How about a trip to Mexico Yucatan Peninsula

When you think of Mexico as a holiday destination, the one place that will almost always spring to mind first, is Quintana Roo. Not convinced… how about Tulum, Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Morelos etc. All of which find themselves in the state of Quintana Roo on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Quite how this place has become so popular with sunseekers, beachgoers and partygoers and those seeking insight into the old Mayan ways, is really rather easy to see. The beaches here are long, wide, spectacularly white, soft-sand-wonders all lapped by the balmy warm waters of the western Caribbean.
This is a playground, unsurprisingly, for American college students looking for their local equivalent of Ibiza, with grand hotels, cheap drinks and beautiful surroundings. It is also hugely popular with older generations looking for large, luxurious hotels with countless pools, parasols and sunbeds, all within a short stroll of dozens of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and shops.
That’s not to say the whole of QR is like this. If you want the beauty but not the (potentially alcoholic) beast of Cancun, try Puerto Morelos. The beaches rival some of the best in the world and the resort retains a high degree of its original fishing village charm. Unlike Tulum, which while stunningly beautiful and clearly a magnificent place to build Mayan temples, Tulum has become a heaving tourist locale that is probably best seen and then vacated.
Elsewhere QR offers diving, fishing, all manner of watersports, jungle treks, river adventures and a whole host of other things for those wanting their heart rate elevated, so you really are spoiled for choice in this lush corner of Mexico.
Yucatan State makes up the second half of the northern region of this peninsula and is similar in many ways to QR. Aside from places such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Kabah with their plethora of ruins, and coastal towns making the beach brigade happy, Yucatan’s 2 largest cities are also well worth a visit. Merida is southern Mexico’s “go to” cultural icon and is a real hotch-potch of colonial architecture, great nightlife, rich street life culture and above all feels very much more friendly and local than somewhere like Mexico City. Valladolid is a small, quaint, proper local town, but somewhere that gives a true feel of small-town Mexican-life, in a really positive way.
A little larger than Croatia, Campeche is the final province in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and one that, on satellite imagery, appears very, very green! Roughly 60% of the province is covered in dense rainforest and jungle, with absolutely nothing to see… except ruins. Several fabulous Mayan ruins, some of which remain remarkably well preserved and are an astonishing sight to behold, even more so when you realise just how long ago they were constructed.
Away from the jungle treks and wonderous pyramids, Campeche has some lovely beaches on its western coast, particularly around Ciudad del Carmen, although if beach life is really your thing, there are far better places in Mexico. The provincial capital Campeche, is a colourful and pretty city of low-rise buildings, churches, cathedrals, cobbled streets and terrific seafood, and a lovely start / end to your trips through the jungle ruins.