Best of the Yucatan Peninsula: 14 Favorite Moments

From Campeche's wild Calakmul biosphere reserve, to Mérida's colonial carriage rides, each state -- Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo -- has a distinctive charm, and each small city is full of surprises.

Whether you're traveling to the Yucatan Peninsula for a beach vacation or to explore Mayan ruins, take time to savor some of our favorite moments.

Photo Caption: Tulum, Mexico

The view from the ruins of this walled city, high on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean's turquoise waters, will take your breath away. Facing east, Tulum is especially spectacular at sunrise, which inspired the Maya to call it Zamá, city of the dawn. If it's hot, have a swim in the warm sea below.

The ancient Maya called this place "Birth of the Sky." Now the biosphere is federally protected, and naturalist guides offer hiking, cycling, and boat tours into its 526,110 hectares (1.3 million acres) of salt marshes, beaches, and lagoons. Birds, iguanas, jungle cats, crocodiles, manatees, turtles, and some dolphins make their home here. You can float down the warm, swift channel current past an ancient Maya customs house, half-hidden in the reeds and mangroves.

Rent a launch to see thousands of pink flamingos feeding and nesting in the lagoons at Celestún on the Gulf coast. Afterwards, choose one of the many beachside restaurants and lunch on pescado frito (whole fried fish) while you watch the frigate birds float overhead. Celestún makes a great day trip from Mérida -- and don't forget your swimsuit.

The colorful fish are stunning, and the shapes of the giant coral just below your flippers are clearly visible in the crystal-clear waters of Cozumel. Divers and snorkelers go by boat offshore to drift along in the current, right over the spectacular reefs made famous on film by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

Photo Caption: School of fish along the reef in Cozumel

Climb down the steps into the underworld where the ancient Maya thought the spirits dwelled, at Chelentún, Chacsinic-Che, and Bolonchojol. Cenote is the name for a lake that forms from underground when the water table breaks through fragile limestone. The Cuzamá cenotes are accessible only via antique-style wooden, horse-drawn carriages.

Wake up with the birds to watch the sunrise from the edge of a cliff on Isla Mujeres, the "Island of Women," just off Cancún. The rocky promontory boasts what's left of a Maya watchtower at the easternmost point in Mexico.

After a day of island fun, settle down at the Sunset Bar on the north beach to watch the red sun drop below the horizon. Another day in paradise.

Photo Caption: Watching the sunset in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

From Isla Mujeres, speed across the waves in a fishing launch -- or take the old wooden-hulled sailboat, Estrella del Norte -- toward Isla Contoy. This bird sanctuary was established in 1961 to protect the 100-plus avian species that visit the island park.

On the way, your boat will stop above a colorful reef for a snorkeling break, and the boat crew will cook you a fresh fish lunch after you explore the uninhabited island.

Photo Caption: Isla Contoy, Mexico

Even the most jaded visitor will find the magnificent remains of the northern Yucatán's best-preserved ruins breathtaking. In 2007 the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, so arrive early to avoid the crowds of visitors who wish to check it off their list.

The dominant architectural feature is "El Castillo," a huge pyramid in the center of the expansive, ancient ceremonial grounds. Stay for the nighttime light show to get the full experience.

Photo Caption: El Castillo, Chichen Itza

The largest city in the Yucatán brims with cultural happenings. Every day there is something to see or do in the historical center of Mérida, where modern mixes with ancient.

Our favorite time is Sunday, when folkloric dancers balance beer bottles on their heads as they perform in the Plaza Mayor, a brass band accompanies, and artisans ply their wares to tourists and locals strolling the shady square.

Designed to resemble the Champs-Elysées, the Paseo Montejo lies just north of the historical center of Mérida. An evening horse-drawn carriage ride on the wide boulevard -- past the soft lights of trendy restaurants, museums, and hotels scattered amid the stately mansions built during the boom times of the henequén trade -- is a memorable highlight of this charming city.

Photo Caption: Merida's grand boulevard, Pasejo Montejo

As dusk descends on the colonial town of Valladolid, hundreds of squawking birds fill the trees around the central square. The cacophony of their calls signals that it's dinnertime for tourists and locals. Grab a table in the street-side restaurant of Maria de la Luz or in the center courtyard of the Meson del Marqués hotels and enjoy the transformation from day to night in a 500-year-old town.

Photo Caption: Night in Plaza Mayor in Valladolid, Mexico

Long before the Spanish Conquistadors built the huge Franciscan Convento de San Antoñio de Padua on the top of a gigantic pyramid, the sleepy town of Izamal was of great religious importance to the pre-Columbian Maya people. No one knows why, but all the buildings in town are painted gold. Peruse the narrow cobblestone streets in a horse-drawn buggy known as a Victoria, and then enjoy a typical Yucatecan lunch at Kinich Kakmó restaurant.

You won't stumble upon many deserted places these days, now that tourists and mega-hotels have discovered the beautiful beaches along the Riviera Maya. But you can still capture that Jimmy Buffett feeling at Oscar y Lalo's restaurant on its own horseshoe-shaped beach at Playa Soliman.

Have lunch at a beachside table, snooze in a hammock under palm trees, snorkel the reef offshore, or take a refreshing dip in the deep cenote. Great food, primitive bathrooms. And yet it's everything you need for a perfect day on the Rivera Maya.

If there's magic in the air anywhere in the tropics at Christmastime, it's in the old walled city of Campeche. Twinkly lights, strung from 300-year-old, pastel-colored houses, reflect on its narrow cobblestone streets, while revelers stroll the plaza in front of the Cathedral of the Conception, built in 1639. A gem, Campeche was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Photo Caption: Christmastime in the main plaza in Campeche, Mexico