Yucatán travel guide

Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucatán peninsula in southeastern Mexico comprises three states: Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. The peninsula's income comes mainly from two sources: oil and tourism. The latter spreads across the peninsula from its great base on the 130km (80-mile) strip of Caribbean coast from Cancún to Tulum, now known as the Riviera Maya. But as interest grows in ancient Maya civilization, hitherto ignored jungle ruins also attract attention, while better-known sites such as Uxmal and Chichén Itzá can barely cope with the hordes of visitors.

Tourism in the Yucatán

With seemingly endless sunshine, a glittering coastline, the Great Maya Reef, and all the luxurious allure that modern resorts can dream up to entice visitors, the Yucatán is a global travel destination. Away from the resorts, the inland Yucatán changes at a much slower pace and Maya ruins can be found all over the peninsula, many of them still only partially excavated, or even buried in the forest.

Southwest Yucatán state, between the two cities of Campeche and Mérida, holds the region's greatest concentration of superb sites, including Uxmal, and no visit is complete without a good look at Chichén Itzá, perhaps the most famous in the Maya world.  The Yucatán's Caribbean coastline is stunning; the white beaches and azure waters between Cancún and Tulum attract the most visitors, with Cancún and Playa del Carmen the two hubs of the Maya Riviera. Offshore is the island of Cozumel, its coral walls the talk of dive magazines the world over. 

Places to visit in the Yucatán

Mérida, the colonial capital

Located in the northern section of the Yucatán Peninsula is its elegant colonial capital, Mérida. Once enclosed by walls, the downtown area is compact, its narrow streets and closely packed buildings originally laid out in the era of the horse and buggy. At the heart of the city center is the wonderfully shady Plaza Mayor; on its south side is the Casa de Montejo, built in 1549 for the first Spanish governor of the Yucatán. Diagonally opposite is the Catedral de San Ildefonso. This was only the second cathedral built anywhere in the Americas, after Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Next door is the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán (MACAY), a major modern art museum.

Calle 60 is Mérida's traditional main street and the majority of sights are on or just off this thoroughfare, such as the giant Mercado (where stalls sell everything from hammocks to panama hats), the domed Teatro Peón Contreras, and Parque Santa Lucía which hosts events in Mérida's free fiesta every Sunday.

Mayan ruins at Uxmal

Also in the northern Yucatán is Uxmal, one of the most impressive ruins in the Maya world and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It reached its peak between 800 and 1000AD and its architecture is stunning. Buildings include the Governor's Palace, the Pyramid of the Magician, the Nunnery Quadrangle, House of the Turtles, House of the Pigeons and House of the Old Woman. The Visitors' Center includes a shop, museum and restaurant. The 45-minute sound and light show is held between November and March; an English translation is provided through heaphones. Regular buses connect the site with Mérida.

Chichén Itzá

Another Unesco Heritage Site in the northern Yucatán is Chichén Itzá, voted one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" in 2007. The site's largest building, the 24-meter (80ft) -high Pyramid of Kukulcán represents the Maya calendar, with four 91-step staircases plus a single step at the top, adding up to 365. Due to pressure of numbers, visitors are no longer allowed to climb to the top of the Pyramid. The three small platforms to the north of the Pyramid were centers of sacrifice: the Plataforma de Venus, the Plataforma de águilas y Jaguares, and the Tzompantli, from which human heads were hung. Other attractions include the Temple of the Warriors, the Court of the Thousand Columns, and the Sacred Cenote. The large Visitors' Center has shops, restaurants and a museum.

Cancún

Sitting on the Caribbean coast, the purpose-built global resort has enormous hotels lining dazzling beaches, a range of outdoor leisure activities and glitzy nightlife. All the hotels are huge, and, although next to each other, getting between them can be a trek. Most hotels are self-contained, with restaurants, pools, beachfront, discos, lobby bars and shopping arcades, and more and more operate on an all-inclusive plan. The hotel strip has just one long street, Boulevard Kukulcán.

Crowds stand in line outside the giant multi-space clubs, all offering a choice of music, light shows and live acts. The lines are longest when all the US and Canadian college kids descend on Cancún for Spring Break. Travelers less addicted to glitz, or on a budget, stay in Ciudad Cancún (downtown).

Cozumel island

South of Cancún is the island of Cozumel. The island's modern rediscovery gained momentum in the 1960s when it was brought to the world's attention by the famous French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, who came to film here. He declared that the Cozumel reefs were second only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. More divers came in his wake, and other tourists soon followed. Its fabulous, colorful coral reefs and vibrant marine life are still the island's biggest attraction. The most family-oriented beaches are on Cozumel's sheltered southwest coast, especially Playa San Francisco.

Playa del Carmen

Also south of Cancún is Playa del Carmen, the second hub of the Riviera. Most of its attractions and services are within walking distance of each other, making its streets conducive to strolling. It has a more interesting range of restaurants than Cancún, with more hip, international nightlife. Playa's hotels cover a complete range, from backpacker favorites through charming small lodges to chic boutique hotels and resorts. There are also several excellent dive and snorkel operators based here. The biggest resort hotels are in the Playacar development on the south side of the town, which also has an 18-hole golf course, condos, and even some Maya ruins, relics of what was once a departure point for pilgrimages to Cozumel.