EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Right at the tip of the peninsula, with a lighthouse guarding the northern entrance to the Bahía de la Ascensión , the Maya lobster-fishing village of PUNTA ALLEN is not a place you'd stumble across by accident. Some tourists from Cancún do get down this far in rented cars, but if you've only got one day virtually all you can do is turn around and head back.

Despite having a population of just four hundred, Punta Allen is the largest village within the reserve and is a focus of initiatives by both government departments and nongovernmental organizations promoting sustainable development. During the summer, Earthwatch volunteers come here to assist scientists gathering data.

Entering the village, past the tiny naval station on the right and beached fishing boats on the left, you come to the first of the accommodation options: the Curzan Guest House (tel 9/834-0358, fax 834-0383; US$25-40), with tall conical cabañas and tepees, some with hot water. There's a bar and restaurant with information about the reserve, though you'll need to book meals if you're not staying there. On the beach, the Let It Be Inn ( www.letitbeinn.com ; US$60-80) has three cabañas with private bath and a separate large thatched cabaña with a self-catering kitchen and dining room. Chen Chomac Resort (tel 9/877-8678; US$60-80), a few kilometres north of the village, has some comfortable, modern thatched cabañas on the beach.

There's a long-distance phone (tel 9/871-2424) in the village shop which also serves the community - if you need to contact someone in Punta Allen this is the number to call. A couple of small restaurants , the Punta Allen and the Candy , serve food. A mobile shop travels the length of the peninsula on Thursdays and Saturdays, selling meat, bread, fruit and vegetables, reaching Punta Allen about 2pm; useful if you're camping. Although there's no dive shop, the hotels generally have some form of water-sports equipment for their guests and may let nonresidents rent it. Fishermen can be persuaded to take you out into the reserve for a fee; they also go across the bay to the even tinier village of Vigia Chico , on the mainland. Victor Barrera is a recommended local guide who takes people flat fishing and organizes ecotours (tel 9/871-2424, www.siankaanflats.com ).