Join us on a little walkabout on a very quiet Sunday morning in Puerto Morelos.
www.InPuertoMorelos.com
Got a minute? Spend it with us on the beach, and the dock in lovely Puerto Morelos!
While taking a short ride in the Colonia yesterday, I discovered a street that SHOULD be renamed, Calle Café. Why you ask? Well, there are no less than 4 cafés in a very short distance.
The road is actually named Calle 45 and it links Av Zetina Gasca and Timon, the two main roads in the Colonia.
First in line at the intersection of Timon and Calle 45, is El Manglar, which has lots of coffee choices plus full breakfasts, lunches and salads.
A short walk east you will find “Date el Gusto“. They have coffee, juices, and lots of healthy options.
Just down a couple of spots, you will find “Cecila Bakes“. She has coffee naturally, but her specialty is cakes. Really good-looking, tempting cakes. Also cinnamon rolls.
A little further down the road, almost to Zetina Gasca, you will find Revolucion Cafe. They have coffee and full breakfasts.
So there you have four places to try, and you have only sauntered down one street!
If you walk down other streets in the Colonia, you will find more cafe choices, including one of my favourites, Eneida Café.
The beach side of Puerto Morelos has even more choices, like the venerable Cafe De Amancia on the square and Lola y Moya, just south of the Chedraui grocery store.
You will not have to walk for a cup o’ java in Puerto Morelos!
For more ideas, check out our big, constantly updated InPuertoMorelos Restaurant Guide. www.InPuertoMorelos.com
Stay with us! www.CasaDeLosViajeros.com
One of PM’s less attractive sights has been improved greatly by a little paint and some skilled artists.
This is the underpass at the highway in Puerto Morelos, it now looks a little like an aquarium! Nice work!
Hopefully, the soothing images will enable drivers to relax a little when navigating this busy intersection.
All things Puerto Morelos here: www.InPuertoMorelos.com
Stay with us! www.casadelosviajeros.com
A big opening in Puerto Morelos this week! (July 2022)
Welcome to El Nicho Bakery and Pastry Shop, brought to you by the good folks at El Nicho, one of PM’s favourite breakfast and Brunch spots.
Here you will find the freshest baked breads and pastries, made right here in Puerto Morelos. Vegan and gluten-free options are available too. You can also order specialty items, all made with that El Nicho attention to quality and taste.
This opening this week is only the first step in what will eventually become the New El Nicho. Astrid and Manny have a whole lot of grand plans for the rest of the space, which will be revealed in the fall. For now, both El Nicho locations are open every day, 7:30 am until 2:00 pm.
Congratulations to the entire El Nicho family! (Now…get to work!)
Keep up with all things PM at www.InPuertoMorelos.com
Updated: February 2024
One of the questions we frequently get from our guests departing from Casa de los Viajeros, is how do we pay Visitax? Followed by DO WE NEED to pay the Visitax?
If you are not familiar with Visitax, we’re not too surprised. It is a tourist tax that was introduced on April 1, 2021, in the midst of COVID. It was said to be mandatory for all visitors from any foreign country travelling to the state of Quintana Roo for tourism purposes. The tax costs 271.00 Mexican Pesos/person (approximately $16 USD/$22 CAD). Foreigners with residency cards do not have to pay this tax.
The money is supposed to be used to fund tourism infrastructure projects. This tax should not be confused with the federal Mexican departure tax, which is included in your airline ticket. Visitax is NOT included in your airline ticket or hotel room stay. It is separate.
There is only one official website where you can pay this tax (which took us a lot of work to find). This is the official website.
https://www.visitax.gob.mx/
*For more info on the tax, there is an FAQ button on the above page that provides a little info.
Should you pay this tax?
The tax is mandatory, so if you are reading this, and are a foreign tourist, you should pay it. That said, there is very little information about the tax beyond their own website, a few blogs from a year ago, and a good number of scam sites. We wrote to the government to confirm that the tax is still being collected and they replied that it is.
Some visitors have not been asked about the tax and have not had to show proof that they paid it at the airport, while others have.
If you do want to pay online, make sure you pay on the official site. Remember official Mexican government sites always include “gob.mx” in their URL. The official site will not charge you in US dollars, only in pesos. (Currently $271 pesos – Feb 2024)
Under no circumstances should you be required to pay the Visitax in cash.
You can pay the tax in advance or wait until you get to the airport.
You can pay for the Visitax on your phone at the airport. Government employees are sometimes waiting at the bottom of the escalator in front of security and will have signs with QR codes on them which you can scan and pay right away. Just give yourself some extra time in case you run into this. The original plan called for kiosks at the airport to pay the tax, but to the best of our knowledge, they have never appeared.
Unfortunately, there are many unofficial sites offering to handle this payment for you. We found several that popped up on a Google search higher than the official site! The scam is that they charge you a big fee to calculate the tax for you. Here’s a search we tried today to find the right site:
Here are examples of some of the scam sites (we are not linking to them):
Bottom line, if you pay this tax in advance online, make sure you are using the official site. If it tries to charge you more than $271 Mexican Pesos, it is not the real site.
Don’t forget to follow us on FACEBOOK for exclusive pictures and the latest happenings around your favourite beach town!
You may not need a COVID test to fly home. There are major changes to the COVID Testing regulations effect April 1, 2022.
Find out all the details by clicking here!
For those of you that still need tests, we have the latest rates for the most cost-effective way to get tested as well as where the labs are located. Plus we have information on the updated mask mandates in Puerto Morelos.
We are NOW taking reservations for Winter 2022/2023. Stay with us at Casa de los Viajeros. 1 or 2 private apartments located steps from the BEST BEACH in Puerto Morelos.
We have 2 very important pieces of news that are going to have an impact on your vacation.
First, the good news… We are in GREEN again. Green is the best colour we can be on the stoplight system and we have explained it once before in a previous blog post. Click here for details.
The government has issued a chart explaining the restrictions, but basically, almost everything is open to 100% including the things that are really important to you like bars, beaches, restaurants and public transportation.
For the government’s, details click here.
Second, the inconvenient news. The city is about to finish resurfacing the roads and sidewalks around the downtown core.
Beginning today, the city has announced that they will close the other half of Rojo Gomez and reverse the traffic flow on the completed side. The road behind the church (Avenida Niños Héroes south) is closed and soon the road in front of the lighthouse (Avenida Rafael E. Melgar) will be as well.
It will be great once they are finished, but in the meantime (and we have no idea how long it will be), we will have to deal with this inconvenience. If you are a tourist driving in town, we recommend sticking to Avenida Niños Héroes (going north of the square) and Avenida Rojo Gomez (going south of the square) and you will be fine.
Keep up to date with all the changes in town by subscribing to BEACH READS.
And if you would like to stay with us, contact us today. We have openings as of March 27th, when hopefully the road work will be done.
Last night one of your favourite Puerto Morelos hangouts was turned into a movie set.
Cantina Habanero was used in the filming of a scene in the upcoming movie “At Midnight” by Paramount Pictures.
The film stars Monica Barbaro, Diego Boneta, Whitney Cummings, Anders Holm, Catherine Cohen, and Casey Thomas Brown.
The romantic comedy is directed by Jonah Feingold.
“At Midnight” is a romantic comedy about two people who do their best not to fall in love, Alejandro (Boneta), who lives a predictable life, and Sophie (Barbaro), a rising movie star with an unreliable celebrity boyfriend. During a visit to Mexico (this is where Puerto Morelos comes in) to shoot scenes for her new movie, Sophie falls in love with the hotel manager.
You can read more about the movie here in Deadline and here in Variety.
This is not the first time Puerto Morelos has been used as a location. Our picturesque village has been featured in several TV shows, music videos and commercials. You can see more here.
Be sure to keep up on all things Puerto Morelos by subscribing to our newsletter. And watch for new stoplight information coming out soon!
It’s getting easier to visit Puerto Morelos! Covid testing requirements have changed for Canadians beginning February 28, 2022. Plus you no longer need to complete the Vuela Seguro health questionnaire while entering Mexico.
Find out all the details by clicking here!
Plus we have the latest rates for the most cost-effective way to get tested as well as where the labs are located.
We are now taking reservations for Winter 2022/2023. Stay with us at Casa de los Viajeros. 1 or 2 private apartments located steps from the BEST BEACH in Puerto Morelos.