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Every one of the Riviera’s beaches has the same wonderful fine white sand, which stays deliciously cool to the touch, but Cancún’s is unquestionably the finest, stretching the whole 23 km (14 miles) of Cancún Island. Along it, in the Hotel Zone, are resort hotels, shopping and entertainment centers, snorkeling and fun parks, plus the Mayan ruins of El Rey (see Cancún).

Señor Frog, Cancún

On the mainland at the north end of Cancún Island, Ciudad Cancún, also known as “Downtown,” was created at the same time as the Hotel Zone in the 1970s. It’s developed an atmosphere of its own, though, and the main drag of Avenida Tulum and the nearby squares and avenues are enjoyable places to explore, with plenty of shopping and great restaurants offering traditional Mexican cooking at low prices (see Cancún).

Although it’s only a short ferry ride away from Cancún, this 8-km (5-mile) long island, the first place where Spaniards landed in Mexico in 1517, has a very different atmosphere, with few big hotels, one small town, a good choice of cheap places to stay, and a very easy-going, unhurried beach-village feel. Isla is also a great diving, snorkeling, and fishing center, with an exciting range of reefs offshore.

Mexico’s most important sea-bird reserve covers the whole of this uninhabited island. The terrain is a mix of mangroves, beaches, and coral lagoons that are home to over 50 species of birds – they contain turtle breeding grounds too. Day tours are offered by dive shops on Isla Mujeres.

This tiny island sits off the north coast of Yucatán, by a wide lagoon full of birds and wild dolphins. On it there’s one village with sand streets, a few hotels, pelicans, a huge beach, and an ultra-relaxed, friendly atmosphere. It’s wonderful for fishing, clearing the head, and exploring uninhabited islands nearby.

This little fishing town was the biggest place on this coast before the rise of Cancún. It has avoided overdevelopment and retains a low-key atmosphere, much loved by the many foreign-ers who own houses here or stay whole winters in its small hotels. There’s a beautiful white beach, and a superb reef close offshore (now protected as a marine park) that’s wonderful for diving and snorkeling. Local dive operators and fishing guides give individual, friendly service.

Often unnoticed between Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen, and kept off the beaten track by a bumpy 3-km (2-mile) access road through the jungle, this point is flanked by long lines of palm-fringed bays – perfect arcs of dazzling white sand by a smooth turquoise sea. They are shared by a few resort hotels, and far more small-scale (and much cheaper) clusters of mellow beach cabañas (see also Punta Bete, Punta Bete).

A huge area around a natural inlet and cenote rock pools on the coast has been made into an eco-park, with dense jungle, mangrove lagoons, reefs, and a delicious white beach all within it. Visitors can explore on foot, bicycle, horseback, or by kayak along well-marked paths and jungle streams. Other activities include snorkeling, diving, a Kids’ Club for small children, and “sensorama”, a guided walk using blindfolds, so as to experience the forest by touch and smell alone.

The Riviera’s most vibrant street life, by day and night, and its hippest crowds can be found in its fastest-growing resort town. Playa’s long-established cool bars and backpackers’ haunts now mix with modern hotels ranging from big resorts to cosy guest houses. As well as having wonderful beaches, it’s great for diving and snorkeling.

The largest of the Riviera’s eco-parks, just south of Playa del Carmen, provides a wonderful introduction to the tropical environment of the Yucatán and a full day’s worth of things to do – from snorkeling and swimming with dolphins to eye-popping animal and butterfly collections (see Playa del Carmen: Xcaret).

Xcaret Mayan Village