Are you planning to travel to the Riviera Maya soon and would like to know which are its most important tourist attractions?
The Riviera Maya is a natural paradise on the shores of the Caribbean Sea. Its beaches, famous all over the world, combine kilometers of fine white sand with crystal-clear turquoise waters, which harbor a lot of life inside.
This region of the Mexican Caribbean is one of the areas on the planet with the highest concentration of hotels and resorts, famous for their all-inclusive services, private beaches and luxurious facilities. However, the Riviera Maya offers many other attractions besides its paradisiacal beaches. From the reception of our hotels, you will be able to find out about excursions to swim in impressive natural cenotes, practice adventure sports or discover cities thousands of years old.
The best thing about this tourist destination is that it offers plans and attractions for all tastes and ages. Whether you want to enjoy a few days of relaxation surrounded by a dream environment, or if you want to spend your holidays practicing different types of sports and discovering ancient civilizations, you will love the Riviera Maya.
Cenotes of Riviera Maya
Riviera Maya owes its international fame mainly to its impressive beaches, some of them considered the most beautiful in the world. But, what if we told you that the most enjoyable swim you may enjoy during your holidays will not be on any beach?
As always, there are different colors, but it is true that the cenotes of Riviera Maya are truly amazing natural attractions. Cenotes are limestone caves that over the years, have been filtering water inside to form incredible natural pools. Some of them have no dome and it is possible to see the sky from their waters, but others are completely closed inside the caves.
Enjoying a swim in these peculiar natural pools is a sensory experience you will never forget. Even if you wish, in cenotes such as Dos Ojos or Chac Mool you can dive accompanied by a specialized guide, who will lead you through the different subway galleries that have shaped them.
The best options to visit are the two already mentioned, Cenote Azul and Gran Cenote, both open-air and ideal for snorkeling, or those located near the Valladolid area, such as X’kekén, Samulá, Agua Dulce, Palomitas, Hubiku, Suytun, Xcanatun or Il Kil. The latter are characterized by being closed cenotes, which in the best of cases, see the sunlight filter through small openings in the rock, which look like huge natural lanterns.
Finally, there is the possibility of booking through the reception of our hotels and resorts, the so-called Tour of the Cenotes of the Riviera Maya, an excursion that will give you the opportunity to visit several of the most important in a single day.
Akumal Beach
It is undoubtedly the most touristic beach and one of the best places to visit in Riviera Maya, but the reason is not its clear sand dunes, its palm trees or the crystal-clear water that bathes its shores. Neither are its beach bars or restaurants, nor the hammock areas that populate its sands. The reason why this beach owes its worldwide fame is the turtles.
Every year, between the months of April and October, hundreds of turtles come to its shores to lay their eggs. During these months, it is very likely to spot these animals while snorkeling just a few meters from the sand. In addition, one of the positive points of this beach is that you don’t need a car to access it, since it has its own bus stop.
Xcacel Beach and its hidden cenote
Located in Quintana Roo region, Xcacel is one of those virgin and wild beaches, which will make you believe you are lost in the middle of a deserted island. The reason for its wild nature and the fact that it is generally uncrowded is that it is not easy to find. To access its shores you will need a rental car and the help of a navigator to locate the entrance.
Just a few meters from its transparent waters with turquoise reflections, you will have the opportunity to swim in a natural open-air cenote to change from salt water to fresh water. Both on the beach and in the cenote, thousands of fish of different types and sizes await you, which we recommend you enjoy with the help of a snorkel and diving goggles.
Without a doubt, it is one of the most interesting places on our list, because although access is not particularly easy to find, the fact of being able to swim in a paradisiacal beach and in a spectacular natural cenote in the same morning is not something that can be done every day.
Yal Lagoon
Again, a highly recommended destination for snorkeling. Just a few meters from Akumal Beach, another open-air cenote awaits you, which stands out especially for the life inside, where it is possible to spot thousands of tropical fish.
Entrance to this small natural paradise is not free, but you can easily purchase it online.
The tour of the area will allow you to discover several cenotes that make up the famous lagoon and merge with the Caribbean Sea surrounded by wild jungle.
One of the park’s attractions is its garden with more than 30 stone and bronze sculptures. It also has several rest areas, where it is possible to lie in the shade, accompanied only by the sound of birds.
Among the available excursions, there is a modality with which you can rent a tube, goggles, fins, towel, the use of lockers, food and drink. Everything you need to enjoy an unforgettable day during your vacation in the Caribbean.
Puerto Morelos
We leave aside the natural tourist attractions only momentarily. Puerto Morelos is a small fishing village, located between the regions of Cancun and Playa del Carmen, which brings together different attractions that are well worth visiting.
The first of them is its beautiful beach, known as the Window to the Sea, where you can take a photo with its famous Leaning Lighthouse, the particular version of the Tower of Pisa of the Mexican Caribbean.
From there, you can also take a boat to discover its impressive coral reef, which is part of the great Mesoamerican Reef. It is a unique place to dive or snorkel.
Finally, we recommend that you save some time to complete the Puerto Morelos Cenotes Route. During this beautiful walk, you will find up to 60 different cenotes that are connected to each other through the Great Mayan Aquifer, the largest subway river system on the planet.
Xcaret Park
We continue with a new proposal, one of the best places to see in Riviera Maya if you are traveling with your family.
Xcaret Park is surely the best adventure park in the Riviera Maya. Among its numerous and varied activities, its subway river tours, its famous Aviary and Butterfly Farm, swimming in its beautiful cenote or its spectacular scenic performances stand out.
It is the best opportunity to learn about the rich history of Mexico while enjoying its fauna and flora in first person.
Within the park’s facilities, you have all kinds of services and the possibility of renting the necessary equipment to enjoy its activities to the fullest. There are also several stores where you can buy souvenirs of your visit, as well as restaurants with gastronomic offers for all tastes.
Nightlife in Riviera Maya
Riviera Maya and more specifically, the area of Playa del Carmen, stands out for the quality and variety of its nightlife.
Some of its nightclubs are famous all over the world for their spectacular facilities and music sessions of all kinds. The most important ones are Coco Bongo, Mandala, Palazzo, Rakata and La Vaquita, all located in the fun Playa del Carmen area.
There you will also find different but equally attractive options. For example, Abolengo Bartina, with the appearance of a typical traditional Mexican cantina, which as the night progresses takes the form of a discotheque. Or the famous Clandestino, a combination of restaurant and nightclub, which in addition to allowing you to taste some of the delicacies of Mexican cuisine, includes a spectacular rooftop within its facilities, where you can dance and have a drink while enjoying the Caribbean sea breeze.
Ruins of Coba
We warned you at the beginning of this article that a Riviera Maya vacation offers plans for everyone. We went from one of the liveliest and most fun nightlife in the Caribbean to a plan with an important historical and cultural background.
The Ruins of Coba are one of the largest Mayan sites in all of Mexico. Among its various fortifications and structures, scattered throughout the lush Caribbean jungle, the 42-meter-high Nohuch Mul Pyramid stands out.
One of the main attractions of this site is that it is generally much less crowded than Tulum or Chichén Itzá and it is also possible to rent a bicycle to travel the routes that separate its various ruins, while enjoying the sport in the heart of the jungle.
If you wish, you can also take the excursion accompanied by a guide in Spanish who will explain all the details of your visit.
Bacalar Lagoon
Just by translating its name into the ancient Mayan language, you can presume the marvelous scenery that awaits you at our next stop. Bacalar means in Mayan “the place where the sky is born” and the fact is that this marvelous lagoon encloses in its interior an endless number of shades of blue. The reason that gives rise to this varied palette of bluish tones is the composition of the lagoon, formed by several cenotes linked together, which have different levels of depth and reflect the sunlight in different ways. Thus, the aquatic landscape generates an optical illusion unique in the world, as it seems that the lagoon is composed of different colored waters. This is also the origin of its second name, popularly known as La Laguna de los Siete Colores (The Lagoon of Seven Colors).
Undoubtedly, this is one of the best places to see in the Riviera Maya and can be visited by car or bus.
The town of Izamal
Izamal is one of the most beautiful and special towns to visit in Riviera Maya.
If anything distinguishes this small town located between the towns of Merica and Valladolid, it is the yellow color present in all the houses of its historic center. Although each one of its streets is worthwhile, the Convent of San Antonio de Papua and the temple of the Immaculate Conception stand out especially.
In addition to being a magnet for selfies and having different stores where you can buy typical products of the area and different types of gifts, the streets of Izamal hide true gastronomic treasures. Its restaurants are one of the best options to taste the delicious Mexican cuisine, with exquisite dishes such as cochinita pibil, chapa with eggs, panchos or stuffed cheese. If we had to choose one of them, we recommend the Kinich Restaurant, surely the most famous in the entire municipality.
To get to the picturesque little houses of Izamal, the best option is to rent a car, although you can also take a bus to Valladolid and then take another bus to the town.
Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve
Once again, nature in its wildest state takes center stage in our list of recommendations. The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve is the largest protected natural area in the Caribbean.
In addition to its presumably pristine beaches, the reserve is full of mangroves, freshwater springs and all kinds of wild flora and fauna.
Among its inhabitants are pumas, jaguars, crocodiles, manatees, turtles, dolphins and countless species of birds.
As you can enjoy the view of the animals from your own rental car, we recommend that you exercise extreme caution and do not get out of the car in case you come across any of the wild animals mentioned above, such as pumas, jaguars and crocodiles. The most normal thing is that they are frightened by your presence and tend to flee, but remember that you are in their habitat and we must always be respectful with this type of species.
As if all this were not enough, inside the reserve there is also an ancient Mayan temple half submerged in the water.
If you do not have much time to discover all these treasures, we recommend that you choose to have a local guide to guide you through its paths and trails.
Cozumel
The city of Cozumel is one of the most recommended places to see near the Riviera Maya. It is the largest island in the Mexican Caribbean and the third largest in the country.
Moreover to its numerous natural wonders, it stands out for its vestiges of Mayan history and mainly, for having been recognized as part of the Top 5 best places to dive on the planet. Its coral reefs are truly unique. A combination of fauna and marine flora that you will not find anywhere else in the Caribbean. Only in its surroundings are located up to 40 different points recommended for diving.
The best way to explore the island is, once there, to rent a vehicle that allows you to move freely along its 48 kilometers long and 16 wide.
Cozumel is not only for diving and nature. We recommend that you take advantage of your trip to the island to visit the archaeological site of San Gervasio or try a local dish such as lionfish in one of the local restaurants. The best ones are located on Avenida Rafael.
Frequently Asked Questions Riviera Maya
What places should you not miss in the Riviera Maya?
In case you don’t have enough time, these are the places you shouldn’t miss in Riviera Maya: its beaches, its cenotes and excursions to the Ruins of Coba and the island of Cozumel. In addition, if you like to party and considering that when night falls, it is not possible to visit the natural wonders of the region, we suggest you also visit some of the nightclubs in the area.
How many days to see Riviera Maya?
Considering the time you will invest in the trip and other travel, we would say that you need 7 days to see the Riviera Maya. However, if you want to complete all the excursions we have recommended, three weeks would be the perfect time to get the most out of your vacation.
When is the best month to go to Riviera Maya?
The best months to go to the Riviera Maya are between December and April, which is the perfect season to avoid the rains in the area.
When is there no sargassum in Riviera Maya?
The time when there is no sargassum in Riviera Maya is between May and November. In case you didn’t know about this phenomenon, sargassum is an accumulation of algae that occurs in certain seasons on the shores of tropical beaches. It is not particularly common, but avoiding it will make your trip more comfortable.
When is it cheapest to go to Riviera Maya?
The cheapest month to travel to the Riviera Maya is September. During this time of the year, understood as low season in the region, it is possible to enjoy all its natural attractions avoiding crowds, as its beaches are much less crowded with tourists.
What is the official currency of Riviera Maya?
The official currency of the Riviera Maya is the Mexican peso, which curiously, shares a symbol with the American dollar ($). However, in practically all its commercial establishments you can pay by credit card and many of them even accept the dollar or the euro as a payment method.
How to get to Riviera Maya?
To get to Riviera Maya you will have to fly to Cancun International Airport, the only one in the area, and from there, take a cab, a bus or a colectivo, which are vans that make the trip from the airport to different points of the Caribbean coast.
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