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Quintana Roo

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Overview

Wildlife-rich jungles and coral reefs. Mysterious underwater cave systems. Sugar-sand Caribbean beaches. If all that sounds glorious, it most certainly is, and yet Quintana Roo finds itself caught between preserving its precious natural resources and managing a development boom that doesn't seem to be slowing down. It makes for a complicated balancing act fraught with environmental and cultural consequences, as tourism remains the driving force of the economy. With more than 400km of white-sand beaches hugging the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, it's easy to understand why so many tourists flock to the Yucatán each year. Quintana Roo also boasts some of the world's best snorkeling and diving, intriguing Maya culture and laid-back islands where people get around on golf carts. From mega-resort Cancún to 'eco-chic' Riviera Maya and all the way down to the less-visited Southern Caribbean Coast, this little corner of Mexico was made for vacationing.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

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    Tulum Ruins

    Tulum

    Tulum is one of the most visited archaeological zones in Mexico and for good reason: it’s sublime. The ruins sit on seaside cliffs, high above turquoise…

  • Aerial of a path between palm trees on Isla Contoy.

    Parque Nacional Isla Contoy

    Cancún

    A white sand beach with manta rays gliding through the shimmering turquoise waters. No hotels. No nightclubs. No roads or cars of any kind. It’s hard to…

  • SFER IK

    SFER IK

    Tulum

    Wandering barefoot through the contemporary art museum at Azulik hotel, you feel like you’re in a giant cocoon. Nature surrounds you, inside and out:…

  • Museo Maya de Cancún

    Museo Maya de Cancún

    Cancún

    Surrounded by dense tropical forest, the contemporary Museo Maya de Cancún is a welcome respite from the beach and buffet lines of the neighboring high…

  • San Miguelito

    San Miguelito

    Cancún

    You don't have to leave the Zona Hotelera to find Mayan culture in Cancún. Before the beach umbrellas, resorts, banana boats and  Spanish conquistadors…

  • Destroyed jetty on a white sandy beach at Isla Blanca.

    Isla Blanca

    Cancún

    Driving down a narrow sand road, the turquoise Caribbean on one side, the glimmering Laguna Chacmuchuch on the other, you feel like you’re a thousand…

  • Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve

    Reserva de la Biosfera Sian Ka'an

    Tulum

    While floating down a canal that Mayans dug by hand centuries ago, you see tall grasses on either side and colorful birds flying overhead. You hear the…

  • Beautiful Cenote Manatee, ( a.k.a. Casa Cenote, and Cenote Manatí ), in Tankah Bay, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

    Tankah Tres

    Tulum

    At the end of a sand road is the hamlet of Tankah Tres (aka Tankah Bay), a seaside community of vacation homes and small hotels in Mexico, all facing a…

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