Get Up Close With Nature

It’s easy to escape the built-up Zona Hotelera and experience some of Mexico’s most beautiful natural preserves. Stretching from the Caribbean coast to the inland jungle, the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve is home to thousands of species of flowers and trees and a vast array of wildlife — manatees, monkeys, jaguars, toucans, and more — that you can explore by boat or hike. Xcaret, an eco-archaeological park where you can swim in three underground rivers, soak in natural pools at the edge of the Caribbean, and see a huge variety of wildlife, from monkeys scampering through the trees to endangered birds and turtles. Punta Sur Ecological Park is an enormous reserve in Cozumel filled with wildlife — including crocodiles, which you can spot from the lookout tower.