Attractions

Xcaret: A Park Celebrating the Yucatan

A billboard in the airport of faraway Guadalajara reads in Spanish "And when visiting Xcaret, don't forget to enjoy the pleasures of the Riviera Maya, too." An exaggeration, but its point is well taken: Xcaret (pronounced "Eesh-ca-ret") is the biggest attraction in these parts and is practically a destination unto itself. It even has its own resort (not recommended). If you're coming to these shores to avoid crowds, avoid this place. If you're here for entertainment and activities, you should consider visiting Xcaret. What Xcaret does, it does very well, and that is to present in one package a little bit of everything that the Yucatán (and the rest of Mexico for that matter) has to offer.

Think of the activities that people come to the Yucatán for: hanging out on the beach, scuba and snorkeling, cavern diving, visiting ruins, taking a siesta in a hammock under a grove of palm trees, hiking through tropical forest, meeting native Maya peoples -- Xcaret has all that plus handicraft exhibitions; a bat cave; a butterfly pavilion; mushroom and orchid nurseries; and lots of wildlife on display, including native jaguars, manatees, sea turtles, monkeys, macaws, flamingos, and a petting aquarium. Children love it. What probably receives most of the comments is the underground river (a natural feature of the park and common in much of the Yucatán) that's been opened in places to allow snorkelers to paddle along with the current. What else? A number of tours and shows, including charros (Mexican cowboys) from the state of Jalisco, and the Totonac Indian voladores ("flyers" who do a daring pole dance high above the ground) from the state of Veracruz.

The park is famous for its evening spectacle that is a celebration of the Mexican nation. I've seen it and have to say that it is some show, with a large cast and lots of props. It starts with the Maya and an interpretation of how they may have played the pre-Hispanic game/ritual known as pok-ta-pok, and then to another version of a ballgame still practiced in the western state of Michoacán. From there it moves on to the arrival of the Spanish and eventually to the forging of the new nation, its customs, its dress, and its music and dance.

Xcaret is 10km (6 1/2 miles) south of Playa del Carmen (you'll know when you get to the turnoff). It's open daily from 8:30am to 9pm. Admission prices are $59 (£32) for adults, $41 (£23) for children 5 to 12. Certain activities cost extra: horseback ride $30 (£17), snuba/sea trek/snorkel tour $45 (£25), scuba $50 to $75 (£28-£41), swimming with dolphins $115 (£63). Other costs: lockers $2 (£1.10) per day, snorkel equipment $10 (£5.50) per day, food and drink variable. The park is an all-day affair; it's best to arrive early and register for tours and activities as soon as you can. For more info call tel. 998/883-3143 or visit www.xcaret.net.

Four kilometers (2 1/2 miles) south of the entrance to Xcaret is the turnoff for Puerto Calica, the cruise-ship pier. Passengers disembark here for tours of Playa, Xcaret, the ruins, and other attractions on the coast.

Here's a tip: Fewer ships arrive on weekends than on weekdays, which makes the weekend a good time for visiting the major attractions on this coast.

Paamul: Seaside Getaway

About 15km (10 miles) beyond Xcaret and 25km (15 miles) from Playa del Carmen is Paamul, which in Mayan means "a destroyed ruin." The exit is clearly marked. At Paamul (also written Pamul), you can enjoy the Caribbean with relative quiet; the water at the out-of-the-way beach is wonderful, but the shoreline is rocky. There are four rooms for rent, a restaurant, and many trailer and RV lots with hookups.

There's also a dive shop. Scuba-Mex (tel. 984/873-0667; fax 984/874-1729; www.scubamex.com) is a fully equipped PADI-, NAUI-, and SSI-certified dive shop next to the cabañas. Using two boats, the staff takes guests on dives 8km (5 miles) in either direction. If it's too choppy, the reefs in front of the hotel are also good. The cost for a two-tank dive is $50 (£28), plus $25 (£14) to rent gear. Snorkeling is also excellent in this protected bay and the one next to it. The shop offers a great 3-hour snorkeling trip ($25/£14).

Puerto Aventuras: A Resort Community

Five kilometers (3 miles) south of Paamul and 104km (65 miles) from Cancún is the glitzy development of Puerto Aventuras, on Chakalal Bay. It's a condo/marina community with a 9-hole golf course. At the center of the development is a collection of restaurants bordering a dolphin pool. They offer a variety of food -- Mexican, Italian, steaks, even a popular pub. The major attraction is the dolphins. To swim with them in a highly interactive program, you must make reservations by contacting Dolphin Discovery (tel. 998/849-4757; www.dolphindiscovery.com). Make reservations well in advance -- the surest way is by e-mail to salesinternet@dolphindiscovery.com.mx or through the link on the website. A 1-hour session costs $125 (£69). There are shorter programs that cost less.

This is also the place to come for boating and deep-sea fishing. I recommend Capt. Rick's Sportfishing Center (tel. 984/873-5195 or -5387; www.fishyucatan.com). The best fishing on this coast is from March to August. The captain will be happy to combine a fishing trip with some snorkeling, which makes for a leisurely day.

I don't find Puerto Aventuras to be an interesting place for lodging and prefer to stay elsewhere on the coast. It's like a mini Cancún, but lacking Cancún's vibrancy. There are a couple of fancy hotels. The main one is the Omni Puerto Aventuras (tel. 800/843-6664 in the U.S., or 984/873-5101). It looks larger than its 30 rooms would indicate and was probably intended to be bigger but didn't get the expected traffic.

Xpu-Ha: Beautiful Beach

Three kilometers (2 miles) beyond Puerto Aventuras is Xpu-Ha (Eesh-poo-hah), a wide bay lined by a broad, beautiful sandy beach. Much of the bay is taken up by private houses and condos. There are a few all-inclusive resorts. One is Xpu-Ha Palace and another is the Copacabana. These suffered a lot of damage with Hurricane Emily but are open and back in business. The beach is big enough to accommodate the hotel guests, residents, and day-trippers without feeling crowded.

Also on the beach are a few small hotels. Two of these are expensive: Al Cielo Hotel (tel. 984/840-9012; www.alcielohotel.com) and Esencia (tel. 984/873-4830; www.hotelesencia.com). They are lovely places that offer personal service and attractive rooms away from the crowds. Both are close to Xpu-Ha Palace. And there are a few simple hotels offering basic lodging -- a couple of beds, a cement floor, small private bathroom, and minimum decoration. These are rented on a first-come, first-served basis. Rates vary from $40 to $70 (£22-£39) a night, depending upon how busy they are. Lodging options are better in nearby Akumal, and, if you're renting a car, you can come for the day to enjoy the beach.

Akumal: Beautiful Bays & Cavern Diving

Continuing south on Highway 307 for 2km (1 1/4 miles), you'll come to the turnoff for Akumal, marked by a traffic light. This is a small, ecologically oriented community built on the shores of two beautiful bays. Akumal has been around long enough that it feels more relaxed than booming places such as Playa and Tulum, and lodging tends to go for less here. Akumal draws a lot of families, who can save money by renting a unit with a kitchen to fix meals. Less than 1km (a half-mile) down the road is a white arch. Just before it are a couple of grocery stores (the one named Super Chomak has an ATM) and a laundry service. Just after it (to the right) is the Hotel Akumal Caribe. If you follow the road to the left and keep to the left, you'll come to Half Moon Bay, lined with two- and three-story condos, and eventually to Yal-ku Lagoon, which is a snorkeling park. For renting a condo, contact Info-Akumal (tel. 800/381-7048 in the U.S.; www.info-akumal.com), Akumal Vacations (tel. 800/448-7137 in the U.S.; www.akumalvacations.com), or Loco Gringo (www.locogringo.com).

Both bays have sandy beaches with rocky or silt bottoms. This is a popular diving spot. There are three dive shops in town and at least 30 dive sites offshore. The Akumal Dive Shop (tel. 984/875-9032; www.akumal.com), one of the oldest and best dive shops on the coast, offers courses in technical diving and cavern diving trips. It and Akumal Dive Adventures (tel. 984/875-9157), at the Vista del Mar hotel on Half Moon Bay, offer resort courses as well as complete certification.

Yal-ku Lagoon snorkeling park is like a miniature and more primitive Xel-Ha. It's open daily from 8am to 5:30pm. Admission is $7 (£3.85) for adults, $4 (£2.20) for children 3 to 14. The lagoon is about 700m (2,296 ft.) long and about 200m (656 ft.) at its widest. You can paddle around comfortably in sheltered water with little current and see fish and a few other creatures. It makes for a relaxing outing, but for sheer variety, I prefer snorkeling along the reefs.

Punta Soliman & Tankah Bays

The next couple of turnoffs lead to Punta Solimán and Tankah bays. On Punta Solimán Bay is a beach restaurant called Oscar y Lalo's. Here you can rent kayaks and snorkel equipment and paddle out to the reefs for some snorkeling. Three kilometers (2 miles) farther is the turnoff for Tankah Bay, where there are a handful of lodgings. The most interesting is Casa Cenote (tel. 998/874-5170; www.casacenote.com). It has an underground river that surfaces at a cenote in the back of the property then goes underground and bubbles up into the sea just a few feet offshore. Casa Cenote has seven rooms, all on the beach. The double rate is around $150 (£83). The American owner provides kayaks and snorkeling gear and can arrange dives, fishing trips, and sailing charters.

A beach road connects the two bays. I found the snorkeling in Tankah better than in Punta Solimán. Snorkeling in the latter was both interesting and frustrating. I've never before experienced so many thermoclines, which are produced by fresh water seeping from the floors of the bay and coming in contact with the warmer salt water. Light passing through the water is refracted in funny ways. At first I found the effect interesting -- it lent an ethereal shininess to everything I was seeing -- but then it just got annoying as it cut down sharply on visibility. At one point I was floating through some of the worst of it, trying not to stir up the water, when a giant silvery barracuda came ghostlike through the shimmering water and crossed my field of vision about 2m (6 ft.) away. As he passed slowly by me, I was astonished at how beautiful and luminescent he looked. Still, I will take clear water over shimmering water every time.