Bacalar, Kashlee Kucheran, who’s a journey professional primarily based in Mexico and CEO of Travel Off Path was quoted saying she felt ‘safer’ strolling in Bacalar, even at evening, than most cities in Quintana Roo. Moreover, she observed locals haven’t been ‘pushed out’ by the lodges, and the specter of crime, which led Cancun authorities to deploy more patrol units on seashores, is certainly ‘low’.
Mrs. Kucheran added that whereas Tulum has a number of ‘magic, charm and intrigue’ – it’s, in spite of everything, an Ancient Mayan port – it’s being ‘spoiled’ by consumerism. Bacalar, then again, hasn’t been tarnished by the lots: ‘Bacalar is a breath of contemporary air for people who find themselves nonetheless searching for nature, group, and all the wonder that the Yucatán Peninsula has to supply.‘
What Can You Expect Vacationing In Bacalar?
If you’re trying to splurge, social gathering exhausting, and dwell your greatest ‘Instafluencer’ life, Bacalar isn’t for you: it’s an emergent resort city recovering from a pure phenomenon that turned its well-known lake’s pristine waters brown for a couple of years, and also you actually gained’t discover your ultra-niche eating choices or a Plaza Las Americas right here.
Don’t get us improper: whether or not you’re into carne asada otherwise you’re a faithful vegan, you’re actually spoiled for alternative right here, however then once more, don’t look forward to finding the identical selection of high-end eating places and American fashion diners you’d in Northern Quintana Roo. Lots of eating places and outlets within the central district are family-owned, and Spanish continues being a lingua franca on the streets, proving group comes first, and tourism second within the space.
The identical can’t be stated about an more and more internationalized Tulum. Here are some execs and cons of visiting Bacalar as an alternative:
Pros:
- Bacalar is tidier than Tulum: the latter’s potholes and overflowing rubbish don’t exist right here, and the restricted variety of vacationers helps maintain it that means;
- All yr, low or excessive season, there are fewer guests round and you’ll get pleasure from a larger sense of exclusivity and calmness;
- The locals are those residing and working companies on the lakefront, together with eateries and small pensiónes, in comparison with Tulum’s over-developed lodge zone, stuffed with Americanisms and foreign-owned vacationer complexes;
- It is arguably safer and extra family-friendly, missing Tulum’s loopy social gathering scene and rising crime rates;
- 30 miles lengthy, the warm-water, crystal-clear lagoon is ideal for swimming, practising water sports activities, and boat excursions;
- A luxurious and wellness scene is creating and so they need to construct a popularity and entice extra company, that means costs will be extra enticing.*
*The boutique Casa Hormiga Hotel, one in every of Bacalar’s five-star presents, has a jungle aesthetic and it’s a true nature oasis, with rooms ranging from solely $236.25 per night.
Cons:
- It is not a seaside vacation spot;*
- It’s more durable to get to and nonstop flights to Chetumal, the closest airport, are at present solely obtainable from Mexico;**
- Bacalar’s nightlife is merely a fraction of Tulum’s, missing main nightclubs and the latter’s widespread seaside events.
*Nonetheless, it’s dwelling to a lagoon with the bluest of waters and it’s situated a one-hour drive from Mahahual Beach;
**Flights between the U.S. and Chetumal had been axed final summer time as a result of low demand
As you possibly can see above, until being ON the ocean is non-negotiable, you’re financially ready to pay a few of the highest taxi fares on the earth, and hallucinogen-ridden raves on the seaside are your vibe, Tulum doesn’t have a lot going for it.
Not anymore.
What The Future Holds
Tulum could have change into a regional capital for luxurious tourism, however some may argue it’s sacrificed its essence within the course of. Luckily, there are a selection of different settlements left across the Yucatán Peninsula which have managed to advertise tourism, all of the whereas retaining the authenticity that made them well-known within the first place. Bacalar is one in every of them.
When flying to Mexico, the overwhelming majority of worldwide guests have their hearts set on seaside getaways: 25 million of them would usually decide the Cancun-Tulum resort strip over wherever else, and we completely get it. There are tons of extra flights touchdown in Cancun, the coast – when it’s seaweed-free – is completely gorgeous, and lodge facilities keep getting better.
The downside is, as soon as once more, mass tourism.
It has completely altered Tulum in character, turning it right into a soulless resort city affected by taxi scams, potholes, and densely populated. We don’t know what the long run holds for Bacalar’s as soon as it’s formally ‘outed’, however it’s a reality it’s not fairly there but, and it nonetheless makes for a way more stress-free, extra genuinely Mexican trip.
Tips For Visiting Bacalar
- Fly into Chetumal airport the place you possibly can take a 35-minute taxi to Bacalar for 300 pesos ($15 USD) as an alternative of the lengthy automobile journey from Cancun airport.
- Don’t put on sunscreen, bug spray, fragrance or make-up if you enter the lagoon, as the fragile pH steadiness must be preserved to take care of its attractive teal and blue colours.
- Stay in lodges which might be making efforts to reduce their ecological impression, particularly ones which have lagoon entry
Traveler Alert: Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!
↓ Join Our Community ↓
The Travel Off Path Community FB group has all the most recent reopening information, conversations, and Q&A’s occurring every day!
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LATEST POSTS
Enter your electronic mail deal with to subscribe to Travel Off Path’s newest breaking journey information, straight to your inbox
This article initially appeared on TravelOffPath.com
