Some of the best of Cancun’s Mayan ruins are also the easiest to access. We’ve picked the best Mayan ruins to visit on the Eastern Yucatan Peninsula, basically most near Cancun, to add to a fun, interesting Caribbean Mexico vacation. These spots can either be visited as day trips or shore excursions from cruise ships.
One of the most cool and unique aspects of touring the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico is the abundance of Mayan ruins. The Mayans were spread all across the Yucatan and down into Belize, Guatemala and beyond. They left behind thousands of small and large structures on the beaches and in the jungles. Having spent many days exploring the Yucatan Peninsula, these archaeological sites are some of the most fascinating things to do near Cancun.
Best of Cancun’s Mayan Ruins
Starting directly in Cancun and heading south and west, these are the best Mayan sites near Cancun to visit on your beach vacation. This list is NOT inclusive of every single ruin or archaeological site, but these are the ruins that are closest to Cancun and Tulum. These sites you can visit on your own or do a tour to Mayan sites with a local guide.
The Mexican cuisine is so varied and heaps of fun to discover. Cancun cuisine in the Yucatán Peninsula has strong influences from the Spanish and the Aztecs, but its origins can be traced some 9,000 years back to the Mayans. This ancient empire migrated here and brought with them traditions like open fire cooking in ceramic pots and ingredients like batata (sweet potato), beans, corn, chilies, avocados and tomatoes. Bean paste on corn tortillas? That’ll be a Mayan creation.
Cancún cuisine has plenty of foodie experiences to explore with a variety of excellent restaurants. Here’s the famous and best food of Cancún we’ve stumbled on.
#1 TRADITIONAL TASTES
If you’re heading out to Central America and are after a true taste of Mexico, Cancun certainly has some of the best spots to suit all budgets. La Destileria is the best place to sample some of the traditional flavours and despite the stereotype of Mexico food being meat heavy, vegetarians are well accommodated here. La Destileria has local musicians who play from table to table and serve up a mean Kiwi Margharita.
I visited Isla Mujeres in 2010 on a day trip while I was living in Playa del Carmen, and even though it was a (too!) short visit, I was smitten with the tiny Caribbean island immediately. Crystal clear water, powdery sand beaches, palm trees softly swaying in the wind. It was a glorious day. And yet it took me nearly six years to return to Isla Mujeres, the Isle of Women.
I decided to spend my last weekend in Mexico on the island, and I don’t think I could’ve chosen a more perfect place to end my Mexico trip with a bang, but it also made saying goodbye even more bittersweet. I know that I’ll be back in Mexico (hopefully rather sooner than later), but I was definitely not ready for this trip to end, especially after our fabulous road trip.
As the last stop for our road trip, the island was perfect! It is tiny enough to be explored in a golf kart in half a day, so we didn’t feel like we missed out on anything when we spent most of the weekend on the beach, sitting in a swing bar with a cool beer or searching for the best palm tree to spread out our beach towels under.