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.

Tulum

A ruined temple of a Mayan city, the Castillo, rises up on a crag above a long, long palm-fringed beach, interrupted by rocks and curving headlands as it stretches 11 km (7 miles) down to Sian Ka’an. All along it are clusters of palm-roofed cabins. There’s good diving and fishing offshore, and around it is one of the best areas in the world for cave diving (see Cenotes and Caves).

Tulum
Tulum

A small city from the last decades of Mayan civilization, Tulum is spectacular as the only Mayan city built above a beach.
Tulum

This is the Riviera’s biggest center for cave-diving(see Cenotes and Caves), but dive operators also take snorkelers and divers to the reefs nearby, in a deliciously clear sea.
Tulum

So many people stay around Cancun and pay through the nose for a day trip to the Tulum Mayan ruins. You can actually rent cabanas/beach huts on the beaches adjoining Tulum - anything from just a hut with a hammock, to ones with more home comforts. You can then walk along to Tulum, finding yourself amongst the seafront ruins without going anywhere near the entry gate and the hoards of souvenir sellers. It also means you can have the ruins practically to yourself in the morning or evening, when the coach parties aren't there.
Tulum

Here, one of the most spectacular Mayan ruins perches on a crag overlooking palm-lined sands and relaxed cabaña hotels.
Tulum

The epitome of a tropical paradise: palm-shaded cabins only a few steps from a vividly colored sea, and with just candlelight and the sound of waves at night. The bargain cabañas at the north end of the beach are slightly noisier, so head south for pure tranquility.
Turtles

Now endangered, sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches along the southern Riviera.
Uaymitún

For easy bird-watching in the lagoons along the northern Yucatán coast, there is this free viewing tower, by the coast road east of Progreso, where even binoculars are provided. The top offers spectacular views over the wetlands to the south, and you can see flamingos, ducks, egrets, and, in winter, endless migratory birds from North America.
Unicornio, Cozumel

A big, varied crafts dealer, with especially good ceramics and painted wood. There’s junk as well as quality pieces, but it’s a great place to browse.
Uxmal

With the elegant lines of the Nunnery Quadrangle and towering mass of the Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal is not only one of the most beautiful of ancient Mayan cities but also one of the greatest sights in the Americas.