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Adventure, Island Tours And A Cancun Family Vacation
Cancun is one of those destinations that has taken on a certain mythical status, after three decades as one of the major beach destinations in the Western Hemisphere. In those years it has grown in a planned, considered fashion from a jungle fishing village to bustling tourist town. Though its gorgeous coastal neighbor to the south, the Riviera Maya, has stolen some of its thunder, Cancun is still a major family beach vacation destination, now more upscale than ever, due to major renovations following the big hurricanes in 2005. Yet Cancun is also a city of over 600,000 people with a rich and vital local culture worthy of exploration. It offers both beach and city pleasures and an excellent base from which to explore the rest of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Cancun's Beautiful White Sand Beach & Reefs
Clean, beautiful, crushed-coral sand beaches (with some flat rock patches) line the number 7-shaped strip known as the Cancún Peninsula. Despite years of successful promotional campaigns portraying Cancún as 'Mexico's Caribbean,' the crystalline, sky blue water out your hotel window is actually the Atlantic Ocean.
Families with toddlers and younger children should keep in mind that the hotels on the north side, or the top part of the seven, front the calmest parts of the ocean. Hotels on the sloping, eastern coast face an Atlantic that can be deceptively gentle or lashed by winds, with an ever-present riptide. Many resorts have lifeguards stationed by color-coded warning flags, and even skilled swimmers are urged to swim within their jurisdiction and honor the warnings. Under close supervision, though, your youngest kids will have a wonderful time splashing in the shallowest part of the surf.
The Yucatan's naturally mild climate hovers in the mid-80°s F (27°-32°C), with strong sun and brief daily showers in summer, some boisterous winds in the August to November hurricane season, and the occasional cold rain and wind between December and March. Breezes off the Gulf of Mexico keep the sea between 82°-86°F (27°-30°C) year round -- great kid-friendly sea water.
Snorkeling and diving are rich experiences on the Great Mesoamerican Reef that runs 450 miles down the length of the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula all the way into Honduaras. It is the second largest coral reef in the world, behind only Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
With a population that ballooned from 3,000 to almost 650,000 in three decades, it's fortunate that Cancún planned for waste treatment to avoid spoiling the region's rich environment. When you snorkel in a marine preserve you'll appreciate the flourishing undersea reef system. You can enjoy the wonderful swimming, observe or play with dolphins, and admire the marine life being successfully bred or rehabilitated in captivity.
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