traveldk.com

Tucked into a secluded garden near the largest of Izamal’s Mayan pyramids, this is the place to sample the full range of Yucatecan cooking – cochinita , pavo en relleno negro , and a wonderfully fragrant sopa de lima . Only open for lunch.

Ciudad Cancún’s souvenir/flea market has tightly packed stalls piled with handicrafts from attractive to tacky, surrounded by endless rows of T-shirts.

A powerful bird-serpent, the Central Mexican god Quetzalcoatl was known in the Yucatán as Kukulcán.

Cancún’s most “European-style” club boasts several spaces for different moods, an innovative music range and a lagoon-side chill-out area.

Easily identifiable by the old British red phonebox by the door, this enormous club is known for the most adventurous music policy in Cancún, with several spaces where you can choose between rock, funk, indie, high-voltage techno, and many more unexpected and invigorating sounds. Other attractions include a restaurant and a wonderful open-air terrace where you can take a breather.

Another superior-quality handicrafts store. Traditional, often bizarre festival masks from all over Mexico are a speciality, as well as superb ceramics.

Valladolid’s main fiesta, the Expo-Feria, centers around the Feast of the Virgin of La Candelaria. Local girls show off dazzling embroidered dresses in the opening parade, followed by free concerts and shows, and dancing. Campeche has a smaller celebration.

This little bar organizes parties a few nights a week right on the beach, sometimes with DJs. They start early, as the power goes off at midnight or before.

This stylish café-restaurant-gallery surveys the Quinta Avenida bustle from an airy balcony. The menu features an imaginative, Mexican-European mix.