DK Travel : Cancún and the Yucatán : Places of interest

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Acanceh

An extraordinary little town in which over 2,000 years of time are expressed, from its ancient Mayan edifices to a fine 18th-century Spanish church.
Aktun-Chen

From the highway near Akumal, a dirt track leads west through thick bromeliad-filled jungle to a nature park set around a vast cave and cenote system. You can’t swim in the cenote, but the guided tours through the stalactite-filled cavern are highly impressive. Colorful birds, monkeys, and wild boars can be seen outside.
Akumal

Long a favorite dive destination, with fabulous reefs and places for cave diving, Akumal has grown a good deal without being overwhelmed. It spreads over several long, lovely bays – Media Luna is the most beautiful, with the delightful Yal-Ku lagoon (see Laguna Yal-Ku, Akumal). There are more apartments, villas, and small hotels than big developments, so it’s still quite easy to find secluded spots – certainly the turtles try to, and the beaches near Akumal village are favorite breeding grounds.
Akumal

Not a remote spot, but the curving beaches here are very long and often occupied only by a few small-scale hotels and condo apartments. It’s quite easy to find uncrowded space at Akumal, by an idyllic sea and with creature comforts included. There are also excellent diving facilities here.
Aqua World, Cancún

A multi-activity fun center on Cancún Island offering jungle tours, submarine rides, jetskiing, snorkeling, diving, fishing, parasailing, dinner cruises, and tours to Isla Mujeres and Cozumel.
Balankanché Caves

This great labyrinthine complex of caves extends several miles under the Yucatán forest. Caves were sacred for the ancient Maya and, in one spectacular chamber, the sanctuary, remains were found of over 100 ritual incense burners. The compulsory tour ends in a magical chamber with a perfectly still pool, in which the cave bottom seen through the water is a mirror image of the roof.
Campeche

The most complete Spanish walled city in Mexico, Campeche is full of reminders of the era when it was a trading hub of Spain’s empire and looked upon with greed by Caribbean pirates. In recent years the old city – with its churches, patios, Andalusian-style grill windows, and façades in delicate pastel colors – has been restored to refresh its distinctive charm.
Campeche

A Spanish colonial walled city that retains a charming, old-world feel. The 17th-century ramparts and bastions were built to defend it against pirates. The streets within are lined with delicately colored old houses featuring patios and iron-grilled windows. A museum, housed in an old Spanish fort, contains jade funeral masks and other fine relics from the recently excavated site at Calakmul.
Cancún Beach

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
Cancún Town

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).