Sian Ka'an & Punta Allen
Punta Allen, Mexico is located approximately three and one half hours drive south of the Cancun International airport in the Mexican State of Quintana Roo. It is a quiet lobster fishing village south of the “Mayan Riviera” on a narrow peninsula at the northeastern point of Ascension Bay. It is hard to find a more charming and peaceful village in the Caribbean, with gorgeous beaches, friendly locals, a few lively bars and restaurants, and children walking barefoot through sandy streets.
The pavement ends in Tulum, and with it so does the hustle, crowds, and resort development in the hotel zone. This is the authentic, ecologically rich Yucatan Peninsula with dense tropical jungle and 1.3 million acres of the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and genuine old Mayan Mexico. It is a safe little corner of the Yucatan that is remote enough to remain pristine, but easily reachable in a half day with direct flights to Cancun from many U.S. portals including Dallas, Houston and Miami.
The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve
Sian Ka’an means “where the sky is born” in Mayan – an apt name for the 1.3 million acres of grass savannas, mangrove lagoons, white sand flats, and 70 miles of the Palancar Reef, second largest barrier reef in the world. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1986 the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve is home to a variety of rare and spectacular creatures including ocelots, jaguars, manatees, crocodiles and hundreds of species of exotic birds. Within the depths of the Reserve the mark of the ancient Mayans can still be found. Dramatic temples and hidden tollhouses guard aquatic passageways carved through mangrove lagoons.