Xcalak Travel Guide
COMPARE PRICES on all Xcalak Hotels
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
COMPARE PRICES on all Flights to Xcalak
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
South of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, the speed bumps begin in earnest. In 45 minutes you reach the turnoff for Majahual and Xcalak, which is at the town of Limones. From here the highway has recently been widened and repaved. The roadwork is being done to facilitate bus tours from the new cruise-ship pier in Majahual (mah-hah-wahl) to some of the Maya ruins close by, especially Chacchoben. Many passengers elect to enjoy some beach time in Majahual instead. Even before the cruise-ship pier came to Majahual, I saw little that was attractive about the town. The best option is to keep your distance and stay farther down the peninsula in the area of Xcalak. You'll come to the turnoff for Xcalak before you get to Majahual. Xcalak has better lodging than Majahual, a decent dive shop, and more interesting coastal features. It used to take about 1 1/2 hours to get there from Highway 307, but it will be quicker when the new road is finished. On the route, you'll see a sign for the turnoff for the Maya-Ha Dive Resort .
Xcalak (eesh-kah-lahk) is a depopulated, weather-beaten fishing village with a few comfortable places to stay and a couple of restaurants. It once had a population as large as 1,200 before the 1958 hurricane washed most of the town away; now it has only 300 permanent residents. It's charming in a run-down way, and you'll certainly feel miles away from the crush of the crowds. From here you work your way back up the coast to get to one of the several small inns just beyond the town.
