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What is the Riviera Maya known for?
- The Riviera Maya is a tourism epicenter known for its Mayan ruins, white-sand beaches, and thrilling underwater sinkholes referred to as cenotes.
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Is the Riviera Maya a good place for a road trip?
- It’s an area that was made for road tripping, and although its popularity is growing quickly, visitors can still find uniquely remote activities, attractions, and charming little fishing villages.
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How long is the Riviera Maya, and how can visitors travel through it?
- Spanning roughly 84 miles from Puerto Morelos to Tulum, the Riviera Maya is easy to travel by bus or car. Stopping to have breakfast in Playa del Carmen won’t get in the way of making it to a tour in Tulum in the afternoon.
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What kind of experiences does the Riviera Maya offer?
- The region is known for having a little bit of everything. Visitors can enjoy the party-driven tourist hot spots just as easily as they can explore a hidden underworld in the heart of the jungle.
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1. National Reef Park of Puerto Morelos
The National Reef Park of Puerto Morelos is home to the world’s second largest coral reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. This area of the reef is only six feet under the water’s surface and is the closest section to shore in the Riviera Maya, making it one of the most popular diving and snorkeling locations. The reef became a protected area in 1998, requiring each visitor to be accompanied by an accredited guide; swimming to the reef without one is illegal. While viewing the various flora and fauna is encouraged, visitors are expected to take special care and not touch the reef to avoid damaging it.
Avenida Rafael e Melgar 1,2,3, Puerto Morelos 77580, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: +52-99-88-71-01-62
2. Kantun Chi Ecological Park
Kantun Chi Ecological Park is an ecological park surrounded by lush tropical gardens featuring an abundance of wildlife, including spider monkeys, deer, and raccoons as well as various bird and reptile species. The park’s most prominent features are its four cenotes, natural freshwater sinkholes boasting beautiful crystal clear waters. Of the four cenotes, Sas ka leen Ha, meaning transparent water, is the largest, and it features a small Mayan shrine that is believed to have been used by this ancient civilization for purification ceremonies. The other three cenotes include Uch Ben Ha, a gorgeous open-air sinkhole teeming with colorful fish, Zacil Ha (clear water), known for its natural formations, and Kantun Chi, a semi-open sinkhole ideal for snorkeling and swimming.
La Avenida 20, Entre Calle 4 y 6, Norte, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: +52-98-48-03-01-43
3. Emotions Native Park
Located in a thick jungle, the Emotions Native Park is a fun and exciting place where recreational activities take center stage. Visitors can ride ATVs throughout the trail system, walk along beautifully landscaped pathways and protected natural areas, and soar high above the lush vegetation on zip lines. Visitors can also discover archeological vestiges and learn about Mayan culture, history, and traditions through a tour of one the area’s earliest houses, a building that has been fully restored. They will also have the chance to explore a few small Mayan ruins, experience a Mayan ceremony, swim in a crystal clear cenote named Media Luna, and walk through a cave with stalactites and stalagmites.
Carretera Federal Chetumal-Puerto Juarez Km 285, Ejido Sur, 77712, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: 877-432-1569
4. Angelita Cenote
Located outside of the ancient Mayan city of Tulum deep in the Mexican jungle is a series of caves and sinkholes that serve as a gateway to an incredibly fascinating submerged world. One of these openings is the Angelita Cenote, a spacious, 200-foot-deep pool that suddenly appears from the thick jungle surroundings. The steady flow of water meeting the crumbling of porous limestone created this gaping cavern, which the ancient Mayans considered a holy site after they discovered it. Today, it serves as a popular spelunking and scuba diving site that provides visitors with an extraordinary experience of an underwater “river.”
Downtown Avenue, Tulum 200, Plaza Mexico, SM 4, Mexico, Phone: +52-87-16-70
5. Akmul Monkey Sanctuary and Rescued Animals
Akmul Monkey Sanctuary and Rescued Animals (AMS) is devoted to the love and care of animals who come from extremely poor conditions where they were once working in circuses and other animal-centered attractions. The sanctuary was designed to educate people on all the natural wonders of the Mayan jungle in an enjoyable environment. AMS serves as a cultural corridor where visitors can learn about art, animals, and Mayan traditions. You have the opportunity to go on 2.5-hour guided tours through the sanctuary and its habitats as well as visit their underground cenote. During the tour, guests will also have the chance to interact with a troop of primates for up to twenty minutes.
Gonzalo Guerrero, 77780 Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: +52-98-41-60-02-72
6. Crocco Cun Zoo
Located near the peaceful village of Puerto Morelos at the edge of Riviera Maya, Crocco Cun Zoo is a conservationist interactive animal park where guests can touch, hold, and feed a variety of regional wild animals. While this zoo allows an up-close-and-personal animal experience that others do not, they do so with education and connectedness in mind. Their expert staff provide guided 60 to 75-minute tours designed to teach visitors to understand and respect the role and significance of different species’ parts in the ecosystem. While traversing a maze of outdoor paths among indigenous plant life and ponds, guests will see and interact with various mammals such as monkeys, birds, and reptiles like crocodiles and snakes.
307 Highway, Carr. Cancun – Tulum km 31, 77580 Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: +52-99-88-50-37-19
7. Dolphin Discovery Playa del Carmen
Situated on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Dolphin Discovery Playa del Carmen habitat is located in Punta Maroma. It is the largest of its kind in the region with the added benefit of being on one of the ten best beaches in the world – Playa Maroma – a pristine white sand beach featuring crystal clear waters and warm tropical breezes. It’s a picture perfect paradise offering a wealth of entertainment and recreational activities with the Dolphin Discovery center playing a central role. Visitors can choose from a selection of dolphin encounters that allow them to get up-close-and-personal with these impressive marine mammals, feeding them, swimming with them, and even riding on them.
Carretera Chetumal-Pto. Juarez Km. 503 + 200, El dorado Maroma Solidaridad, Punta Maroma, 77710 Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: 800-727-5391
8. Adventuras Mayas
Adventuras Mayas is a premier tour company that offers unforgettable, extreme excursions throughout the Maya Riviera. They are focused on providing visitors with unique and magical adventures in a sustainable environment while respecting essential ecological processes, cultural integrity, and biological diversity. Visitors can choose from one of eight specialty tours provided by Adventuras Mayas, including Tulum Xtreme, Snorkel Xtreme, Maya Xtreme, Dolphin Xtreme, ATVs Zipline, ATVs Snorkel, ATVs Tulum, and Maya Adventure. The latter explores three extraordinary ecosystems, an underground river in the center of a jungle, the turquoise waters of the Caribbean teeming with marine life, and the mystical beauty of Mayan cenotes (sinkholes).
Col. Ejido Sur, Solidaridad, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: +52-98-48-03-25-51
9. Coba Mayan Traditions
The Coba Mayan Traditions tourism company was designed to show visitors the various treasures of the Maya ancient city of Coba. As the heart of Mayan civilization, each tour explores the greatness of the city’s traditions and its transcendence into the modern world. They offer authentic and unique insights into the cultural background of Mayan history and heritage through an ancient and active archaeological site, a fabulous cenote, and a real Mayan village. Guests will visit Nohoch Mul, Mexico’s tallest Maya pyramid, enjoy a local lunch at an ecological restaurant within the rainforest, and experience a Maya Purification with a shaman. Additionally, guests visit with Maya descendants while watching a demonstration on how to make Mayan gum.
Plaza Chacah, local numero 6, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, Phone: +52-98-48-03-88-70
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