Yucatan Peninsula Sights & Attractions

Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula offers a choice of must-see attractions and adventures for active couples celebrating a honeymoon or romantic getaway, including:

Chichén Itzá
Take a day trip or stay overnight at the ‘City of the Water Wizards’ to fully explore this UNESCO World Heritage site. Climb the 38m-high Pyramid of Kukulcan (El Castillo) and be rewarded with a spectacular view of the city and surrounding countryside. Venture inside the pyramid to explore the humid corridors and dark chambers and don’t be surprised if you interrupt an iguana enjoying a nap.

Stroll among the columns at the Temple of the Warriors, explore inside El Caracol (the observatory) and discover bas-reliefs and paintings that decorate every square metre of wall of the Nunnery. Best done with a guide who can explain the significance of each tomb, temple or carved mask of a deity.

Cenoté
Go east of Chichén Itzá to discover sacred Mayan sinkholes where young girls were apparently thrown as sacrifices to the rain god Chaac. At X’Keken, descend a vertical hole down narrow stone steps into a dark underground world of red limestone stalactites hanging above a green pool of water that shimmers in the sunlight from a gap in the cavern roof. Cool off in the ice-cold water.

Tulum
Stroll around the walled fortress of Tulum, an important Maya spiritual and cultural centre. Standing atop a 12m-high bluff, this outpost of the Maya civilisation offers breathtaking views over the Caribbean.

Wander around the Temple of the Descending God, El Castillo and the Temple of the Frescoes. Afterwards, cool off with a swim in the Caribbean from the white-sand beach right in front of the site.

Nohoch Nah Chich
Join a four-wheel drive tour through the Mexican rainforest to the Mayan community of Rancho San Felipe. From here explore Nohoch Nan Chich, considered to be the second-longest underground river system in the world.

Snorkel through the clear water past thick strands of stalagmites and stalactites. Afterwards, tuck into a traditional Mayan lunch at the ranch.

Isla Mujeres and Garrafon National Park
Take the 30-minue ferry ride to Isla Mujeres off Cancun's coast and spend a relaxing day at Garrafon National Park snorkelling, kayaking, swimming or helmet diving. Swim with dolphins at Dolphin Discovery and sunbathe at Playa Norte, the island's best beach. Find Isla Mujeres hotels . . .

Xcaret
Discover an eco-adventure theme park where you can swim with dolphins, see jaguars, flamingos and toucans, walk through a butterfly aviary and a bat cave or float down a river in an inner tube.

Watch the ancient Mesoamerican ball game, Pok-Ta-Pok, where players wearing fierce body paint and feathered headdresses use their hips, rather than hands or feet, to send a ball sailing through a hoop. Afterwards, sit back and enjoy a Mexican folk music performance.

Isla Contoy
Join a guided tour of this protected reserve to see the more than 150 migrating and resident birds, including flocks of pelicans, frigates, double-crested cormorants and boobies. The island is a pristine wildlife habitat of mangroves, lagoons, corals and secluded white sandy beaches that are home also to nesting sea turtles. The reserve is only open to 200 visitors daily.

Chinchorro Bank
Discover the largest coral-ringed lagoon in the world at Chinchorro Bank, a 46km-long and 14km-wide reef that lies 30km offshore from Xcalak (about a two-hour boat ride). Mexico's largest coral atoll, the Bank’s 620km² of jagged reefs create a ring of coral with depths that range from 2m to 25m.

Beyond the reef the water plunges dramatically to 1000m in the deep channel that separates Chinchorro from the mainland. Dive past spectacular coral formations, see abundant marine life and a sea floor littered with the wrecks of vessels that have foundered on the reefs over the centuries. Explore Spanish galleons as well as rusting hulks of modern cargo ships.

Playa del Carmen
It’s hard not to fall in love with Playa del Carmen’s rustic charm, gorgeous beaches and vibrant nightlife. Snorkel, scuba, jet ski or soak up the sun on a beach with your loved one.

Playa del Carmen is situated just down the coast from Cancun on the Riviera Maya. Find Playa del Carmen hotels . . .

Sian Ka'an
Explore some of the half-million hectare ecological park of forests, lagoons, exotic marine habitats and wetlands at Sian Ka'an, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just south of Tulum.

The biosphere reserve contains tropical forests, mangroves and marshes, with a habitat for more than 300 species of birds as well as a large marine area and barrier reef. Here you can wander through the rainforest, go horseback riding or hook and release a sailfish or marlin.

Uxmal
Stroll among the elaborate stuccowork and detailed façades in this World Heritage site, one of the best restored and maintained ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula. Admire the entwined serpents in the Nun’s Quadrangle, the House of Pigeons and the Ball Court. Climb the 30m to the top of the Pyramid of the Magician and explore the carvings of serpents, sculptures of the rain god Chaac and astrological symbols in the Governor’s Palace.

Coba
For panoramic views over this ancient Mayan site, climb the 120 stone steps to the summit of the weather-worn 42m-high El Castillo pyramid, which forms part of the Nohoch Mul Group.

Older than much of Chichén Itzá and larger than Tulum, Coba offers 20,719ha of scenic ruins scattered around five lakes and crowded with thick forest.

Come early in the morning when the site is less crowded, listen to the shriek of spider monkeys and watch colonies of army ants parading down ancient pathways before disappearing into the dense forest.

Aktun-Chen
Follow a 600m trail through underground passages, past stalactites and stalagmites until you reach the main cenote (sinkhole), a 12m-deep pool of crystal clear water estimated to be five million years old. Aboveground, a 400ha rainforest boasts hiking trails from which you can spot wildlife such as white tail deer, spider monkeys, badgers, wild boar and iguanas.

Celestun Biosphere Reserve
Admire graceful pink flamingos while keeping an eye open for some of the other 300 species of birdlife that reside in the Yucatan's Celestun Biosphere Reserve, including cormorants, frigate birds, sheartail, black-throated bobwhite and egrets. Also look out for crocodiles, hawksbill and green turtles, iguanas and boa constrictors.

Cenotes de Pac Chen
Hike through the rainforest near Coba, 42km northwest of Tulum, and choose from several cliffs from which to rappel down into cool underwater cenotes (sinkholes). Then discover the Mayan jungle settlement of Pac Chan, where around 100 people live without electricity or running water in traditional round thatch huts.

Cozumel Island
Discover one of Mexico's premier diving destinations in the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park. Explore more than 30 reefs and choose a themed dive tour that focuses on ecology, archaeology or wrecks.

Don’t miss the vivid tunnels of ‘Devil’s Throat’ off Punta Sur, teeming with schooling yellow jack and turtles. Snorkel or dive underwater caves, offshore reefs and see wrecks and bays littered with sunken cannons, anchors and statues.

Located 19km off the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula ‘the land of the swallows’ is fringed by beautiful reefs and clear turquoise waters, with wide sugar-white beaches. Stroll the waterfront boulevard of charming San Miguel village and see wildlife in Chankanaab National Park. Find Cozumel hotels . . .

Parque Punta Sur
To the south of Cozumel on the eastern coast lies the 100ha ecological Parque Punta Sur, an area which encompasses reefs, beaches, lagoons, low forest and the ancient Mayan site of Caracol (Tumba del Caracol).

Hike through the park, keeping an eye out for crocodiles, flamingos, egrets and herons. Watch sea turtles nesting on protected beaches, kayak off the beach or climb to the ancient Mayan lighthouse, El Caracol, built to whistle when the wind blows from a certain direction.