Experience the best of Punta Sam

Punta Sam lies on the mainland coast of Quintana Roo, north of Cancún, facing the island of Isla Mujeres across a narrow channel. It is the point where the car ferry to the island leaves, and a small community has grown around the terminal. The coast here is low and flat, with Caribbean beaches in front and scrubby tropical forest and mangrove behind.

Isla Mujeres, a narrow island about seven kilometres long, has calm beaches, a lighthouse at its southern tip and snorkelling reefs, and a sculpture park lies underwater between the island and Cancún. The Mesoamerican Reef, one of the longest barrier reefs in the world, runs offshore along the coast. Tulum and its cliff-top Maya ruins, and Chichén Itzá inland, lie within a day's drive.

Fresh fish is the local food, grilled whole in achiote paste as tikin xic, or served as ceviche, with shrimp tacos, lobster in season and limes squeezed over everything. Whale sharks gather off the coast in the summer months. The weather is hot and humid, with a dry season from December to April and a rainy season, and sometimes hurricanes, from June to November.