Peso-Pinching in the Riviera Maya

Traveling on a budget? Try these inexpensive and fun activities:

• Take free salsa lessons Tuesday and Thursday at 7 PM at La Bodequita del Medio restaurant.
• Walk along the interpretive nature trail at the back of the parking lot of the Las Palapas hotel.
• Visit the Xaman-Ha ruins in Playacar, just south of the Playacar Palace hotel.
• Head to the beach and build a sandcastle in the shape of the great pyramid at Chichén Itzá.
• Get up early to watch the sun rise over the Caribbean. Some people like it even more than watching a sunset.
• Take advantage of the free appetizer/drink coupons offered by many restaurants along Quinta in Playa del Carmen.
• Stroll the park across from the municipal building and learn to count in Mayan from the educational displays.
• Grab your snorkel and take a dip in Manatee cenote, across from Blue Sky Resort in Tankah.
• Watch the fire dancers perform their nightly show on the beach of the Blue Parrot bar at 11 PM or at the next-door El Pirata bar at midnight.
• Join the locals for a street party in Cozumel, complete with live music, each Sunday evening in the town square.
• Looking for authentic Mexican food? Head to 30th Avenue in Playa del Carmen and eat with the locals. The stretch between 2nd Street and 14th Street is lined with many casual eateries with inexpensive tacos, seafood and more.
• Snorkel the protected cove at Akumal Bay and see moray eels, stingrays, and barracuda lurking in the shallows.