Insight Guides - Insight Guides Explore Cancun & the Yucatan (Travel Guide eBook)

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, plus a handy language guide and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2018 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Escape the Crowds

Take a trip along ).

Paul Stafford

Foodies

Indulge your taste buds in Mrida ().

Paul Stafford

History Buffs

Explore the Maya sites along the famous Puuc Route, which segues into an exploration of Spains first monasteries on the American mainland (.

Paul Stafford

Island Fun

Hop over to islands close to the east coast, such as the beautiful Isla Mujeres ().

Paul Stafford

Maya Enthusiasts

Of the 160 or so Maya sites peppering the Yucatn, Chichn Itz ( for a look at some remarkable lesser-known Maya ruins.

Paul Stafford

Natural Yucatn

Sea life is abundant around Akumal ().

Paul Stafford

Night owls

Dance to techno in the nightclubs of Cancn ().

Paul Stafford

Water lovers

Swim in distinctive cenotes across the peninsula (routes ).

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Explore Cancn and the Yucatn

Imagine expansive forests concealing vast ruins of an ancient empire, miles of gorgeous white-sand beaches fringing azure waters, and a proud, independent culture with a penchant for bright colors and delicious food welcome to the captivating Yucatn Peninsula.

Akumal Beach on the Riviera Maya

Paul Stafford

Cancn is one of the worlds foremost tourist playgrounds. Its shiny, smart hotels and all-inclusive resorts cater to around 5 million visitors each year. Almost everybody speaks English, and the US dollar can be used as easily as Mexicos currency, the peso. This is especially impressive given that there was little else there besides a lagoon and some rudimentary fishing huts when development was first started by the Mexican government in 1969.

Cancn can be the entirety of a trip to the Yucatn Peninsula or merely a gateway to it. Natural beauty and wildlife may have been pushed back by the bulldozers, but numerous biosphere reserves and natural parks still teem with avian and mammalian activity. The Yucatns Caribbean coastline is stunning (including offshore islands Cozumel and Isla de Mujeres), and a look beneath the waves reveals rich marine biodiversity as beautiful as it is complex and fragile.

Farther inland, and occasionally overlooking the sea, evidence of one of the most remarkable empires in the Americas abounds. From huge pyramids peeking above the forest canopy, to barely-excavated edifices reclaimed by nature, the Maya left an indelible legacy that is synonymous with the Yucatn. The civilizations demise was sealed by the arrival of Spanish invaders, who left their own unique imprint on the region via a succession of wealthy cities, such as Mrida. The two cultures have combined and grown together over the centuries to create a truly distinct culture that can be seen in the fashion, art, music and cuisine.