Isla Mujeres
Once you reach Playa Norte, the island’s main beach, you won’t want to leave. Its warm, shallow waters are the color of blue raspberry syrup and the beach…
Must-see attractions in Yucatán Peninsula
Costa Maya & Southern Caribbean Coast
This archaeological site sits on a jungle-backed grassy area. The ruins, dating from both the late pre-Classic (AD 100–200) and the early Classic (AD 300…
Riviera Maya
Between the Chemuyil and Xel-Há exits is a tiny sign on the east side of the highway marking the short dirt road that leads to the two arching bays Xcacel…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
The Governor’s Palace, with its magnificent facade nearly 100m long, is arguably the most impressive structure at Uxmal. The buildings have walls filled…
Riviera Maya
Punta Laguna is a fair-sized lake with a small Maya community nearby, 20km northeast of Cobá on the road to Nuevo Xcan. Thus far, it's remained relatively…
Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul
Calakmul
Lying at the heart of the vast, untrammeled Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul (which covers close to 15% of the state’s total territory), the magnificent…
Cobá
The temple at Grupo de las Pinturas (Paintings Group) bears traces of glyphs and frescoes above its door and remnants of richly colored plaster inside…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
Sotuta de Peón, 32km south of Mérida, is the only working henequén hacienda in the world. Jump aboard a horse and cart and view the henequén process from…
Calakmul
Climbing the enormous Estructura II, at the south side of the Gran Plaza, is a must. Each of this pyramid’s sides is 140m long, giving it a footprint of…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
As you approach Uxmal, the Casa del Adivino comes into view. This 35m-high temple (the name translates as ‘Magician’s House’) was built in an unusual oval…
Costa Maya & Southern Caribbean Coast
Part of Dzibanché (ticket price includes entry to both), but well removed from the main site, Kinich-Ná consists of one building. But what a building: the…
Costa Maya & Southern Caribbean Coast
Housed in an 18th-century building and with a passionate director, this small museum does a fine job of detailing the more than four centuries of…
Jardín Botánico Dr Alfredo Barrera Marín
Puerto Morelos
One of the largest botanical gardens in Mexico, this 65-hectare reserve has about 2km of trails and sections dedicated to epiphytes (orchids and…
Campeche State
Though less excavated than Edzná, Uxmal or Calakmul, Santa Rosa Xtampak is considered to be the largest and most important site in the Chenes region, and…
Chichén Itzá
East of the Nunnery, the Puuc-style Akab-Dzib is thought by some archaeologists to be the most ancient structure excavated here. The central chambers date…
Tulum
On the south side above the main doorway you'll see a lovely stucco frieze of the Descending God, also referred to as the Diving God. The upside-down,…
Isla Cozumel
Local and international artists backed by the PangeaSeed foundation created 36 large-scale public murals in 2015 to raise awareness about ocean…
Puerto Morelos
About 23km south of the Cancún airport, this former crocodile farm now calls itself a conservationist zoo that protects some of the area's endangered…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
Uxmal, pronounced oosh-mahl, is an extremely impressive set of ruins, easily ranking among the top Maya archaeological sites alongside Chichén Itzá and…
Campeche State
At sundown every evening some two to three million bats swirl up from the depths of a dry cenote, forming a tornado of fur and wings that's a surreal…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
The 30m-high, nine-tiered pyramid has been restored only on its northern side. Archaeologists theorize that the quadrangle at its summit was largely…
Mérida
This living history house gives you a sense of the splendor and grandeur of the 'Oro Verde' (Green Gold) henequén era. The only original house of its kind…
Playa del Carmen
Emerald Point has become a favorite beach among Playa del Carmen locals, set on the northern edge of the city. Here, a shallow cenote provides a calm…
Cobá
Grupo Macanxoc is notable for its numerous restored stelae, some of which are believed to depict reliefs of royal women who are thought to have come from…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
From the Ek’ Balam parking lot you can visit the X'Canché Cenote. From the entrance it's a 1.5km walk, or you can rent a bicycle (M$120) or pedicab (M$150…
Cobá
An impressive ball court, one of several in the ruins. Don't miss the relief of a jaguar and the skull-like carving in the center of the court.
Cobá
Here you can see an exquisitely carved stela (AD 730) depicting a ruler standing imperiously over two captives.
Cancún
This avenue one block east of Avenida Tulum has emerged as one of the Centro's top restaurant and bar zones.
Isla Holbox
On the western edge of the island, about 2.5km from downtown, Punta Coco is a great sunset beach.
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
Kabah is one of the few Maya settlements in the area that has retained its original name (meaning 'the powerful hand'). Second only to Uxmal in the Puuc…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
Lying about 17km due north of central Mérida, Dzibilchaltún ('Place of Inscribed Flat Stones') was the longest continuously used Maya administrative and…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
In 1959 a guide to the Chichén Itzá ruins was exploring a cave on his day off when he came upon a narrow passageway. He followed the passageway for 300m,…
Mérida
On the site of a former Maya temple is Mérida’s hulking, severe cathedral, begun in 1561 and completed in 1598. Some of the stone from the Maya temple was…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
The fascinating ruined city of Ek' Balam reached its peak in the 8th century, before being suddenly abandoned. Vegetation still covers much of the…
Mérida
Casa de Montejo is on the south side of Plaza Grande and dates from 1540. It originally housed soldiers, but was soon converted into a mansion that served…
Valladolid
The Templo de San Bernardino and the adjacent Convento de Sisal are about 700m southwest of the plaza. They were constructed between 1552 and 1560 to…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
One of the largest dry-cave systems on the Yucatán Peninsula, Loltún ('stone flower' in Maya) provided a treasure trove of data for archaeologists…
Campeche
A popular path for joggers, cyclists, strolling friends and cooing sweethearts, the malecón, Campeche’s 7km-long waterfront promenade, makes for a breezy…
Campeche State
Aptly named ‘House of the Snake’s Jaws,’ this Maya site is best known for one remarkably well-preserved doorway with a hideous fanged visage. Located 10km…
Yucatán State & the Maya Heartland
Though far less impressive than many Maya sites, Mayapán is historically significant – it was one of the last major dynasties in the region and…
