My wife and I and a few friends spent our vacation in Punta Allen at Posada Sirena, and after six days, it was very difficult to leave. The village is largely untouched by tourism, yet has everything that one needs to be comfortable, including great food and drinks on the beach and friendly, welcoming residents. At the Posada, guests stay in one of the rustic and comfortable cabanas scattered around Sirena's beautiful tropical garden. One can walk 3 minutes to the beach, spend a day fishing with a local guide, snorkel the reef, observe wildlife in the mangroves, explore the village, or simply enjoy the garden sanctuary. While relaxing under the palm and almond trees, spend some time getting acquainted with Sirena, a warm, helpful, outgoing person with fascinating experiences to share. And when the mood strikes you, walk over to the tortilla shop. Or to the bakery to pick up some warm French bread. The doughnut vendor often stops by the Posada on his bicycle in the afternoon, and it is not unusual for a village resident to visit Sirena's garden offering fresh-baked goods. The combination of tropical beach, great fishing, Mayan village culture, and Sirena's hospitality make this place truly special. I highly recommend Posada Sirena to anyone.

Punta Allen feels like the last place on earth - tiny and literally at the end of the road. It's the antithesis of Cancun and tourist-ridden Mayan Riveria to the north. Sirena's welcome is warm, her little hotel simple and comfortable. The electrical service is occasional and there's (happily) no TV or radio, but it's a great spot from which to go to the beach - across the road - birdwatch, snorkel, fish or just take in the quiet of this little Mayan town in the extraordinary Sian Ka'an Biosphere. We highly recommend a Punta Allen visit and Posada Sirena stay to those who want to escape from it all.

Staying at Posada Sirena in Punta Allen was the most amazing and fun experience of my life. Out of every vacation I've been on I've never found myself wanting to stay. Infact, I'm usually the one wanting to go home. Punta Allen was different though. I found myself wanting to stay. I loved it. I fell in love with Sirena, the simple lifestyle, the town, and everyone in Punta Allen. My brother, sister, and myself had a wonderful time swimming and making friends. My younger siblings were safe in Punta Allen and my parents were relaxed. And Sirena made the garden beautiful. Posada Sirena is perfect for a solo trip, to huge family vacations. I HIGHLY recommend Posada Sirena!

Our 10 day stay in Punta Allen was fantastic. I am loathe to say much because, selfishly, we don't want it to change. We avoid touristy spots and are a northwest hiking/camping family...so we prefer rustic stays close to nature. That is what we got. We stayed at Posada Sirena owned and operated by a charming woman who was dubbed Sirena "the Mermaid" somewhere along the course of her amazing, adventurous sailing life. She landed in Punta Allen and has made extended family of the townspeople there over the past 18 years. She provides a book of her adventures for reading pleasrure in each of her three delightful cabanas. We stayed in the larger with our family of seven and it was perfect for us...it was whimsically decorated with a feeling of Swiss Family Robinson, with shells and mermaids, hammocks and driftwood. Sirena is accomodating and kind. She had time to chat with each member of the family and sang songs with our four and five year old. Yet we never felt that we lacked privacy. I guess that is partly due to the fact that in her beautiful garden courtyard, with intermittent visitors from the village, and laid back chats in the hammocks under the almond tree, a feeling unfolds that we are all family anyway. It was extremely difficult to leave, especially hard for our 13 year old. This was the first vacation she has ever been on (and she has had some pretty fun adventures) that she did not want to go home. She actually cried most of the way back. She loved the people and the simplicity of life…I think she valued the openness and the security there. High tech municipal lifestyles (not to mention the trauma of junior high :-) are so full of sensory overload, duplicity and intrigue and I think she felt such relief being there. It was a great refresher course for our family about how little we need and how pleasurable simplicity is. We had a kitchen to prepare meals, warm showers and the most amazing bread delivered fresh from the little bakery everyday. What more could one ask for? All our kids had such a wonderful time with the other young people of Punta Allen and also, like my husband and I, felt a genuine connection with Sirena. As we flew home I pondered what it was that made the adventure so special…I think it was largely attributable to the softness and simplicity of Punta Allen but also to Sirenas transparency and vitality, her ability to integrate the vacation whims of travelers into the daily nuances of a tranquil village. The result? Magic. This clearly takes skill as hostess/businesswoman but more importantly willingness and a daring to be accessible as a person to those she lives with year round and those who are but minute punctuations in her life. Basically, if you want a real adventure, with real people, real nature real close, if you want to relax and rejuvenate this place is for you. Inexpensive, charming, fabulous pulpo y ajo at the restaurant near by...oh, it just plain rocks!