The Riviera Maya stretches on 200 km (124 miles) of beaches along the most beautiful ocean in the world. It is a true paradise for the amateurs of farniente: blue sky, turquoise water, fine white sand beaches and golden sun. In addition to these essential four elements, the shore has other unsuspected interests to discover and enjoy: the Mayan world first.
You can discover many vestiges, hidden in the tropical jungle. Their origin dates from the distant past, one or two thousand years ago. From these stones polished by the millenniums, emerge the soul of the Mayas. The descendants of these people, at the origin of the whole Meso-America civilization, are still living there. The Mayan World is also the world of the jungle, their natural habitat, thick tropical vegetation with a surprising variety of animal species. There is also the Sian Ka’an reserve the largest natural reserve in Mexico with an area of 530 000 ha.
And there is also the miracle of the « cenotes ». These small and big lakes, shimmering under the opulent foliage of the jungle, supplied by a large underground river net, are the hot spots for diving in caves. All level divers can enjoy the ocean, particularly the Arrecife Maya, the divers’ El Dorado. There is a long band of beaches and coves between the ocean and the jungle.
Finally, you can find all conveniences in the hotels, from the most luxurious to the smallest and charming one, the cabins and the cheapest palm roof « palapas ». This still wonderful region was named Riviera Maya because of the still living memory of the Mayas. There is a subtropical climate inland, with an average temperature of 26°C to 35°C (79 to 95°F) all year long. May and August are the hottest months with 35°C (95°F). You might experience strong rains and cyclones from August to October.
Puerto Morelos
Considered as the entrance of the Riviera Maya, Puerto Morelos is located 15 minutes south of the international airport of Cancun 36 km (20miles) north of Playa del Carmen. In this small fishermen village, still spared by mass tourism, you will find diverse sites to visit. There are many activities for families as well as for groups of friends such as the crocodile breeding Crococun, the botanical garden Yaax Che, the daily opened craft market among others.
The natural marine Park, « Reefs of Puerto Morelos » will allow you to discover a huge variety of multicolored tropical fish, dolphins and turtles, as well as wonderful coral-formations that often surprise the first time visitor. Many painters, writers and artisans as well as people from the whole world chose to settle in this Mexican hideaway and enjoy this wonderful setting. The beaches of Puerto Morelos are beautiful and the water is turquoise. This village is very pleasant.
Northern beaches – 10 km (6miles) north of Playa del Carmen
From the north of Playa del Carmen to Puerto Morelos, the coast uncoils a long cord of quiet beaches lined with palm trees : the « playas del Norte ». The jungle comes to the beach; clear water rivers flow to the sea, the Big Mayan Reef runs along the coast with numerous fish, coral temples and nice vegetation. In several places, you just have to snorkel to notice the amazing richness of the marine fauna and flora without getting far from the coast. The best spots to dive there are the reefs « Jardines » and « Pared Verde ». Sea turtles lay on the beach during the reproduction season. Sea pelicans fly and dive for food. If you are hungry, top end restaurants or simple « palapas » restaurants (thatched roofed terrace) offer local dishes, shrimps or tropical fish. For lodging, you will have the choice between all amenities hotels or bungalows or very simple cabins sometimes with all conveniences. A natural curiosity in this region is an underground river which rises to the surface.
Another place, is « Tres Rios », a beach bathed by three clear water rivers. It is possible to sleep out in the open, or more exactly under a “palapa » in a hammock. Xcalacoco proposes also camping sites. Kayaking, diving, contemplating the sea, relaxing, hiking, fishing and enjoying nature: these are the possibilities here. There are archaeological vestiges attest the ancient presence of the Mayas, big amateurs of water, swimming and nature.
Playa del Carmen
An enviable geographical location, large beaches, a sea paradise of divers: here is Playa del Carmen, key of Riviera Maya. The old fishermen village, a modest seaport for the ferry to Cozumel, after years of quiet life along the immutably blue sea, has been converted into an international sea resort able to welcome 400,000 tourists in high season. It is a lively place with every service a tourist expects. Playa del Carmen, « playa » for the regulars, Xaman Há in Maya, is located 52 km (32miles) from Cancun airport and from the Mayan city Tulum.
Playa del Carmen is an ideal base to share your time between the sea and the country: the surroundings offer many possibilities of excursions, walking or horse riding. You can also go further: bus tours leave the city to the whole Riviera Maya through Federal Road 307. There are also many beaches, coves and lagoons, as well as a wonderful coral reef, close by. At the north, Coco Beach is one of the nicest beaches in the area offering, less than 50m (164feet) from the coast, a coral reef. The best diving spots are « Tortuga » and « Barracuda » reefs. In Playa del Carmen, several diving centers offer beginners and advanced, equipment rental and scuba or snorkel expeditions. There is also an interesting golf course.
After a sunny day, Playa del Carmen offers a long stroll. Quinta Avenida, mainly walking street, is really busy with relaxing people. You can find any kind of lodging, from the most luxurious ones to the simplest, and restaurants that can suit all taste and purses in Playa del Carmen. There are also many beach clubs “in” with night activities, cafés and music bars. The avenues are parallel to the sea and the streets perpendicular. The other important axis is Avenue Juárez, perpendicular to the sea, lined with banks, traditional shops and cheap restaurants.
Playacar
Playacar is a few minutes driving south from Playa del Carmen. It is a pleasant resort whose architecture fits well with the beautiful setting. There are several hotel resorts, villas and condo complexes hidden among palm trees, a mall and several restaurants. It is a top end ensemble. Playacar offers also an 18 hole golf course, tennis courts, mountain bike rental, water ski, horse riding, etc. The site also comprises Mayan vestiges and the largest aviary in the area.
Xcaret
The vocation of the creators of Xcaret Park is to offer a dynamic panorama of the local life from the origins of the Mayan civilization to nowadays, combining information and entertainment. The park contains true discoveries for the most curious people. This is probably why Xcaret is very busy and popular with the local population.
Located by the sea and condensed around a lagoon, the site stretches on 75 ha (185 acres), 6 km (4 miles) from Playa del Carmen. It is accessible via the Federal Road 307.
For those who like this kind of entertainment and want to please their children, Xcaret is a good choice. You can have an idea of the life of the native people in an enchanting setting. In addition, this well respected center of ecological studies and preservation welcome many visitors interested in the Meso-American fauna and flora.
XCARET Eco-Archaeological site (south of Playa del Carmen)
Xcaret remembers its Pre-Hispanic past with the vestiges remaining in this ancient trade seaport Polé (from Maya « Pol », goods) whose origin dates from 200-600 A.D. Its development started only during the post-classical period from 1200 to 1550. In addition to being a trade seaport, Polé was, for a long time, the departure point for the pilgrims to Cozumel Island, spiritual Mayan center facing the port. The past revives in a museum where you can find a very informative panorama about the Meso-American Mayan era. There is also a replica of the daily Mayan life where you can easily recognize the roots of the Mexican actual life. Xcaret somewhat resembles an American water park, in which you enter through a butterfly pavilion. You can ride on the narrow river to the Caribbean Sea or swim with the dolphins and manatees.
The extraordinary butterfly pavilion or « mariposario » offers a wonderful show. Countless butterflies let you admire their delicate wings in an infinite range of colors. You can again find these colors in an aviary housing more than thirty species of birds. The botanical Garden is a true Eden for the lovers of tropical plants.
For those who prefer marine biology they can embark in the submersible « Snuba » for an undersea cruise allowing you to explore the coral reef along the Riviera Maya.
By night, from 7PM, the park vibrates to the rhythms of the « tunkules », the wooden Mayan drums; the fragrances of copal flutter in the air; they play the mythical game of Pok-Ta-Pok; dances and songs evocate the life of the ancestors and their descendants, the Mexicans of nowadays.
Xplor (4 miles south of Playa del Carmen)
New park next to XCARET, « beyond the surface ». Circuits with amphibious vehicles or swim through the stalactites and stalagmites landscape. Circuits with raft for 2 persons in the middle of fascinating grottoes and rock formations.
Same Call center than XCaret :
(998) 251 65 60 from Cancun, (984) 147 65 60 from Playa del Carmen, 01 800 212 89 51 from Mexico and 1 888 XCARET1 from USA/Canada : . Basic admission for a full day: USD100 for adults and 50% discount for children between 40 » and 55″ high (children must be at least 6 years old to enter the Park). 10% discount for reservations online, 3 days in advance. Credit cards accepted. Call center open from monday to friday 7:00AM to 7:00PM and from saturday to sunday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM.
Calica
Calica, located on the coast between Xcaret and Paamul, is the deepest port in Yucatán. This national and international port, leant against the Federal road 307, easily accessible, allows ships, yachts and ferries to dock. The main dock is 200 m (656 feet) wide and 500 m (1640 feet) long. North to the international maritime station, you will find the pier for the ferries running the route Calica-Cozumel-Puerto Venado.
Paamul
The gentle slope of the wonderful beaches was certainly a reason for Paamul to have been a target since ever. For the Mayas, these beaches offered an easy access for their boats that patrolled all along the Meso-American coast. Paamul was a trading relations center, a prerogative of Mayan elite. They exported products from Yucatán such as salt and honey, and imported cacao, jade, golden-green feathers of the quetzal and obsidian for jewelry and ritual knives. Nowadays, these beaches are very much enjoyed by the ones that prefer being away from the busy places, diving or practicing other sports. People are not the only ones to enjoy these quiet beaches: Between May and July, the turtles lay their eggs. It is a protected zone. Paamul is located between Puerto Aventuras and Xcaret. There are villas hidden in the middle of the palm trees, allowing a comfortable back to nature experience.
Puerto Aventuras
Built for demanding tourists, Puerto Aventuras is a top end hotel zone in a quiet place, with all conveniences. A marina accommodates many yachts. There are a lot of boutiques and restaurants with terraces offering wonderful views. You can access the nice fine sand beach, lined with coconut trees, through the vacation resort built a few years ago.
There, the waters are turquoise. You can take a boat ride for diving and taking under water pictures or sailing. It is possible to charter a boat by the hour or the day. In a pool, especially created, you can swim and play with dolphins and manatees.
The museum CEDAM will delight the amateurs of maritime history. It houses a collection of objects and souvenirs from boats grounded on the big coral reef.
The ocean bristles with fish, so sport fishing is very popular. An international fishing tournament is organized every spring. The fan of sailing can participate in regattas in May and June. There is a magnificent golf course in Puerto Aventuras. 2 km (1.2 mile) from the main road, you can swim and snorkel in the cenotes of Kantún Chi, open daily from 9AM to 5PM. The entrance fee is quite expensive: MXN$ 227 per adult and 50% discount for children under 12. The setting is quite nice.
Kantenah
The sky, the ocean and the sand as far as the eye can see: Kantenah exudes serenity. You come here for resting, and relaxing. The Arrecife Maya, the big Mayan Reef is close; the beaches are among the best in the world, with huge unforgettable marine horizons.
Aktun Chen
The Yucatán Peninsula was the most occupied part of the Meso-American Maya territory. It explicates why the Riviera Maya is full of history. You can find Mayan sacred ruins all along the coast as well as inland. We called them Sacred because the stone constructions were exclusively reserved to the religious buildings. These stone constructions were surrounded by houses made with perishable material and farming lands.
The city was the fundamental entity of the Mayan territorial organization. They were very populated. Cobá had about 50,000 inhabitants. This society was very well organized and mastered, among others, the astronomy, arithmetic, maritime navigation, architecture, and writing. They were also very religious. The polytheistic Mayan religion needed specific places to put in contact the sacred and underground space with the terrestrial world of the living. They used pyramidal temples and sacred tees to contact the celestial gods.
The cenotes were used to communicate with the divinities of « Xibalba », the underground world. In the whole Mayan territory, there is an underground river net that feeds many lakes called « cenotes ». This underground universe is usually accessible only to expert divers.
In Aktun Chen, you can take a guided tour to satisfy your curiosity.
Aktun Chen means « underground waters » in Mayan language. It is located inland 16 km (10 miles) from Tulum and 4 km (2.5 miles) from Akumal.
The main cave is 600m (1968 feet) long. When entering it, you discover a profusion of natural marvels, sculpted by the waters during millions years. Thousands of stalagmites and stalactites are slightly lighted by a light filtering the limestone. Thoroughly familiarize yourself with this mystical world to better understand why the Mayas picked this place to make offerings in order to protect themselves against the evil spells. Discoveries in the whole region attested that these places have been used since ever.
Aktun Chen is also an ecological site of 400 ha (9988 acres) where you can see spider monkeys, white tail deer and badgers. The park also houses a snake farm where you can observe cobras and five mouth vipers. The area was discovered while exploiting the “chicle” tree. The Mayas extracted the « chicle », latex produce used to link the stones. Nowadays, the chicle is used to produce chewing gum.
Akumal
It is not surprising that this group of wonderful bays closed by a coral reef is a favorite destination of fans of the marvels of nature. Akumal means “land of turtles” in Maya. Actually, during nesting time, some parts of the beaches are reserved to these specific priority renters, the sea turtles which come and dig nests in the warm sands. They picked these quiet beaches a long time ago, long before us ; so, please respect them and observe them from a distance. Respect the nature !
Another marvel in this astonishing place is the hidden world of the underground rivers, whose crystal clear waters gush out in the ocean making strange mixes of fresh and salt water. The clear waters can also be found in numerous cenotes scattered along the coast.
They are about two hundred in Akumal ; some of them are 150m (492 feet) deep. Experienced divers can explore the underground waters of the cenotes. These cenotes became a hot spot for diving.
Not far from there, 2 km (1.2 miles) north of Akumal, the Yalkú lagoon offers happy experiences to snorkelers. Here, mask and snorkel are enough to admire the extreme variety of underwater fauna and flora.
You can practice all kinds of water sports ; this is the dream place for kayaking.
Akumal is also a picturesque village, 37 km (23 miles) from Playa del Carmen where there are all kinds of lodging (hotels, villas, condos) and restaurants.
Chemuyil
The beaches of Chemuyil are nested in a nice bay. The green foliage of the jungle pours over the blond fine sand caressed by the immutably turquoise Sea of Antilles. The water is shallow here and very children friendly. They can enjoy swimming and beach games. The adults can relax. There are, in Chemuyil, a top end hotel, a very good seafood restaurant and some camping sites.
XEL-HÁ
XEL-HÁ is a natural aquatic park with Mayan vestiges located on both sides of Federal Road 307, 58 km (36 miles) fromPlaya del Carmen. In Yucatec, the Mayan language of Yucatán, XEL-HÁ means « where the waters were born ».
It is in a strange fascinating and beautiful region, where Chaac, Mayan divinity of the waters, is the unquestionable master of the place. The harbor of XEL-HÁ was set up during the first century. It was very well located, in a cove of the shore. It became, from 100 to 600 A.D, an important point in the huge Mayan maritime net. XEL-HÁ became a transit harbor for products such as salt, honey, dry fish, obsidian (volcanic glass) but also for slaves and prisoners of the wars which turned upside down the Mayan society.
Then the decline started and lasted until 1200 when the harbor got a new life and reinforced its defense with a bastioned wall. When the Spanish invaded the area, the trade navigation stopped and the city was abandoned. The first documents mentioning « Salamanca de Xala », meaning XEL-HÁ in Spanish, date from this time.
XEL-HÁ preserves many tracks from its past. The archaeological site which houses the vestiges comprises several zones. First, the Birds Zone, with very ancient frescos illustrating the astonish ornithological richness of the region; then the Zone of the harbor with constructions linked to the harbor activities and finally the Jaguar Zone, with a representation maybe consecrated to Kinieh-Ahau, God of Sun, who becomes a jaguar during the night.
There is also a « cenote », sacred lake inseparable from the Mayas’ life and contact place with the divinities. Many of the buildings and constructions are religious, even the « sacbé », 540m (1772 feet) long paved trail which attests a ceremonial use.
According to the legend, this aquatic paradise was created by the Mayan Gods, who conceived, with wisdom and love, the best place in the world with an iguana and a parrot-fish as guardians.
Open daily from 8AM to 5PM : MXN$37.
The Ecological Park, XEL-HÁ
Xel-Há looks more natural than Xcaret; it is organized around a giant lagoon in which fresh and salt waters mix. There are a 14 ha (35 acres) turquoise lagoon on 84 ha (208 acres) site, populated with many multicolored fish and a slow clear water river delimiting an enchanting setting in the middle of the jungle with a fascinating fauna. In this jungle, gushing out, here and there, underground rivers constituting mystical cenotes, very close to the Ocean… XEL-HÁ, where the waters were born, is the place where nature mixes up reality and magic.
A snorkel and a mask will allow you to enter an unforgettable aquatic world, a true celebration of colors. XEL-HÁ houses the largest lagoon in the Yucatán Peninsula and brings together, as in a nice giant natural aquarium, numerous and interesting species of the tropical aquatic fauna.
This large lagoon is lined with a tropical forest populated with wonderful birds and butterflies. Several cenotes, emerald water sinkholes, shimmer under the thick vegetation and often offer the opportunity of swimming in refreshing water.
You can experience walking or biking excursions in the surroundings. There is also a mini-train for the less brave.
XEL-HÁ is also an ecological park created by a group of men willing to favor the preservation and the studies of the regional nature. There is also a turtle reserve, a dolphin aquarium, a wonderful butterfly glass house, an orchid green house and colorful parrots. This is worth a visit. XEL-HÁ, where the waters were born, is an enchanting place containing archaeological and natural richness and offering a sublime show by night, helping you to understand Mayan history.
Following : See the chapter consecrated to Tulum and Cobá