Two of the more developed tourist beach destinations in Mexico, Cancun and Cozumel are on the northeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. On the mainland, Cancun is known for its strip of all-inclusive resorts, high-rise hotels, and restaurants along a long, white-sand beach with calm, Caribbean waters. Cozumel is a small island off the coast, without the skyscrapers but still offering a wide variety of premium tourist services. The island also is a scuba-diving and snorkeling destination with spectacular coral reefs off its shores. Cancun has an international airport, and you can reach Cozumel through its smaller airport or by ferry from Playa del Carmen.
Isla Mujeres is a small island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Close to Cancun and Cozumel, Isla Mujeres is a low-cost alternative to the two. Without the five-star hotels and fashionable bars, Isla Mujeres offers the same beautiful, deep-blue waters, white sand, tropical weather and coral reefs in a more casual and inexpensive atmosphere. The island also has a small Mayan archaeological site in case you want to spend a few hours away from the beach. You can reach Isla Mujeres by ferry from Puerto Juarez, north of Cancun.
The Mexican state of Veracruz stretches all along the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico. Although these beaches tend to have rougher waters than the Caribbean Yucatan Peninsula, the island of Cancuncito is a notable exception -- and a good destination when the more touristy beaches of the Yucatan are swamped during the summer high season. The island is a small sand bank with shallow and tranquil waters, protected on one side from development by the Central Veracruz Reef Reserve. Cancuncito usually is a day-trip destination, accessible by ferry from Hornos beach or Villa del Mar beach in Boca del Rio.
If you can't decide between Mayan ruins or beaches on your trip to the Yucatan Peninsula, Tulum is the perfect destination. The beach is located between an archaeological site and a nature preserve, and construction on the coast is limited to a few small, basic hotels that generate their own electricity. In this tranquil atmosphere -- a far cry from the shopping malls of Cancun -- turquoise waters bathe a beach with powder-like white sand, all under Mayan temples perched on a hill overlooking the shore. Frequent buses will take you to the town of Tulum next to the archaeological site.
