The island of Cozumel is located off Mexico's eastern coast. Cozumel sits within the Caribbean Sea, south of Cancun and near Playa del Carmen on the mainland. Part of the Mexican Riviera Maya, tourists like to go to Cozumel primarily for the beaches and water recreation. The island experiences tropical weather and offers three cruise ship piers, including an international pier.
You can check our Riviera Maya packages https://sqngetaways.com/packages
Mayan Ruins
Cozumel holds several ancient Mayan ruins sites. San Gervasio is the largest site on the island and the shine of the goddess of fertility Ix Chel. The island contains 24 sites discovered thus far, including El Cedral and the coastal watchtower Castillo Real. Visitors may also join a larger tour including sites on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Beaches
The list of Cozumel's beaches is an impressive one for an island only 32 miles long and 9 miles wide. The beaches include Passion Island Beach, Playa Uvas, Playa Corona and Paradise Beach. According to the This is Cozumel website, San Francisco is a family beach, Palancar Beach is a quieter area and Playa San Martin offers unspoiled beauty on the eastern side of the island. Paradise Beach serves as an example of all of Cozumel's beaches, lined with coconut palms, featuring white sands and clear water. Paradise Beach also has a heated pool, restrooms and changing rooms.
Diving
A large number of coral reefs ring the island. The reefs are a part of the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park. Dives in the area range from 25 feet to 130 feet in depth, depending on the reef, and area dives range from beginner level to advanced. Dive shops and scuba instruction are available on the island. Businesses such as Aqua Safari offer specialty diving courses for night dives, deep and drift diving.
Natural Areas
Punta Sur Eco Park, a 2,700-acre reserve, allows visitors to snorkel Chunchacaab reef, enjoy a catamaran ride or kayak tour of Colombia lagoon and explore the Celarain lighthouse or the Mayan ruin El Caracol. The park brings visitors close to wildlife and tropical flowers. Punta Sur Beach has restrooms and showers for those who want to go swimming and sunning.

Parks
Cozumel's parks offer visitors a wide variety of activities in and out of the water. At Chankanaab Park, only 3 miles from the cruise ship terminals, guests can try water recreation such as snorkeling, scuba, snuba, sea trekking, parasailing, and kitesurfing. Guests also have the opportunity to swim with manatees, sea lions, and dolphins. The park offers hammocks, beach chairs, huts, restrooms and showers for those who want to relax on the beach
At Playa Mia Grand Beach Park, guests may learn to prepare Mexican cuisine; visit the shopping center for crafts, clothing, jewelry and beach supplies; snorkel, scuba dive, take a banana boat ride or enjoy an outdoor massage. The park offers beach games, a swimming pool and for kids, it contains puzzles and giant-sized games. Craft sessions, sand castle contests and Spanish language lessons are also available, the also rents lockers, towels and umbrellas for use on the nearly 500 feet of sandy beach.
So choose your dates, book your stay at https://sqngetaways.com/packages, book your flights and get ready to have the most incredible Beach Geatway.
It is the month of February and love is in the air. Cupid is soaring in the Puerto Peñasco winds, with his shiny bow and arrow ready to pull the arrow tight and let it fly. Who knows where it will strike or when or whom? Usually when love strikes, it happens fast, in a blink of an eye. Bam, you're hit. And as some may know, especially if you're in love, trying to be in love or looking for love, the right atmosphere or activity can make a difference. So, peruse this list and try one or all of the ideas with that special someone and just see if the arrows don’t come flying!
1. Buy a Love Song from a Mariachi for your sweetheart. This one can really work well if you plan ahead. In the majority of the restaurants in town and in Old Port area they have various groups of traveling mariachis’. Excuse yourself, go to the banos and ask one to come over and play a love song when you get back to the table. I recommend “Besame Mucho.”
2. Romantic Picnic for Two. Take a Mexican blanket, a picnic basket, some beverages and go sit on the beach. Surprise is a romantic factor. Just pick them up and leave the activity and destination a secret.
3. Get a special getaway. Just cozy up to your sweetheart in a hot tub looking at the ocean and make it a special night or weekend. Believe it or not, with SQN Getaways you can enjoy a private terrace with plunge pool, one bedroom with a king-size bed, and one bathroom with Jacuzzi tub, check our getaway deals in www.sqngetaways.com or call 877-278-2142
4. Go Horseback riding on the beach. There are several local businesses that have horses for rent. It is very romantic to take a horseback ride on the beach with the one you love.

5. Go to Happy Hour at La Casa Del Capitan restaurant at Sunset. El Capitan is on the high peak overlooking the Malecon, Old Port and the Sea of Cortez. The views are beautiful and very romantic; you can also spend time next door at the Lighthouse Restaurant where they have live jazz music and spectacular views.
6. Be on the water at sunset. Rent a kayak, boat or take a Sunset Cruise. Puerto Peñasco offers both kayak rentals and boat rentals. If you are looking for the private tour and know how to drive a boat or use a kayak that is a good option and can be quite romantic. However, if you would rather sit back and let someone else drive try one of the various Sunset Cruises.
7. Couple massage for two. There are several massage therapists in Puerto Peñasco who can arrange to come to your room for a more private setting.
8. Sunrise Special in Cholla Bay. Make an early date to wake up one morning 30 minutes before sunrise. Wrapped in a big oversized blanket together is a great way to make a day romantic. A remarkable place is over in Cholla Bay where you can actually see the sunrise from the water. Depending on the tide, you can also walk out on the sand and look for washed up sand dollars. Afterwards, you can stroll to Xochitl’s Café and have an impressive Mexican breakfast.
9. Go Parking on a deserted beach. Puerto Peñasco is fortunate to have deserted beaches within a short drive. Many you can walk for miles with no one around and also pick up some good shells. The rest is up to you.
10. Go to the Malecon on a Sunday night and sit on a bench in front of the Colossal Shrimp Statue. Sunday night in Mexico is family night. It is a wonderful evening that friends and family use to spend time with each other and their significant others. When the fiery red ball drops into the ocean and a red glow is everywhere, somehow all seems warm and right with the world, love is abundant.
You’ve heard “Virginia is for Lovers”? Well, “Puerto Peñasco is for Lovers,” and this is just a few of the romantic things to do in Peñasco. Mucho Amore.
Summertime is just a few weeks away, which means family vacations are likely on the brain.
The idea of planning a vacation with kids in tow can be intimidating. Sure, the actual vacation is supposed to be relaxing (or as relaxing as a vacation with kids can be!), but getting to that point can be a maze of hotel recommendations, travel blogs, flight seat selections and more.
So we have some vacation planning tips so you can get that trip booked with ease. From flight hacks to safety recommendations, here’s what they shared.
Plus we gather the best hotel deals in beach luxury resorts with amazing kids clubs
Google is a helpful resource when planning a vacation, but if you’re at the beginning of your planning process, try to resist the temptation to hop on with your searches.
If you start with Google, it’s the paradox of choice.There’s so much out there and you just don’t even know what you’re looking for.
Instead have a family meeting to learn how far everyone wants to go, what activities they’d like to do, their thoughts about hanging out on beaches vs. exploring local villages, and so on. Then, let Google help you arrange tours and plan other activities.
Also, knowing when you want to go can sometimes help you put together a list.
Certain places and activities will be more accessible at different times of the year, so once you know exactly when and how long you want the trip to be, the choices can be narrowed down a bit.
Of course, school vacation means peak travel times. Planning ahead can help you and your family avoid higher prices, sold-out tours and the headache that comes after learning there aren’t enough seats together on a flight.
If you have young children who are not in school and have flexibility with dates, it is best to travel at non-peak times. For example, the first week of January after the New Year offers lower pricing than staying over the holiday week,.
Having plenty of advance notice of a trip will also allow you to send important supplies (like diapers, baby products, sunscreen, etc.) to your vacation spot before you leave. Many hotels will happily arrange for this. Plus, sending these things leaves room in your luggage for other belongings.

If you give the hotel information and tell them about yourselves and about your family, everything can be set up for you.
As an example, ask for turndown service at a different time if you know your toddler will be sleeping, bring a notecard with you about the restrictions that are in the local language and give it to them so they can tailor to your needs.
If your kids have sensory difficulties call hotels ahead of time to ask whether the housekeeping team incorporates any strong smells as part of the room ambience.
Resist the temptation to plan several tours or activities a day, leave some time in the day to rest, you should always factor in travel time and wait times when scheduling excursions and other fun things.
Of course, the trip planning doesn’t end after the hotel and mode of transportation are booked, plan on bringing “a handful of small gifts in wrapping paper” to keep kids occupied.
Another idea that’s a bit out of the ordinary? Bring blue painter’s tape to distract the kids, blue painter’s tape works wonders on planes, it’s cheap, easy, and it doesn’t ruin any surfaces!”
If you’re looking for something that keeps kids occupied and requires no extra belongings, make the plane ride part of the adventure and talk to the kids about the trip while traveling. It’ll keep them busy and get them excited about the vacation.
And if you’re traveling internationally, don’t forget to check everyone’s passports, not just your own. Remember that children’s passports expire every five years (vs. 10 years for adults), so be sure those are up to date, the expiration date on passports must be valid at least six months beyond your date of travel [for some countries].
Planning trips can be stressful, but the research pays off.
It might be a little extra work on the ground before you go, but at the same time once you’re there it’ll allow you to fully enjoy and appreciate the vacation instead of having to be concerned about it when you’re there.
And if you are feeling overwhelmed or spotting too many restrictions on your family’s needs at a certain destination, simply go somewhere else.
Via: Huffpost
Mexican food has some of the most well-known and loved dishes in the world. Mexican cuisine varies by region due to local climate and geography amongst other things.
This time we will take a culinary tour in the Banderas Bay area.
Vallarta is actually an important culinary destination in itself. A mix of international chefs, discerning gourmands that have made the city their hometown, a long-running gourmet festival, the local Mexican food traditions, that are centuries old plus quality ingredients from sea and land combine into great food, great prices and an ever-expanding list of options.
In here seafood is a favorite, plus the local dishes are very interesting for the newcomers too, these include dishes that are part of Jalisco's traditions (the state in which Vallarta is located), especially from Guadalajara, the state capital.
1.Pescado or Camarón embarazado
One of the local dishes that best represents what is typical in the town is "fish or shrimp embarazado", that is, pregnant fish/shrimp... sounds weird? It's mostly the name that is, it's actually a linguistic deformation of "pescado en vara asado", that is fish roasted on a stick.
This delicious local food is prepared by grilling fish or shrimp marinated in lime over coals, then served with Huichol salsa. The fish itself can be school shark (cazón) or marlin, another variant is to use shrimp instead of fish.
2.Birria
The main ingredients of this dish include goat or lamb meat, boiled in a spicy sauce that includes cumin, oregano, and ginger. It's served with lime (they call it lemon here), onions and the inseparable tortillas
3.Pozole
The most famous dish and the favorite of almost all Mexican is "Pozole" that has different incarnations around Mexico, in Jalisco and Vallarta it's a tasty broth that includes as main ingredients pork or chicken meat, seasoned with chili and includes a special popped corn. Once served you eat it with lettuce, radishes, and tostadas (sun-dried tortillas) y can be red or white, depending on the ingredients used for the soup.
4.Tamales
A Mexican favorite, that you'll also enjoy in Puerto Vallarta is the "tamal" (plural: tamales), these are actually an American dish that you'll find in local variants from Mexico all the way to Patagonia. The local version is prepared with white corn dough that is filled in the middle with either salty or sweet options, the most popular are green tomatoes with meat or red tomatoes with meat, all include chili pepper in greater o lesser amount, ask before eating, some have a sweet pineapple filling, kids like these a lot and they DO NOT include chili. The dough is then wrapped in corn leaves and steamed, yummy, give them a try!
5.Tortas ahogadas
We can't forget the famous "Tortas Ahogadas" (can be translated as "drowned sandwiches"), a very typical local dish. In Guadalajara, there's a saying that "you've not been to Guadalajara unless you've eaten tortas ahogadas", so you're expected and "forced" to try them. These sandwiches are made with a special local white bread called "birote" (the story behind the name is that a Frenchman whose last name was Birot, in the XIX century tried to make baguettes in Guadalajara and ended up inventing the birote) that is then stuffed with pork meat in pieces (some variations include shrimp and other fillings) and then covered with a generous amount of spicy chili and tomato sauce (that's when they are "drowned"...), many places offer a variety of sauces from "pica poquito" to stronger options.