Quintana Roo

Cancún is the gateway to the Mexican Caribbean — a resort city whose 20-kilometre Hotel Zone (Zona Hotelera) lines a barrier island of brilliant white beaches and turquoise sea with big hotels, beach clubs and nightlife, backed by a lagoon and an authentic, more affordable downtown (El Centro). From Cancún, a short ferry reaches the laid-back island of Isla Mujeres, with its calm Playa Norte beach and golf-cart pace. South down the coast runs the Riviera Maya: Playa del Carmen, the lively, cosmopolitan beach town built around the pedestrian Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue) of shops, bars and restaurants; the island of Cozumel just offshore, one of the world's premier scuba-diving destinations on the Mesoamerican reef; the nature-and-culture eco-parks of Xcaret and Xel-Há; and a long ribbon of resorts, beach clubs and smaller towns like Puerto Morelos and Akumal (famous for swimming with sea turtles). It's the busiest and most developed stretch of coast, with a beach and a resort for every style.

Quintana Roo's signature image is Tulum — a small but spectacularly sited Maya walled city perched on a low cliff above a perfect turquoise beach, the only major Maya ruin built on the coast. The ruins are compact and best visited early; below and around them lies the famous Tulum beach strip, a boho-chic scene of eco-chic hotels, beach clubs, wellness retreats and restaurants (now busy and pricey). Inland from Tulum, the great jungle city of Cobá rises from the forest, its tall pyramid surrounded by canopy and reached along ancient causeways, explorable by bike. And threading the whole flat limestone jungle are the cenotes — natural freshwater sinkholes and the world's longest underwater cave systems (Sac Actun, Dos Ojos) — sublime for swimming, snorkelling among stalactites and shafts of light, and world-class cavern and cave diving. The Gran Cenote, Dos Ojos and the cenotes around Tulum and the Ruta de los Cenotes near Puerto Morelos are highlights, sacred to the Maya and among the region's most magical experiences.

Offshore, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef — the largest in the Americas — makes Quintana Roo one of the world's great diving and snorkelling destinations, with the walls and gardens off Cozumel especially renowned, and reefs and underwater attractions (including the MUSA underwater sculpture museum) off Cancún and Puerto Morelos. South of Tulum, the coast turns wild at the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, a vast UNESCO World Heritage wetland of lagoons, mangroves, reef and beach where boat tours float you down ancient Maya canals among crocodiles, dolphins, manatees and a wealth of birds. Further south, away from the crowds, the small town of Bacalar sits on the extraordinary Laguna de Bacalar, the 'Lagoon of Seven Colours', a freshwater lake of dazzling blues fed by cenotes — a tranquil, beautiful spot for swimming, kayaking and sunsets. And to the north of Cancún, the sandy, car-light island of Holbox offers a barefoot, laid-back escape, with flamingos, bioluminescence and, in summer, the chance to swim with gentle whale sharks. These wilder corners reveal a quieter, more natural Caribbean beyond the resorts.