The multihued waters, which extend like fingers into the surrounding forest teem with colorful fish and invite the visitor into the warm waters. Unfortunately, the volume of visitors to this fine place is overwhelming for its size and take away from the beauty of Xelha. If you have some time while passing Puerto Morelos be sure to stop at two places. They contain the last stand of old growth tropical forest on the northeast coast and several interpretive trails have markers identifying the common trees and medicinal shrubs of Yucatan. More interesting to most are the many wild animals attracted to the park by virtue of the ban on hunting there.
Monkeys swing from tree to tree and land mammals like deer, coatimundis and agoutis scamper around.
The last time I visited a guard showed me where a jaguar had jumped over a chain-link fence and eaten a deer the night before. One is never far from the wilderness on the east coast. There are lots of beach towns between Tulum and Cancun, but they get quite touristy and crowded. Many expensive and moderately priced beach resort hotels line the beach for miles south of the ruins of Tulum. Cheap hotels can be found in Playa del Carmen and some smaller beach towns like Puerto Morelos.