Xcaret Park

Xcaret is about 1 hour’s drive from Cancun, 15 minutes from Playa del Carmen, and 30 minutes north of Tulum. You can book a shuttle service with the park to collect you from your hotel, although these can be time-consuming and it’s far quicker (and not much more expensive) to hire a car. There are also hotels onsite.

The dolphin or sting ray encounters are always popular, so book well ahead for these to avoid disappointment. Advance online booking also offers discounts.

There’s free parking, but animal encounters, meals, rental equipment, and more all come on top of the basic entrance fee. There’s a fee to rent a locker (about £5) or snorkels (about £10 plus a deposit of £25).

Food in the restaurants in suprisingly good. At time of writing, Halesco was the pick of the restaurants, and sometimes has a band and singers playing.

The Mayan Spectacular is held in an impressive, Mexican-style auditorium located by the entrance. Arrive at least 30 minutes early to get a good seat. For a guaranteed best seat, book the dining package.

It’s open all year round, seven days a week. The evening spectacular show starts at 7pm.

The weather in the Mayan Riviera is generally good all year round, and the water is always warm enough for swimming. The rainy season from May through October sees the fewest visitors to Mayan Riviera. June through October is hurricane season. The dry season – November through April – gets busy everywhere.

If you can, avoid peak season in December to January, when it gets oppressively crowded, especially around Christmas and New Year.