A family day out

You may be planning your summer vacation with the family and thinking about tours and activities for all ages. Here is a look at some of the options that await you in the Riviera Maya, the Cancun area and beyond if you are traveling with children.

Splash down

After days on the beach and in the Grand Residences pools, it’s time to do some exploring and there’s one thing in the Mexican Caribbean that is popular with the whole family, snorkeling. If your children can swim, they can learn to snorkel, and they’ll soon be ready to put on their mask and flippers and go exploring. Shallow water reefs in Puerto Morelos, the Cancun-Isla Mujeres area and Akumal are great snorkeling spots offering sightings of a host of multicolored fish including angel fish, sergeant majors, parrot fish and sea turtles.

A day at Xel-Ha Park is perfect for water lovers. This chain of turquoise inlets, lagoons and cenotes is a snorkeling paradise offering face to face encounters with a variety of colorful reef fish. And there are plenty of other fun activities on offer like zip lining, giant inner tubes for floating across the lagoon, leaping off a cliff into a cenote, nature walks and more. You can also take the family to swim with dolphins, manatees and stingrays for an additional fee.

For a panoramic view of the park’s inlets and cenotes and the Riviera Maya coast, climb Xel-Ha’s latest attraction, a lookout tower that is also a huge water slide that your children will love.

On the outskirts of Cancun Hotel Zone, Ventura Park has also fun pools, water slides and rides that will keep your children happy all day.

Park life

Spending the day at the Riviera Maya’s parks is a top family vacation activity and one that everyone will enjoy.

Heading the list is world-famous Xcaret Park just south of Playa del Carmen.
Spending the day here is as much about fun in the water as it is about you and your children discovering the country’s rich traditions and wildlife.

Relax on the beach, swim in one of the park’s underground rivers and go snorkeling. You can see more marine life on a visit to the aquarium or the turtle nursery. Manatees swim in the lagoons and there are dolphins too (additional fees for dolphin swims and encounters).

The huge aviary is home to 90 species of birds from southeast Mexico, from hummingbirds to toucans, parrots and macaws. There’s a butterfly pavilion and regional wildlife enclosures where you can watch spider monkeys, coatimundis, deer and jaguars.

The Children’s World area of Xcaret offers pools, water slides and cenotes for children under the age of 12 to swim in. As the little ones have fun in the water, their parents can relax in a shaded rest area.

Be sure to stay on for the unforgettable evening gala performance that showcases Mexican history, music, dance and song. It takes you from the days of ancient Mayan rulers and the ancient ball game, the coming of the Spaniards to the sights and sounds of a Mexican fiesta, complete with a mariachi band. Your children will soon be shouting “Viva Mexico” with the rest.

Jungle thrills

How about a day of jungle adventures? This is a fun choice for older children who will soon find their adventurous Indiana Jones spirit. They can fly through the jungle canopy on thrilling zip line circuits at Xplor Park, Selvatica or Aktun Chen, all in the Riviera Maya. South of Cancun, Xavage Park has an adventure playground for children with rope bridges, tunnels and zip lines. Other tours are a whole day of adventures: zip lining, abseiling down a cliff, kayaking, snorkeling in a cenote or sinkhole, biking and nature walks and ATV drives.

Taking the family to Xenotes Oasis Maya gives you the chance to explore the jungle and spend the day at four different cenotes on the Ruta de los Cenotes inland from Puerto Morelos.

If all the members of the family like horseback riding, there are several ranches offering rides through the jungle to a cenote where you can cool off with a swim.

If you want your children to learn about nature, how about a trip to Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve? A trip from Muyil to the south of Tulum combines a visit to the archaeological site of Muyil with a fun boat ride across the lagoon into the mangroves where you’ll float-swim through a canal. There’s even time for the beach and of course you’ll see plenty of wildlife along the way. Other Sian Ka’an options include visits to Mayan communities where you’ll have the chance to meet local people and learn about their lives and traditions.

Discovering the world of the Maya

A day trip to the Yucatan’s famous archaeological sites is always an option if you have older children, and you can combine it with cenote visits and promises of gelato. Tulum and Coba in the Riviera Maya are good sites to start before heading to Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Always plan early trips to the archaeological sites so that you can beat the midday heat. If you do decide to go to Chichen Itza, the colonial town of Valladolid is a good stopping off point for a break and lunch and there are cenotes en route to Chichen where you can cool off.

Planning a family adventure

Your Concierge can help you plan a family adventure and book snorkeling trips and tickets to area parks.