Cancun

Lying shy of Mexico's resort extravaganza Riviera Maya, the resplendent city of Cancun holds its own on the country's Caribbean coast, where the water is blue, and the sands blissfully golden. Cancun is part of the world's second-largest coral reef, a fact that it prides itself on, and flamboyantly displays through unforgettable attractions and a wealth of playas or beaches that throng its azure coastline. Like any other resort town, Cancun too is dotted with a jumble of luxury hotels, beach condos and inclusive resorts that let vacationers enjoy the full extent of Cancun's beauty. Then again, this city transcends its picturesque identity, and offers a series of mysterious Mayan worlds within its beach-fringed territory. Cancun is home to beautiful vestiges of the pre-Columbian era, from venerated archaeological zones like El Rey and awe-inspiring Mayan citadels, to the ancient subterranean wonderland of Xibalba.