The top places to visit in Riviera Maya, Mexico

Mexico’s Riviera Maya, a place rich in Mayan culture, with beautiful beaches, tropical island excursions and some of the best water activities the Caribbean has to offer. It’s the country’s jewel of a vacation destination, and whilst quite touristic, you’ll still find it to be a cultural and enriching destination.

In this guide, we’ve assembled a list of the best places to visit in Riviera Maya. We’ve included the top attractions, beaches, cenotes, towns and eco-parks, plus a few of our own lesser-known recommendations. Riviera Maya has enough activities to keep you entertained for a month! Whether you’re looking for sea life and snorkelling or want to get up close to Mayan ruins, you’re sure to find inspiration in our guide.

Continue reading to discover the top Riviera Maya attractions.

Xcaret Park

We’re starting our list with one of the very best places to visit in Riviera Maya for all interests. A world-famous eco-park, Xcaret Park is the main attraction from the Xcaret brand. It has been carved out of the natural jungle of Riviera Maya, featuring stunning underground rivers with mangroves, caves and a tropical setting. It also boasts several Mayan Ruins and countless man-made attractions and activities.

Visit Xcaret Park for a day of Mayan culture, adventure and great food and drinks. The sprawling eco-park has various Mexican shows running throughout the day. It also has a traditional village, cemetery, animal exhibits, an aquarium, beach, natural pools, and some cool animal encounter experiences. We’ve visited Xcaret Park many times and never get bored – it’s an amazing day out!

Read our blog post to see the top things to do in Xcaret Park.

Xcaret Evening Show

Xcaret is not only worth visiting during the day. Head there after dark and you’ll be treated to a 2-hour show full of traditional Mexican stories, music, costumes, sport and dance. It’s a highlight of any visit to Xcaret and you can purchase separate, cheaper tickets if you only want to attend the evening show.

As part of the evening show, you can choose to enjoy a 7-course dinner with drinks or can opt for show-only tickets. It’s one of the best evening shows in the Riviera Maya and we highly recommend checking it out.

Xplor Park

Right next to Xcaret Park you’ll find the adventure-focused eco-park, Xplor. Best for adults and adventurous older kids, the park is full of adrenaline-fuelled activities. It lacks the cultural shows and educational aspect of Xcaret. However, its jungle setting and thrill-factor makes it one of Xcaret’s most popular parks.

Visit Xplor for the day and you’ll get to experience Riviera Maya’s longest and highest jungle ziplines. There’s also an ATV adventure trail, underground rafting activity, giant water slides and a few smaller attractions. It feels a lot like a forest adventure or zipline park, but with bigger and more thrilling attractions.

Playa Del Carmen

Playa Del Carmen is Riviera Maya’s most popular tourist town. As the heart and soul of the region, it’s full of colour and culture, featuring a long sandy beach, streets lit up with paper decorations and an abundance of shops, bars and restaurants. During the day, Playa Del Carmen is quiet. Everyone is either relaxing on the beach, perched up in a beach club or enjoying the facilities of their hotel.

On an evening, the city comes alive! Cheap-eat taco bars, a huge shopping street known as Fifth Avenue and countless tequila bars and clubs make it a hot spot for those that want to enjoy a casual drink or party into the early hours. Playa Del Carmen has something for everyone! We recommend visiting mid-afternoon and staying as late as you like.

Playacar

Playacar is Playa Del Carmen’s private gated community, known to have one of the best beaches in the area. It’s a residential neighbourhood full of luxury condos, but it also hosts countless beach resorts. If you’re staying in the Playa Del Carmen area, there’s a good chance your hotel is right on Playacar Beach.

The beach is excellent for water sports, long morning or sunset walks, or simply relaxing with a lounger and enjoying the view. It’s safe to swim most of the time. Other top things to check out in the Playacar area include a plaza full of shops, bars and restaurants, and Playacar Mayan Ruins.

Cenotes

Cenotes are underground sinkholes or natural pits that have formed due to the collapse of limestone rocks and caves. They can be found across the planet, but Mexico has one of the highest concentrations of these natural pools. There are over 6,000 in Mexico alone, with many of them located in the Riviera Maya.

We’ve already mentioned a handful of cave experiences and eco-parks where you can find cenotes. However, you can visit cenotes without having to pay for a tour or entry to a park. Go for a swim in the fresh water, take some nice photos or join a cenote diving tour to explore the depths below.

We recommend visiting the following Riviera Maya Cenotes:

• Cenote Azul
• Cenote Dos Ojos
• Cenote Cristallino
• Cenote Sac Actún
• Cenote Chikin Ha

Kantun Chi Cenote Park

If you want to experience a variety of different cenotes all in one place, stop by Kantun Chi Eco-Park. It’s the top-rated cenote park in Riviera Maya and is very well maintained. Many cenotes don’t have facilities such as showers, toilets, dining options and relaxation areas, but Kantun Chi has all the above and more, making it a fun, comfortable day out.

When you visit Kantun Chi, you can choose to explore 5 cenotes with a guide, along with a tour of the underground river. You’ll get time to swim in each cenote and will gain an insight into how the natural pools have formed.

Alternatively, you can explore four of the cenotes in the park yourself, without a guided tour. This is a cheaper option that gives you a lot more flexibility if you don’t feel like you need a guide. Kantun Chi is a great place to visit in Riviera Maya for those that want to sample lots of different cenotes in one place.

Cozumel Island

Most of the attractions, beaches and towns on our list are located on the Mexico mainland. Cozumel is a Riviera Maya island located just off the shore of Playa Del Carmen. A popular cruise port in the Caribbean and known worldwide for its rich sea-life and scuba diving spots, it makes a great day trip. Many visitors also choose to stay overnight – there’s a lot to see and do here.

To get to Cozumel, you can catch one of the frequent ferries from Playa Del Carmen town. The crossing takes around 40-minutes. Once you arrive in Cozumel, you have a choice of activities, excursions, and a local town full of bars, shops and restaurants.

Top things to do in a daytrip include a self-guided tour around the beaches, parks and natural wonders of the island. Punta Sur Eco Beach Park on the south coast is an excellent place to find remote, white sand beaches, a lagoon and lots of wildlife. Other options include beach clubs, water sports, and the top activity, a snorkelling or scuba diving tour around the offshore reefs.

Tulum Archaeological Site

Riviera Maya and the Yucatan area of Mexico have a history dating back to the Mayans over 1000 years ago. One place to experience Mayan tradition, architecture and history is the protected Tulum Archaeological Site, which sits near the beaches of Tulum. It’s the only Mayan Ruins in the world located next to the sea, creating scenic views of the crashing waves alongside old building remnants.

Tulum Archaeological Site is one of the best places to visit in Riviera Maya for those interested in Mayan history. It’s also a place that suits those with a causal interest. The photos, views and nearby sites of the national park make it a must see during your time in Riviera Maya.

To get to the archaeological site, you’ll need to pay to enter Jaguar National Park, which gives you access to the nearby beaches and walking trails. There’s then a small additional fee to visit the ruins.

Tulum National Park Beaches

Perfectly paired with a visit to Tulum Archaeological Site, the Tulum beaches are the perfect place to wind down after a morning of sightseeing. The white sands of Playa Paraiso, Playa Pescadores and Playa Santa Fe are what we imagine when we think of beaches in the Riviera Maya. They’re quiet, full of palm trees and feel remote and untouched compared to more the touristic beaches of the north.

To access most of Tulum’s beaches, you’ll first need to pay for access to Jaguar National Park. There are plenty of facilities inside the park and you get complimentary access to a small train to take you between the beaches.

Cirque du Soleil Joya evening show

The next recommendation on our list is a little different to the usual Riviera Maya attractions. Cirque du Soleil Joya is a thrilling evening show filled with music, performing arts and circus acts. What once started in Vegas, Cirque du Soleil shows can now be found in destinations around the globe. They’re known for their high-quality production, storytelling and captivating stunts.

Riviera Maya’s ‘Joya’ Cirque du Soleil is the first show of its kind in Latin America. It tells the story of Joya, a rebellious teenager girl, who discovers the interesting world of her alchemist father, as he passes her his knowledge of history, culture and tradition. The jungle setting, stunning concert hall and quality of the performers make it the number one evening show in the area.

It’s a little expensive, but if you can secure discounted tickets or want a special evening activity on your vacation, it’s well worth checking out.

Xel-Ha Park

We’ve already mentioned Xcaret Park, the huge eco-theme park in Riviera Maya. Xel Ha is another park from the Xcaret brand. Whilst the latter focus on shows, culture, wildlife and Mayan tradition, Xel-Ha is all about the natural environment of Riviera Maya. The park has been built around the jungles, caves, cenotes and natural rivers to create a natural water park.

Xel-Ha Park is one of the best places to visit in Riviera Maya for those that appreciate snorkelling, swimming, tubing and other water activities. It features a long lazy river that has naturally formed amongst the mangroves. Other attractions include huge snorkelling lagoon, caves, water adventure activities and much more.

A visit to Xel-Ha can be as relaxing or adventure-filled as you’d like. Pull up a sun lounger and admire the nature of the park or make it your mission to complete all the fun water activities.

Puerto Morelos Reef

Small, sleepy and beautifully scenic, Puerto Morelos is a port town to the northern stretch of Riviera Maya. It’s a popular place to stay on vacation. However, the number one reason to visit is for its vast coral reef. Mesoamerican Barrier Reef is the world’s second largest system, and the Puerto Morelos National Park section is particularly impressive.

The best way to see the reef is on a snorkelling or scuba diving tour. Join one of the many boat excursions and you’ll head out to the shallow coral reef area, 500 meters off the coast. Brightly coloured corals, manta rays, turtles and countless species of tropical fish can all be seen here. It’s known to be one of the best places to snorkel in Mexico, if not the world.

Chaak Tun Underground Caves

Chaak Tun may be the coolest place we visited in Riviera Maya. Lesser known than some of the other attractions on our list, Chaak Tun is a complex of underground caves than have naturally formed from the limestone cliffs over millions of years. The region has a lot of caves, and we’ve included some of them on our list. However, none of them are as visually impressive as Chaak Tun.

You can visit Chaak Tun for a guided tour of the caves. Simply choose a timeslot and book a place online. When you arrive, you’ll be suited up with a lifejacket, water shoes and a torch. The guide will take you to two caves and you’ll get to swim in the underground cenotes, with only your flashlight to guide the way.

It’s an informative and adventurous tour that’ll take you between rock faces, through deep pools and into total darkness.

Akumal Beach

Akumal is one of the best places to visit to visit in Riviera Maya to swim with giant sea turtles. These magnificent creatures can be found in the coral reefs offshore at Akumal Beach, along with tropical fish, manta rays, starfish and other sea life. The best part of snorkelling in Akumal is how close the reef is from the shore. You can swim 100m out from the sand to snorkel and don’t have to board a boat.

Akumal Beach is a protected area, so you’ll need to book a tour to see the turtles. Join a group or private snorkelling tour and you’ll spend an hour or two searching the depths and swimming amongst the reefs. Fins, a snorkel, mask and lifejacket are often included with the price of the tour. Once you’re finished your tour, you can relax on Akumal Beach or explore the local town.

Aktun Chen

Another jungle cave attraction, but one that’s completely different to the others in our guide, Aktun Chen is a complex of magnificent caves alongside an underground river. The nature park stretches 400 acres through the Mayan jungle. It’s filled with interesting trees, plants and vines, and the forest itself has existed for thousands of years.

You can visit Aktun Chen for an educational, guided tour of the jungle caves, which has naturally formed from the limestone rock. The guide will tell you about how the caves were formed, and you’ll get to walk through the caves on foot, admiring the towering stalagmite and stalactite rock formations. The finale of the tour is a cave with an underground cenote. You can’t swim in it, but the lighting effects and stunning cave scenery provides the background for some excellent photos.

In addition to the caves and river at Aktun Chen, you can see animals such as monkeys, deer and tropical birds as you walk the jungle trails.

Yal-Ku Lagoon

Yal-Ku Lagoon is a freshwater lagoon and river area where you can snorkel and swim to your heart’s content. Unlike the other snorkelling spots on our list, Yal-Ku is an organised park attraction on the mainland. You won’t need to head out to sea to see the fish. As the water is fresh, still and clear, it’s very easy to see the abundance of fish swimming around you. You’ll encounter brightly coloured fish from a variety of different species, some larger than others. It’s a fun experience, especially for those that are new to snorkelling.

Yal-Ku Lagoon is located in the Akumal area. Therefore, we recommend pairing it with a visit to Akumal Beach and a sea turtle snorkelling tour. Alternatively, visit Yal-Ku Lagoon in the morning. You can then grab lunch and relax on the nearby Half Moon Bay Beach in the afternoon.

That wraps up our guide on the best places to visit in Riviera Maya, Mexico. We hope we inspired you with plenty of daytrip and attraction ideas for your upcoming trip. There’s so much to do in this region of Mexico, you’ll never get bored! If you have any questions about any of the places we’ve featured, be sure to post a comment below.

Check out our YouTube video for an in-depth look at many of the attractions we’ve featured in our guide.