Rio Lagartos is located on the North coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.  Located 2 ½ hours from Playa del Carmen and 1 ½ hrs from Chichen Itza, this area is nature at its best. In 1979, Mexico established the Rio Lagartos Bio-Reserve which protects nearly 150,000 acres of beach, mangroves and forest.

Rio Lagartos, which is internationally famous for the 30,000 pink flamingos that come to the area between January and September for reproduction. It is also the home of the Sea Turtle that visits the beaches between June and August to lay their eggs in the sand.  Expect to see 800-1500 nests along the beaches.

With more than 360 different birds visiting Rio Lagartos, it is also a fantastic place for bird watching.  In addition to the diverse wildlife, you will find a tropical forest full of Royal palms, coconut plantations and majestic Ceiba trees, the national tree of Yucatan. Rio Lagartos National Park is considered a true jewel for lovers of peace and nature…far away from telephones, pagers, and computers.

Ask us for details on this day trip.

For the full article http://www.petergreenberg.com/ on June 23, 2011 7:15 am

Is it safe to travel to Mexico? How can you reconcile the great travel deals with the reports of drug violence?

Robert Reid, U.S. travel editor for Lonely Planet, and Peter get to the bottom of the recent State Department alert and other troubling news reports.

Peter Greenberg: We’ve done the radio show from Mexico four or five times this year. I don’t need you to convince me that it’s a cool place to go. But, in light of the statistics that people see in the press, what do you think?

Robert Reid: “Should I go to Mexico?” is the question I have been asked the most in the last couple years. There’s swine flu; there’s reports about the drug war; there’s new and expanded warnings from the State Department. I always say, if you plan carefully and pick where you’re going, you actually can go.

The State Department came out with a new travel warning to Mexico in late April. Seventeen out of 30 states in Mexico are not included on it. Not included are the places people usually go like Quintana Roo, the Yucatán State, the Southern part of Baja where all the beaches are, Mayan ruins and the colonial towns around Mexico City like San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. Locals as well as travelers tell me it feels the same there. The reports of the drug war feel as distant there as they do here. Plus, there are a lot of deals as a result of some of these news reports. Prices are going down.

Ideas for Mexico travel: Mexico & Central America Travel section

PG: When you have all these states on a travel warning or travel advisory for the State Department, it does send a negative message to most travelers, who probably don’t know where these states are located.

RR: Absolutely, I understand that. If someone is not comfortable, they shouldn’t go. First, you need to consider that Mexico is about the size of Western Europe. There’s an area that’s bigger than Britain and Ireland that is not on the travel warnings. And there are other smaller areas outside the warning as well.

Second, look at the results of some of the crime reports. The Washington Post had an article last year that the homicide rate in our nation’s capital is four times greater than Mexico City. A lot of people won’t go to Mexico City because of pollution and crime. The crime rate has gotten a lot lower. It’s cleaned itself up. The bicentennial for the Mexican revolution a couple of years ago really cleaned up the capital.

My message is always the same: Make sure you have the full picture, the 360-degree-picture, before you make a decision. There are a lot of good things to be had in Mexico if you do choose to go.

For example, Mérida is a great Mayan town near Mayan ruins in the Yucatán that had fewer nuisances with drugs last year than Wichita, Kansas. I fear that we perceive Mexico through a keyhole of the worst common denominator. No doubt, it’s a grizzly image, but it’s not the full picture.

PG: Isn’t it ironic that we’re talking about crime and murder in Mexico and I’ve spent so much of the year enjoying the ocean, the beaches and the beautiful sunsets in Mexico? Where have you been?

RR: I’m in Newark, New Jersey.

PG: Ladies and gentleman, I rest my case.

By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com.