The Yucatan

Alabaster beaches, Mayan ruins, swim-up bars, sea turtles—and topless tourists.

by Skip Hollandsworth

October 2002

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On our second day we jumped on the ferry that shuttles between Playa del Carmen's port and Cozumel several times a day ($16 a person). Forty-five minutes later we were on that small tropical island, where we rented two scooters (only $25 each for the day, but we were liable for any damage) and buzzed around. We stopped to snorkel at Chankanaab National Park (admission $10, snorkeling gear rental $10), where the reefs are swarming with colorful fish. Wearing a life vest, goggles, and flippers, Tyler had the time of her life looking at the fish while floating on the water's surface. Next we walked to another part of the park and swam with the dolphins at the Dolphin Discovery exhibit (touristy, yes, and at $119 a person, wildly expensive, but it's still a kick—especially when you hold on to a dolphin's fin and race through the water). Then we headed back to Cozumel's city center, turned in our scooters, and strolled around the main plaza at sunset. (Because it faces west, Cozumel has glorious ocean sunsets that you won't see on the Yucatán coast.) We ate a dinner of grilled red snapper and a fish called mojarra in a little out-of-the-way restaurant recommended by someone on the street (about $25 for the three of us), jumped on the ferry back to Playa del Carmen, and were at our hotel by ten-fifteen.

On the third morning of our trip we took a thirty-minute taxi ride ($30) south to Tulum to view the Mayan ruins—dramatic remains of a sophisticated ancient culture, where kings vacationed more than one thousand years ago (admission $5). Tyler was impressed with an often-photographed Mayan temple that stands atop a steep cliff overlooking the sea. (I would recommend getting there early in the morning, to avoid the heat, and not taking a tour bus, whose schedule can keep you at the ruins for longer than you and your kids need to be there.)

From Tulum we took a $15 cab ride to Xcaret ("Iss-ca-ret"), a kind of theme park focusing on the area's ecology. For the admission fee of $50 per person (in case you haven't noticed, you can run through a lot of money on day trips alone), we swam in an underground river; walked through a butterfly sanctuary with nearly five thousand butterflies; stared at crocodiles, sharks, sea turtles, wild birds, tigers, and monkeys; went on a horseback ride through the jungle; and after dark, watched dancers reenact an ancient Mayan ceremony. The other park in the area, Xel-Há ("Shell-ha"), is like a natural aquarium with coral reefs and caverns where, for $25 a person, you can spy on an enormous variety of fish and other marine life (including stingrays and sea turtles) while you snorkel. Both parks have open-air restaurants and bars, beaches, cliffs for diving, and lagoons for swimming, as well as their own swim-with-the-dolphins programs and scuba diving expeditions.

Day four: back to the beach. Anyone who goes to the beach with young children longs for the freedom to do nothing but read for a few hours or take a nap in a hammock strung between two palm trees without worrying about the endless cry of "Mommy! Daddy!" This is where a resort's "kids' club" comes in—an area run by a couple of employees who keep the little monsters involved in activities ranging from treasure hunts and face painting to soccer games and water-balloon fights. (Among the eleven hotels along Playacar, I discovered that the best kids' club belongs to the Gala Resort. It divides the youngsters into two age groups—two to six and seven to twelve—has a clubhouse just for teenagers that's full of foosball, Ping-Pong, and billiards tables, and stays open from ten in the morning until eleven at night.) Although the Riu Palace has no children's program of its own, its guests are allowed the free use of one of the kids' clubs at the two adjoining Riu-owned resorts, just a couple of minutes' walk away. We chose the more free-spirited Riu Tequila, where the club was open for three hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the afternoon.

While our five-year-old played a game of "pretend pirate" with some cute girls from Germany, Shannon fell asleep by the Riu Tequila pool, one page into her book. I tried to read too, until one of the resort's "activities directors" persuaded me to join a water polo game. Five minutes later an English tourist who looked like a soccer hooligan threw the ball and hit me in the face. He gave me a bear hug by way of apology as I stumbled, red-faced, out of the pool. A few minutes later another activities director got me to join a bunch of tipsy people for a salsa-dancing lesson. When I noticed a couple of stunning, topless Spanish women laughing at me, I slunk over to the swim-up bar and listened to people talk in four languages.

Shannon swam up, still yawning from her nap. "You realize, don't you, that we've turned into those wristband people?" she asked. For a moment the leaves of the palm trees shimmered in the afternoon breeze. There was not a cloud in the powder-blue sky.

"I know," I said. "And it's not all that bad, is it?"

Getting there: There are nonstop flights to Cancún from Dallas-Fort Worth (American and Funjet), Houston (Continental and Funjet), and San Antonio (Continental). To book either your airfare alone or an airfare-and-hotel package with a company like Adventure Tours USA, you must call a travel agent. At $240 a person round-trip, our Adventure Tours charter flight was far less expensive than a commercial flight. Our 45-minute taxi ride from the airport to Playacar was $40.

Where to stay: Riu Palace, 011-52-984-877-4200, fax 984-877-4210; riu.com, palace.mexico@riu.com. The published rates for the hotel, which are almost always higher than the rates you would get through a tour company, run from $130 a person a night, double occupancy, during the low season (September through December) to $306 a person a night during the Christmas holidays. If you book an airfare-and-hotel package through Adventure Tours USA, the average price for four nights is $550 a person, which includes bus transportation from the airport to the hotel.

What to do: Hotel Deseo, Quinta Av. at Doce, Playa del Carmen. Xcaret and Xel-Há: Buses will pick you up at the Riu Palace and take you to the parks; make arrangements through the hotel's hospitality desk; $77 round-trip to Xcaret (includes admission and the night show), $75 to Xel-Há (all-inclusive). The hospitality desk can also arrange for a bus to pick you up to visit the Tulum ruins; $38 round-trip. To ensure a place for one of the dolphin swims at Dolphin Discovery, have the hospitality desk make reservations the day before you go.

TRAVEL TIPS

Only connect: If you are connecting with another flight in Mexico City, allow at least two hours—especially on the way home, when you will have to claim your bags before boarding. Consider using one of the U.S.-based carriers, which offer more flights between Mexico City and Texas, just in case you miss your connection.

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