DK Travel : Cancún and the Yucatán

Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has a special atmosphere and an immense variety of attractions, including some of the world’s best beaches and diving areas. The modern, glittering resorts of the east coast’s “Mayan Riviera” lie alongside charming old Spanish Colonial towns, sleepy Mayan villages, and the awesome remains of ancient civilizations.

Sailing, Windsurfing, and Kayaking

The best places to rent boats are Isla Mujeres and Cozumel. Hotels may have dinghies for guests. Windsurfing is at its finest around Isla Mujeres and Akumal, and the best kayaking is around Puerto Morelos, Punta Solimán, or Tres Ríos (see Eco-Parks and Theme Parks).
Salbutes

Similar to panuchos , but made with a thicker, spongier base instead of crisp tortillas.
San Antonio de Padua, Izamal

The vast monastery of Izamal, painted ocher and white like the rest of the town (see Izamal), epitomizes the plain, austere style favored by the Franciscan friars who brought Catholicism to the Yucatán. Founded in 1549, its huge atrio , or courtyard, was designed to hold great crowds of Mayans in open-air Masses.
San Bernardino Sisal, Valladolid

This massive, fortress-like church and cloister was begun in 1552, and is the oldest permanent church in the Yucatán. Like others built around that time, it was designed by the Franciscan order’s own architect, Friar Juan de Mérida. It looks very medieval, with an unusual, beautifully shady gallery of graceful arches along the façade and a cloister of giant, squat stone columns around an exuberantly overgrown garden. Church and cloister have a delightful tranquility, and inside there are rare 18th-century Baroque altars and altarpieces.
San Bernardino Sisal, Valladolid

The oldest permanent church in the Yucatán began as part of a Franciscan monastery in 1552. It was located outside Valladolid so as to function both as a place of worship for the Spanish towns-folk and as a mission for Mayan villagers. Inside is a spectacularly painted Baroque altarpiece. The cloister surrounds an overgrown, palm-filled garden with a massive stone well from 1613, built over a natural cenote (seeSan Bernardino Sisal, Valladolid).
San Felipe

West of Río Lagartos, this village is smaller and has a superb, usually near-empty beach on the sandbar across the lagoon, facing the opal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Village boatmen will ferry you to and from the beach, and also offer flamingo tours. From the village there are fabulous sunsets (see also Río Lagartos, Río Lagartos and San Felipe).
San Felipe Tours

The boatmen’s cooperative here is a bit less organized but also has a waterfront hut, in San Felipe village. Rates are similar to those in Río Lagartos, but boatmen here will be more ready to take you to the Bocas de Dzilam and Río Lagartos lagoon.
San Gervasio, Cozumel

The ruins of the Mayan capital of Cozumel, conquered by Cortés and his Spanish soldiers in 1519, are in the middle of the island. Its buildings are small compared to the great Mayan cities, but there are many of them – and discovering them, through woods full of scents, flowers, and birds, involves a lovely walk (see Cozumel).
San Miguel Arcángel, Cozumel

Cozumel’s most important traditional fiesta is in honor of the island’s patron saint, St. Michael. For nine days preceding his day, there are religious processions, kids’ entertainment, and free music and dancing.
San Roque, Campeche

Campeche’s churches are generally more colorful than those of Mérida and central Yucatán. San Roque is an extravagant example of Mexican Baroque, with an opulent altarpiece surrounded by intricate white plasterwork.