A Week at Cabañas Copal

 Welcome to Cabañas Copal! If you´re wondering what to do during your stay, check out this plan for a week of fun! Don´t forget to check out our restaurant, which is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for inexpensive, delicious meals. The pasta with fish and white wine sauce is unforgettable, and so are Rudy´s famous margaritas! Stop by our mini-market for water and snacks before you take off for a day trip.

Day One: The Tulum ruins are within walking distance from Copal, and make a beautiful walk along the beach to the north. Bring your swimsuit, because there is a beautiful swimming place just in front of the ruins to cool off in the afternoons. Entrance is free on Sunday.

Day Two: Rent a bike and some snorkeling gear at Punta Piedra and get to know Tulum´s cenotes! The Yucatán peninsula is also well known for its cenotes, which are natural freshwater pools with underwater caves and caverns that make a great place to swim, snorkel, or scuba dive. One of the most beautiful is the Gran Cenote, just 4 km. from Copal on the road to Cobá. Its clear water allows swimmers and divers to see the underwater cave formations and the small fish that live there. Cenote Calaveras is located about one kilometer before the Gran Cenote, down an unmarked path into the jungle. It´s three holes form the  skull shape which gave the cenote its name. This is a beautiful place to jump into the water from above. If you have a car, you can check out Cenote Dos Ojos , farther up on the highway to Cancún and Playa del Carmen, whose two holes make an excellent place to swim or dive. Cenote Cristal and Cenote Escondido are both located south of Tulum, on the road to Carrillo Puerto and Chetumal, just five minutes from Tulum pueblo. Admission prices include both cenotes.  

Day Three: The Caribbean Sea in Tulum is very calm with no dangerous currents and makes a great place to swim. The coral reef is located about 300 meters off the coast in front of Copal, and can be reached by swimming straight out from our beach. This is a great place to see graceful fan corals and a variety of colorful tropical fish. Snorkel equipment can be rented at Punta Piedra if you don´t have your own. 

Day Four: The Cobá ruins are located about 45 minutes from Tulum along a quiet highway through the jungle and are well worth visiting by either car or bus. The ruins are located near the pueblo of Cobá, which has developed around a beautiful quiet lagoon. There are several small restaurants with open terraces with a view of the lagoon where you can have breakfast before visiting the ruins. Be sure to brink sunscreen and mosquito repellent.  

Day Five: The Sian Ka´an biosphere reserve is another favorite destination of visitors to the area, and the entrance is located just 5 km. south of Copal, along the road to Punta Allan. There are several groups here in town (such as Sian Ka´an Tours) that take visitors on a guided tour of the reserve with an explanation of all the natural highlights. 

Day Six: Check out Punta Piedra´s snorkeling tours. They´ll take you by boat to several places along Tulum´s coral reef to check out the tropical fish. The $150 rate includes snorkeling gear, and is well worth it! 

Day Seven: On the way to Cobá is the monkey sanctuary of Punta Laguna, which is a small island in the middle of another lagoon and is one of the best places in the world to see spider monkeys in their natural habitat. It is not a natural park, but rather the home of the monkeys with a small station for biologists to research the communities. Canoes can be rented to cross the lagoon to the island. 

The beaches in front of Copal are a great place to relax in the sun during the day or at night to walk along and enjoy the clear skies and starry nights of Tulum. Far away from city lights, the night skies are filled with bright stars. From May to August it is turtle season in Tulum, and every night the sea turtles come to the beaches of Copal to lay their eggs. This beautiful experience can be witnessed after sunset and all through the night as the turtles climb up the beach and dig the holes for their nests. We only request that flashlights not be used, as the light scares the turtles in returning to the sea.

(by Holly Worton, Cabanas Copal)