With spectacular ancient ruins, underwater caves and some of the world’s best snorkeling, you better believe there’s more to do in the Mayan Riviera than sunbathing and sipping tropical drinks.

By Alexis Korman

This time of year, some big city folk like myself are not only pasty, but content with staking out a small stretch of sun-drenched sand and doing little else while on holiday in Mexico. But, no matter how relaxing, laying on the beach in a rum-induced coma is difficult to justify when traveling in the eco-oasis known as the Mayan Riviera.

I knew I’d be considerably more active than usual on my trip even before my plane landed in Cancun this January. Flying over the region, you can’t help but marvel at the miles of practically uninhabited dense, green jungle that borders the turquoise Caribbean Sea (and Cancun’s notoriously party-friendly Hotel Zone).

Of course, this region of Mexico offers much more than drunken frat dudes, oversized all-inclusive resorts and perfect, powdery white-sand beaches. The expanse of jungle glimpsed from the plane plays host to a variety of exotic flora and fauna indigenous to the Yucatan Peninsula, including saraguato monkeys, crocodiles and endangered jaguars. The area is also home to the Mesoamerican Coral Reef, second only in size to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, not to mention some awe-inspiring pre-Hispanic ruins.

With a dedication to preservation, the Mayan Riviera offers plenty of opportunities to see these and other treasures of the land and sea firsthand, with limited environmental impact. Here are 10 unforgettable eco-friendly adventures that can be experienced in a day’s time. (more…)