Go Explore

Leave your resort for a while to embark on incredible adventures, ideal for families visiting the Mayan Riviera

By Lisa Kadane

Tropical trips with teenagers can be tricky. They’re too old for kids’ clubs, but too young to hang out around swim-up bar. Fortunately, they are the perfect age for adventure, as our family discovered on a trip to the Mayan Riviera.

This palm-fringed stretch of Mexico between Cancún and Tulum fronts the Caribbean Sea and is one of the country’s most popular family destinations. Beyond the beach, there are marine parks, cenotes, watersports, Mayan ruins and a myriad of other ways to entertain and exhaust your kids.

When you have had your fill of the resort, give the teens a dose of adventure – with a few dashes of nature and culture – at these four spots.

SNORKEL OVER STINGRAYS AT XEL-HÁ

If Disneyland and a tropical marine paradise had a love child, it would be Xel-Há. Billed as a theme park and a natural wonder, this 84-hectare, all-inclusive outdoor adventure playground is built around an ancient Mayan sheltered harbour. The shallow, turquoise inlet teems with tropical fish, stingrays and sea turtles and snorkelling is a must (snorkel gear, towels and lockers are included).

© XEL-HA PARK

After swimming the snorkel circuit together, we split up to do different activities. My daughter and I went zip-biking, where we pedalled bikes that hung from a cable strung high in the rainforest canopy. My husband and son hiked on jungle paths to explore the park’s caves and cenotes (natural limestone sinkholes filled with water).

Other highlights were the 30-metre-high spiral waterslide and the innertube river float with stops for ziplining and cliff jumping. Plan to spend a full day here. You’ll need it when you work in lunch and après-activity cervezas, also included in the price of admission.

EXPLORE THE MAYAN RUINS AT TULUM

Perched on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea 64 kilometres south of Playa del Carmen, Tulum is one of the most picturesque Mayan ruins on the Yucatán Peninsula. For this reason, it’s also the busiest. Embark on a guided tour to see the centuries-old archeological site, its imposing El Castillo pyramid and Temple of the Descending God. You’ll also learn about Tulum’s ceremonial importance and trade significance as a port city to the Maya people.

AERIAL VIEW OF TULUM

Afterwards, head down the steps to Tulum’s beach which is a popular nesting site for sea turtles. Hop into the water to snorkel through the cove alongside exotic marine life like rays and schools of tropical fish.

Teens being teenagers, ours were just as happy to spot the iguanas basking on the crumbling stone walls and to take numerous selfies with a cerulean sea backdrop.

GO UNDERGROUND ON THE XENOTES TOUR

CENOTE WITH CLEAR WATERS AND HANGING VINES

More than 7,000 cenotes dot the Yucatán Peninsula, creating a Swiss-cheese landscape of eroded limestone caves, and swimming holes filled with fresh water that ranges in colour from emerald green to sapphire blue. These natural caverns and pools were sacred to the Maya, who believed they were gateways to the underworld. Now, visitors can descend into their cooling depths as part of an all-day tour.

We visited four such spots on the Xenotes Tour with our guide, Alberto Herrera, who told us about their history and geology. Each one had a unique structure and colour, with different adventure activities associated with it. We rappelled down into Lu’um, an inky blue cave cenote with bats and thick vines hanging from the cavern’s ceiling. Later, we kayaked through an open cenote channel at Ha’, passing sheer cliff walls while keeping a lookout for butterflies and tropical birds.

Always a family that likes to end a trip on a high note, we ziplined into the final open cenote, crashing into its placid tourmaline water with gusto. The wakes we created made the surrounding lily pads bob with enthusiasm. No surprise: we napped on the van ride back to the resort.

SEARCH FOR CROCODILES AT SIAN KA’AN

The Sian Ka’an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve south of Tulum protects a fragile, interconnected ecosystem of mangroves, marshes, lagoons, palm savannah and barrier reef. This terrestrial and marine environment is home to more than 300 species of birds, plus jaguars, tapirs (New World relatives of the rhino), gentle manatees, sea turtles and even crocodiles.

SIAN KA’AN MANGROVES

Since there aren’t any roads into the reserve, the best way to see the park is to get out on the water and navigate between the reef, seagrass and mangrove forests. The Sian Ka’an Adventure with Mexico Kan Tours takes you by boat past aquatic nesting grounds to see frigate birds that act like marine pirates and steal fish from other birds’ beaks, and into placid lagoons to look for manatees and sea turtles. If the conditions are right, snorkel over the vibrant corals of the Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s second-largest reef system.