{"id":52593,"date":"2010-06-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/royalresorts.com\/blog\/destination-guide\/"},"modified":"2021-11-16T05:59:33","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:59:33","slug":"destination-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Exploring the Mexican Caribbean &amp; the Yucat\u00e1n<\/strong><br \/>\nWith its endless beaches of soft white sand that\u2019s always cool to the touch, crystal-clear turquoise waters and the world\u2019s second longest reef on the doorstep, the Mexican Caribbean captivates visitors from all over the planet who flock here in search of warm sunshine and relaxation. Yet, this area offers so much more than beach fun. It is the gateway to the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula and a world of natural and historical attractions just waiting to be discovered.<br \/>\nStart your Canc\u00fan or Riviera Maya vacation with some latitude adjustment on the beach and after a couple of days of sunbathing, swimming and snorkeling you\u2019ll be ready to go exploring.<br \/>\nVenture inland and explore the archaeological sites that pepper the flat landscape, they are testimony to the splendor of the ancient Mayan civilization.  Spend time in the area\u2019s colonial towns and cities and visit a hacienda to learn about henequen, a native plant that fueled an extraordinary economic boom at the end of the 19th century.<br \/>\nMexico is the fourth most important country in the world in terms of biodiversity and the unique and fragile jungle and wetland ecosystems of the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula are a haven for a host of tropical birds and animals, and a refuge for millions of migratory birds that fly south to escape the winter cold of northern climes. A variety of wildlife watching trips to the area\u2019s biosphere reserves and national parks is available for nature lovers and you are bound to see something incredible whatever the season.<br \/>\nYet the forests of the Riviera Maya offer more thrills than that of seeing a spider monkey or toucan in its natural habitat. Ever wanted to leap off a cliff into a still, clear jungle pool or cenote, glide through the trees on a zip line or explore a cave? There are jungle activity tours and cenote parks to bring out the adventurer in all of us.<br \/>\nNaturally, you\u2019ll also want to discover the underwater world of the Mexican Caribbean on snorkeling and scuba diving trips to reefs in the Cancun-Isla Mujeres area, the Riviera Maya, Cozumel and even further afield. Over 400 species of fish and 70 varieties of coral inhabit area waters, not to mention sea turtles, octopus and conch, and visibility can reach 200 feet.<br \/>\nDiving and snorkeling are just the beginning \u2013 the Mexican Caribbean is one vast water playground! Start planning your aquatic fun today, go sailing on a luxury yacht or catamaran and visit the islands, charter a sport or fly fishing trip or try your hand at windsurfing or kayaking.<br \/>\nLooking for the perfect spot for a fun day with the family? The Mexican Caribbean offers a variety of parks and activities that can be enjoyed by the young and not so young alike. Beach and snorkeling adventures are universally popular and older children may enjoy swimming with the dolphins, horse riding, kayak trips and zip lining.<br \/>\nWherever you go, you\u2019ll experience Mexican hospitality and get a taste of the country\u2019s rich and colorful culture.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Using our Travel Guide<\/strong><br \/>\nWe hope that you find it useful and enjoy putting together trip ideas for your next vacation. Stay posted as we will be adding more information on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p>RIVIERA MAYA<\/p>\n<p>History<br \/>\n\u2013Archaeological sites: Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1, Tulum, Cob\u00e1, Ek Balam, Uxmal &amp; Puuc Route and Mayap\u00e1n.<br \/>\n\u2013Colonial cities: M\u00e9rida, Valladolid and Izamal.<\/p>\n<p>Nature<br \/>\n\u2013Biosphere Reserves &amp; Parks: Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve, Contoy and Rio Lagartos.<br \/>\n\u2013Caves &amp; Cenotes: Aktun Chen Caves, Dzitnup, Ik-kil, Rio Secreto and Hidden Worlds<br \/>\n\u2013Adventure Parks: Xplor and Selv\u00e1tica<br \/>\n\u2013Wildlife Watching<\/p>\n<p>Underwater World<br \/>\n\u2013A guide to snorkeling sites<br \/>\n\u2013Top dive sites<br \/>\n\u2013Marine Reserves: Cancun-Isla Mujeres, Puerto Morelos, Cozumel, Riviera Maya Reefs, Sian Ka\u2019an Reefs and  Chinchorro Reserve<br \/>\n\u2013Water parks: Xel-H\u00e1, Parque Nizuc and Garraf\u00f3n<br \/>\n\u2013Whale shark experience<br \/>\n\u2013Sea turtles<br \/>\n\u2013Marine life<br \/>\n\u2013Help us save the reefs<\/p>\n<p>Island Hopping<br \/>\n-Isla Mujeres<br \/>\n-Cozumel<br \/>\n-Isla Contoy<br \/>\n-Holbox<\/p>\n<p>Family Adventures<br \/>\n-Parks: Xcaret and Xel-H\u00e1<br \/>\n-Dolphins<br \/>\n-Horse riding<\/p>\n<p>Meet Today\u2019s Maya<br \/>\n-Dos Palmas<br \/>\n-Yaxcaba<br \/>\n-Sacred Mayan Moments<br \/>\n-Puerta Verde<br \/>\n-Mayan traditions<br \/>\n-Mayan legends<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exploring the Mexican Caribbean &amp; the Yucat\u00e1n With its endless beaches of soft white sand that\u2019s always cool to the touch, crystal-clear turquoise waters and the world\u2019s second longest reef on the doorstep, the Mexican Caribbean captivates visitors from all over the planet who flock here in search of warm sunshine and relaxation. Yet, this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cancun"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.3.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Destination Guide - Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Destination Guide - Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Exploring the Mexican Caribbean &amp; the Yucat\u00e1n With its endless beaches of soft white sand that\u2019s always cool to the touch, crystal-clear turquoise waters and the world\u2019s second longest reef on the doorstep, the Mexican Caribbean captivates visitors from all over the planet who flock here in search of warm sunshine and relaxation. Yet, this [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-06-16T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-16T05:59:33+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Arteaga\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Arteaga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/\",\"name\":\"Destination Guide - Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-06-16T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-16T05:59:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Destination Guide\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\",\"description\":\"Royal Resorts\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Arteaga\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Arteaga\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/author\/earteaga\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Destination Guide - Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Destination Guide - Blog","og_description":"Exploring the Mexican Caribbean &amp; the Yucat\u00e1n With its endless beaches of soft white sand that\u2019s always cool to the touch, crystal-clear turquoise waters and the world\u2019s second longest reef on the doorstep, the Mexican Caribbean captivates visitors from all over the planet who flock here in search of warm sunshine and relaxation. Yet, this [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/","og_site_name":"Blog","article_published_time":"2010-06-16T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-16T05:59:33+00:00","author":"Elizabeth Arteaga","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Arteaga","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/","url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/","name":"Destination Guide - Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-06-16T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-16T05:59:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/cancun\/destination-guide\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Destination Guide"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/","name":"Blog","description":"Royal Resorts","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f16a733dfe30944a54e4f8a104c594","name":"Elizabeth Arteaga","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a3a1ea39951fac66efcc4de99aaf7ea4aab59daed89c2f24b1a2338e1ac1d9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Arteaga"},"url":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/author\/earteaga\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52593"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55568,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52593\/revisions\/55568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}