{"id":31605,"date":"2015-01-12T16:22:32","date_gmt":"2015-01-12T22:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=31605"},"modified":"2018-03-01T16:08:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T22:08:19","slug":"long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/","title":{"rendered":"3 perfect days in Mexico’s Riviera Maya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mexico\u2019s scenic Riviera Maya, located on the Yucatan peninsula just south of Cancun, is the perfect winter destination for frozen northerners to soak up the Mexican Caribbean. While packed with plenty of large, all-inclusive resorts, the region is just as packed with beauty and adventure\u2014rainforests, historical parks, cenotes, pristine beaches, bays, seaside entertainment and ancient ruins. It’s the\u00a0perfectly beachy, three-day getaway.<\/p>\n

\"Loggerhead

Loggerhead Turtle in Akumal<\/p><\/div>\n

DAY 1: Inland + Akumal<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

First, go slightly inland to see some ruins. The ones in Coba<\/a> are in the middle of the jungle and feature a rugged but climbable pyramid (120 steps). Onceyou\u2019re atop, you can view the jungle canopy and ruins for miles. The pyramid is estimated to have been built from 600-900 A.D., when Coba<\/a> had a population of about 100,000.<\/p>\n

With some history under your belt, head to the quietly spectacular beaches in Akumal<\/a>, which has a protected bay area of transparent waters and white sand beaches. In the Mayan language, Akumal means \u201cThe Place of Turtles,\u201d and it\u2019s no exaggeration\u2014the animals can be seen daily off the beaches. Visitors can also partake in snorkeling, kayaking, and other water sports.<\/p>\n

For dinner, head to La Vida Buena<\/a>, located on the beach and known for its seafood, Mayan chicken, and cocktails.<\/p>\n

Riviera Maya\u2019s nightlife is resort-centric, so why stray from the beachfront\u2019s sweet breezes? Akumal Bay Beach & Wellness Resort <\/a>is surrounded by white-sand beaches and natural beauty. It offers both a beachfront restaurant and a bar that stays open later.<\/p>\n

\"Photo

Photo courtesy of Paradisus Palma Real Golf and Spa<\/p><\/div>\n

Day 2: Playa Del Carmen<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Spend the day in and near the Playa Del Carmen where the main activity is\u2014of course\u2014the beach. First, take a 40-minute ferry<\/a> to the island of Cozumel and head to the uninhabited side of the island, filled with quiet, gorgeous beaches and beach bars.<\/p>\n

For dinner, try Passion, (at the Paradisus Palma Golf and Spa Resort<\/a>) the sophisticated restaurant of seven-starred Michelin chef Mart\u00edn Berasategui. Get something decadent off the sampling menu, and enjoy the ambiance, with paintings of red roses, sculptures of red glass hearts, and an entrance dripping with flowers.<\/p>\n

Alux Restaurant and Lounge<\/a> is located inside a cave, complete with romantic colored lighting and stalactites. They serve \u201cpre-Hispanic, Mexican international cuisine\u201d but it\u2019s also an eclectic setting for cocktails.<\/p>\n

The beach bar at Wah Wah<\/a> provides live music that you can listen to with your feet in the sand. It\u2019s for true beach bums: Comfy beach chairs, palm trees and live music.<\/p>\n

\"Tulum\"

Tulum<\/p><\/div>\n

Day 3: Tulum and nearby<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Yucatan Peninsula has an estimated 7,000 cenotes (natural sinkholes; the word means \u201csacred wells\u201d), which can be explored via wading, swimming, snorkeling and cave diving. Gran Cenote<\/a> is a visitor favorite for its dramatic stalactites and stalagmites.<\/p>\n

Ten minutes away are the famous ruins in Tulum<\/a>, an ancient walled Mayan fortress city on the coast, offering impressive views of the region, and immaculate beaches for swimming\u2014so bring a swimsuit. Until recently, this southern area was considered a sleepy outpost, and it\u2019s less developed than the northern resorts, with a more relaxed pace.<\/p>\n

Dine on Italian flavors at the popular beachfront restaurant Posada Margherita<\/a> where visitors rave about the focaccia and homemade pasta.<\/p>\n

For your last night, enjoy the quirky Batey<\/a>\u2014a mojito bar, in a converted VW.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"Orbitz,<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beaches, ruins, turtles! And a big hotel sale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":31609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[27,31],"tags":[287,2722],"class_list":["post-31605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caribbean","category-mexico","tag-family","tag-long-weekend"],"acf":{"api_active":null,"api_title":null,"api_excerpt":null,"api_featured_image":null,"api_lob":null},"posts_api_cpm_point":[{"name":"","description":"","thumbnail":"","address":"Mexico","latitude":"23.634501","longitude":"-102.55278399999997","icon":"\/images\/icons\/marker.png"}],"yoast_head":"\n3 perfect days in Mexico's Riviera Maya | Orbitz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mexico\u2019s scenic Riviera Maya, located on the Yucatan peninsula just south of Cancun, is the perfect destination to soak up the Mexican Caribbean.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 perfect days in Mexico's Riviera Maya | Orbitz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mexico\u2019s scenic Riviera Maya, located on the Yucatan peninsula just south of Cancun, is the perfect destination to soak up the Mexican Caribbean.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orbitz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Orbitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-12T22:22:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-01T22:08:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gretchen Kalwinski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@orbitz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@orbitz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gretchen Kalwinski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gretchen Kalwinski\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5a4a06fe05f3154e71a07c90f08e5eb\"},\"headline\":\"3 perfect days in Mexico’s Riviera Maya\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-12T22:22:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-01T22:08:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"commentCount\":5,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"family\",\"Long weekend\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Caribbean\",\"Mexico\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/\",\"name\":\"3 perfect days in Mexico's Riviera Maya | Orbitz\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-12T22:22:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-01T22:08:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5a4a06fe05f3154e71a07c90f08e5eb\"},\"description\":\"Mexico\u2019s scenic Riviera Maya, located on the Yucatan peninsula just south of Cancun, is the perfect destination to soak up the Mexican Caribbean.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":333,\"caption\":\"Loggerhead Turtle in Akumal\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3 perfect days in Mexico’s Riviera Maya\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Orbitz\",\"description\":\"Travel Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5a4a06fe05f3154e71a07c90f08e5eb\",\"name\":\"Gretchen Kalwinski\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/orbitz-logo2-150x150.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/orbitz-logo2-150x150.png\",\"caption\":\"Gretchen Kalwinski\"},\"description\":\"Gretchen is a Chicago-based arts, culture and travel writer, and writing coach. She\u2019s working on her first novel, and tweets sporadically at @gretchel.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/author\/gkalwinski\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 perfect days in Mexico's Riviera Maya | Orbitz","description":"Mexico\u2019s scenic Riviera Maya, located on the Yucatan peninsula just south of Cancun, is the perfect destination to soak up the Mexican Caribbean.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 perfect days in Mexico's Riviera Maya | Orbitz","og_description":"Mexico\u2019s scenic Riviera Maya, located on the Yucatan peninsula just south of Cancun, is the perfect destination to soak up the Mexican Caribbean.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/","og_site_name":"Orbitz","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Orbitz\/","article_published_time":"2015-01-12T22:22:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-01T22:08:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg","width":500,"height":333,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gretchen Kalwinski","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@orbitz","twitter_site":"@orbitz","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gretchen Kalwinski","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/"},"author":{"name":"Gretchen Kalwinski","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5a4a06fe05f3154e71a07c90f08e5eb"},"headline":"3 perfect days in Mexico’s Riviera Maya","datePublished":"2015-01-12T22:22:32+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-01T22:08:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/"},"wordCount":590,"commentCount":5,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg","keywords":["family","Long weekend"],"articleSection":["Caribbean","Mexico"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/","name":"3 perfect days in Mexico's Riviera Maya | Orbitz","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg","datePublished":"2015-01-12T22:22:32+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-01T22:08:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5a4a06fe05f3154e71a07c90f08e5eb"},"description":"Mexico\u2019s scenic Riviera Maya, located on the Yucatan peninsula just south of Cancun, is the perfect destination to soak up the Mexican Caribbean.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg","width":500,"height":333,"caption":"Loggerhead Turtle in Akumal"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/long-weekend-mexicos-riviera-maya\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3 perfect days in Mexico’s Riviera Maya"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/","name":"Orbitz","description":"Travel Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c5a4a06fe05f3154e71a07c90f08e5eb","name":"Gretchen Kalwinski","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/orbitz-logo2-150x150.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/orbitz-logo2-150x150.png","caption":"Gretchen Kalwinski"},"description":"Gretchen is a Chicago-based arts, culture and travel writer, and writing coach. She\u2019s working on her first novel, and tweets sporadically at @gretchel.","url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/author\/gkalwinski\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Loggerhead-Turtle_Akumal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}