The Best Family-Friendly Riviera Maya Excursions & Activities

Tulum, Riviera Maya

2min read

Published 4 December 2024


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With its irresistible mix of wild adventure, blonde beaches and ancient ruins, the Riviera Maya in Mexico is hard to beat as the perfect family vacation. There's lush jungle, postcard-perfect sands and the Mayan history they've been learning about at school just leaps off the pages of the textbooks into sun-soaked reality.

There are plenty of Riviera Maya excursions for families to get their teeth into and have a whole load of family fun along this stretch of the Yucatan Peninsula. Here are some of the best...



Xcaret
Xcaret
Xcaret

1. Have fun at Xcaret Park

Xcaret Park is a theme park that combines the best of the Riviera Maya's eclectic landscapes and turns them into an eco-minded playground. Blending modern ecotourism with Mexican heritage, there's such a huge variety at Xcaret Park that you need to dedicate a whole day to enjoying its attractions. Better still, the park is easily navigable with a buggy.

One moment you could be paddling through an underground river, while the next you might be surrounded by over 20 species of butterfly in the park's giant Butterfly Pavillion or spotting tropical fish in its aquarium. Whether you want a relaxing beach day or to dive deeper into this region's Mayan culture, Xcaret has something for you.

In fact, this eco park has created colour-coded routes for different activities, so you can pick the one that suits you and your family best. For example, the River Route encompasses Xcaret's underground rivers, the Delfines Route includes coastal activities like natural pools and adrenaline boat rides and the Playa Route is where you get to relax at Xcaret, with its golden beaches and snorkelling experiences.

Cenote
Cenote
Cenote

2. Swim in a cenote

Even though their name literally translates from Mayan as 'caverns with water', cenotes are much more than simply flooded caves. Formed by collapsing bedrock, the natural beauty of these submerged sinkholes have an almost magical quality about them, so much so that the Mayans believed they were entrances to the underworld. While we can't guarantee that, we can more confidently say they're dazzling places to swim, for the whole family.

What's more, there are plenty of cenotes dotted along the Riviera Maya from Tulum to Cancún that are family friendly. Gran Cenote is rightly one of the most well known, so prepare to go early and pack some snorkelling gear. It's well worth it though, for the crystal-clear waters and encounters with sea turtles alone.

Just a 20-minute drive south of Playa del Carmen, Cenote Azul is one of the most family friendly, with one half with shallow water for younger kids and a deeper end with a cliff that older children can jump from.

Also near to Playa del Carmen, Cenotes Zapote is a network of pools, zip-lines and cycling trails, so you can combine adrenaline thrills with a refreshing dip. But this just scratches the surface - there are so many more cenotes to discover throughout Riviera Maya.

Xel Ha
Xel Ha
Xel Ha

3. Discover Xel-Há

If you've got water babies in your family, then Xel-Há is the place for you. Wrapped around a natural Caribbean inlet, the area of Xel-Há served as an important trading port during pre-Hispanic times.

Now, Xel-Há is an aquatic theme park that's just a day tour away from your Tulum resort that puts the region's natural watery wonders at the forefront of its popular attractions and makes it your own personal playground. Go swimming in secret cenotes, float down mangrove-fringed rivers on a rubber ring, whizz down water slides wrapped around a lighthouse, enjoy a cave tour and go snorkelling in the fish-filled waters of Quintana Roo.

But like other kid-friendly attractions in the Riviera Maya, Xel-Há combines family fun with an undercurrent of education about the natural world. Visit places like the Xel-Há Nursery, Queen Conch Sanctuary and the eco park's web of jungle trails and your children will come away with a greater understanding of the 270-plus species of flora and wider ecosystem that makes Xel-Há such an unforgettable experience.

Spider monkey
Spider monkey
Spider monkey

4. Explore the rainforest park of Aktun Chen

If you and your family are looking for eco parks to explore that a little smaller in size than the likes of Xcaret and Xel-Há, then there are few better day trips than Aktun Chen in Riviera Maya. Originally founded in 1997 to protect the surrounding forests and native fauna, little has changed at Aktun Chen when it comes to putting its pristine environment first.

Educating children of all ages about the natural ecosystem here is woven into the park experience, with the undoubted highlight being a guided tour of a five-million-year-old cave. Everyone in the family will be wowed by the columns, stalagmites and stalactites that adorn the cave walls, unique rock formations you can get closer to by snorkelling with life jackets through the cave's underground river.

Above land, Aktun Chen's zip line network are ideal for adrenaline-seeking older children, while the zoo and animal rescue centre will appeal to, well, just about anyone! Keep your eyes peeled for spider monkeys, agoutis and many other rescued species of wildlife being nurtured back to full health.

Tulum
Tulum
Tulum

5. Uncover Mayan history at Tulum Archaeological Site

Your children have probably learned about the Mayans in the classroom, but there's nothing quite like seeing it up close in the flesh. Chichen Itza might be one of the most iconic Mayan ruins, but the Riviera Maya can boast one of its most picturesque. For Tulum perches on the edge of Mexico's Caribbean coastline, operating as a thriving ancient city on the Mayan riviera controlling trade all along the Central American Caribbean coast from here to Belize.

Today, well-preserved ruins serve as striking reminders of the Mayan's might. Book onto guided tours and you can learn more about the Mayan history behind some of its structures, like the cliff-perched Templo del Dios de Viento, its tallest building El Castillo and the elaborate carvings and frescoes of Temple de las Pinturas.

Then, when your kids need a break from all that culture, it's a handy fact knowing Tulum is one of the few Maya ruins with a beach. These cultural attractions are not only an unmissable day trip away from your all-inclusive resort but are an invaluable way to bring their school learnings spectacularly to life. They'll never look at Mayan heritage in a textbook in the same way again...

Snorkelling in Caribbean
Snorkelling in Caribbean
Snorkelling in Caribbean

6. Snorkel the Great Mayan Reef

If you want to take the fun things you do as a family up a notch, then there's no better marine playground than the Great Mayan Reef. Also known as the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, it starts off in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and stretches for more than 600 miles down to Honduras. It's the largest network of coral reefs in the western hemisphere, so if you have older kids then it's an unforgettable experience.

The great news is it's easy to visit if you're on holiday in the Mayan Riviera. Just a half-hour drive from Playa del Carmen is the town of Puerto Morelos, one of the key access points for the reef. From there, you can join a boat tour and, depending on your level of experience, you can go snorkelling or scuba diving. What lies beneath is a treasure trove of pristine marine life; you can swim among 65 species of coral, 500 species of tropical fish and a wealth of sea turtle species, including hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback.

Time your visit to Riviera Maya between June and mid-September and you'll have the chance to swim with whale sharks, too – a bucket list experience you'll never forget. You're able to visit the reef year-round but in peak season (October to April) it can be busy, so prepare to book early. Always make sure you wear reef-safe sun cream as well.

Rio Secreto
Rio Secreto
Rio Secreto

7. Have a tour of the Río Secreto

One of the most fun things of a family holiday is the joy of discovering the unexpected. And when it comes to the Riviera Maya, the Río Secrete is one of its hidden treasures. With it translating as 'secret river' the clue's in the name, really. Lying close to Playa del Carmen, Río Secreto is a pretty easy day trip from many all-inclusive resorts.

This impressive underground river is actually a network of partially submerged caverns, making it possible for families to explore without the need for any extensive dive training. A number of different guided tours will take you through this nature reserve, witnessing incredible finger-like rock stalactites hanging from cave ceilings and experiencing the surreal feeling of floating in the crystal-clear waters.

If you want to crank up the adventure, extended tours add in the chance to enjoy a zip line or two, cycle through the Riviera Maya jungle, snorkel gin-clear cenotes and plenty more.

For families looking for somewhere where they'll feel like they've truly struck the natural heart of Mexico, then Río Secreto is the ideal place for a trip to remember. That sums up the Riviera Maya as a whole, actually...

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