The quiet, unspolit fishing village of Puerto Morelos with pristine uncrowded beaches and good diving and snorkeling opportunities, is a low-key place to relax for a few hours.

The village is little more than a large plaza right on the water front with a couple of streets running off it, but there is a good supply of hotels and restaurants.

The former fishing village of Playa del Carmen, as it is locally known, has developed rapidly to become a major visitor resort. The beach is dazzling white, with clear shallow water and the vast number of diving and water-sports schools create a youthful, energetic beach culture.

Activities include yoga, massage an others.

The focal point is the pedestrianized 5a. Avenue, one block from and parallel with the beach, with funnels south to a new classy mall.

The great appeal of the little-excavated archaeological site of Cobá is its jungle setting and lakes. An important Maya city in the eight and ninth centuries A. D., with a population estimated to have been between 40,000 and 50,000.

Cobá was abandoned for unknown reasons. The urban extension of Cobá is put at some 70 sq. Km.

The 12th century Maya-Toltec ruins of Tulum, with its city walls of gleaming white stone, overlooking the dazzling turquoise waters of the Caribbean are one of the Yucatan´s most visited sites.

Tulum was once an important trading port whose fortress was still occupied when the Spanish arrived in 1518. Althogh this relatively small site does not rank among the greats, today the walled ruins have become a magnet for sun worshippers and archaelogical enthusiasts alike.

Iconic majestic and harmonious Chichen Itza is one of the most spectacular Maya sites, adorned with exquisite scultures and tributes to its mughty gods, a fascinating insigh into the astrological and mathematical genius of the Maya.

It is México´s most-visited Maya sight. The giant stepped pyramid of Kukulkan, or “El Castillo” dominates the site, watched over by Chac Mool, a reclining statue once used to receive sacrificial offering.

The castell is one of the Maya world´s most impressive structures.

Also known as Pyramid of Kukulkan- “the feathered serpent” the greatest of the Maya gods.

Roughly halfway between Merida and Cancún is Valladolid, a relaxed vibrant little town with some fine colonial architecture; it has experienced a steady increase in visitors due to its proximity to Chichen Itza.

The heart of town is the leafy central plaza with a fountain.

The Franciscan cathedral dominates the plaza and the Church of Santa Anna, one block east of the plaza on 41th street, has a small town museum.

Valladolid´s location makes it an ideal place to settle for a few hours.

“Isla Holbox” lies just off the northem tip of the Yucatan Penninsula, a world apart from the resorts of Cancún and Playa del Carmen, with long stretches of dazzling pink-tinged sand glistening with mother-of pearl shells shelving to an emerald ocean.

Is the small fishing village founded in 1847, dusty streets dotted with painted wooden houses and palm-thatched (palapa) restaurants are home to an eclectic-population.

The best way to explore the island is by golf car or moped.