The Riviera Maya in Mexico is one of the world’s great playgrounds, with fabulous, white-sand beaches, awesome resorts and a bevy of attractions that range from sports to culture and history. Lucky for Canadians, Playa Resorts has the area covered, with a half-dozen glittering resorts that offer something for just about everyone.

Here’s a look at some of the great things to do in and around Cancun and the Mexican Riviera Maya while you’re bedding down at a Playa property.

PUERTO MORELOS This town, a half hour south of Cancun, is what I suspect Playa Del Carmen must have been like a couple decades ago. ” There’s a small square with a kids’ playground and tons of lively, colourful and inexpensive restaurants. When I was there a nice musical duo were entertaining folks at lunch at a cool seaside spot called Pelicanos. There’s a fine English-language bookstore called Alma Libre that has new and used reading material. Somehow the souvenir shops, selling the usual array of sombreros and NFL or NBA ponchos, seem more charming here. There’s great snorkelling on the offshore reef, as well.

UNDER THE SEA You’ll find terrific snorkeling and diving up and down the Riviera Maya. Cozumel has fabulous reefs, as does Isla Mujeres, where they also have tours that allow you to see gentle, massive whale sharks in their natural environment. MUSA is an underwater sculpture museum where various works of art (something like 500) that also act as artificial reefs have been placed on the sea bottom. Many are easily accessible with a mask and snorkel. The folks at Aqua World can take you on a tour of some of the statues, including a Volkswagen Beetle and, when I was there, a guy on a sofa eating a hamburger.

TEMAZCAL TREATMENT This is a fascinating and relatively intense treatment you can take at the Westin Resort and Spa in the south end of the Hotel Zone. It’s based on an ancient purifying ceremony and involves a great deal of chanting and free-form prayers inside a small dome. You sit on a bed of sand in your bathing suit while colourfully dressed locals load hot rocks into a fire pit in the centre of the dome, ratcheting up the temperature. It’s a great way to work up a sweat and to contemplate one’s life and loved ones. I found it profoundly moving and spiritual.

MAYAN RUINS While Cancun is famous for its all-night (and all-day) parties, it’s also a vitally important centre for the study of the remarkable Mayan culture. Chichen Itza, about three hours from Cancun proper, is probably the big attraction. But seaside Tulum is fascinating and has the added bonus of being on a fabulous beach. I loved my visit to Coba, another terrific site with Mayan temples and other ruins.

CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES After a few nights of excessive entertainment, a trip to the Museo Maya de Cancun might help restore some brain cells. You’ll find hugely impressive ceramic jars dating back more than 1,0000 years, as well as containers used to hold Mayan chocolate, so you know the Mayans had some of their priorities right. There’s also a welcoming cool garden that contains small but impressive Mayan ruins, making it a great spot to see Mayan history without enduring a two-hour bus ride to one of the more famous sites.

FOR THE KIDS XCaret is a theme park/garden/water attraction Playa del Carmen with a snorkel river, dolphin pool, turtle pools, a zoo and more. The popular Wet’n Wild water park chain has a playground in the south end of the Hotel Zone, with slides and a wave pool and kids’ zone. At last check they also sold an all-inclusive package that has food and drinks. The garden at the Museo Maya de Cancun has cool, shady areas that will help get the kids out of the sun for a bit, plus scary-looking black and silver iguanas they can admire (hopefully from a distance).

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