I’m back from another tough morning on the beach, happy to report that the project has reached the Omni and should be at the Tri-Royals in a few days!  I took some photos today of the area behind the Ritz, Le Meridien, Cancun Palace and the Marriotts.  Stunning!  Yes, there is a “ledge” of sand near the sea, but it’s not insurmountable and hopefully it will even itself out soon.  Here are your pics….

Le Meridien Beach During Reconstruction (Dec. 22/2009)

Le Meridien Beach After (Dec. 29/2009)

Cancun Palace Beach Before (Dec. 22/2009)

Cancun Palace Beach After (Dec. 29/2009)

You can see the whole set of photos from today in our Cancun Beach Recovery Dec. 29 Flickr set.   Cancun Travel will continue to update, we’ll have new photos next week, stay tuned!

Why do tourists visit Cancun?  Some like the nightlife, some like the world class spas, some like to relax with a book and others prefer to explore and be adventurous.  The one thing that all visitors to Cancun have in common is a love for the beach.  The soft white sands of the Mexican Caribbean lure millions of visitors each year.  So what is Cancun to do when erosion starts to wash away it’s powdery shores?  They bring in the experts to restore the beaches to their former glory.

In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma devastated the resort towns in the state of Quintana Roo, not only destroying buildings, but washing away the beaches with her powerful force.  The government of Mexico spent millions of dollars to recover the beaches, but found that they quickly eroded when they did not follow through on a maintenance plan  After several years of planning and discussion, the new beach recovery project is underway in Cancun, this time with a ten year plan to maintain the beaches they are working so hard to rebuild.  The plan has faced controversy as environmental groups protest the dredging of sand from the delicate eco-system while the government insists that they are doing all they can to minimize the impact.

The beach recovery project officially began October 31st, 2009, with the first sands being pumped onto the shore behind the Sunset Hotel.  There are two large dredging ships, bringing 5000 cubic meters of sand from a deposit near Isla Mujeres to the shores of Cancun.  Smaller boats manipulate the large pipes that carry the sand from the ship to the shore and a small “panga” style boat controls a “fence” in the water to prevent the freshly blown sand from returning to sea.  On shore, construction equipment and a large crew move the sand into position, creating a new beach of about 80 meters (with the expectation that there will indeed be a small amount of erosion during the process, the goal is to have at least 50 meters of new beach).

The project will cover the length of the east side of the hotel zone of Cancun, with an estimated three months for completion.  Once the work in Cancun is complete, the crews will move to Isla Mujeres, then to Playa del Carmen and finally to Cozumel.

This morning I took a little trip to the hotel zone to see how things were progressing, have a peek at our Cancun beach recovery Flickr set and enjoy the views, the beaches are going to be spectacular!  Cancun Travel will continue to provide updated photos of the project over the next few months.  While we would love to be able to tell you when each hotel will be affected by the work, it’s just impossible, nobody knows for sure, but we’ll do our best to keep you posted with the information available to us.  Viva Cancun, Viva la Playa!

What are you looking for in a beach vacation in Cancun?  The best beach at the best price of course!  Hotetur Beach Paradise in Cancun and CancunTravel are pleased to offer you both.  Located at the southern end of Cancun’s hotel zone, the Hotetur Beach Paradise currently has one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in town.  Soft white sand stretching long and wide, perfect for walking hand in hand with your loved one or building castles with the kids.

The Hotetur Beach Paradise is a favourite destination for the budget conscious traveller.  The all inclusive plan includes all meals (buffet and a la carte options), snacks and all refreshments, sodas, water and alcoholic beverages.  The entertainment staff will keep you busy with a variety of activities, water sports including kayaks and sailboats, introductory scuba lessons in the pool and a kids’ club for the young ones.  Enjoy all that Cancun and the Riviera Maya has to offer, tours of Mayan ruins, snorkeling or scuba trips to the reef or visits to the eco parks of XelHa and Xcaret.  Hotetur Beach Paradise is your homebase for an excellent Mexican adventure.

Take advantage of our great deals right now, from only $51 USD per person per night and 2 kids under 12 are free!  This is a discount that cannot be beat, a chance for you to have the beach vacation of a lifetime without breaking the bank.  Plan to escape the coming cold days with your family, soak up some sunshine and let your worries fade away.  Contact CancunTravel and speak with our bilingual customer service representatives to make your reservation today!

North Beach                                         East Beach

Cancun’s beaches are formed by sand of calcareous origin, accounting for its white color, its fine texture and temperature, always cool regardless of the sun’s strong rays.

In Cancun, two beach zones can be distinguished: the first one located at north of the hotel zone, facing Isla Mujeres, protected by its location within the Bahia Mujeres bay. Due to this it has calm waves ideal for children and for to practice a lot of aquatic activities like jet skiing, water skiing, sailing and surfing, plus safe swimmig.

The other beach zone is located on the eastern side of the hotel zone, facing the Caribbean open sea. This is a spectacular beach with tiny white sands and waves which intensity varies according to the season. For your safety, hotel beaches and the marinas use colored warning flags. Before swimming, we suggest consider them. But the aea is ideal for relax, to socialize and to get a tan.

By other hand, bordered on one side by the vast Caribbean Sea and by extensive lagoons on the other, Cancun’s hotel zone is a paradise for aquatic activities. The numerous marinas offer from an entire day of fishing in the high seas to diving classes and deep-sea diving, including a visit to sharks’ caves or the zones inhabited by whale sharks and sting rays.

At western side of the Cancun hotel zone there is the Nichupte lagoon sourranded by a mangrove jungle that oferrs the unique experienc of the Joungle tour, Severals marines in the area give you to a water trip on jet ski or small boats inner the tunnels of vegetation where you can see the wild life of the area like birds, jellyfish or crocodiles and the “cenotes” characteristics of the Yucatan Peninsula.

From CancunTravel.com 2008