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.

Restaurants

There are many, many restaurants both beachside and in La Colonia to explore ranging from the very inexpensive places the locals frequent to very expensive places with tourist price gouging. We recommend talking with longtime PM dancers to find what’s best for you both beachside and via group excursions to La Colonia.

Have suggestions about how to better gather to go to meals while at camp? Use our questions & suggestions form (found in the Quick Jump menu under Contact Us) to share your ideas.

Groceries

Whether doing some of your own cooking or just looking for snacks, the beachside Chedraui (pronounced shuh DROU wee) supermarket will have most of what you need. It’s located in the first block south of the town square. There is also a much larger Chedraui just under the overpass out at the highway in La Colonia.

You can also get fresh juices, fruit, and vegetables at Fruteria El Puerto, a small shop (that we lovingly refer to as the juice place) on Niños Heroes (one block west and a few doors south of Las Arenas).

Laundry

The laundromat immediately next to Fruteria El Puerto charges by the kilo and has very reasonable prices. You load your clothes in the washer and they tell you when to return. They move your clothes into the dryer for you and you return in time to fold them.

Loudo’s and other noise

We are right in the beachside town, and as can be expected in any beachside tourist town, there is plenty of nightly music. The downside, for those who like to retire early, is most of the music happens between 9 PM and midnight. The upside is most of the music doesn’t start until after the end of our evening dance sessions.

Of particular note, Lauro’s (which Nur al-Haqq affectionally nicknamed Loudo’s) is a music venue immediately across the street from Hotel Las Arenas and is one of the places that goes until midnight most nights.

Ways to deal with the late-night noise include:

  • Join in the late-night music jams at the dance house (which can go as late as 11 or even 11:30 sometimes).
  • Surrender, participate in the nightlife, and wait until midnight to go to bed.
  • Wear ear plugs.
  • Grumble (not recommended).

Tipping

  • Standard restaurant and taxi tipping in Mexico for tourists is 10% and locals typically do not tip.
  • Please consider giving at least 20 pesos/day to your housekeepers. They get paid very, very little per hour (like 1970s US minimum wage little) and are counting on your tips, so your $1/day tips help change their lives! I (Nur al-Haqq) do this even on the days I have them skip cleaning my room.

Getting around town

Beachside

  • Almost everything beachside is walkable, most places under 10 minutes.

La Colonia

  • La Colonia is a 7-minute / 2-mile drive from the beachside town square.
  • Taxis are for 40 pesos ($2.35 US at 17 pesos/dollar) to town (50 if you are going past Timon Ave) and by law can only take 4 passengers.
  • The collectivo is a 10-peso public transportation option with lots of “local flavor”. Please consider wearing a mask on the collectivos before and during camp to help keep us all healthy.

Staying safe in Puerto Morelos

  • Valuables are fairly safe in your hotel rooms, but one can never be too careful. Most hotel rooms have a safe. If yours doesn’t, there should be one available for your use in the hotel office.
  • Ketchup scam - when in public, if someone squirts ketchup or sauce on you, immediately put your hands on your valuables and make a scene / call out for the police.
  • Fentanyl warning - https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-06-14/fentanyl-tainted-pills-now-found-in-mexican-pharmacies-from-coast-to-coast
  • Please wear a mask when riding the collectivos to help keep us all healthy. Thank you for caring about your fellow dancers!

Donation items for the Mayan village

Jessie Sitara Noe is spearheading donations collection for Mayan people in the small village around Puerto Morelos. Please consider bringing donation items. Desired items include, but are not limited to: reading glasses. summer clothes for children, and simple school supplies for elementary age kids.

Email [email protected] with questions.