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The number one fun center in the region. As well as the adrenaline-pumping rides that older kids love – the Wave Pool, Bubba Tub, and Twister – the Wet’n‘Wild section also has a Kids’ Park with gentler rides and slides for young children. The Baxal-Ha snorkeling pool, with rays and harmless sharks, is another big thrill for ages 8-plus.

The biggest water-fun park in Cancún has an interactive dolphin pool, a snorkeling pool with rays and innocent sharks, and a bungee-jump. But the biggest highlight is the Wet’n’Wild water park, with slides, rides, and wave pools for all ages.

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.

Mérida’s port and favorite beach town is a place to get close to ordinary Yucatecan life. The harbor is stuck at the end of a long (6-km/4-mile) pier, and so the shallow waters around the beach remain blissfully tranquil. Until the weekend, that is, when Meridanos spill out onto the sand and into the warm blue waters. There are excellent fish restaurants along the seafront, too, with big, convivial outside terraces for socializing.

The biggest, most opulent resort on the southern Riviera, a specially created vacation village around an inlet that’s now a pretty pleasure port lined with shops and restaurants. The nine-hole golf course is attractive, and the marina is the best-equipped on the whole Riviera, making it a popular base for serious deep-sea fishing enthusiasts. In another part of the harbor you can swim with dolphins (see Dolphin Discovery).

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.

An undisturbed gem of the Mexican Caribbean, which has kept its mellow, fishing-village feel despite close proximity to Cancún. No real nightlife, but lovely beaches, and many small hotels and apartments offer long-term rates (see Puerto Morelos, Puerto Morelos).

The atrocious state of the road keeps visitor numbers down, but the trek deep into Sian Ka’an (4-wheel-drive only) takes you to a tiny fishing village of sand streets and giant palms, with landing stages by the beach and a few easy-going restaurants and welcoming places to stay. Local guides offer snorkeling, bird-watching, and fishing trips (see Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve).

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).