Other than that, just take the normal safety precautions that you would anywhere—which really boils down to: Don't drink too many margaritas!

_______________________

Minneapolis, Minn.: 3 friends and I, all women in our early forties, are going to Akumal, Mexico for a week on January 24. We are flying from Minneapolis to Cancun. One burning question is whether we should rent a car or rely on public transportation. The second query is recommendations for markets, restaurants and activities in the vicinity of Akumal that are not to be missed. Of course we will check out the cenotes and go to Tulum. What else? Thank you! Julia

Zora O'Neill: Whether you want a car will depend on just how much you're interested in seeing outside of Akumal. If you're planning on going to Chichen Itza or some of the other inland ruins (maybe Coba, which is neat because it's still partially unexcavated), then I'd definitely get a car for that day. But if you'll just be staying on the coast, then you can rely on buses and colectivos, which are the white shared passenger vans that run between Playa and Cancun and Tulum. Basically, you can walk out to the highway and flag down any colectivo or second-class bus—if it has room, it will stop for you.

And you may have ambitious plans for your vacation now, but I'm sure once you get there and see the beach, your to-do list will instantly get a lot shorter. If I were you, I'd either make a rental reservation now for a couple of days when you might go sightseeing, or just wait till you're down there and make the reservation. (You'll always get a better deal booking online with an international agency, rather than walking in off the street. And you can often make online reservations just a few hours before you need the car. Double-check what insurance you get from your credit card before you go.)

As for restaurants: I could go on for hours! You should definitely get some shrimp tacos: there's a place called Urge Taquitos in Tulum, on the highway just north of the turn for the beach, and there's another called La Floresta on the highway in Playa del Carmen. For nice, almost-gourmet Mexican food, there's a great little place called Cetli in Tulum—it's one block west (inland) of the main street, about midway through town. The chef-owner is a woman who trained in Mexico City and she is just lovely. Cetli is open for breakfast and dinner—no lunch. Akumal, as I remember, has a couple of good cafes (I'm sorry—I don't visit Akumal much because it's mostly rental houses!), and you can easily spend an afternoon and evening in Playa del Carmen, where there are lots of great restaurants and bars.

The best local market is in Cancun—if you happen to have a few hours there, go to Mercado 23 (not 28), which is just a few blocks north of the bus station downtown. But you could also go to the Jungle Market in Puerto Morelos—it's every Sunday during high season, on the far edge of the inland side of town. It's a really fun get-together of local Maya women selling crafts and food—sure, geared to tourists, but very low-key, and lots of fun. To get there from the highway, get a cab and tell the driver "Calle Dos en la colonia"—most of them now know the place just by the English name, Jungle Market.

And other activities: Yal-Ku Lagoon in Akumal is an amazing place to snorkel, so definitely try that. You can also snorkel at Paamul, just south of Playa del Carmen—the restaurant there has good food, too.

And you're right—don't miss the cenotes! If you have the energy for it, visiting some of the cenotes by bicycle is a great way to go: Hugo at Iguana Bikes in Tulum runs tours. You can reach him at 011-52-984-871-2357, hugo_bike@hotmail.com, or eventually through the website iguanabike.com (it's not up quite yet).

_______________________

Rumson, N.J.: Is there any good Mexican food on the Cancun hotel strip, especially near the old Convention Center?

Zora O'Neill: There sure is! A lot of people think Cancun's hotel zone is a for-tourists-only kind of place, but in fact, there's some great food here that's really popular with locals too. Definitely look for El Fish Fritanga, a cute little seafood place on the lagoon side around Km 12.5 on Paseo Kukulcan—actually, look for the Domino's Pizza sign, as that's more prominent. You go down the stairs behind the Domino's, and there's a cool little bar and sandy beach. The place is open only till about 7pm, though.