All Signs Point to Celestún, Yucatán’s Coastal Paradise

Taking a car from Mérida to the beaches of Celestún, Yucatán‘s coastal paradise, takes just 45 minutes. And if you haven’t as yet made the journey (it’s one of our favorite day trips!), well, maybe it’s time you did.

If you do tackle this short drive from Mérida to Celestún, you’ll open up a whole new world of adventure and unique experiences. How so? Well, for starters,  this once remote and quiet fishing village is famous for its pink feathered flamingos and other inhabitants of the Ría Celestun Biosphere Reserve. Not only that, there are plenty of great things to do along the way, such as popping into the village of  Tetiz, famous for its sunflower gardens,

 { Slideshow: Sights of Celestún }

 

For investors, snowbirds, and expats interested in beachfront living, Celestún is an increasingly viable alternative to the communities that connect to the peninsula’s largest city via the Mérida-Progreso highway.

 

Signs Point to Celestún, Yucatán

 

We took a tour of the area recently and found that Celestún, Yucatán’s coastal paradise, is indeed a getaway spot that’s increasingly becoming tourist- and expat-friendly. This is good, as an increasing number of residents depend on tourist dollars as the fishing industry continues to decline. And for now, hoteliers and merchants wish visitors would settle in, stay longer and spend more.

 

Yucatán Expat Life graphic

 

This beachy tourist town’s historic center has also started looking good, with fresh paint and new construction reinforcing its colonial heritage.

North of the cluster of restaurants and shops that mark Celestún’s quaint downtown, a tasteful, modern condo-hotel has opened, along with a number of other hotels and resorts, further evidence that things are happening in this charming fishing village on Yucatán’s Flamingo Route.

 

Celestún’s Wonderful Sunsets

 

Tourists from all over North America and Europe have been coming here for decades for Celestún’s remarkable beaches, waterways, mangrove forests, and its huge flocks of flamboyantly pink flamingos. Opportunities for middle-income consumers to live or invest here have remained relatively scarce, however.

That is changing.

 

 

Setting Celestún apart from other beachfront communities along the Gulf of Mexico is its position on the peninsula, where the coastline faces sunset views and avoids the stormy “el nortes” that north-facing beaches are vulnerable to.

The lagoon side of Celestún captures the sunrise, and its resident pink flamingos are your natural alarm clock.

 

 

We drove in from Mérida on impeccable roads, much of it highways built to encourage interaction between the city and its coastal cousin.

One of our guides, who lives and works on the coast, told us he and his family spend each Monday in Mérida for errands such as grocery shopping at the big box stores that don’t exist on the coast. The ride there and back is practically effortless.

Heading back to the city after an overnight stay, we were amazed to be transported so efficiently from our oasis of calm back to the bustling city. The fact that the big city and tiny village are connected by a 45-minute drive is proof that things are changing fast on the Flamingo Route.