If you’re looking for somewhere exciting and out of the ordinary to visit this year, Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula could be the place to go.
With Christmas and New Year out of the way, January and February can feel like a pretty soulless time. One popular way of lifting the gloom can be to make holiday plans, and Conde Nast has a list of 23 suggestions.
While the usual European hotspots in Spain dominate the top few positions, one exciting, but hitherto overlooked destination is Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
Situated in Southeast Mexico and bordering Belize and Guatemala, the Yucatán Peninsula separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean. Recent years have seen tourism in this region rise dramatically. In 2022, it shot to the top of Mexico’s most desirable holiday destinations. In doing so, it attracted more than 11 billion pesos (approximately $580 million) in private investment into hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses.
Taking a look at the area, it’s not hard to see why. Its beautiful beaches offer a perfect place to relax, enjoy some water sports or marvel at sea life, such as snorkelling with sea turtles.
Inland, you find dense forests and jungles, rich with wildlife and ancient Mayan ruins such as Chichen Itza. Surrounded by dense forest, this UNESCO World Heritage site gets over a million visitors each year. The breathtaking temple of Kukulkan provides the site’s most iconic image, but the site has more than five square kilometres of exposed architecture to explore.
For a more surreal experience, you could visit Las Coloradas where saltwater production has turned the water in the lakes here a vivid pink colour.
In the Northeast of the region, the Riviera Maya has long been a holiday hotpot with a host of luxury all-inclusive resorts. The one-time hippy hangout of Tulum has really found its feet in recent years.
In the 60s Tulum gained a reputation as a secluded paradise, popular with back packers and those looking for adventure off the beaten track. Today, though, it has been embraced by the luxury tourism market. Millions of people flock here every year, with luxury hotels and yoga retreats springing up everywhere you look.
However, its past is never far below the surface. Perched above one of its many beaches you’ll find the ruins of an ancient Mayan port city. It’s a great place to explore Tulum’s history in the morning, before heading down to the beach for a dip in the sea.
Add to this the vibrant culture of the area and its delicious regional cuisine, and Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has everything.
With more travel connections opening up the area, 2023 is likely to see it truly come into its own as a world-class holiday destination.
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