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About Cancun & The Riviera Maya Cancun and the Riviera Maya...the Mexican world of Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres and the complete Mayan Riviera isa stunning region, located on the far eastern coast of the Yucatan peninsula, made up of small independent communities where there are infinite possibilities for exploration and enjoyment. Here, the towns are smaller, there are fewer tourists, miles of solitary, virgin beaches, sparkling, white sand, and the second largest reef system in the world, the Great Maya Reef, runnning along the coastline with an unrestrained jungle surrounding the towns and beaches. A vacationer's Mexican Paradise! Cancun has all the watersports, cruises to nearby islands, golf on Robert Trent Jones courses, attractions above and below the sea, restaurants to suit every taste, and helicopter tours of the area. Out of the Water BULLFIGHTS Cancun has a bullring where corridas are held every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. The presentation begins with a folkloric ballet, followed by a performance of the Charros, and finally two or three bullfighters who challenge two or three bulls each year. DAY TRIPS Cancun is only a day trip to the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Chicken Itza as well as to Cozumel and Isla Mujeres for great snorkeling and scuba diving. Tulum, 80 miles south with Mayan temples on a 40-ft. cliff overlooking the Caribbean; Chichen Itza, with its Mayan temples is the most complete city left intact on the Yucatan Peninsula; Cozumel, about six miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and 40 miles south of Cancun, is an island attracting scuba divers from around the world to its fabulous reef, and Isla Mujeres, a short boat ride from Cancun for lunch, snorkeling, shopping, or just walking about a small picturesque town. Combine the day trips with the luxury hotels and the great beaches, and you have Cancun, a unique attraction on the west side of the Caribbean. DINING & NIGHTLIFE Cancun has become an internationally acclaimed vacation destination and, at the same time, developed its ding and nightlife to suit the eclectic tastes of the international crowd. There are many of the world's most cherished cuisines represented in the numerous restaurant in Cancun. A vacation takes on a whole new meaning when families can combine activities such as beach time, golf, and shopping with visits to historical attractions and parks. The following sites and activities are geared to visitors of all ages, but escpecially to families with young children who need to be entertained. Coba & Pac-Chen
Isla Mujeres The
King's Ruins One of the region's premier ecological parks, Xcaret offers families a chance to interact with nature and experience Mayan culture. For more than a millennium, it served as a ceremonial and port center for the mayas. Today, families comel here to swim with dolphins, visit the Coral Reef Aquarium, scuba dive with exotic fish and snorkel through underground rivers. When night falls, Xcaret's El Gran Tlachco arena puts on a show featuring the ancient Mayan ball games of Ulama and Ball of Fire, a traditional Mayan festival and a folkloric ballet. Admission is $49 for adults and $24.50 for children ages 5 to 12. The cost includes the entrance fee, access to all attractions and shows, the services of a tour guide and roundtrip transportation from Xcaret's bus center, located across from Plaza Caracol. The buses return to Cancun at 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ALLTOURNATIVE, a local operator, takes visitors to two sites in the heart of the Yucatan jungle: the Coba archaeological site and Pac-Chen, a self-sufficient community of close to 100 indigenous people. The first stop is the ancestral city of Coba, a recently-opened archaeological site hidden deep inside the rain forest of the southeastern Yucatan. Visitors can climb the Nohock Muul temple for a view of the surrounding rain forest. The trip continues to the Mayan village of Pac-Chen, where visitors are invited into villagers' homes. The visit includes a 45-foot rappel into one of the area's famous cenotes (sinkholes) for swimming; canoeing on a lake; and eating a lunch prepared by local women. The trip costs $84 for adults and $58 for children ages 10 to 12 (children under age 10 are not allowed). The cost includes transportation to and from the hotel zone; canoeing and rappelling equipment; entrance fees, lunch/drinks; and multi-lingual guides. Xel-Ha (pronounced shell-ha) means "where the water is born" in Mayan. Xel-Ha is on the eastern portion of the yucatan Peninsula, about 75 miles south of Cancun. Its 22 acres of lagoons, coves, and inlets carved into the surrounding limestone make Xel-Ha a popular snorkeling destination, and trips here often are combined with a visit to the Mayan city of Tulum, about seven miles south. In ancient times, Xel-Ha was a sacred city in which rituals and dances to the different gods of Mayan mythology took place. One of the favorite activities here is floating on inner tubes down a river that begins in a spring in the mangroves. You can stop along the way to hike or snorkel. Xel-Ha also features several freshwater cenotes and small beaches lined with hammocks. There also is an area where visitors can swim with dolphins. Admission is $25 weekdays and $19 on the weekend. Children ages 5 to 11 pay $13 and $10, respectively. Families can expand their knowledge of Mayan culture with a trip to Tulum, an hour's ride from Cancun. With the Caribbean Sea serving as a backdrop, visitors can explore this former Mayan trade center. Attractions include El Castillo, a pyramid experts believe once served as a lighthouse; Temple of the Frescos, where traces of colors still remain; and Temple of the Dios Decendente, believed to have served as a way station for the gods. There's also a market for souvenirs and authentic Mexican fare. Admission is about $2.50 per person. Cancun has its own Mayan ruins, a small site in the heart of the Hotel Zone called Ruinas del Rey (the King's Ruins). Although it's less impressive than the ruins at Tulum or Coba, it's worth a visit, especially for those who don't want to venture from the immediate area. The site is believed to have been built by Mayan fishermen as a ceremonial center and also as an astronomy lookout. The platforms of several small temples are visible amid the banana plants, papayas, and wildflowers. The Hilton Cancun hotel's golf course was built around the ruins, but there is a separate entrance for visitors. The site is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3 weekdays and free on Sundays. AQUAWORLD, a local operator, offers a number of water-themed tours that include scuba diving, snorkeling, and mangrove treks. As part of its tours, the company provides Aqua Ray personal watercraft that enable visitors to explore Cancun's dense mangrove system in the company of guides. For a shopping adventure in the heart of the Hotel Zone, visitors can go to La Isla Shopping Village. La Isla is Cancun's newest shopping center and includes a number of family-friendly attractions. Designed to resemble a Caribbean village, it features 120 shops, including internationally known boutiques and jewelers, plus a movie theater with several screens. Families can choose from numerous restaurants, including American favorites such as Chili's, Johnny Rockets, and McDonald's, in addition to local favorites such as La Casa de las Margaritas, and El Arca. For kids, La Isla features a number of attractions that promise "authentic" Mexican and Mayan culture. Children can explore Maya that re-creates stages of Mayan civilization. Other kid-friendly attractions include an aquarium, a climbing wall, and a "haunted house". El Garrafon Park on nearby Isla Mujeres makes a nice day-trip destination. A 40-minute ferry ride from the peir at Puerto Juarez, El Garrafon is located on the southermost tip of the island and known for excelllent snorkeling and diving. At the park, visitors can follow the reef snorkeling trail, scuba dive, "fly" high above the water on a zip line, kayak the reef, take in the views from any vantage point along the numerous hiking paths, or enjoy a meal at a seaside restaurant. Speaking of dining, the kids can play pirate for a day aboard a dinner cruise offered by Pirate's Night Adventure. GOLF The most prestigious Golf Club in Cancun is the Pok-Ta-Pok Club de Golf Cancun which artistically incorporates hundreds of meters of dramatic shoreline and ancient Mayan ruins into a truly enjoyable experience for golfers of all abilities. www.cancungolfclub.com MEETINGS Combining sun, sand, and the beautiful blue-green waters of the Caribbean with a state-of-the-art convention center and top-flight conference facilities at many of its hotels and resorts, has contributed to Cancun as a world-class meetings destination. With more than 150,000 square feet of meeting space and the capacity for up to 6,500 people, the facilities include: Main Ballroom (flexible space); Midsize Ballroom (flexible space); Midsize Auditorium; One VIP Meeting Room; Telecommunications Room; "Limited Edition" Shopping Center; and the Cancun Tower Revolving Restaurant & Bar - thus making the Cancun Convention Center an ideal location for a successful meeting, a smashing convention, or a unique incentive meeting. SHOPPING & FUN Shoppers will find many open-air markets stuffed with Mexican crafts and souvenirs. Bargaining is expected and the rule of thumb is two-third the price that you are first told. TENNIS Most of Cancun's hotels and resorts have tennis courts available for guests at modest rates. The Pok-Ta-Pok Club has courts which can be made available through temporary membership in the club. Watersports Cancun is a true mecca for watersports enthusiasts since there's just enough land in Cancun on which to build hotels, and everything else is sand and sea under a sunny sky. Water is the focal point of any visit, sine it's always in sights, it's always a gorgeous bright turquoise color, and it offers clear visibility - often up to 100 feet below the surface. Cancun offers visitors the following watersports opportunities: swimming; snorkeling; scuba diving; parasailing' windsurfing' sailing and yachting; deep sea fishing. SCUBA DIVING For those who really want to explore the underwater world, scuba lessons and excursions are offered in Cancun by several companies. Several companies offer resort courses (orientation) and dives to any one of a dozen nearby reefs. Cancun is the perfect sport for diving on reefs with turtles, colored fish and exceptionally clear water that runs the palette gamut from cerulean to emerald. Numerous scuba divers hop aboard a launch or ferry to Isla Mujeres to join in the dive trips to the reefs at El Garrafon and the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks (Yes, the sharks can be petted!). Price varies depending on the length of the dive. Night dives are common in Cancun because of the ease in getting to the sites. SNORKELING You really come to Cancun with its wonderful waters without going beneath the surface for a look. Snorkeling equipment can be rented at any of Cancun's beachfront hotels with watersports concessions. Most vacationers who are seriously interested in snorkeling plan at least one excursion to any of the four underwater national parks: Garrafon National Park, a coral reef off of Isla Mujeres; Isla Contoy, a nearby wildlife reserve; Xel-HA, a series of lagoons south of Cancun; and Chancanab Lagoon, a natural aquarium a few miles south of San Miguel in Cozumel. Just three miles south of Playa del Carmen, the ferry departure point to Cozumel is a 150-acre underwater theme park. Xcaret, Ferries, launches, buses, and organized tours make all these places easily accessible. SWIMMING Except for the tip of Punta Cancun, Cancun is one long beach. The primarily limestone composition of the powdery white sand keeps it cool under foot. The beaches along the island's windward side (those facing north, toward Isla Mujeres) offer the calmest water, and are best for children. The beaches along the island's long eastern coast face the Caribbean, whose azure waters sometimes surprise with currents, riptides, and undertow. As long as you're careful, the surf is often fun in which to play. A flag system has been instituted on the beaches to advise swimmers of water conditions: red or black, danger; yellow, caution; green or blue, calm or normal; white, excellent. |
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