The municipality of Puerto Morelos consists two distinct parts with these nicknames:

  • Portside/Beachside - The original seaside fishing village with the (you guessed it) beach, docks, and ocean. It’s where we dance and where nearly 100% of us stay. It largely comprises a town square and 6 surrounding blocks with shops, restaurants, and a few hotels.
  • La Colonia - 2+ miles away from the beach on the west side of the highway, nicknamed “the colony”. It’s where most of the locals live and has much more authentic local cuisine and street food than portside. We sometimes take taxis there for dinner.

Please keep this distinction in mind when considering where to stay.

If you’d like more assistance than you find below, especially if you are wanting to coordinate staying elsewhere from Las Arenas with others from our group, ask for assistance here.

The True Friends and Expats of Puerto Morelos group on Facebook is another place where you can get reliable opinions for places you might discover online, and to vet them for possible scams. If it looks like a deal that’s too good to be true, it’s likely either miles from the beach and inconvenient or an outright scam. Be smart and ask around (including us) before sending anyone any money…

Portside / Beachside

These are the hotels that we know of beachside. All are within a 15-minute walk of Hotel Las Arenas (where we dance), most are closer. Check Google Maps for distance to Hotel Las Arenas Puerto Morelos.

  • Hotel Las Arenas - The closest hotel to the beach, where we dance, and where a good portion of us stay. We are working directly with the hotel (thanks Dave Nur al-Haqq!) and have booked nearly the entire 30-room hotel at a 10-day group rate that includes all taxes and avoids all online booking & cleaning fees. Learn more and book here.
  • Amar Inn - Well-established place a very short distance up the beach with some nice and some funky rooms.
  • Areia Boutique Hotel Puerto Morelos - Completely-remodeled hotel, a bit upscale with great views of the ocean and mangroves from the top floors and rooftop.
  • Casa El Moro - A nice place just 1/2 block from Las Arenas with inexpensive prices if you book before the end of June.
  • Casa Puerto Morelos - A relatively-inexpensive guesthouse just off the town square. Five rooms only and they share a bathroom.
  • Cuca Macuca Hostel - By far, the cheapest place to stay portside and right off the town square. Last we checked, a bed in a 6-bed dorm was $21/night on hostelworld.com (not sure if that includes taxes and online booking & cleaning fees).
  • Hacienda Morelos - A bit pricier, but right on the water just south of the town square.
  • Hotel Caracol - The other less expensive portside hotel, just a block from Las Arenas.
  • Hotel Ojo de Agua - First hotel up the beach from Las Arenas. A bit cleaner and pricier than Las Arenas.
  • La Quinta Orquídea (Dr. Suess house) - Interesting museum-like place with lots of art.
  • Layla Guest House - Nice, but now a monthly rental place a couple blocks south of the town square.
  • Villas Valentina - Recently-remodeled rooms 1/2 block from Las Arenas.
  • Casa Velero - Another place with rooms 1/2 block from Las Arenas.
  • AirBnB-type places beachside - AirBnB, Vrbo, etc don’t list exact addresses online, so if it says it’s more than a ½ mile from the city center, it’s probably out near the highway or across the highway in La Colonia.

Note: If you know of other places, please let us know and we’ll update this page. Thanks!

La Colonia

There are places across the highway in La Colonia too, often at better rates, but be aware that it’s a 7-minute / 2-mile drive to the beach. Yes, there are taxis for 50 pesos ($2.50 US at 20 pesos/dollar) and “the collectivo” (10-peso public transportation), but past dancers rarely opt to do it a second time.

While staying in La Colonia to immerse yourself in the local culture might sound intriguing, we do not recommend it merely due to the inconvenience. Most dancers who have stayed out there in the past say it’s not worth the financial savings because:

  • All the added traveling back and forth
  • The inconvenience of not having access to your lodging during the day without making a time-consuming trip
  • Having to decide in the morning what to bring for the entire day and evening
  • The extra cost of all those taxis