Day Trips 

Mayan Ruins:

The four best ruins are the easiest to see from Puerto Morelos. You could do Coba and Tulum in one day. Chichen Itza should be a day by itself or overnight. We recently visited Ek Balam and highly recommend it too.

Coba

Coba was a huge city begun in 600 AD with the tallest pyramid on the Yucatan. We rented a car for the day to get there. The ruins were very spread out so they provide bicycles to get from one ruin to the next. We also found it helpful to hire a tour guide at the entrance.  http://www.cancunsouth.com/cit_coba.html

 Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is probably the most restored archeological site on the Yucatan. I know that you can take the bus from Cancun, but we rented a car and made it a two day trip. We stopped in Valladolid, an inland colonial city, Cenote Dzitnup, and Cenote Zaci on the way. The restaurant at Cenote Zaci serves great Yucatecan food at a very reasonable prices. It also includes admission to the Cenote. We went to Chichen Itza for the night show and then stayed at the Hotel Delores Alba in Piste. It was a highlight for our teenage boys. The hotel has a pool that has limestone formations and tunnels that you can swim through. We went back to Chichen Itza first thing the next morning to see all of the sights. On the way home we made a quick stop at Tulum. 

Here is a good link: www.chichenitzafacts.com

This link is from a site that is a bit strange, but an extensive collection of good stuff on the Maya culture and history:

http://www.crystalinks.com/maya.html

Tulum

These are the beautiful ruins right on the beach that you often see in photographs. It’s a walled ruin with 60 well preserved structures from 1200 ad. You can drive or take a bus. It’s less than an hour south of Puerto Morelos. You can catch the bus at the highway. 

Tulum: http://www.cancunsouth.com/cit_tulum_ruin.html

Cozumel

Cozumel is world famous as a dive destination. We went out with Studio Blue http://www.cozumel-diving.net/studio-blue/  (987-872-4414). You can walk from the ferry landing to their office.  There is also some awesome snorkeling on the island. The ferry to Cozumel costs about $280 pesos round trip and runs from downtown Playa del Carmen about every hour. Between four and six cruise ships dock in Cozumel every day so the town itself is oriented for cruise ship visitors. To get there from PM you can take the bus on the highway. It drops you very close to the ferry terminal. If you drive, take the last of three exits on the new Playa del Carmen overpass. Go left. Try to find a pay parking lot, which will have better security for your car than parking on the street.

Merida

It’s about a 3 and half hour drive, but worth the trip if you have time. The town has beautiful parks and stunning colonial architecture. One of the oldest cities in the Yucatan and center of the Henequen industry of the late 19th Century. Many of the plantation haciendas in the surrounding area have been restored. There are often performances and other events in the parks in the evenings. On Sunday nights they even close some of the streets for dancing.

Whale Sharks

Are the largest fish on earth and are reported to be up to 45 feet long. They are filter  feeders and congregate in the summer off the coast of Isla Holbox (pronounced Hoe bosh) at the northern end of the Yucatan Peninsula where the Caribbean and the Atlantic come together. It is a bit expensive but worth it. Trips leave from Punta Sam just north of Cancun city. A word of warning: the ride out is about an hour and a half or two hours and can be rough depending on weather. Sometimes they are there in abundance and other times not so much.

Tankah Cenote

There are hundreds of Cenotes on the Yucatan peninsula. We especially enjoyed this one. The turn-off from the highway is between Xhelha and Tulum. It seems like there was a sign for Casa Cenote Hotel on the highway. The cenote is almost at the end of the road and behind the Casa Cenote Hotel. There's a beautiful beach there too and legend has it that manatees would congregate where the cenote dumps into the ocean.

 Xel-ha 

This theme park provides adventure activities, natural, ecological attractions and water activities  like diving or snorkeling in creeks, lagoons, natural wells and ancient caves fed by subterranean rivers flowing to the Mexican Caribbean Sea of the Riviera Maya. I’ve heard reservations are recommended for swimming with the dolphins.

www.xel-ha.com

Xcaret 

This natural history oriented theme park offers a full day of activities from archeological sites to swimming with dolphins to floating down an underground river. They have a great night show, huge enclosed butterfly exhibit and a big aquarium.  It costs about $69 US per adult.

http://www.xcaret.com/

Hidden Worlds Cenotes Park:

You see the brochures all over and it looks a little cheesy, but this turned out to be a very good snorkel tour. We took the two cenote tour for $40, which included a wetsuit and snorkel if you need it. Don't take fins as they are not allowed. Our group of 6 had a guide. The water was as clear as advertised 300' visibility they say and the stalactite and stalagmite formations were amazing. They take you out to the cenote in an old truck over a windy road. (could have done without that part) You enter the cenote through a fairly small hole and down a ladder. The underground area has underwater lighting and they give you flashlights. It was great. We really do recommend it. Link:   http://www.hiddenworlds.com

Isla Mujeres:

This is an easy day trip. Take the bus to the bus station in Cancun. Then a cab, collectivo or bus not far to Puerto Juarez. (R1 or R2 go there, so do many others, just ask the driver)  It was a nice half hour boat ride for 70 pesos round trip. The best way to see the island is to rent a golf cart. We got one for two hours ($300 pesos) and that was plenty of time. The south end of the island is very pretty. Be sure to climb the lighthouse. There is a zip line there with stations build out in the water.  Nice view of the hotel zone. The east side is quite rocky with spectacular surf. Be sure to check the return schedule. The lines can get long in the afternoon, and they did not seem to have extra boats. Diving trips there seem more reasonably priced. This is where the cave of sleeping sharks was discovered.

Akumal

Akumal is well known for it's turtles. We went snorkeling in the main bay and saw 3 or 4 turtles even though there quite a few boats anchored in the area and lots of snorkelers. Yal Ku lagoon is a few miles North of the main part of Akumal. The grounds surrounding the lagoon have been manicured with paths, waterfront benches, palapas and statues.  Admission to the lagoon is about $5 US.

Isla Contoy

You can't stay on this island. It is a wildlife sanctuary.

Sian Ka'an 

Sian Ka'an Biosphere reserve is home to more than 325 species of birds and 100 mammals. We went on a tour with a group called Cesiak. We caught their van at the Cesiak office in Tulum and rode 30 minutes to their main location, past the Tulum hotel zone. I think they are affiliated with Amigos de Sian Ka'an. The Cesiak boat tour through the lakes and lagoon was led by a very well informed naturalist and we especially enjoyed the river float.

Gran Cenote

If you are in Tulum, head toward Coba and in just a mile or so is Grand Cenote. It is a nice little park to stop at for an hour or two. The cenote is not that large but the setting is pretty and nicely shaded. There are fish and turtles. They also offer scuba trips. Entrance fee is about 100 pesos. It is a good picnic spot.

Flamingo Bird Watching

We recently made a trip to the Rio Lagartos Biosphere at the tip of the Yucatan for birdwatching and flyfishing for baby tarpon. This is an overnight trip. Contact Diego Nunez at  http://riolagartosnaturetours.com/default.aspx. Here are a few pictures of birds we saw. The birding trip was fantastic. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate for the fly fishing. If you go, be sure to take in the salt production area in the little town just to the east and drive out to the evaporation lagoons.

 To get there you can take the toll road to Valladolid if you like, but we found the back roads via Leona Vicario and Tizimin to be in excellent shape. They were just slow at times due to the “two tope” towns along the way. It is about a 3.5 hour drive.

Roseate Spoonbill

Rolandi’s Restaurant in downtown Cancun

This is an excellent Itailian restaurant that has been in Cancun forever. A little pricey but great food. It is just off the main highway at the traffic circle with the seashells. Go one block toward the beach on the north side. They valet park if you are driving. There's also a Rolandi's on Isla Mujeres with a free shuttle to the island for customers.