Early on, the state adopted a traffic light system, using Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. The dread red meant everything was closed. We moved out of red back in June 2020, and we are not going back. We gradually moved up to scale to orange, yellow and finally green (stage 1 and 2)
So every Thursday, we get a new poster like this, which is then shared all over social media. It has a lot of info on it, but most of it does not pertain to visitors to our town.
Here is what you need to know about the current poster…
The box at the top has the when and where of the Covid restrictions. You can see it is the current week and our municipality, and the rest of the north part of the state are all yellow.
The most important part of the poster for you is the big red box on the right. This shows the capacities of things you care about.
Open at 60% is hotels, restaurants, historic sites, theme parks and tourist services. Also at 60%, public parks, beaches, theatres, malls, department stores, salons & churches.
Capacity is limited to 50% in casinos
The poster goes on to explain the limits on transportation. The list starts with motorcycles, which are limited to one person…presumably the driver. Private vehicles are limited to four persons. Taxis are limited to 3 persons, which included the driver. Buses and collectivos are limited to 50% capacity.
On the bottom of the box is the bad news, things that are not open at all. These include bars, nightclubs and discos.
The pictograms at the bottom reinforce the obvious, keep your hands clean, wear masks, keep your distance and stay at home if you have any symptoms. The little box on the right refers to gyms, open at 70% if outdoors, 50% indoors.
The part we skipped on the right refers to things that we assume you will not have contact with. It lists things like schools, courts, construction sites and mines. It also lists many things that have always been open like supermarkets, pharmacies, banks and fishing operations.
Watch our In Puerto Morelos Facebook page, we will keep you up to date with what colour traffic light we are currently under. Stay safe and we hope to see you soon in Puerto Morelos.
Early in January, our state moved from Green to Yellow on the traffic light scale. What does this mean to you?
This poster has a lot of info on it, but the most important to you is that hotels, restaurants and the beach are restricted to 60% capacity. Bars and nightclubs are closed.
The reason we have moved from Green to Yellow is due to an increase in Omicron Covid cases in our area. We do not want to move backwards, so please wear good-quality masks when you are indoors and try to stay at least 6 feet away from other people. This will help to stop the spread and get us back to green faster.
Being in yellow means that there will be a reduction in capacity at hotels, historical sites, restaurants, gyms, theatres, etc. Basically, any venue will now have a capacity of as little as 60%. This does include the beach. Lucky for us our beach is huge, which makes social distancing easy.
We do recommend making reservations for your favourite restaurants now that seating is limited. We are having a busier than usual high season and we don’t want you to be disappointed when you can’t get a table or have to wait in line. Contact information for most places can be found here on our Puerto Morelos Restaurant Guide.
Capacity limits apply to transportation too. Taxies are allowed a maximum of 3 people and this includes the driver. That means that if you are a group of 4, you may need to take 2 taxis. You can see all the taxi rates here. Private cars are only allowed a maximum of 4 people. Collectivos and buses are restricted to 50% occupancy.
We don’t know exactly how strictly these rules will be enforced. Your best bet is to continue with the following rules that are in place at this time. You will likely find they are very similar to what you are used to at home (except the disinfecting mat, we are not sure what that is all about).
Here’s what you can expect when you visit Puerto Morelos during Covid:
You must wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth when you are within 1.5 meters (5 feet) of other people.
You must wear a mask when you enter or are standing inside any business.
You can take your mask off only when seated in a resturant.
When entering a business you will have your temperature checked, gel will be offered for your hands, and you will walk across disinfectant floor mat.
You should practice social distancing as much as possible.
You must self isolate and get tested should you come down with any of the symptoms of Covid-19.
You must wear a mask inside public transport (ie Taxis, buses, collectivos)
Many ask, “Do I have to wear a mask when I go to the beach?” You should wear a mask when you are walking to the beach if you are near people. Once you are at the beach, most people take their masks off as long as they stay at least 1.5 meters away from other people, outside of your family/group. Our beach is very large making it very easy to social distance.
Do you have to wear a mask when you are walking around the town? You are supposed to wear your mask anytime you are off your property, but most people only wear one when other people are nearby.
At restaurants, you may be required to order some food with your drinks. It is a town law that restaurants/bars are following so that they can be open. Please check with each establishment to see what their policy is before you order. Many restaurants and bars have had to pay heavy fines or face closure for trying to bend these rules, so please don’t blame the owners or staff. It is not up to them. Also, many restaurants must be closed and dark by 11:00 pm. Some places have paid extra fees to the government to stay open later. If you are arriving late to an establishment you may want to check their closing hours before you order.
A lot of us think this move back to yellow is a caution from our state governor to all of us to take more precautions as omicron moves through. Personally, we are being more careful about keeping our distance and have upgraded our masks to N95 or KN95 type. We choose to dine outdoors whenever possible, which is very easy to do in Puerto Morelos.
Now you know what to expect when you arrive in Puerto Morelos. We think you will find that it is probably not much different from your hometown. Puerto Morelos is a small town, with lots of wide-open spaces and fresh air, so we do believe that you can have a very nice vacation here this winter. We and the whole town will be very happy to see you!
If you would like to join us this winter, we have had a very RARE cancellation at Casa de los Viajeros. Suite #3is open from February 23 to March 19, 2022. If you are interested, contact us today!
We do recommend that before you leave home you purchase health insurance and vacation/trip interruption insurance. Should you test positive, it is up to you to make your own quarantine arrangements as there are no government facilities here.
And last of all. You may need to take a COVID TEST before returning home. You will find everything you need to know about that here. Have a safe and happy stay in Puerto Morelos.
Busy Puerto Morelos beach on the first Sunday of 2022
The season is in full swing in Puerto Morelos. We are just finishing a very busy Christmas season and now we are welcoming our snowbird guests back to Puerto Morelos.
The highlight of the season so far, in my point of view, is that we have had a number of key re-openings in Puerto Morelos.
Chef Marco of I Wanna Pizza
The most recent one is the grand re-opening of our favourite, I Wanna Pizza. We love this place, not only for its quirky name, its outstanding pizza, the fact that it is pretty much the closest restaurant to our house but mostly for the affable owner, Chef Marco. He had a good career going in the Big City (Mexico City), but fell in love with our little town, and started making pizzas soon after. I Wanna was our favourite, but he closed down when a lot of other places closed in Puerto Morelos. For about a year and a half, we have been cajoling Marco to get back to baking!
He decided the downtime was a good opportunity to completely remodel his restaurant. The place looks great, and now has an inside area with air conditioning and new restrooms.
The Don Roberto. Have it my way!
The menu has all the favourites you remember, plus a few new things. We are most impressed and delighted that our favourite pizza has been renamed the Don Roberto! It features mushrooms, ham, pepperoni and olives. Roberto always has green olives, but you can choose black too, or a mix.
The new I Wanna Pizza (photo courtesy I Wanna Pizza)
Fun fact: Marco speaks French as well as Spanish and English. Smart guy! I Wanna Pizza is open daily, except Monday from 4:00 until 11:00. (10:00 on Sundays)
The new Lauro’s rocks on!
Right next door to “I Wanna” is another returning success. Just over a year ago, local guitar god Hector opened a restaurant/bar/music venue called “Lauro’s” on Rojo Gomez, close to the square. It was an instant success. Hector’s close ties with the Riviera Maya music scene meant great music every night and the place was always packed with appreciative fans.
The “old” Lauro’s in February 2021. Nice place, but a bit small for the musicians and audience.
Unfortunately in July, it closed, but they promised to be back. Promise kept! The new and improved Lauro’s Music Hall opened on December 18 without missing a beat. We were lucky enough to be there for their first night, and it was epic!
The new Lauro’s has much more space and a much bigger stage
Their new space is the old Al a Burger location. It is a much larger venue for Lauro’s with a much bigger stage. The place is very popular, and even with more seating, you need to get there early to catch the music.
Lauro’s is open daily from 5:30 to 10:30. The music usually starts around 8:00.
Chef Fernando is the new chef at Caribelos (photo courtesy of Caribelos)
Another re-opening happened at the beginning of the year. On January 1, Caribelos reopened in their old location, just around the corner from the square on Rafael Melgar, behind the lighthouse. Caribelos says they have a new look, a new chef and a new menu. The space now includes a full bar, seating area, and new artwork by local muralist Pinta o Muere.
Fish tacos at Caribelos (photo courtesy of Caribelos)
The new menu features Mexican snacks like guacamole and arrachera cheese fries (sounds delicious) as well as tacos, burgers, shrimp and steak. Something for everybody! Owners Carlos and Liliana look forward to seeing you in their new place. Caribelos is open every day, from 8:00 until 8:00.
This is what mornings look like in Puerto Morelos
So how about that? In addition to all the new places to try, you also have some new old favourites to check out! Be sure to get to know our voluminous Puerto Morelos Restaurant Guide on our website at InPuertoMorelos.com We’ve been keeping track of all the restaurants we can for many years, we know the players! See our site for all sorts of PM info, including taxi rates, services, practical info, webcams, happy hours and more!
If you are thinking about heading down, we may have a place for you. We had a rare cancellation in our one bedroom, one bath suite in February! Casa de los Viajeros. Suite #3is open from February 23 to March 19, 2022. We also have openings in March and April if you are in the mood for a spring fling.
Happy New Year! We wish all of our readers a wonderful 2022!
We know that the last few years have been more than challenging for all of us. As we say goodbye to 2021, and a fresh year dawns, we are optimistic that it will be better than the last.
We are still getting lots of messages asking about the current state of COVID in Puerto Morelos. So here is the latest.
Mexico is one of the most popular travel destinations right now because it is one of the few places in the world that you can travel to with relative ease since Covid started. Puerto Morelos is no exception.
Quintana Roo has been working very hard to stop the spread of the virus including the new omicron variant. Our state has been handling Covid on a stoplight system. Under “red” everything except grocery stores and pharmacies shut down. We then moved to “orange” which loosened a few things. In September we moved to “yellow” which was very good news for us because it meant we could go to the beach again and other restrictions were lifted. In November we moved to “green”, where we have remained since then. The Governor of the state of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquin, does an update every Thursday which he live-streams on Twitter.
“Green” means that we are at low risk. This also means that the following are open at 100%: the beach, restaurants, gyms, bars, shops, etc. This doesn’t mean that there are not still COVID protocols in place.
Following are the rules in place at this time. It may seem like a lot, but you will find they are very similar to what you are used to at home (except the sticky mat, we are not sure what that is all about).
Here’s what you can expect when you visit Puerto Morelos during Covid:
You must wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth when you are within 1.5 meters (5 feet) of other people.
You must wear a mask when you enter and are standing inside any business.
You can take your mask off only when seated in a resturant or bar
When entering a business you will have your temperature checked, gel your hands, and wipe your feet on a disinfectant floor mat.
You should practice social distancing as much as possible
You must self isolate and get tested should you come down with any of the symptoms of Covid-19.
You must wear a mask inside public transport (ie Taxis, buses, collectivos)
The number one question we get is… “Do I have to wear a mask when I go to the beach?” You should wear a mask when you are walking to the beach if you are near people. Once you are at the beach, most people take their masks off as long as they stay at least 1.5 meters away from other people, outside of your family/group. Our beach is very large making it very easy to social distance.
Do you have to wear a mask when you are walking around the town? You are supposed to wear your mask anytime you are off your property, but most people only wear one when other people are nearby.
You must wear a mask when entering or walking around a restaurant/bar. You must also have a temperature check, gel your hands, and walk through a disinfectant mat when entering an establishment. You can only remove your mask when you are seated. If you stand up for any reason, you must put your mask back on. You may be required to order some food with your drinks, it is a town law that restaurants/bars are following so that they can be open. Please check with each establishment to see what their policy is before you order. Many restaurants and bars have had to pay heavy fines for trying to bend these rules, so please don’t blame the owners. It is not up to them, it is up to the government. Also, restaurants/bars must be closed and dark by 11:00 pm. Now there is an exception to this rule, some places have paid extra fees to the government to stay open later. If you are arriving late to an establishment you may want to check their closing hours before you order.
Now you know what to expect when you arrive in Puerto Morelos. We think you will find that it is probably not much different from your hometown. Being a small town, with lots of wide-open spaces and fresh air, we do believe that you can have a very nice vacation in Puerto Morelos this winter. We and the whole town will be very happy to see you!
And if you would like to join us this winter, we have had a very RARE cancellation at Casa de los Viajeros. Suite #3is now open from February 23 to March 16, 2022. If you are interested, contact us today!
This marks our 19th Christmas in Puerto Morelos. This photo was taken of us during our first holiday season here. We remember it like it was yesterday, we ran down to the beach with some tinsel, our camera, a tripod, (this was pre-selfie days) and did our best to get a photo to send home to our families on a rather windy December day. We look so young! (and Rob had not figured out where to get his hair cut yet).
Though the years we haven’t missed snow for a minute and have always enjoyed the holidays in Puerto Morelos. We look forward to spending many more winters here with palm trees instead of pine trees.
Although we miss our families up north, we enjoy being with the wonderful friends we have made here. We are lucky to have a large group of amigos that treat us like family, an experience visitors get a taste of when they visit our little village. The town is such a warm place to live, and we’re not just talking about the weather. The people of Puerto Morelos have a generosity in them that you don’t find in many places. It makes us proud to be part of this community.
Even the pelicans are friendly!
In return, we try to bring the best of Puerto Morelos to you on our website. Our goal is to let you know what is going on and what to expect when you arrive, making it easy for you to slide into an trouble-free vacation here.
In 2022 we will continue to try to keep you up to date on town news. For such a small village, we have an dizzing number of restaurants and experiences. Things can change quickly and we want you to know what to expect when you arrive. Our most popular pages seem to be:
Our Blog Posts and Town Updates are also very popular. Our most recent December Town Update had a record number of non-hurricane related hits. (We do tend to get an incredible amount of traffic when we report on a storm)
There is a lot to cover, and we will continue to do our best. We run InPuertoMorelos.com on our own time and at our own expense, without compensation from any of the businesses we highlight. Our motive is to help people who are visiting our town enjoy their stay. We do have our own vacation rentals at Casa de los Viajeros which we promote on this website.
As we approach another difficult holiday season for many of us, we hope that you can carry the warmth and spirit of Puerto Morelos with you wherever you are. 2021 was an extremely challenging year both business-wise and personally for us, as it has been for lots of folks. May the New Year bring everyone happiness and joy. We hope that you have a safe and wonderful holiday season and that we will see you soon in Puerto Morelos.
December 2021: At long last, an update from your favourite town in the Mexican Caribbean, Puerto Morelos. We have so much news to share with you! It’s too much for one post, so we will spread it out over a few.
Hope you are doing well wherever you are! Puerto Morelos has been quiet, and yet very busy at the same time over the summer. Where to begin? We’ve got SO MANY new restaurants to share with you, and some other news. Our vacation rentals at Casa de los Viajeros are filling up nicely, but we still have some openings for you! Please contact us for more details.
For Puerto Morelos news, let’s start with the obvious.
The new square finally opened to the public on May 19, 2021. The destruction of the old square and the subsequent difficult months dealing with the heart of the town surrounded by two fences while the construction progressed was very tough. It was a great relief to everyone when the fences finally came down and people could stroll through the centre of town again.
New Public Bathrooms!
Because of the way the new square was handled, it will likely remain a controversial topic in town for a while, but it looks like it’s been pretty much embraced by the public. The kids LOVE the new playground, and as events return to the big new amphitheatre it will be embraced more. The public bathrooms being re-opened are also very welcome. We are wondering what happened to the public WiFi though, and why the new clock that was added more recently is stuck permanently at 5:45.
Construction on Ave Rojo Gomez
As we write this, Avenue Rojo Gomez, our “main drag” where all the restaurants are located that we are going to tell you about in this post, is being ripped up and repaved with stamped concrete. So far the work has gone quite quickly and looks very nice, but there is still a lot left to be done and the Christmas break is coming.
The work was required so that our water company could upgrade their pipes. After they finish their work, other crews are pouring concrete and stamping it as a replacement for the potholed asphalt we used to have. It will look similar to the roads around the square when it is finished.
We could type for a long time and never cover all the new restaurants in town. If you have been away from PM for more than a year, some places have opened and then closed in your absence! For this update, we will focus on the main road in town on the beach side, Rojo Gomez. Come walk with us!
Starting at the square and working our way north, first up is yet another T@cos dot com. There are now three T@cos dot com in Puerto Morelos. Yes, we have two gas stations, two Chedrauis, two OXXO’s beach side, and three T@cos dot com. The new one is over the new jewellery store on the northwest side of the square. It shares a menu, and I believe a kitchen with another T@cos dot com location across the street (can we call it #2?). The “original” T@cos dot com, now labelled as such with a funky neon sign remains as well. (We’ll call it #1)
There is also My Little Italy at the top of the street, selling Italian pizza and pasta.
Moving north on the east (beach side) of the street, we had a big taco place called “Taqueria Los Chachalacos”. They are a small chain restaurant with locations in Cancun and Tulum. We mentioned them in our Town Update in the spring. I say “had” because they have since closed. They promise to be back soon, but the rumour mill says they are done in Puerto Morelos.
Across the street is a brand new restaurant called Península. We are hearing very good reviews about this lovely-looking establishment, but have not had a chance to check it out yet. They are serving classic Yucatecan dishes like lime soup, fish tacos, and cochinita pibil but with a contemporary flair.
Photo courtesy of Crepe Street
On the south side of Peninsula is Crepe Street, this is the cafe where diets are broken because they specialize in delicious desserts, crepes and big milkshakes. They have coffee to of course, but you are going to need something sweet too! (You are on vacation after all)
Restaurante Casa Moro is between Peninsula and El Campanario
Beside Península, still heading north, is the new El Moro restaurant. Stay with me now, this gets a bit complex. El Moro’s restaurant used to be right in front of their hotel. Now they have opened it on the property next door to them on the north side.
This building, seen here as Franco’s barbershop in 2019, is no more.
To build it, they knocked down a small building that used to be many things, including a phone repair shop, a barbershop (pictured above), a gift shop, and for long-time visitors to Puerto Morelos, “Goyo’s office”. They also renovated an old house that for a few months was a very cool music venue called “Lauro’s” owned by PM’s own rock star, Hector Romero. We first told you about them in our December update. It was a very busy and fun place for a few months. Unfortunately, it closed. We happen to know that Hector will open again a new location soon (more on that later).
But I digress, it is now Restaurante Casa Moro. El Moro has also changed their name to Casa El Moro (from Hotel El Moro and before that, Posada El Moro). They are serving wood-fired pizza and as a grand opening special, 2 X 1 drinks, which is drawing people in.
El Campanario serves up great steaks on Rojo Gomez
Next to El Campanario, a completely new restaurant to tell you about. Icaza has two locations in Cancun, and now one in Puerto Morelos. The space they are in was formerly a gift shop/gallery called “Artisolo”. The shop closed many years ago and the building has sat empty. Now Icaza is serving up breakfast and brunch with some interesting variations on traditional breakfast/brunch favourites.
Fajitas at El Pirata. So Good! Photo courtesy El Pirata
Next to them, you have the venerableCantina Habanero, which is hosting live music again. Across the street areLa Pizza Nostra, known for their pizza, steaks and empanadas, and El Pirata which is now offering Saturday Paella classes for just $200 pesos (which includes the class, paella and sangria!) and the “farm to table” experience at Koox Ich Kool.
Next door is a popular cafe,Las Robles. They have breakfast, salads, vegan choices and coffee of course.
Still moving north, we have The Burger Underground, which has more outdoor seating now and Panna e Cioccolato which will tempt you with gelato and other cafe treats. And across from them is the newRuta 40, a small takeaway place that serves empanadas.
Don Mexkal will keep you up late!
A few steps further north lands you at Don Mexkal. They are hosting live music again in their spacious outdoor garden, and they are the local experts on all things mezcal. They stay open a little later than most places, they have cost us a lot of sleep over the years because we stay there too late, but we always, always have a good time.
A few steps away is a newer place called Che-Itza. They have inexpensive Mexican food.
After them, on the west side of the street, you will find Tanino’s. This restaurant often has music, including our favourite local band The Nobodies.
Are you still with me? Hope so, we have not even gone a block yet!
And about half a block north is now a new little restaurant row that is popping up. Across from Salciccium Food Truck Village, which closed in May, and shows no signs of reopening as a restaurant, is I Wanna Pizza. This local favourite has also been closed for the last year and a half, but the owner is working hard to get it reopened and tells us this should happen any day now.
Lauro’s is back in Puerto Morelos at a new, bigger location on Rojo Gomez
Al la Burger used to be on the south side of I Wanna Pizza. It closed a few months ago and the space has been taken over by… are you ready for this?…. the new Lauro’s! Hector and his team converted the old burger space into a rock and roll stage in record time, and they opened past weekend, picking up exactly where they left off, with food, drink and lots and lots of music. Their new location is much bigger than their previous spot, so there is much more room to rock!
Jalisco House serves up Mexican favourites.
To the north of I Wanna Pizza, there is another new Asian restaurant called Yum Yum Wok. They are serving up made-to-order noodle bowls and more. Their location is where the fish restaurant Tony the Tiger used to be. And next to them is a Mexican restaurant called Jalisco House. They serve tamales, tacos, etc.
The town square is finished! It was completed on May 19, 2021.
And the kids are really enjoying the new playground.
There is even a clock, that is right twice a day.
For those of you that have not been here in a few years due to COVID, you are going to return to a new central square on the beach side of the town.
And right now it has been lit for the holiday season.
Slowly, but surely, activities are starting to return to the square, including the Puerto Morelos Stage Band…
And of course, the artists can be found every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, selling their local art.
The building of the new square was quite controversial as most people were happy with the old one. And we are not here to debate the issue. We just thought we would give, those of you that haven’t seen it, a look at the new square and some of the Christmas decorations.
Until you can get here, enjoy what you have to look forward to on your next trip to Puerto Morelos.
Salsa lessons going on in the new gazebo that is lit for the holidays
Picture yourself here!
There is even a very popular selfie spot!
For the first time in the almost 20 years we have been here, the lighthouse has been lit for Christmas!
We have updated information that you will need for your Puerto Morelos vacation! These pages are constantly being refreshed, so be sure to bookmark them and check back with them frequently.
We are working on a series of town updates which we will try to have for you soon. There have been lots of changes since many of you were here, so many new restaurants, even we have trouble keeping track of all of them!
We have just checked with the taxi drivers here in Puerto Morelos and these are the latest rates. Keep this on hand and always confirm rates before getting into a cab. MORE INFORMATION HERE
Keeping this guide up to date is a full-time job with all of the changes that take place in Puerto Morelos. There are new places opening every week! Check out our guide for the latest. MORE INFORMATION HERE
It looks like it is going to be a very busy season this year. We look forward to seeing you here. If you haven’t booked your vacation rental for this season, we still have a few vacancies, but they are going fast. MORE INFORMATION HERE
