Riviera Maya
Coordinates: 20 ° 38 ′ N , 87 ° 4 ′ W
The Riviera Maya is a holiday region on the Caribbean coast in southeastern Mexico .
Cancun with more than half a million inhabitants and Playa del Carmen with more than 100,000 inhabitants are the most important centers in the region.
location
The area is located on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo and thus in the extreme northwestern Caribbean, near the transition to the Gulf of Mexico . Its area extends over a length of around 150 kilometers from Cancún in the north with the Zona Hotelera hotel zone there via Playa del Carmen with the Playacar hotel zone there to a little beyond Tulúm in the south . The island of Cozumel is also included.
etymology
The name alludes to the Italian Riviera and French Riviera as a synonym for a particularly beautiful coastline. Even though beautiful white sandy beaches with clear water can be found in both sections , the hinterland differs considerably. For further differentiation, the Maya , the indigenous people of the peninsula, were included in the name.
development
Since the systematic establishment of the hotel zone in Cancún in the 1970s, the Riviera Maya has been growing continuously to this day. In the 1990s, the former fishing village of Playa del Carmen began to boom and recently Tulúm has shown a similar development. There are now several hundred tourist hotels of all categories, of all sizes and of all chains in the region . Meanwhile there are also many hotels between the places - some of them very remote.
geography
The area presents itself as a plain without any natural elevations, which is almost completely covered by approx. 4 meters high, dense and uncultivated forest . A special feature are water-filled incursions into the limestone subsoil , the so-called cenotes .
The Riviera Maya is hurricane-prone , which means that between June and December you can expect hurricanes . The Hurricane Wilma taught in October 2005 a lot of damage in the region. In the rainy season in July, short but heavy rain showers and thunderstorms can often be expected, but even then it is usually very sunny (around 30–35 ° C during the day).
traffic
Backbone forms the well developed for the region highway Carretara 307 , which at a distance of a few kilometers parallel to the coast in north-south direction from the largest city in Quintana Roo, Cancun, to the capital Chetumal runs.
Local public transport works very well in this part of the country thanks to a dense and inexpensive omnibus and shared taxi network (for example with an ADO bus from Playa del Carmen to Cancún every 10 minutes).
The Riviera Maya can be easily reached by plane and mostly directly via Cancun International Airport . The flight time from Mexico City is around two hours.
Furthermore, especially Playa del Carmen and the island of Cozumel are regularly visited by cruise ships.
tourism
Tourists will find a well-developed infrastructure geared towards them here . In Cancun and Playa del Carmen there are shopping centers and a pedestrian zone with representatives of all possible well-known and globally operating brand names as well as many restaurants and bars . This offer is supplemented by amusement parks such as B. the parks of Xcaret and Xel-Ha .
The offshore islands of Isla Mujeres and Cozumel appeal to nature lovers, as well as the natural park of Sian Ka'an , which since 1987 as a Biosphere Reserve for World Heritage of UNESCO belongs. In many places, such as For example, on the island of Cozumel, there are interesting places for diving . Near the island of Holbox in the far north, it is possible to swim with whale sharks in the wild .
However, due to their young age, the large cities in the Riviera Maya have nothing typical of Mexico such as a central square ( zócalo ) and a cathedral . This can only be seen in more distant cities such as Mérida or Valladolid (Yucatán) .
Beggars as well as pushy merchants and self-appointed "helpers" are very rare. Shops with counterfeit products - as can be found in many holiday areas - do not exist there at all.
Most of the package tourists come from the USA and Canada as well as Europeans . Most of the Europeans are German , English and Italian . For spring break , many young Americans meet to celebrate in Cancún.
While high-rise hotel buildings dominate in Cancún , the hotels in the rest of the region are largely flat with several smaller buildings so that they do not appear bulky despite their high capacity.
All major German tour operators have offers for this region in their program.
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