Riviera Maya - Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum and Isla Mujeres Mexico Travel Blog

The Riviera Maya is a stretch of Caribbean coastline on Mexico’s northeastern Yucatán Peninsula. One of the reasons I love the Riviera Maya is how easy it is to drive it. If you want to see the Yucatan Peninsula, simply rent a car in Cancun and drive south along the coastal highway to Playa Del Carmen or Tulum and make stops along the way in all of the wonderful coastal cities.

Cancun

Cancun is the city that contains the major international airport in that area, so more than likely you’ll land there if you’re heading to the Riviera Maya. Cancun is known for its beaches, numerous resorts and nightlife. It’s composed of 2 distinct areas: the more traditional downtown area, El Centro, and Zona Hotelera, a long, beachfront strip of high-rise hotels, nightclubs, shops and restaurants. Cancun is also a famed destination for students during universities’ spring break period, just a heads up so you can coordinate your time of travel.

Avenida Kukulkán is the main strip in Cancun. Most hotels are located directly on the street. On Kukulkan you can find anything you're looking for in Cancun. Shopping plazas, high-end restaurants, local restaurants, nightlife etc. If you're staying in Cancun you will likely be walking up and down this strip daily if you leave your hotel grounds.

To experience the night life, I recommend getting a VIP tour of Cancun’s nightclubs so you don’t have to worry about where to go or how to get there. A nightclub tour in Cancun handles all the details of your night out while keeping you safe, so you can focus on having fun. Plus, these tours give you VIP entry to Cancun’s top clubs (so you skip the long lines) and unlimited drinks. You’ll visit places like, Carlos’n Charlie, The City Discotheque, Coco Bongos, Dady O’s, Mandala Cancun and Congo Bar.

Partying it up at one of the clubs on the strip

Another reason I absolutely love the Riviera Maya is because it offers natural, adventure parks, which are a short drive from Cancun. You can rent a car and drive there or purchase a tour that includes transportation to and from your hotel as well as the park entrance fee, that’s what we did. There are two main parks that I’d recommend.

Xcaret Park opened in December 1990 as an eco-archeological park where visitors from all over the world can enjoy the splendor of Mexico’s biodiversity and cultural heritage. The attractions in the park include underground rivers, beach, lagoon & pools, tropical jungle trail and a rotating scenic tower. This park is very family friendly, but adults with no kids will enjoy it as well. You can read all about it here: https://www.xcaret.com

The other is Xplor Park. This park is for older kids and adults. It’s a natural adventure park where you zipline, drive through the jungle, swim in the underground river and leisurely float through astounding rock formations on a raft along side the stalactites and stalagmites formations.

Admiring the stalactites and stalagmites formations

Isla Mujeres

A fun one-day trip could be to Isla Mujeres. It’s an easy 30-minute ferry ride from Cancun. Isla Mujeres is a small island with wonderful beaches, hotels and restaurants. The streets are very narrow and often crowded with mopeds and golf carts, which is the best way to get around and explore the town. Avenida Hidalgo is the main street for restaurants and shops. It’s “pedestrian only” but the cross streets are open to traffic so look both ways when you walk the strip.

Playa Del Carmen

Playa del Carmen is a coastal resort town in Mexico, along the Yucatán Peninsula's Riviera Maya strip on the Caribbean shoreline. In the state of Quintana Roo, it’s known for its palm-lined beaches and coral reefs. Its Quinta Avenida (5thAve) is the pedestrian walkway that runs parallel to the beach. It has blocks of shops, restaurants and nightspots ranging from laid-back bars to dance clubs. You can wander away from 5th ave and find quieter places to grab a bite. One of the unique things about playa is how diverse it is because of the number of ex-pats that live there. You can truly find authentic curry, paella, burgers, falafels and Mexican cuisine, of course.

Start your day at Playa Del Carmen at a rooftop or beach party. The Carmen Hotel has great rooftop parties and Mamacita’s beach has great beach parties.

Rooftop party at The Carmen Hotel, yes thats the DJ and a stripper pool behind me.

Enjoying the party at Mamacita’s Beach - they have a restaurant, bar, bathrooms, cabanas and DJ. It’s everything you need for a great beach party!

There are plenty of water sports at Mamacita’s beach also.

Another alternative to partying during the day is renting a boat/yacht that comes with it’s own captain, bar, food and music. You can rent it for 4-8 hours and party at sea. This was a blast too!

The boat stops at certain beaches so you can jump off and swim.

We have also stayed at The Palm at Playa which is an adults only hotel right on 5th ave with an absolutely beautiful pool to hang out at.

When you’re done having fun in the sun, get dressed up and grab some dinner on 5th avenue.

Enjoying an amazing steak dinner at El Diez Parilla Argentina restaurant on 5th Ave

Great seafood at La Fisheria on 5th Avenue

Once your belly is full, head to one of the many clubs on the strip. Once you’re done partying, sleep and repeat!

Tulum

Tulum is a town on the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, south of Cancun. It’s known for its beaches and well-preserved ruins of an ancient Mayan port city. The main building is a large stone structure called El Castillo (castle), perched on a rocky cliff above the white sand beach and turquoise sea. Near the ruins is the Parque Nacional Tulum, a coastal area with mangroves and cenotes (natural limestone sinkholes).

Once you’re done exploring the ruins, take a dip in the beautiful Tulum beach.

Tulum is a town you can see in one day, but if you get a chance, I recommend staying in one of the many boutique hotels along the beautiful beachfront. We stayed one night in a yoga hotel, called Maya Tulum and absolutely loved it. We chose one of their ocean front villas that are beautifully built. They have a thatched roof, beds draped with netting, comfortable ceiling fans, open showers and original art hung on the walls. The windows open to the sea, excellent to feel the breeze when you sleep and hear the sound of the ocean waves.

Our room had big windows facing the ocean so you can feel the breeze and hear the sound of the waves as you sleep.

The hotel has hammocks on the beach so you can enjoy the evening on the beach.

No trip to the Yucatan Peninsula is complete without visiting a few cenotes. Swimming in cenotes is something that you can only do here. It will quickly become your favorite activity in the Riviera Maya. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, cenotes are sinkholes, many of them opening up into vast subterranean worlds, filled with tunnels and lagoons. These are natural wonders that vary in shape, size and depth.

This cenote is extremely deep, from the top you take stairs to the bottom of the lagoon where you swim.

This cenote is not as deep and has super clear water. It has a fun zipline that goes across it so you can jump off it as you glide across the cenote.

This cenote has a perfect section where you can jump in from the top of the rocks.

This cenote is primarily above ground and surrounded by nature.

This is Inside the cave of a cenote, there were plenty of bats flying above our heads.

This cenote had natural steps where you can easily walk into the water and glide across. it was one of the ones with the most clear and clean water as well.

Here is a good list of cenotes you can visit when you’re in the Riviera Maya.

Cenote Dos Ojos
Cenote Nicte-Ha
Cenote Calavera
Car Wash Cenote
Gran Cenote
Cenote Zacil-Ha

There is plenty more to see in the Riviera Maya but this gives you a good starting point. If you would like to know what else there is to do, please contact me.

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