Riviera Maya About
Riviera Maya and Playa del Carmen Attractions
At the Riviera Maya, you will find beautiful beaches looking out onto the Caribbean Sea. They are the ideal places to relax or do all kinds of water sports. Snorkeling, windsurfing and even kitesurfing (a new and exhilarating extreme sport that combines surfing and parasailing) are all available.
For those who like scuba diving, there are boats departing from the docks which offer exciting outings to the Great Mayan Reef, the second largest coral reef (system) in the world.
There you can dive at depths of more than 10 meters (33 feet) among multicolored fish and coral that have existed for more than 500 years. Near Playa del Carmen, you can discover Playa Paamul and Playa Paraiso and their two beautiful beaches with calm waters and gorgeous ecological parks: Xcaret and Xel-Ha. Numerous sinkholes are nearby where you can do rappelling and cave diving while exploring the amazing depths of underground river systems.
Playa del Carmen
The largest town on the Riviera Maya with approximately 20,000 inhabitants, Playa del Carmen still conserves the atmosphere of a small fishing village. Until a few years ago, it was best known as the departure point for the ferry to Cozumel island. People soon discovered the long stretches of beautiful solitary beaches, the calm turquoise sea protected from strong currents by Cozumel, and an array of diverse lifestyles.
It did not take long for Playa, as it usually called, to become one of the most popular destinations south of Cancun where you will find a lot of things to do.
Many visitors have remained and settled down here creating an international cosmopolitan town where one is just as likely to encounter Mexicans as well as Europeans, North Americans and South Americans. The conglomeration of nationalities has contributed both to the cooking styles and the general appearance of Playa.
Tulum
Tulum's greatest attraction is its location. It stands on a bluff facing the rising sun commanding views of the Caribbean that are nothing less than spectacular. In Maya, Tulum means "wall". It is a walled city and one of the very few ancient,
American forts built. The plaza at the center of the city were probably once used for rituals or ceremonies. The Castillo is the largest building bluff commanding a view of miles in both directories.
The mentioned bluff has a view for miles in both directions. The Temple of the Descending God is another interesting structure. On the facade, there is a figure sculpted head down, and the wall inside show traces of the original pigments applied by the Maya. The earliest date found in Tulum came from a stela in the inner sanctum from 564 A.D.
Cancun and the Riviera Maya average more than 300 days of sunshine with temperatures ranging from 80-85 Farenheit degrees from September to April and 85-90 from May throughout August.
