38 Best things to see & do in Mayan Riviera

Swim (cage-free) with American crocodiles in glassy-clear water in a pristine biosphere reserve on these 3-day adventures. Crocs aside, this wreck-scattered atoll teems with sea life – so superb diving and snorkelling too.

The most iconic of Mexico’s mystical pre-Hispanic Mayan ruins, whose oldest structures date back to the 5th century. See the Castillo pyramid, the Temple of a Thousand Warriors, and exquisitely carved palaces.

With caverns covered with stalactites, glassy water, terrapins and cave fish, these natural sinkholes offer uniquely spectacular swims, snorkels and scuba dives.

Ancient, shaman-led Mayan purification ceremony designed to cause intense physical, emotional and mental release – and a transformative feeling of rebirth.

A stunning cenote with spectacular cave formations and glassy water, passing through caverns encrusted with stalactites. Mind-bogglingly beautiful for both snorkellers and PADI divers.

An adrenaline-pumping close encounter with this top-of-the-food-chain predator, in glassy-clear water. A unique & unforgettable experience.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to snorkel or dive with these harmless, 12-metre long, filter-feeding fish. Humbling and unforgettable.

See wild manatees in their natural habitat on a dive or snorkel excursion in the far south of the Mayan Riviera.

A unique destination for exceptional snorkelling experiences – underwater art galleries, lakes fringed with jungle, cenote sink holes in stalactite-encrusted caverns, plus crocs, manatees and whale sharks.

Dive with whale sharks or crocodiles, drift over spectacular drop-offs or through stalactite-filled caves: the Mayan Riviera is a world-class scuba destination

An authentic, atmospheric and less-visited Mayan site, set in lush, wildlife-rich forest. Climb to the summit of the 126ft-high Nohoc Mul pyramid – the tallest on the Mayan Riviera.

Huge, impressive and little-visited 2000-year-old Mayan city set in the second largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere. The giant pyramids of this ruined city are unforgettable.

A UNESCO-listed biosphere that preserves wetlands, forests and turtle-nesting beaches – one of the Yucatan’s last truly wild places.

A cenote-fed, brilliant blue lake set in unspoilt tropical forest, with superb kayaking, swimming and wildlife.

With glassy pools and shallow lagoons offering dolphin, nurse-shark and manatee swimming, tame jungles, and spectacular Mayan dance shows, this huge eco-theme park is a Maya World, and a snorkel-friendly Disneyland.

A simple nature-based theme park with a safari-park zoo, a cenote for swimming, a spectacular cave and a rainforest canopy zip-line adventure.

A snorkellers’ theme park, comprising a series of broken, crystal-clear bays and glassy streams, teeming with brightly coloured marine life and fringed with low tropical forest.

Lily-covered, glassy-clear and filled with terrapins and tropical fish, this cenote near Tulum is easy to reach and fabulous to swim in. Big caverns make for spectacular cave diving.

Iconic, though modest, Maya ruins perched on a cliff overlooking a beautiful beach and a turquoise ocean.

A beautiful, deep-green cenote set in lush jungle and dripping with vines; it’s close to Chichen Itza, though, so heavily visited.

Hidden in a stalactite-encrusted underground cavern, this cenote dazzles with its jewel-blue pool, pierced by a single shaft of light. Tiny black cave fish nibble your feet.

As impressive and as large as Chichen Itza but far less-visited, this ancient Mayan city is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s covered in carvings and has a famous round-sided temple.

One of the Yucatan’s prettiest villages, Izamal is known as the ‘Yellow City’, as buildings are painted almost entirely warm-yellow. It’s dominated by a Spanish colonial Franciscan monastery and surrounded by unexcavated temples.

With its eerie masks and a lush, wildlife-filled rainforest setting, this Mayan city dating back to AD 700 is well worth going out of your way for; and you’ll have the ruins pretty much to yourself at any time of day.

This big, open swimming hole – set in low jungle and filled with fish is safe enough for small kids, has changing rooms, life jackets and water-entry platforms. It’s easy to reach, sitting right off the main Cancún-Chetumal highway 15 minutes’ drive from Playa.

A family-friendly cenote adventure park – with cliff-jumps, rope-swings, jungle trails and onsite changing rooms and lockers. Cristalino sits right outside Playa del Carmen, making it easy to reach, and immensely popular.

With a platform jutting into the middle of a turquoise pool under a roof of stalactites, this cenote near Valladolid town is a busy Instagram favourite. Stay at the onsite cabañas and you can book a slot just for yourself.

A big restaurant, a tequila museum and a tour bus car park: this big, open-air pool near Chichen Itza is hugely popular but empty at the beginning and end of the day.

One of a string of less-visited cenotes lying close to more celebrated Dos Ojos, Sac Actun sits in a dramatic cavern filled with stalactites and illuminated by a single hole in the roof. It’s on the Tulum-tour radar but arrive before 10am and you’ll have it to yourself.

Turquoise-blue, set in a low cavern covered with small stalactites and illuminated by soft light through roof holes, this cenote is a beauty. Its remote location at the end of a long dirt road between Tulum and Akumal keeps it fairly crowd-free.

This large, lily-covered pool filled with wispy water weed, terrapins, fish, and the occasional small crocodile, has water as clear as air. It’s easy to visit from Tulum, yet it’s far less busy than nearby Gran Cenote.

British artist Jason Decaires Taylor’s underwater art gallery feels like a latter-day Atlantis – with statues covered with wispy sea weeds and baby coral, fish swimming all around sitting on the sand in vodka-clear water off Isla Mujeres.

Small, touristy and mediocre aquatic theme park offering swims with dolphins, sea lions and manatees. Fun for kids.

A large and little-visited cenote next to the beach north of Tulum. Filled with fish and with a resident Morelet’s crocodile. Excellent for snorkelling.

For an immersion into Mayan culture with the crowds, head to this little-visited Mayan sites near Chetumal. It sits in it own lush rainforest parks, with abundant wildlife and towering pyramid temples.

A must for any culture vulture, this small museum in Chetumal has precious artefacts and state-of-the-art exhibits offering real insight into Maya life and culture.

Cozumel’s best snorkelling is a boat ride from the shore. Most dive shops organise designated snorkel trips or take snorkellers on dive excursions.

Designed by Greg Norman, the course weaves its way through dense jungle, beautiful stretches of white sand and mangrove forests, with cenotes – natural sink holes – providing natural hazards.