Further to my last blog on traveling to the Riviera Maya during summertime, here’s why hurricane season shouldn’t scare you off from the chance to refresh your soul in the majestic Riviera Maya in the Caribbean!

So YES we are traveling to the Riviera Maya (Playa del Carmen) at the end of June and NO we aren’t worried about encountering a hurricane, despite the fact that June marks the official start of hurricane season on the eastern Caribbean coast.

While the word hurricane may strike fear in your heart, the reality is the chance that a hurricane will hit during your vacation is extremely low. Cancun has only been hit by two major hurricanes: Gilbert on September 15, 1988 and Wilma on October 21, 2005 and they were 17 years apart! The reality is a vast majority of hurricanes do not make landfall.  Certainly, it’s safe to say that the Riviera Maya is generally less impacted by hurricanes when compared with some Caribbean destinations.

Overall the predictions for hurricanes in this region are forecast to be relatively tame. Forecasters seem to agree mostly that there is a probability of 12 named storms and out of the 12 named storms – seven possibly will develop into hurricanes.

The outlook for a milder 2012 season was based on two main factors. Hurricanes thrive on warm water and the tropical Atlantic has cooled this year according to researchers. Further they believe there is also a “fairly high” likelihood that an El Nino effect will develop this summer. El Nino is a warming of surface waters in the tropical Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years and has far-ranging effects around the globe. It creates wind shear that makes it harder for nascent storms to grow into hurricanes in the Atlantic-Caribbean basin. (The Atlantic Caribbean basin includes Cancun, Playa del Carmen, The Riviera Maya, Tulum, Costa Maya and of course the Islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres)

And think about this, a tornado can develop with little warning, while hurricane alerts or warning are predicted up to almost a week in advance which gives people plenty of notice to prepare or leave their homes if necessary. This should ease your mind as a traveler, with this kind of notice it is easy to avoid danger and prepare for any event.

So, should you travel to the Riviera Maya during hurricane season?

ABSOLUTELY!!! Hurricane Smurricane! Think about it, bargains abound during the summer season and 99.9% of people who book during this time have fantastic vacations unhampered by serious weather.  And while it’s HOT, the perfect way to cool off is a dip in the crystallized blue waters of the Caribbean Sea or a dip in the pool which many of Playa Condos and Villas have!

You’ve worked hard all year, school’s out and the pencils are down and it’s time to enjoy that well-deserved vacation (ahem, yes I deserve it too!) So if you want someplace with perfect weather, perfect beaches, crystal-clear ocean waters and plenty of opportunities for adventure (and a lush rainforest doesn’t hurt) then dust off your passport and head to the spectacular Riviera Maya!

“PLAYA Gal” (a very satisfied client working to promote Playa Beach Getaways!) 

 salgal@playabeachcondo.com ~~~ PS Catch us on Facebook & Pinterest