Punta Allen was one of the best things that happened to us on this trip. Punta Allen is a peninsula of nearly flat sand covered with palm trees and low jungle that stretches almost fifty kilometers along the coast. The beach just goes on, broken occasionally with a few rocky areas. Besides picture perfect beaches, warm water, easy surf, and no mega tourism, Punta Allen has some very nice small hotels or bungalows.
What is keeping this area low key is being part of the Reserva de la Biosfera Sian Ka'an (Where the Sky Begins). This coastal reserve of five thousand square kilometers is restricted in use, the Punta Allen area being the only permanent habitation. There is no electricity or wire phone service. Fuel generators are limited in use, the standard form of electricity is photovaultic, and wind generator. Surprisingly (for north Americans) this worked quite well. Cell phone is the only form of outside communication. The evenings are normally quiet (unless its Christmas Eve or New Years Eve) and everyone is asleep early and up early. This works out well because the sunrises watched from the beach, over the water are wonderful (understatement).
The road down Punt Allen starts in Tulum and can not always be completed to the end. We were never able to make it more than about ten kilometers, it just got too rough for our two-wheel drive van.
