Worth getting out of bed for...

Viewpoint

Climb up the Great Pyramid at Uxmal for a view out across the classic Mayan site – you’ll be able to see the carved turtles, jaguars and snakes adorning the crumbling stone exteriors.

Arts and culture

The Mayan’s reclaimed-from-the-jungle cities are scattered throughout the area. The most famous are Chichén Itzá, Uxmal and, down towards the Riviera Maya, Cobá and Tulum – marked by temple-pyramids, sacred ball courts, palaces and sacrificial altars. The state capital Mérida was founded on the Mayan city of T’ho – and the ancient civilisation’s carved stones were used in the construction of the colonial cathedrals and mansions that line the Paseo de Montejo. In the ‘yellow city’ of Izamal, San Antonio de Padua is a monastery built on the platform of the Mayan temple that existed on the site.

Something for nothing

The area’s limestone landscape is dotted with cenotes – pools connected by a network of underground caverns and rivers. Regarded as sacred sites by the Maya, who thought they represented the entrance to the underworld, they also make refreshing places to swim.

Shopping

Head to Mérida to take your pick of Yucatecan handicrafts – stock up on palm-woven panama hats, locally made licqueurs, earthenware and traditional Mayan clothing, such as the embroidered huipiles (tunics).

Daytripper

The magnificent coastal views from the ruins at Tulum make it worthy of a day trip – this archaeology-on-sea is perched right on the cliff’s edge, with crystal-clear Caribbean shores on its doorstep. The drive from Mérida takes around three hours.

Best beach

You’ll have to head south to the Riviera Maya for pure Caribbean-style beaches, but the one at laid-back port town, Progreso, isn’t bad – it’s been a winter holiday-home haven for Americans, Canadians and Mexicans since the Fifties.

Perfect picnic

Picnic in peace at Kabah or Labna, Mayan sites that don’t get as much attention as the rest. You’ll feel like a pioneering, picnicking explorer.

Walks

Trace the ancient city walls of Campeche, a fortified Unesco World Heritage Site in Yucatán’s neighbouring state. This colonial city was once protected by pirates and is pristinely preserved, and seven of the eight bastions are still standing.

Children

Mérida’s zoo on Avenida Itzaes and Calle 59 has a zoo with a train, lake and rides (www.merida.gob.mx/centenario). On Sunday mornings, parts of the city are closed off to traffic to allow a bicycle-only zone – you can hire bikes for 10 pesos an hour.

Activities

As well as birdwatching and ruin-exploring, you can kayak through the mangroves at Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (and watch for more birds as you do it – especially flamingos). Try cenote diving, or just swimming, at Valladolid – the one at Dzitnup just outside the city is the best place for a dip with a difference.

And

Birdwatchers will love the Yucatán for its 442 species (including the region’s own wren and the visiting Brown Noddy), 11 of which you’ll only ever spy in these tropical parts.