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Cancun and the Yucatan have a multitude of stunning beaches — considered the best in Mexico. Known for powdery white sand and crystal-clear waters, these settings are what make great vacations. The following are our favorite beach getaways:
- Cancun: Essentially one long ribbon of white sand bordering aquamarine water, Cancun has one of Mexico's most beautifully situated beaches. If you want tropical drinks brought to you while you lounge on the sand, this is the place for you. Although Cancun has a reputation as a bustling, modern mega-resort, it's also a great place for exploring Caribbean reefs, tranquil lagoons, and the surrounding jungle. The most tranquil waters and beaches on Cancun Island are those at the northern tip, facing the Bahía de Mujeres.
- Isla Mujeres: If laid-back is what you're after, this idyllic island offers peaceful, small-town beach life at its best. Most accommodations are smaller, inexpensive inns, with a few unique, luxurious places tossed in. Bike — or take a golf cart — around the island to explore rocky coves and sandy beaches, or focus your tanning efforts on the wide beachfront of Playa Norte. Here you'll find calm waters and palapa (thatched roof) restaurants, where you can have fresh-caught fish for lunch. You're close to great diving and snorkeling just offshore, as well as to Isla Contoy National Park, which features great bird life and its own dramatic, uninhabited beach. If all that tranquility starts to get to you, you're only a ferry ride away from the action in Cancun.
- Cozumel: It may not have lots of big, sandy beaches, butCozumel has something the mainland doesn't: the calm, waveless waters of the sheltered western shore. The sea is so calm and full of marine life that it's like swimming in a giant aquarium.
- Playa del Carmen: Stylish and hip, Playa del Carmen offers a beautiful beach and an eclectic assortment of small hotels, inns, and all-inclusives. The social scene is focused on the beach by day and the pedestrian-only Avenida 5 by night, with its fun assortment of restaurants, clubs, sidewalk cafes, and shops. You're also close to the coast's major attractions, including nature parks, ruins, and cenotes (sinkholes or natural wells). Cozumel Island is just a quick ferry trip away. Enjoy it while it's a manageable size.
- Tulum: Fronting some of the best beaches on the entire coast, Tulum's small palapa hotels offer guests a little slice of paradise far from crowds and mega-resorts. The bustling town lies inland; at the coast, things are quiet and will remain so because all these hotels are small and must generate their own electricity. If you can pull yourself away from the beach, ruins and a vast nature preserve are nearby.
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