Punta Allen, Quintana Roo, MX
One detail that makes it interesting is that it is very far from light pollution: being a village within a natural reserve, there is no great infrastructure of buildings or hotel complexes, that is, it is extremely rustic and has not been touched by tourism corporation at all.
But the real advantage is this: the village has an electricity plant that is activated in short periods of the day, and at night they turn it off, and in doing so reveal the whole starry sky.
How to get there
The town is 54.7 km from Tulum in the direction of Boca Paila. There is only one dirt road to get there. Getting ready to go, we were advised to leave extremely early because we were told that the road was in terrible condition to such an extent that it could take more than 3 hours to travel that stretch from Tulum. They told us that we would have to take a jeep to get there.
However, that is a thing of the past. The road is still dirt and has some huge potholes but it is possible to go trough it during the day in 40 minutes. Any common car can drive on it because they've made repairs. There is no public transportation that can get there so it is necessary to rent or bring your own car.
The village
In the same way, we had been recommended to bring food and even extra gasoline because the place was in the middle of nowhere. I repeat, this is a thing of the past. It is still a fishing village but they have a well-stocked grocery store and even two or three places where you can eat local homemade food, which is very good. As for the gasoline, although it is not so necessary, it is better to take an extra load because there are no gas stations nearby.
As for accommodation, there are villas where you can sleep well. They are not luxurious but they are comfortable and have all the services.
Outside the subject of astrophotography, Punta Allen offers another advantage: there are tours to parts of the reserve where they take you for a ride and get to know the paradisiacal sea with its different shades of blue. It is possible to observe dolphins, turtles, manta rays and many other marine fauna; as well as to dive in a reef.
The place for observation
We've come to the point where we're interested. The place is a small piece of land next to the beach. It is a special point 5 kilometers from the village where there is no light pollution. This makes it advantageous because it is not necessary to bring any camping equipment; however it is possible to stay there.
El lugar se encuentra a 5 km (aprox) saliendo del pueblo
Disadvantages
Since it is close to the beach the disadvantages are humidity and wind: they make airs not so light so the ideal is to take some kind of structure to protect the mounts from this wind as well as the cameras.
Conclusion
Highly recommended place for holidays and to practice astrophotography. Do not forget to take into consideration the weather conditions such as wind and humidity.
Links
Air B&B Top 20 Punta Allen Vacation Rentals
Villas Roseliz Punta Allen
Punta Allen
