Traveling Ted is a blog that takes readers along on my adventures hiking, canoeing, skiing, and international backpacking. Many blogs focus on one aspect of backpacking, but I tackle both the outdoor adventure side and international exploration as well.

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Riviera Maya, a tourism and resort district in Mexico, located on the eastern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula. Riviera Maya starts 10 miles south of Cancun and cover all places to the south including major cities like Playa del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal, Tulum and Puerto Morelos. A tropical paradise, which is a very popular destination among tourists because of its ideal weather, white sand beaches with crystal clear water, tropical rainforests, rare & endemic wildlife, countless recreational activities and lavish all-inclusive resorts.

Spot the differences! your all inclusive resorts are waiting

In Riviera Maya you can experience vivid wildlife full of rich flora and fauna because of its tropical and vivid climate. It is also famous for its rich marine life, which makes it an ideal place for wildlife and marine enthusiast. The state of Quintana Roo developed special ecological parks and natural reserves to protect this vast wildlife. Special tours are available to these ecological parks and reserves for the tourists, which is a best way to experience this wildlife of Riviera Maya.

Riviera Maya

Beautiful Riviera Maya – Wikimedia Creative Commons – Sarunas Bardulis

Some of the main attractions are Sian Ka’an reserve, Contoy Island, Rio Lagartos and Calakmul. In these special tours you can enjoy hiking, zip line tours and off-road ATV & horse rides. Experiencing lush green forests, waterfalls, underground rivers, cenotes, natural aquarium, visits to bat caves, turtle nursery and orchid farms, snorkeling in the natural aquarium with fishes, swimming with Dolphins and countless sites for certified scuba divers.

Mayan civilization and there ancient remains are also one of the major attractions among tourists in Riviera Maya. There are around 100 of Mayan ancient sites found in Riviera Maya which includes pyramids, temples, palaces and ball courts.

Riviera Maya -

Tulum – Wikimedia Creative Commons – Flickr Bruno Griffin

Two of the important sites are Coba and Tulum. Tulum is situated alongside the Caribbean coast, which consist of largest standing walled city beside an ocean. Whereas Coba, is situated around 35 miles northwest of Tulum situated between two lagoons. Coba is a collection of ancient sites (which includes Coba pyramid and juego de pelota, a well-restored ball court) linked to each other by 45 ancient roads called sacbeobs.

Apart from beautiful beaches, vast wildlife and ancient Mayan remains, Riviera Maya also offers amazing food and shopping options. In food you can try traditional delicacies from chilaquiles and mollette with refreshing fruit juice drinks, slow cooked pork dish also known as Poc Chuc with fresh handmade corn tortillas and sea food, such as Agua Chile’s oyster shooter (oyster in a spicy sauce) and Agua Chile’s tuna tostada (raw pieces of fresh tuna, crispy corn tortilla. In shopping you can choose from local handicrafts, silver works, Cuban cigars, tequila and chocolates. Here are some of the recommended shops to buy, La Calaca and Rosalia for local handicrafts, In Art for silver works, Casa Tequila to buy some good quality tequila and Ah Cacao for Mexican chocolate.

Riviera Maya is also very famous for its large scale all-inclusive resorts, boutique hotels and many fine-dining restaurants situated along the highway 607 or near the beaches, which offers you one of the best staying experience in Riviera Maya with high class rooms offering scenic view of the beach with all kinds of facilities & amenities with other recreational activities.

One of the top all-inclusive resorts in Riviera Maya is Barcelo Hotels and resorts, which is situated about 55 miles from Cancun International Airport. It stretches in 1.2 miles area which includes 4 hotels (Barcelo Maya Beach Hotel, Barcelo Maya Caribe Hotel, Barcelo Maya Colonial Hotel and Barcelo Maya Tropical Hotel) with crystal clear water, white sand beach and coral reef. Making a reservation at one of the hotels means you will access to services and facilities offered in other hotels too.

This resort offers you luxury rooms and suites (Superior, Junior Suite Ocean Front Club Premium, Family and Suite Ocean Front Club Premium) with facilities like air conditioning, 24 hour room service, motion-sensor lighting sensor, LCD TV’s, Wi-Fi internet connection, Minibar with daily refills, fully equipped bathroom etc. Barcelo also includes 3 restaurants which include Mayan inspired Beach Buffet Restaurant, Mexico Lindo Restaurant, which offers Mexican specialties and the beachfront Rancho Grande restaurant, with the gorgeous views of the Caribbean Sea and 3 bars strategically located around the hotel. You can also have amazing nightlife in the 2 night clubs (Jaguar’s Night Club and One Disco Club).

It is also equipped with 6 swimming pools which include shallow areas for children, Semi-Olympic pools and swimming pools for adults. There are also water parks like “Barcy Water Park” for children and Pirates Island Water Park for family.  Other facilities like sports & fitness center, spa, golf courts, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, shopping mall and theaters is also available. Here are some of other hotels and resorts in Riviera Maya, Acanto Boutique, Hotel Villa Rolandi Gourmet & Beach Club, Iberostar Paraíso Maya Hotel, Magic Blue Boutique Hotel and Royal Hideaway Playacar Resort.

Adventure on!

The goal of Traveling Ted is to inspire people to outdoor adventure travel and then provide tips on where and how to go. If you liked this post then sign up for the email newsletter. Notifications are sent out once or twice a month with what is new with Traveling Ted’s adventures. There is no spam and email information will not be shared. Other e-follow options include Facebook (click on the like box to the right) or twitter (click on the pretty bird on the rainbow above).