Riviera Maya & Yucatán Peninsula

From the jungle-fringed ruins of Chichén Itzá to the sun-drenched shores of the Riviera Maya, Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula is a heady blend of history, culture and indulgence, where ancient civilisations, colonial elegance and barefoot luxury converge.

The Yucatán Peninsula is Mexico at its most evocative. Along the Riviera Maya, a 130-kilometre stretch of Caribbean coastline between Cancún in the north and Tulum in the south, travellers are met with powder-white beaches, sapphire seas and world-class resorts.

Clifftop Tulum is the only Mayan city to be built on the coast – a breathtaking fusion of heritage and horizon. Inland, the wonders deepen. Uxmal is rated by many archaeologists as the finest Mayan city ever built, while further north, colonial Mérida provides a cultured base for exploring the most famous of all the Mayan sites, wondrous Chichén Itzá, now one of the official New 7 Wonders of the World.

Further west lies UNESCO-listed Campeche, a postcard-perfect port city with impeccably preserved Spanish colonial architecture. While hidden among it all are a network of cenotes: sinkholes in the bedrock once used for Mayan rituals that now provide travellers with wonderful opportunities to swim, snorkel and even scuba dive.