Quintana Roo, Mexico

Quintana Roo is easily the most tourist-oriented state in Mexico, with the sandy beaches of Cancun, the resort island of Cozumel, the ruins of Tulum, and the energetic beach town of Playa del Carmen. I went with Kyana, one of my flight attendant friends. We stayed in a Couchsurfing host's home in Cancun. We walked around Cancun a bit, but it is mostly oriented towards the resorts and people staying therein, so we ended up using Cancun more as a jumping-off point to visit other areas.

It is easy to get transportation from Cancun to Playa del Carmen, so we went and spent a day there. There were a lot of good restaurants which were more tourist-oriented and lovely blue beaches. We saw the dancers which swing from a pole in a coordinated dance, which was really interesting as well. From Playa del Carmen, we hopped in a random van with some strangers (please never do this) to visit the ruins overlooking the beach in Tulum. If I ever get another opportunity to go back, I would love to visit the city of Tulum as well.

On our last full day in Cancun, we took a boat with our Couchsurfing host and his girlfriend to see Isla Mujeres. It was a very chill beach town with good quality food and lovely beaches that were more local-oriented. It was a very relaxing day and a good way to end the trip.